MEET THE TEAM
Our Founders
Dr. Melissa L. Morgan
Professor in Counseling Psychology, University of Illinois/Wellness Core Group Member
"The project was created after a spike in Latino teen suicides several ago in our county. We saw a need in our community for general prevention and wellness skills. We also felt quite strongly that the community itself has resources that can be tapped into for crisis prevention. We wanted to help facilitate these skills to prevent future crises and help promote general well-being among Latino/as in SB county. I have always been interested in how people overcome difficult life situations, or resilience. To me, the SB Wellness project is a natural continuation of my research and training to give back to my community and help prevent future hardships. I also understand the importance of cultural beliefs and values in approaches to coping, so we really try to emphasize those."
Gustavo A. Prado, M.S.W.
Department Business Specialist
Adult and Children Services, Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services/Wellness Core Group Member
"I have worked as a social worker and have worked closely with children, adults and families receiving intensive services through Child Welfare Services, Hospice and Juvenile Justice Mental Health Services for over 20 years. I have a Masters in Social Work and am currently completing a Doctorate in Special Education with an emphasis on Development and Risk at UC Santa Barbara. I have also been a member of the Wellness Project since the inception of the project in November 2009, and have actively participated in the evolution of the Wellness Project. My professional and academic background have provided me with a broad range of experiences that I am able to draw upon, in order to contribute to the Wellness Project's effort to support resilience and well being in the community. My academic interest is in investigating foster parent resilience and willingness to care for children with emotional or behavioral disturbance."
Dr. J. Manny Casas
Professor Emeritus, UCSB/Wellness Core Group Member
"After close to forty years of working in the Latino community of Santa Barbara, I am well aware of the many challenges that children and families who live in this community face. I'm also aware of the lack of culturally appropriate and effective programs and services that are needed to help community members address and overcome such challenges. Responding to the lack of such programs, my colleagues and I decided to develop the prevention-focused Santa Barbara Wellness Project to help community members develop skills that could be used to prevent and/or deal with these challenges."
Lennie Kwock, L.C.S.W.
Clinician and Manager Santa Barbara Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services Ventura County Behavioral Health/Wellness Core Group Member
"I have been a social worker for over 40 years. At the core of physical and mental health wellness is having a healthy way to manage stress. Chronic stress corrodes the body from the inside out and is at the root of chronic disease. And stress stresses relationships. Our original intent of the SBWP was to empower the community with basic skills and knowledge - how to first calm the body and mind, and then to effectively problem-solve - so that they could improve their mental health and live a life with less stress and greater connection with self and others. This was our goal."
Current Members
Claude Louis
Wellness Member and Volunteer
Claude Louis, a second-year Haitian American counseling psychology Ph.D. student at Loyola University Chicago, earned his B.S. in Psychology from Albright College and an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Bridgeport. He is a licensed therapist in Connecticut.
Currently, Claude's research interests at Loyola centers around elucidating processes that free BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals from the internal and external impact of racism and injustice.
His primary focus is on comprehending coping mechanisms and the path to healing, aiming to develop interventions that highlight protective factors within BIPOC communities. These interventions are rooted in cultural humility and liberation perspectives.
Maria Pecard
Wellness Member and Volunteer
Maria Pecard is an Advanced Doctoral student in clinical psychology at Adler University where she is pursuing an emphasis in traumatic stress. She has specialized training in trauma-focused assessment and intervention, such as CPT, TF-CBT, CPP, and the ARC framework. Maria is dedicated to trauma-informed, culturally responsive care. Her clinical experience spans inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings, with a strong foundation working with children and adolescents impacted by trauma.
As a native Spanish speaker and immigrant, Maria is committed to bridging language and cultural gaps in mental health services, and she values working collaboratively with families, case managers, and multidisciplinary teams.
Past Coordinators
Over the past decade we have trained hundreds of participants through numerous Wellness Workshops to community members in Santa Barbara County and other parts of California, members in Chicagoland, and virtually. This has been possible through community partnerships, volunteer work of members in the community, and the leadership and dedication of our SBWP coordinators and members. We would like to thank all Wellness coordinators for their hard work and dedication.
Pati Cabrera
Kevin Delucio
Erika Noriega
Emily Unzueta
Danny Meza
Maria Vazquez
Veronica Franco
Elana Hubert
2010-2012
2012-2013
2012-2013
2013-2015
2015-2016
2015-2019
2018-2021
2021-2022