Mental Health Talent Pipeline Spotlight: Meet Oscar Villalobos Campos

This fall, Oscar Villalobos Campos became one of three new students to enter the University of San Francisco’s master’s program in counseling psychology with the support of a Healthcare Foundation Mental Health Talent Pipeline (MHTP) scholarship.

Now in its sixth year, following a successful 2018 pilot, the MHTP scholarship program is helping close the gap in access to culturally responsive mental health services in northern Sonoma County by strengthening pathways to education and career development for exceptional local students like Oscar.

Like many in the program, Oscar is a working student — something USF is structured to accommodate. He serves as a victim advocate in the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, assisting survivors of domestic violence — most from rural, Spanish-speaking backgrounds — with resource navigation, counseling, crisis intervention, and more. “Overall, I act as a guide for victims to give them a voice in the criminal justice system,” he explains.

A Windsor resident born and raised in Santa Rosa, Oscar began his undergraduate study at Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to UC Riverside, where he earned a sociology degree. Unlike many peers, he returned home. 

“Sonoma County is where I grew up, where my family has built its roots, and where I’ve worked in service for the community — whether as a victim advocate or in public health outreach. I feel deeply connected to this community, its stories and struggles. That makes me want to continue my work here.”

Oscar’s professional journey reflects this commitment. Before becoming a victim advocate, he worked as Partnership HealthPlan of California’s outreach representative, engaging rural communities on health outcomes and social determinants of health. At UC Riverside, he worked in a safe house, providing case management to transitional-aged youth, foster youth, and trafficking survivors.

“Having been once labeled an at-risk youth, I wanted to defy the statistics and help others do the same. Counseling psychology intrigued me because I wanted to understand the root cause of detrimental activities people take part in, and learn how I can help them work through that.”

Oscar Villalobos Campos

The first in his extended family to pursue higher education, Oscar cites his upbringing in a lower-income Sonoma County neighborhood as motivation: 

“I grew up in a lower socio-economic area that had a lot of need, a lot of violence, a lot of disparities when it came to health, positive living, upward social mobility, and access to resources. Seeing how that impacted me, as well as my family and community, I grew up wanting to be someone that can change the course that people like me usually take, coming from the area that we come from.”

USF’s mission of social justice drew him to its counseling psychology program. 

“They emphasize assisting marginalized communities. Having been once labeled an at-risk youth, I wanted to defy the statistics and help others do the same. Counseling psychology intrigued me because I wanted to further understand people’s minds, the root cause of detrimental activities people take part in, and learn how I can help them work through that.”

Oscar credits his resilience to his mother: “She’s a very resilient human being. I try to mirror that and keep going despite obstacles. She’s someone I look up to as a stronghold of resilience in my family.”

Asked what he most appreciates about Sonoma County, Oscar points to the “community spirit, cultural richness, and natural beauty.” He adds, “It’s the community that raised me. I feel it is in my interest to serve it back, and further my family’s roots here. I’m really grateful to have been raised in Sonoma County.”