EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
President......................Stephanie Fisher
Vice President..............TBD
Treasurer.......................Trevor Nelson
Secretary.......................Jonathan Wilkinson
Vice President..............TBD
Treasurer.......................Trevor Nelson
Secretary.......................Jonathan Wilkinson
MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Stephanie Fisher, MS, LMHC, CASAC – President (She/Her) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Master-Level Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC). With over 14 years of experience in the counseling field, she specializes in relationships, diversity and inclusion, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities. Stephanie currently serves as the Director of Clinical Services at Living Resources. In the community, she is an adjunct professor at Sage College, provides clinical training and presentations on various topics, and participates in several committees to support inclusion and advocacy. She possesses knowledge and experience in quality assurance, policy writing, grants, and systems management, in addition to her clinical work. Stephanie works closely with her therapy dog, Rozlyn, who is a great support to the clients served in the community. Additionally, she is a member of the New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA), the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the American Counseling Association.
Trevor Nelson – Treasurer (He/Him) is a Revenue Accountant for Living Resources since 2019, where he started as an intern. Trevor worked in human services prior to graduating from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Accounting. He works alongside the CFO of Living Resources as part of a small team dedicated to serving the developmentally disabled population and providing documentation of all accounting practices for year-end close/audit. He handles all revenue duties and works in multiple systems for billing and services rendered. In his free time, he enjoys working on cars, spending time with his niece, and playing basketball in the community.
Jonathan Wilkinson – Secretary (He/Him) is a Licensed Massage Therapist who has been a Co-Owner of Spa Virgo, located in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany, NY. While in school for Massage Therapy, part of the curriculum required community service, and one of the places he could fulfill this requirement was at the Damien Center. While doing community service at the Damien Center, Jonathan knew he wanted to do more to serve this community. Jonathan served on the board of The Names Project from 2013 to 2015 and is also currently a Fire Commissioner for his local volunteer fire department in Fort Hunter, NY.
Marz Albarran – Director (They/Them) has over six years of experience in healthcare, working with the New York State Health Marketplace, providing health insurance to all of New York State. They also worked on the NY Vaccine Hotline and the COVID-19 Testing Hotline projects. For four years, Marz was a member of the Learning and Development department, serving as a Training Specialist and training new hires on their job responsibilities. During this time, they recreated the curriculum to make it more effective and implemented an internal auditing process for all Learning and Development training documentation. Marz is an HIV Advocate, specifically focusing on supporting those aging with HIV, including those who were perinatally infected. In addition to their advocacy work, Marz is an Artist. They also serve on the Consumer Advisory Committee, run by the AIDS Institute, and currently co-chair the Aging with HIV and Long-Term Survivors subcommittee, as well as the Youth ETE Committee (having served for two years). Furthermore, Marz is a Spokesmodel for the HIVStopsWithMe.org Campaign.
Sal Fata, MA, LMHC – Director (He/Him) is a professional working with Summit Health City MD as an Intake Coordinator. He also works part-time managing a mental health outpatient private practice. Additionally, Sal has experience working with patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C at Catholic Charities of Albany. In this role, he tested patients for both diagnoses, provided counseling based on their results, and linked patients to appropriate treatment models.
David E. Guinn, JD, PhD – Director (He/Him) has over 30 years of experience as a human rights advocate, educator, and international development practitioner, with extensive work in post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mexico. He has directed and managed multi-million-dollar international development projects, as well as domestic non-profit organizations. David has significant experience in grant and proposal writing, project administration, strategic planning, institutional development, and organizational ethics. A widely noted scholar, he has published in the areas of human rights, rule of law, development, religion and violence, healthcare ethics, and moral and political philosophy. Originally employed in theater, including work on Broadway, Dr. Guinn subsequently obtained his law degree from Fordham University Law School and practiced entertainment and creative rights law for almost fifteen years. He then returned to school to earn a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD from McGill University in Montreal.
