Leadership Team

  • Fatima Garcia, MNM.

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Fatima Garcia-Sanchez, MNM is a nonprofit leader specializing in language access, victim services, and mission-driven program development. As the Center for Trauma and Resilience, Translation & Interpreting Center Director she ensures high-quality, trauma-informed language services and sustainable social enterprise operations. With over 20 years serving immigrant and underserved communities, Fatima brings strengths in grant management, financial oversight, and culturally responsive, trauma-informed program design. She holds a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University and a Bachelor’s in Community Health from the University of Northern Colorado.

  • Maryan Gomez, JD, BIA Accredited Representative

    LEGAL DIRECTOR

    Maryan Gómez has more than 15 years of experience working with Latino communities, primarily undocumented individuals and survivors of violence. She is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and specializes in VAWA cases, U visas, adjustment of status, and other humanitarian immigration processes.

    Currently, Maryan leads the Mi Gente legal program at The Center for Trauma & Resilience (CTR), where she coordinates trauma-informed and culturally responsive legal support services. As an immigrant herself, Maryan understands firsthand the challenges faced by Latino families. For this reason, her work combines technical knowledge of the immigration system with a deep human commitment: listening, believing, and accompanying each person with respect and dignity.

  • Erica Salazar, LCSW

    I’m honored to serve as the clinical supervisor for CTR. Working alongside our masters level and graduate level clinicians is a pleasure and a privilege for me. My main purpose in this work is to participate in the collective and individual healing from trauma.

    Some of my context and experiences: Additionally, I am case manager in the public school system, serving Spanish speaking families in a comprehensive capacity. 

    I also have owned a private therapy practice since 2022, which has been the vessel for meeting incredible people, also on their journeys in healing from trauma, whether systemic, intergenerational, acute or complex.

    I am a forever learner. I am humbled by the expansiveness of what the human brain and body can heal from and achieve, especially when in connection with others. 

Therapists & Care Managers

  • Cinthia Esparza, MA, LPCC, Bilingual (Español) Acudetox Specialist* (ADS)

    THERAPIST

    Cinthia is a dedicated clinician with six years of experience working in legal immigration services. After recently earning her master’s degree, she continues to support immigrant communities in a new capacity, as a therapist providing trauma-informed care, advocacy, and therapeutic immigration evaluations and letters. With a strong foundation in both legal processes and mental health, Cinthia blends empathy, cultural humility, and clinical expertise to help individuals navigate complex systems while fostering healing, resilience, and empowerment.

  • Gabriela Reyes Bilingual Case Manager (Spanish)

    Gabriela Reyes is a Bilingual, Spanish speaking, Case Manager within The Center for Trauma and Resilience. Gabriela is known for her calm demeanor, reliability, and eagerness to learn. Gabriela is dedicated to guiding individuals toward positive outcomes. She approaches each case with professionalism and compassion. Gabriela works with clients to ensure that they receive the services they need within the center or through outside agencies. With empathy, and communication skills, and strong problem-solving abilities, she works to ensure every client receives comprehensive, compassionate care.

  • Georgia Horne, LSW (they/she)

    THERAPIST

    My clinical approach is rooted in a culturally responsive practice with a focus on collective liberation: No one is free until everyone is free. My orientation integrates internal family systems (IFS), mindfulness, somatic therapies (including yoga and AcuWellness), in addition to nature-based interventions. These approaches support grounding, resilience, and deepened self-awareness. I work from an intersectional framework that recognizes the profound ways our identities, lived experiences, and intergenerational histories influence our wellbeing in the present moment. 

    I am especially attuned to supporting clients who identify as elders, neuroexpansive (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, OCD, etc.), queer, and/or disabled. I center humility and curiosity, listening deeply to the needs and goals that each client brings into our shared space. Healing is not linear and I am committed to affirming and uplifting my clients' innate wisdom every step of the way.


  • Mariah Miller, MSW, Bilingual (French)

    THERAPIST

    Mariah Miller is a trauma therapist specializing in global trauma and the diverse ways marginalized communities heal from adversity. A returned Peace Corps volunteer who lived in Benin, West Africa, Mariah integrates cross-cultural perspectives and a decolonized, empowering approach into her work. She is passionate about learning from different ways of being and weaving those insights into client healing. As a certified yoga teacher, she incorporates somatic and body-based practices to support clients in reconnecting with safety, resilience, and their own innate wisdom.

