“This is for my community”: Mental Health Talent Pipeline Gathering 2025

On Monday, April 14th, we held our annual Mental Health Talent Pipeline gathering at the beautiful Bricoleur Winery in Windsor. The joyful and dynamic event was hosted by our Board Vice Chair, and Mental Health Talent Pipeline alum, Daisy Cardenas, who led us through a “Human Bingo” exercise that playfully evaporated any lingering social anxiety we might have brought into the otherwise warm and inviting space.

Next, we were blessed to hear from two Mental Health Talent Pipeline scholarship recipients, Nallely Ramirez and Aarón Solorio, as guest speakers. 

Nallely, who graduated from the USF Santa Rosa master’s program in counseling psychology in 2024, is today an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor at Alliance Medical Center. As Nallely shared to the rapt room, “As a first-generation Indigenous See Xánh (Triqui) woman, with family roots in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, Mexico, and born and raised in northern Sonoma County, this achievement has been deeply personal as well as academic for me. It’s a milestone I did not reach alone, nor is it solely for myself—this is for my community.”

“This achievement has been deeply personal as well as academic for me. It’s a milestone I did not reach alone, nor is it solely for myself—this is for my community.”

Nallely Ramirez, Mental Health Talent Pipeline Graduate

Aarón Solorio, a current graduate student and scholarship recipient who entered the USF Santa Rosa program in 2023, shared moving words of his own about his experience growing up as a Latine male in Sonoma County. Aarón’s story allowed us all to better understand the underlying disparities driving the need for diverse practitioners and for access to higher education. 

“The need for diverse, well-trained mental health professionals has never been more urgent,” noted Aarón. “Our communities—especially those historically marginalized—are navigating immense challenges, from trauma to systemic inequities in healthcare access. The scholarship I received is more than just an investment in my education; it is an investment in the countless lives I will have the privilege of supporting in the near future.”

We are continually amazed by the immediate and systemic impact of this program, which was and continues to be made possible by a few key donors and partners that have committed year after year to ensuring it survives and grows. 

We were grateful to also have had present with us for the evening colleagues from the University of San Francisco as well as Kaiser Permanente, which are both working hard to invest in diverse workforce development. The chance for students and graduates to meet and speak informally with local healthcare providers was also an important part of the gathering. 

“The scholarship I received is more than just an investment in my education; it is an investment in the countless lives I will have the privilege of supporting in the near future.”

Aarón Solorio, Mental Health Talent Pipeline Student

Equally powerful is the way the gathering allows for new and current students to meet their peers who have already graduated and are starting their careers, serving out in the community. This peer support and networking has proven a real advantage to students as they prepare for traineeships and job interviews, and to build further on this potential Daisy and Nallely have teamed up to serve as mentors to students in the program—all ways in which the Mental Health Talent Pipeline is providing much more than tuition alone, growing a greater cohort of rising bilingual and bicultural mental health professionals and community leaders.

As we observed the love and appreciation generated by and through the Mental Health Talent Pipeline program, we reflected on how all the work we are doing at the Healthcare Foundation is just as tangible, being just as people-centered, and has the capacity to be as successful when local funders and community members invest and trust in the process, the people, and the Foundation’s committed expertise.

Thank you to all that could attend and to those that sent their love from afar. We are already looking forward to next year!

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MENTAL HEALTH TALENT PIPELINE

Did you know?

• Since 2018 the program has supported 24 scholarship recipients
• Invested $819,500 in building the capacity of local bilingual/bicultural providers
• Serves 1,100+ clients annually in Sonoma County
• Has served 4,000+ clients to date and growing – click to see impact map
• Funding contributed by individual donors and local organizations

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