Angela Maria Villamizar

Angela Villamizar joined NAMI SF as the Latinx Resource Coordinator in early 2022. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Los Angeles to study International Relations & Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Change at the University of Southern California. She then taught as an elementary school teacher in Dallas and received her Masters in Education through the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. During her graduate studies, Angela began to grow in awareness of the importance of mental health for individuals of all ages and all populations. She recently moved to the Bay Area, seeking to focus on her mental health and continue her work in educational equity. A key part of her transition to the Bay Area has been her involvement with the Young Adults Support Group, which has allowed her to more deeply connect with her own experiences and those of others with mental health conditions. In her work with NAMI, Angela hopes to engage in conversations about de-stigmatizing mental health in the Latinx community and connect Latinx individuals with the support and resources they need to flourish in their daily lives.

angela@namsf.org

(415) 209-5686

Richelle Mah

Richelle joined NAMI SF in early 2022 as the Resource Coordinator, ready and eager to serve her community. As a second-generation Asian American raised in the Bay Area, she grew up aware that many sacrifices were made for her to have more opportunities than loved ones before her. The pressure she put on herself to achieve cultural and familial expectations led her to experience emotional distress in her childhood. It was not until her time at the University of San Francisco, where she majored in psychology, that she gained the courage to reach out for extra support to cope with her mental health conditions. During her studies, she became passionate about increasing access to mental health resources and normalizing mental health conditions. Richelle is excited to be there for her community as they search for the mental health resources they need for themselves, their families, or their loved ones.

richelle@namisf.org

(415) 289-9649

Sharon Thompson

Black/ African American Community Liaison

Sharon had spent the majority of her career traveling internationally and nationally as a corporate meeting and event planner, when the 2020 pandemic brought her work to a standstill. During a severe depressive episode, a lightbulb came on and she felt moved to find an opportunity to serve and find work that was more meaningful to her life and regain hope and healing. Because many family members, including herself, struggle with moderate to severe mental health issues, discovering NAMI SF, became the obvious choice to start that journey and she decided to volunteer by facilitating the BIPOC and Peer to Peer Support Groups and found healing through the service of sharing her story, as well as offering support to others. She is honored to have gained the opportunity to fulfill a higher role as Black/African-American Community Liaison.

(415) 763-8705

Anne Fischer

Executive Director

anne@namisf.org

To be completed

Kelly Ma /Hai Yan Ma

Chinese Community Liaison

(Kelly)Hai Yan Ma and joined NAMI SF in 2021 as Chinese Community Liaison. She is originally from Guangdong China and immigrated to San Francisco with her family. She has experience in customer service over 15 years and has been taking care of a close family member with mental health challenges. After getting connected with NAMI, Kelly learned a lot about the needs of people with mental illness and gained support from the Family to Family class. It led her to join NAMI as a volunteer and then as a staff member to support families and community members facing similar difficulties.

(415) 295-2701

Andrew Tuttle

Director of Community & Education Outreach

Ashley Brown

Ashley joined NAMI SF in 2021 as the Director of Family Services Director.  While she is originally from sunny Southern California, she moved to San Francisco over 10 years ago and still marvels at the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Her background in corporate events and her personal experience with her mental health and supporting several loved ones with mental health conditions led her to NAMI originally for information and action plan. As a participant, then a volunteer then staff member,  she discovered a passion for starting conversations to reduce stigma, sharing resources, and increasing mental health education to create a community where we all feel supported and a little less alone. 

Simone Baggetto

Peer Services Director & Volunteer Coordinator

Simone is the Peer Programs Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Originally from Chicago, she moved to San Francisco in 2016. During a depressive episode, Simone visited SF, and it changed the course of her mental illness. In the years that followed, she studied psych on and off and became a volunteer at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). There, she found her calling in Peer Services. As someone living with Bipolar I and ADHD herself, Simone has directly benefited from peer programs and credits them for much of her current well-being. In her role at NAMI SF, she hopes to make them as widely available as possible and in the process empower other peers to work in the field . During the pandemic, she moved to LA and now works remotely.