Sandra Huber, Co-Director
Sandra Huber (she/her/ella) was born and raised in Panama City, Panama and came to the U.S. to study industrial engineering. After working as an engineer, she found her calling in social and humans services. Sandra has been a key player in the development of a Community Health Worker or Promotores de Salud program in Snohomish County. Sandra works to deepen relationships with community-based agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, and government agencies while building trust, transparency, and meaningful engagement with our residents. Through events and conversations, she identifies emerging issues facing our diverse communities and offers classes and other opportunities to support those needs.
Sandra has received awards from the WA State Public Association, and the 2015 Providence Institute Agency Change Maker Award. She formerly co-chaired the Community Health Board Coalition and was part of the Board of Directors for Leadership of Snohomish County. She currently serves on the board of Directors for MAS, Movimiento AfroLatino Seattle.
Email: Info@MentalHealthMattersWA.com
Nohemi Rivera,
Lead Community Navigator
Nohemi Rivera (she/her/ella) is Mental Health Matter’s Lead Community Navigator. She grew up in Mexico, City, Mexico, and completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus on Human Development from the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes in 2002. In 2007, she moved to Washington and learned English as a second language. Nohemi has a passion for promoting health and community, and over the past 20 years, she has worked with public institutions, as well as non-governmental organizations as a promotora and health promoter in the U.S. and Mexico.
Nohemi’s also completed additional training and workshops relating to topics such as gender violence, human development, women’s health, parenting, trauma, and human rights. Nohemi is also a mother and partner and loves spending quality time with family, going to the movies, and traveling with her family to explore new places. She is also passionate about reading, learning, having a good talk, and volunteering within her community.
Email: Naomystar@gmail.com
Jody Early, Co-Director &
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jody Early (she/her) is principal investigator and an inaugural co-director of Mental Health Matters of WA. She is a professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Washington Bothell and also a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) and Certified Health Coach. Jody’s background in public health promotion and education spans nearly 30 years, and her research examines the bio-psycho-social, cultural, and systemic factors that influence individual and community health. As a practitioner, she applies evidence-based approaches and community-based participatory methods to work in partnership with communities and groups to co-design and evaluate tailored health education and resources. Her current and past projects cover a wide range of health issues, including: mental health, sexual harassment and violence prevention, breast cancer, diabetes, HIV, digital equity, and COVID-19.
As a teacher, researcher, and practitioner, Jody’s work is rooted in critical and social theories that help to create inclusive public health strategies and policies that center human rights and equity, community strengths, and health justice. Her passion for improving mental health education stems from her own experiences as a caregiver, mother, and teacher, and the pressing need for more tailored mental health education and shared-decision making models for behavioral healthcare.
Email: JEarly3@uw.edu
Edith Huerta,
Resource Specialist and
Peer Mental Health Navigator
Edith Huerta (she/her/ella) is a first generation graduate from the University of Washington Bothell where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Studies and minors in Health Education and Promotion and Global Health. She has also earned her certificate as a Peer Mental Health Navigator through our training program at Mental Health Matters of Washington.
Through her education, she became passionate about community health and creating equitable opportunities and improving access to resources and strategies that will help improve both individual and community health and well being. She values continuing education and opportunities that strive to make lasting positive changes in communities. Some of her goals include working with BIPOC communities to identify their needs and to help support the creation of tailored health education programs and events that help decrease the barriers preventing individuals from achieving and living a more equitable and fair life.
Email: edith.huerta303@gmail.com
Ana Thompson, MIS, CPACC
Instructional Designer and Technical Advisor
Ana Thompson (she/her/ella) was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and came to the U.S. to study Engineering and Information Systems. After a few years working in IT, she decided to move onto training, support, and design of academic experiences for students, staff, and faculty in higher education, where she has been for the past 21 years.
Ana is currently an Academic & Access Technologist at the University of Washington Bothell, where she leads accessibility efforts to provide universal and equitable access to students and the UW community. She has also been involved with the Behavioral Health Learning Community at the UW Bothell campus and researches proactive ways to make inclusive teaching and content more prevalent and how it affects mental health issues in people with disabilities.
Ana has an AS in Computer Science, a BS in Business Information Systems with Management Emphasis and a MS in Information Systems; is an Adobe PDF Accessibility Trainer and IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies. Ana enjoys sci-fi books and movies, dance, gadgets, and spending time with family.
Email: thomana@uw.edu
Twitter: @EdTechAna
Socorro Fuentes, MA, MHP, LMHC
Mental Health Therapist and Advisor
Socorro Fuentes (ella/she/her) is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Washington. She received a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2018 from the Aliento program offered at Pepperdine University. The Aliento program focuses on providing culturally appropriate mental health services to individuals who identify as Latinx.
A second generation immigrant, she was born and raised by Mexican parents in South Central Los Angeles. Socorro is bilingual, fluent in Spanish, and strives to make therapy accessible to individuals from marginalized communities. She enjoys working with the adolescent population and considers it a privilege to be allowed into another person’s inner world. When she’s not providing psychotherapy, Socorro enjoys spending time in nature, running outdoors, dancing, reading, traveling the world, and spending time with loved ones.
Email: socorro.fuentes@fountainsofhelpcounseling.com
Fountains of Help Counseling, PLLC
fountainsofhelpcounseling.com
Aaron Davis, MPH, CHES
Youth Mental Health Specialist
Aaron Davis (she/they) is a community health scientist, nationally certified health education specialist, and abolitionist who graduated with an MPH in epidemiology, with a focus on maternal child health from the University of Washington. Aaron believes strongly in the power of community and has a passion for public health research, community-led initiatives, and activism to address health disparities. Currently, Aaron leverages their diverse lived experience to inform their work, and how they collaborate with communities. They work on many interdisciplinary projects as a community harm reductionist, BIPOC/QTLGBT+ youth mental health writer, and racial health disparities researcher and interventionist.
Aaron currently leads the MHM of WA Youth Advisory Board, helping to engage, mentor, and inspire youth to develop youth-centered initiatives and activities that promote mental health for all.
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