

MEET OUR BOARD






As Executive Director of KCS (Korean Community Services), Ellen Ahn leads a vibrant and dynamic community health center and community based social services organization in Orange County, CA. In addition to overseeing the programs, administration and development of the agency, she is/has been active on many community based boards and coalitions, including CalOptima, the Orange County Human Relations Commission, the Coalition of OC Community Health Centers, the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies, Asian Americans in Action, Orange County API Task Force and the California Institute of Behavioral Health Services, amongst many others. Ms. Ahn is committed to issues involving health and behavioral health equity, substance use disorders, family violence and Asian American service disparities. She holds a B.A. in History from Yale University, a J.D. from Georgetown University and an M.S.W. from the University of Southern California.

A recipient of the “Champion of Change” award from the White House in 2014, Nahla Kayali is described as an advocate and a leader who inspires, elevates, and empowers underserved individuals and families to ensure they have access to health and human services. Arriving to the United States as a Palestinian refugee from Syria at the age of 16, and married, and only having finished the 9th grade, Nahla founded Access California Services (AccessCal) in 1998, a culturally and linguistically competent health and human services non-profit organization in Anaheim dedicated to empowering under-served populations, with a focus on Arab- American & Muslim- American communities. Under Nahla’s executive leadership, AccessCal serves 12,000 unduplicated clients and provides over 65,000 services, annually. AccessCal‘s programs include: case management and advocacy, healthcare access services, employment and tax services, counseling and support services, financial assistance services, education services, citizenship and immigration services, community services and civic engagement and refugee services. Nahla’s work continues to make an impact at the local and national level and has awarded her multiple recognitions from public officials, foundations, corporations and service providers. Nahla serves on multiple boards and advisory boards including Community Action Partnership of Orange County and the Orange County Food Bank. Nahla serves as the Chairperson of the Orange County Refugee Forum and holds the State Refugee Forum Seat for the State Advisory Council on Refugee Services and with the State Office of Health Equity. Nahla was also recently appointed to the Cultural and Linguistic Competency Committee with the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC). In 2019, Nahla’s work was featured in the book “Leadership with Impact: Preparing Health and Human Service Practitioners in the Age of Innovation and Diversity,” written by Juan Carlos Araque, PhD, a Clinical Associate Professor and Eugenia L. Weiss, PsyD, LCSW, a Clinical Associate Professor who both work at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Sayyedi is the founder and executive director of Omid Multicultural Institute for Development (O.M.I.D.). She is also an adjunct faculty in the Department of Counseling at California State University Fullerton. She obtained her doctorate from Washington State University in clinical psychology with emphases on Child Development and Neuropsychology. She has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with diverse populations of children and their families. She has authored chapters, and presented on issues related to providing culturally responsive mental health care to Iranian-American and Middle Eastern immigrant populations in the U.S.

Vattana Peong is the Executive Director of The Cambodian Family Community Center (TCF), a non-profit, community-based organization providing preventive health, mental health, youth development, resident leadership, civic engagement, citizenship, immigration, and cultural preservation programs and services to low-income children, immigrants, and refugees in Orange County, California since 1980. Vattana has had over 18 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations both in the United States and abroad and has been a strong advocate for health equity. For the past 6 years, Vattana has raised over $5 million in grant and contract funding and has increased TCF’s staff members from just 3 in 2015 to over 25 in 2022. He has created, directed, and implemented several projects and initiatives to increase understanding regarding the health and mental health disparities that ethnic community members have faced and to address the lack of culturally and linguistically competent health and mental health services and providers in the Cambodian and other underserved communities. Vattana served as the co-chair of the Cultural Competency Committee for County of Orange Health Care Agency’s Behavioral Health Services and a member of the State of California Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He currently serves as the community co-chair of Orange County Health Improvement Partnership and a member of the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (the NNED) Steering Committee, a diverse group of subject matter experts and persons with lived experience in the field of behavioral health. He has been appointed to the Hospital Community Board at Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center, helping guide long-term goals and policies for the hospital while making strategic plans. His advocacy and program works in highlighting health inequity issues and in reducing health disparities have been featured in several media outlets such as Los Angeles Times, Spectrum News 1, Orange County Register, Voice of OC, etc. Vattana was awarded the 2018 Emerging Leader Award by the Orange County Grantmakers for his emerging leadership and continuing service to the community and is a recipient of Asian Pacific Islanders Outstanding Graduate Student Award and Kathryn T. McCarty Scholarship for Scholastic Achievement Award. He is bilingual and bicultural in English and Khmer (Cambodian) and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from California State University, Fullerton.

Tricia Nguyen is the Chief Executive Officer of Southland Integrated Services, Inc. formerly known as Vietnamese Community of Orange County. She is responsible for the administration, financing and operations of the non-profit that provides comprehensive health, mental health, social, transportation and other supportive services to low-income residents in Orange County. Mrs. Nguyen oversees three facilities: Headquarter (Santa Ana); branch office (Westminster); and a Federally Qualified Health Center (Garden Grove). She is currently serving as the Treasurer on the Board of Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers. She previously served on the Board of Directors for CalOptima (2012-2016) and Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from UCLA. She has over twenty years of experience in non-profit management and public health services.
MEET OUR STAFF











Mae Alfaddaghi is the EISOA Program Coordinator at the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Mae has a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Prior to joining MECCA, Mae worked as an intensive Case Manager for system involved youth at the Children’s Law Center of California. In this role, she worked closely with older caregivers and found joy in supporting family members from different generations connect. Mae also worked with OC SSA to support families with gaining employment and achieving self-sufficiency. Mae is an avid volunteer and has experience serving with agencies that support diverse marginalized populations with a variety of needs including homelessness, mental health, food insecurity, lowering recidivism, promoting access to education and community building.

