Mental Healthcare is Healthcare | La Atención a la Salud Mental es Integral al Cuidando de la Salud

Dear Friends,

This May edition of our newsletter marks one year since I came to the Foundation. I have been reflecting over the past few days on how much I have personally learned and grown in these last eleven months. 

When I started this role, I never imagined the immense privilege of leading this organization. To work alongside this team, with our board of directors and in community with our partners has taught me more than I ever anticipated. 

For my introduction this month, I had initially planned on providing an impressive list of all that we have accomplished over the past year (and it is quite impressive). However, instead I would like to list some of what I have learned.

1. Let go of your ego: Putting your true authentic self out there everyday allows you to build deep and meaningful relationships. When you are proud of yourself, show it!, When you don’t understand, ask the questions and when you mess up, take ownership. 
2. Stay curious: Asking the questions helps us learn, connect, and grow. I have learned so much about this community by taking the time to ask questions and I am constantly surprised by the expertise and passion that is revealed when the right questions are asked. 
3. Have a North Star but not an agenda: This work is organic and fluid and when done correctly, messy. Set your sights on what you hope to accomplish but trust in the process even when it seems overwhelming. Staying fluid allows for creativity, collaboration and problem solving. 
4. Clear the mechanism: I can’t even believe I am using a baseball reference here but things rub off on you when your partner is an athlete. For the rest of us, this means, minimize the noise around you. There may be bad news or negativity surrounding us but leaning into the good work creates a sense of peace. 
5. Philanthropy is the ultimate form of social justice: A year ago, I never would have said this. But now, I have come to realize that redistributing dollars and resources  is quite radical and incredibly rewarding. My social worker’s heart overflows in this role. 

I want to thank you all for the guidance, support and love you have all given me over the past year. Most of all, I want to thank my incredible team, Mary, Hanna and Joel who I have come to feel so close with. 

Finally, I am excited to share with you all that we have heard your feedback and we will be making adjustments to our newsletter, reducing monthly content to make the information more digestible. 

With immense gratitude,

Amy Ramirez
Executive Director

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Healthcare Hero Community Partner Spotlight: A conversation with Circe Sher

Circe Sher, co-founder of Piazza Hospitality and owner of Hotel Healdsburg, h2hotel, and Harmon Guest House, is a long-standing and passionate advocate for the health and well-being of her Healdsburg community. A dedicated supporter of the Healthcare Foundation, Circe’s deep commitment to equitable healthcare access was honored in 2019 with the Wetzel Award for Community Leadership. Her ongoing involvement includes serving as a Healthcare Hero Community Partner—one of the Foundation’s mission-aligned business sponsors whose sustained support is vital to eliminating health inequities across northern Sonoma County.

Circe has been part of the Sonoma County landscape since 2000, when she joined her parents in opening Hotel Healdsburg, and made it her permanent home in 2008. “It was the quintessential Northern California that I had missed: farmland, Redwoods, great food, and a charming small town,” she recalls. Today, she lives on a farm with her partner, chef Mateo Granados, their 13-year-old daughter Metti, and an assortment of animals. In addition to her professional endeavors, she is an active civic leader and board member of the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce.

As a hotelier who understands the pressures faced by hospitality workers and other essential laborers, Circe has been a powerful champion for the Healthcare Foundation’s work to expand bilingual, bicultural mental health care—underscoring her deep and enduring commitment to the wellbeing of her neighbors.

Read Circe’s Full Article (2 min read)

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JOIN US!

Your generous investment in the health and wellbeing of your neighbors creates lasting local impact—because together, “We’ve got the Power!”

In honor of Mental Health month, we invite you to reflect on those in your life who have benefited, or could benefit from, access to mental health services and make a gift in their honor.

Your honorary gift can easily be made through our donate button below, by check or requesting a grant from your donor advised fund. Consider a recurring donation and automatically spread your giving across the year, making a more consistent impact.

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A Conversation with New Board Member Zenia Lemos Horning

The Healthcare Foundation is proud to welcome Zenia Lemos Horning, M.Ed., NCSP, LEP, ABSNP, to its Board of Directors. Zenia brings over 25 years of experience as a bilingual and bicultural school psychologist and diplomate in school neuropsychology. She currently serves as the lead psychologist and program specialist at Healdsburg Unified School District, where she has been instrumental in integrating mental health services across campuses and fostering partnerships with local nonprofits to support students and families. Zenia’s dedication to culturally responsive care and her deep understanding of the mental health challenges facing youth in our region make her an invaluable addition to the Healthcare Foundation’s leadership, helping the organization advance health equity and expand access to mental health services in northern Sonoma County.

Zenia, who started her Board service in January, had previously volunteered on the Board’s Programs Committee. We first spoke with her last year, during her time on the Programs Committee, on the occasion of 2024’s Mental Health Awareness Month. This year seemed a fitting occasion to again ask her for her perspective on the local mental health landscape, as well as about her new vantage as a member of the Board.

Read Zenia’s Full Article (4 min read)

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Building the Capacity of Mental Health Care in Sonoma County

The May 2025 edition of Healdsburg Living Magazine supported Mental Health Awareness Month with an impressive feature surveying the opinions of local healthcare leaders, including Healthcare Foundation’s Executive Director Amy Ramirez, in “a community conversation on mental health.” 

The Q&A format, compiled by Randi Cornwall, highlights various regional mental health providers and services, overturns common myths and misconceptions, and offers practical tips for supporting mental health and wellbeing. 

As publisher Teresa Mangiapani explains in an editorial sidebar accompanying the piece, “Over the past few months, a small group of us have been meeting to explore how we can collaborate, educate, and support our community’s mental health. This Q&A is one meaningful result of that shared effort.”

We thought this timely offering was so meaningful, in fact, that we are sharing the information here (3 min read), with appreciation to Healdsburg Living and the participants.