Victor Ojakian, a retired project manager, works tirelessly on mental health and suicide prevention efforts. He is the NAMI-Santa Clara County Board Co-President and participates in several local, regional, California, and national organizations, including the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Board and Suicide Prevention Oversight Committee, and SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center Advisory Committee. He became active in NAMI-Santa Clara County shortly after his son took his own life in 2004.
Beverly Hersh Lozoff is a freelance editor and writer, having spent many years in curriculum development and more recently as an editor of nonfiction trade books. Beverly became involved in NAMI-Santa Clara County in 2008, wanting to learn more about mental health issues, given a family history of depression and anxiety. While she continues to edit the monthly newsletter and various office documents, she added Board Member to her involvement and currently serves as Co-President.
Juan Perez holds a BA in Human Resource Administration from UNAM. He was a Professor of Social Studies and Art Education in Mexico City and a chemical coordinator at IBM. He is Maestro de Familia a Familia at NAMI-Santa Clara County, a Member of the Office of Family Affairs of the Santa Clara County Mental Health Department and chairman of the Mexican Cultural Diffusion Group. Juan is passionate about the help NAMI provides the Spanish-speaking community.
Harold Brown is a retired information technology manager with a career starting in the USAF, including Department Head at El Camino Hospital, Senior Project Manager with IBM, and ending as President and CEO of DRC, a successful health information services company. Harold has a long family history of severe depression and suicide, and he and his wife benefitted greatly from the NAMI Family-to-Family class. He is a key member of the NAMIWalks Silicon Valley organizing committee, which achieves national recognition for fundraising.
Uday Kapoor, M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle was an engineering executive with Oracle Corporation and has 45 years of experience in several Silicon Valley companies. His adult son has developmental disabilities as well as schizoaffective disorder. Uday’s association with NAMI-SCC started with the Family-to-Family class and intensified when his son faced a housing crisis due to the sudden closure of the board and care facility where he lived. Uday joined the NAMI-SCC Board in 2017 and serves as Vice President Housing.
Peter Newman, PhD, is an engineer in the high-tech industry designing the data plumbing devices that live inside data centers. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 17. He joined NAMI-Santa Clara County in 2003 because of his own experience of the importance of education in overcoming mental illness and because of the limited availability of education in the healthcare system. Peter serves as Secretary on the Board.
Steven Wade, CPA, CA (Canada) MBA, joined NAMI-Santa Clara County’s Board in November 2013 as Treasurer. Impressed by the tireless work the Board Members do, he was eager to help them manage their financial resources and reporting. Steve has been active for many years in helping underserved communities in the Bay Area. He is currently Dean’s Executive Professor of Finance and Accounting at Santa Clara University.
Verna Barrientos has been involved with NAMI-Santa Clara County since 2014, and has held several roles within the organization. Verna is a lover of both formal and informal education, and received her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from San Jose State University in 2018. In the same year she joined NAMI-SCC’s Board. Verna has lived with depression and anxiety since she was a teenager, and several of her family members live with mental health challenges.
Leah Dansby has worked as a Program Manager for Santa Clara County’s Probation Department for over ten years, managing Resource Services within the department. In 2008 Leah’s son was diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and this prompted her to take the Family-to-Family class. Leah continues to use the information she learned to advocate for her son and to teach others about the importance of advocacy.