Megan Zacher, LCSW-R – Director (She/Her) has worked in behavioral health, addictions, and mental health for over 20 years in the Albany community. She is an accomplished and patient-focused professional with extensive experience leading all aspects of substance abuse and behavioral health program management within top-tier healthcare organizations. Megan is an expert in program management, strategic planning, and developing and implementing policies and procedures, as well as evidence-based practices and action plans. She is adept at designing and establishing clinic restructuring policies and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance while providing exceptional patient care. A results-oriented leader, Megan has a strong track record of implementing and utilizing program analysis and evaluation to turn under performing programs into successful centers of excellence.
Trevor Nelson – Treasurer (He/Him) is a Revenue Accountant for Living Resources since 2019, where he started as an intern. Trevor worked in human services prior to graduating from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Accounting. He works alongside the CFO of Living Resources as part of a small team dedicated to serving the developmentally disabled population and providing documentation of all accounting practices for year-end close/audit. He handles all revenue duties and works in multiple systems for billing and services rendered. In his free time, he enjoys working on cars, spending time with his niece, and playing basketball in the community.
Jonathan Wilkinson – Secretary (He/Him) is a Licensed Massage Therapist who has been a Co-Owner of Spa Virgo, located in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany, NY. While in school for Massage Therapy, part of the curriculum required community service, and one of the places he could fulfill this requirement was at the Damien Center. While doing community service at the Damien Center, Jonathan knew he wanted to do more to serve this community. Jonathan served on the board of The Names Project from 2013 to 2015 and is also currently a Fire Commissioner for his local volunteer fire department in Fort Hunter, NY.
Marz Albarran – Director (They/Them) has over six years of experience in healthcare, working with the New York State Health Marketplace, providing health insurance to all of New York State. They also worked on the NY Vaccine Hotline and the COVID-19 Testing Hotline projects. For four years, Marz was a member of the Learning and Development department, serving as a Training Specialist and training new hires on their job responsibilities. During this time, they recreated the curriculum to make it more effective and implemented an internal auditing process for all Learning and Development training documentation. Marz is an HIV Advocate, specifically focusing on supporting those aging with HIV, including those who were perinatally infected. In addition to their advocacy work, Marz is an Artist. They also serve on the Consumer Advisory Committee, run by the AIDS Institute, and currently co-chair the Aging with HIV and Long-Term Survivors subcommittee, as well as the Youth ETE Committee (having served for two years). Furthermore, Marz is a Spokesmodel for the HIVStopsWithMe.org Campaign.
Sal Fata, MA, LMHC – Director (He/Him) is a professional working with Summit Health City MD as an Intake Coordinator. He also works part-time managing a mental health outpatient private practice. Additionally, Sal has experience working with patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C at Catholic Charities of Albany. In this role, he tested patients for both diagnoses, provided counseling based on their results, and linked patients to appropriate treatment models.
David E. Guinn, JD, PhD – Director (He/Him) has over 30 years of experience as a human rights advocate, educator, and international development practitioner, with extensive work in post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mexico. He has directed and managed multi-million-dollar international development projects, as well as domestic non-profit organizations. David has significant experience in grant and proposal writing, project administration, strategic planning, institutional development, and organizational ethics. A widely noted scholar, he has published in the areas of human rights, rule of law, development, religion and violence, healthcare ethics, and moral and political philosophy. Originally employed in theater, including work on Broadway, Dr. Guinn subsequently obtained his law degree from Fordham University Law School and practiced entertainment and creative rights law for almost fifteen years. He then returned to school to earn a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD from McGill University in Montreal.
Megan Zacher, LCSW-R – Director (She/Her) has worked in behavioral health, addictions, and mental health for over 20 years in the Albany community. She is an accomplished and patient-focused professional with extensive experience leading all aspects of substance abuse and behavioral health program management within top-tier healthcare organizations. Megan is an expert in program management, strategic planning, and developing and implementing policies and procedures, as well as evidence-based practices and action plans. She is adept at designing and establishing clinic restructuring policies and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance while providing exceptional patient care. A results-oriented leader, Megan has a strong track record of implementing and utilizing program analysis and evaluation to turn under performing programs into successful centers of excellence.
JOINING THE BOARD
Are you interested in becoming a member of the Damien Center Board of Directors? We invite you to download the Board Member Application Form by clicking here or on the PDF icon below to begin the process.
Once you have downloaded and completed your application, please email the finalized document to [email protected].
Once you have downloaded and completed your application, please email the finalized document to [email protected].
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