  • Nemayian Muthiora, Bilingual (Kiswahili)

    LEAD CASE MANAGER

    Nemayian Muthiora is the Lead Case Manager with over five years of experience providing trauma-informed, client-centered advocacy. Bilingual in English and Swahili, she brings a strong ability to connect with diverse communities and support clients navigating complex systems. Prior to case management, Nemayian worked as a Medical Technologist in hospitals in Kenya and served as an instructor at the Kenya Medical Training College, grounding her work in both clinical knowledge and education. Outside of her professional role, Nemayian is a songwriter and gospel singer, integrating creativity, healing, and service.

Befriending the Body- Somatic Program

  • Cerise McCaston, MAc

    HOLISTIC CARE SPECIALIST

    Cerise McCaston is a Denver native, trauma-informed practitioner, and community-based healing facilitator whose work bridges martial arts, acupuncture, and culturally grounded wellness practices. She began her training at age nine through the Children’s Rights of Passage (C.R.O.P.®) program at Moyo Nguvu Cultural Arts Center Inc., where she studied under Stephen Abayomi Obadele Meeks—rooted in the discipline of Kupigana Ngumi (pronounced: coop -E- Ga Na; N-goo Me), in which she earned her black belt in 2005 and second-degree black belt in 2010, Cerise has cultivated a lifelong commitment to embodied practice, resilience, and self-determination. She expanded her training to include Tai Qi Chuan, becoming a certified instructor in 2009, and continues to share these practices as tools for nervous system regulation, stress reduction, and trauma recovery.

    Her early leadership shapes Cerise’s trauma-informed approach as a peer mentor and youth educator, as well as her work as a health educator with the Healthy Youth Healthy Futures program through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Office of Health Disparities. Her facilitation experience spans diverse community settings, including collaborations with organizations such as the Colorado Acupuncture Association and the Center for African American Health, where she integrates movement, mindfulness, and cultural healing traditions to support individual and collective well-being.

    In 2021, Cerise earned her Master of Science in Acupuncture from Colorado Chinese Medical University, is nationally board-certified through the National Certification Board for Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine (NCBAHM) and licsenced in CO. Her work is grounded in a holistic, trauma-informed framework that honors the interconnectedness of body, mind, and community, with a focus on creating accessible, culturally responsive pathways to healing and recovery.

  • Vanessa Williams, RYT

    HOLISTIC CARE SPECIALIST

    Vanessa Williams is a Denver-based trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator, Reiki provider, and emotional wellness coach with a background in human services, nonprofit work, wellness, holistic care, and fitness. She studied Children and Family Services at the University of Colorado Denver and currently serves as a Holistic Care Specialist at the Center for Trauma & Resilience, where she coordinates the Befriending the Body program.

    A mother, sister, and friend, Vanessa brings a compassionate, trauma-informed approach to her work, creating accessible healing spaces that support reconnection, resilience, and whole-person well-being.


AVAIL: Legal Solutions for V.A.W.A

  • Maryan Gomez, JD, BIA Accredited Representative, RYT* 200, Bilingual (Spanish)

    DIRECTOR OF LEGAL PROGRAM

Administration

Translation & Interpreting Center

  • Heidy Sanchez, Acudetox Specialist* (ADS), Bilingual (Spanish)

    PROGRAM ASSISTANT

    Heidy Sanchez is a Program Coordinator at The Translation & Interpretation Center. In her four years at the TI Center, she has gained extensive experience coordinating interpreters and clients cultural and linguistic understanding to her work, ensuring clients receive accurate, compassionate, and high-quality interpretation services. Heidy is passionate about helping others, advocating for clear communication, and being a trusted voice for individuals navigating important services. Her dedication to supporting the community is at the heart of everything she does.

Our Board of Directors

The Center for Trauma & Resilience Board recruitment policies aim to attract diverse applicants from various sectors, including banking/finance, community/civic organizations, education, government/law enforcement, human services, law, medical/health care, and religion/faith.

We are currently seeking board members with expertise in mental health, youth services, health care, media, housing, immigration, and faith-based services. For more information on joining our board, please contact fgarcia@traumahealth.org.

Board Member Demographics

Race

Occupation

Age