Jessica is the Home Visiting Program Manager for the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Jessica graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a degree in Psychology. She obtained a Master of Science degree in Organizational Psychology from Vanguard University. Jessica has been in the field of home visiting since 2013 when she began her career as a Parent Coach for the Welcome Baby program in LA County. There she worked directly with families of children ages 0-5 and provided them with linkages to community resources, developmental screenings, lactation support, mental health assessments and other supportive services. Jessica continued to empower others as a Program Supervisor for the Healthy Families America program, where she provided support to home visiting staff through reflective supervision and strength-based leadership. Jessica remains passionate about working with the community and hopes to help expand home visiting services to more families throughout Orange County.

Raquel Campos is the Director of the Home Visiting Program at the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Raquel graduated from the University of Phoenix, where she earned her Master of Arts degree in Adult Education & Training. In 2021, she became a Doula in order to support expecting mothers throughout their prenatal and postpartum journeys. Before joining the MECCA team, Raquel spent over 8 years at SHIELDS for Families, a community-based organization located in South Los Angeles. There she began her career in home visitation and worked under the Welcome Baby Program as a Parent Coach and Parent Coach Supervisor for 4 years. During her time in the Welcome Baby Program, Raquel was able to provide education related to parenting and child development to at-risk families. She also supported families by conducting assessments and providing education in the areas of prenatal and postnatal care, breastfeeding, and parent-infant attachment. During her time as a Program Supervisor for Parents as Teachers, Raquel was able to lead a team of ten Parent Educators under various funding sources. Through her leadership and support, home visitors were able to excel in their role. Raquel is eager to serve the Orange County community and to support the Collaborative teams.


Donna, is a formerly certified ABAT and RBT, who worked in the behavioral health field for 10 years providing direct intervention to clients with mental, developmental, and intellectual disorders before switching gears to focus on nonprofit operations and leadership. She is currently working toward a Master of Science in Management with a concentration in Human and Social Services Leadership, after receiving her Bachelor of General Studies in Human Services, in addition to undergrad certificates in Cultural Anthropology and Globalization and Global Leadership. She strives to expand her career in the human services field by focusing on advocacy, policy implementation, global issues, and their local impact, and operations in nonprofit organizations. Through her career goals, Donna’s ultimate goal is to find ways to sustainably support and develop our underserved communities.

Matt Haines is the Communications Manager for the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Before joining the team at MECCA, Matt served as a Communications Specialist for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, District 1, where he specialized in social media, digital communications, community relations and outreach, and a broad range of writing. The years he spent in government inspired Matt to continue to pursue a career of service, leading him to join MECCA and its mission to serve the diverse communities of Orange County. Matt is a passionate communicator who holds a BA in Communication Studies from California State University Long Beach and a MA in Professional Communications from California State University Fullerton. For fun, Matt likes to spend his free time outdoors, primarily hiking and camping.

Yara Ayache is the Director of Finance & Operations for the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Prior to joining MECCA, Yara served as the Director of Operations for the Syrian Community Network in San Diego where she ran and developed programs that empowered Syrian refugee women by providing them with the skills necessary to overcome the barriers to employment. Previously, Yara served as a First Year AmeriCorps Member with City Year Los Angeles where she tutored and mentored 10th grade students who were at-risk of dropping out. Yara’s passion and commitment to empowering others began in the Middle East where she grew up and received an education centered around service, which then led her to completing her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University (NYU) before stepping into her career in non-profits.

Rhiannon Doscher leads the development of culturally responsive programs, all MECCA program initiatives, and the dedicated program team as the Director of Programs. Rhiannon thrives on human connection and is passionate about learning, sharing, and collectively growing from human experiences. She possesses a natural ability to connect with people from all different walks of life, especially those who make up the diverse community of Orange County.
Rhiannon is no stranger to serving community, her work in the helping profession began over 15 years ago when she embarked on her journey into the nonprofit world by working with at risk youth. Rhiannon knew at a young age that this was the work she was made for. After spending 10 years learning, growing, and enhancing her skill set at three different Orange County Boys & Girls Clubs, she made a transition into serving our neighbors in need experiencing hunger and homelessness. It was at Pathways of Hope that Rhiannon found her passion: finding the funding and resources necessary to serve the most vulnerable and marginalized community members.
Rhiannon’s nonprofit expertise and personal experiences serve as the foundation for the passion and commitment that she brings to work each day. Her experience has given Rhiannon deep appreciation and knowledge for how nonprofits operate and seek to improve the quality of life for our community; one person at a time.

Shelly graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in Psychology. While in school she interned at the Lakeview Senior Center supporting the community by referring and linking them to community resources. In addition to her work with older adults, Shelly also worked with families and their children who experience developmental disabilities, holding a position at Autism, Prevention, and Resources (AIR) in Laguna Hills. During her time working with families, Shelly was trained in providing family training, report writing, and individualizing behavioral plans. Through her experience, Shelly’s passion for serving underserved communities and reducing the stigma of mental health became clear, which lead her to begin working with MECCA as a program coordinator.

Yesenia Velez Ochoa is the Executive Director for the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA). Prior to joining MECCA, Yesenia served as the executive director for Oak View Renewal Partnership where she led key community initiatives focusing on long-term community impact and sustainability through collaborative efforts. Other positions have included Director of Community Development for Orange County United Way and Program Officer for the Merage Foundation for the American Dream where she developed programs engaging non-profits, public and private agencies for the economic empowerment of minority groups. She is currently the immediate past chair for the Orange County Community Housing Corporation’s Board of Directors where she has volunteered 15 years. Throughout her career Yesenia has served on various committees and advisory boards dedicated to creating access and awareness of services for the underserved.