Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor David J. Canepa, District 5
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, District 2
Subject: Appointments to the Behavioral Health Commission (fka Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery Commission)
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendation for appointments to the Behavioral Health Commission, each for an initial full term ending September 30, 2027:
A) Kristen Kurczak; and
B) Laura Gomez.
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BACKGROUND:
The Behavioral Health Commission reviews and evaluates the County’s mental health and substance abuse disorders needs, services, facilities and special problems. The Commission advises the Board of Supervisors and the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Director on any aspect of the local mental health program, reviews and approves procedures used to ensure citizen and professional involvement at all stages of the planning process and submits an annual report to the Board of Supervisors on the needs and performance of the County's mental health system.
The Commission consists of up to 22 members, 19 of whom are appointed by the Board of Supervisors representing family members, consumers/clients, veterans, professionals and interested residents. With respect to the remaining three members, one shall be a member of the Board of Supervisors, and two shall be members of the County’s Youth Commission. By State law, at least 50% of the 19 members appointed by the Board must be consumers or family members of consumers of mental health services.
DISCUSSION:
At the recommendation of the reviewing committee of the Behavioral Health Commission, Kristen Kurczak is being recommended to serve representing in a Family member seat and Laura Gomez to serve in a client seat.
Kristen Kurczak Nightingale is Founding Director of Nightingale & Company. She works with governments, charitable entities and businesses to build resilient agricultural and conservation programs internationally. Ms. Nightingale’s clients include global as well as smallholder agriculture firms, energy firms, the UN System, World Bank Group, and NGOs. She has worked throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, having served as the President of the Kilombero Community Trust in East Africa, as the Head of Business Development and Sustainability for BP Alternative Energy in Africa, and as a co-founder and consultant for the UN Environment Programme’s Agriculture Platform. She speaks and writes on these topics and was a Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s Center for International Environment and Resource Policy. She serves on the Board of In situ Explorers, The Zosia Fund for African Girls’ Education, and is past Board Chairwoman of Chengeta Wildlife. She is passionate about her work. Most of all, she is passionate about being a mom, traveling the world with her kids, and supporting the next generation of female leaders as they strive to change the world.
Laura I. Gómez, a resident of North Fair Oaks, is an entrepreneur and advocate who has called Redwood City home since childhood when her family immigrated to the United States from Mexico 35 years ago. Having grown up in Silicon Valley, she pursued a career in tech and is the founder of two startups: Cepanoa (founded in 2023) and Atipica (founded in 2014). In addition, she is the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization Proyecto Sol in 2020, focusing on safe online spaces for Latine people and mental health. She is dedicated to addressing pressing social issues through innovation. With Atipica, she raised the largest seed round for a solo Latina female founder in Silicon Valley history, revolutionizing diversity in the tech industry through predictive analytics. Now, through Cepanoa, she is addressing the public health costs of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through the power of AI and health literacy. Gómez's impact on the tech industry is undeniable. Her early roles at Twitter and YouTube set the stage for her to make significant contributions through international expansion and product localization. Furthermore, she has been public about growing up undocumented as a child. Her work has received widespread recognition and has been featured in prestigious publications such as WIRED, Harper's Bazaar, and The New York Times. In 2019, she was honored by the Frederick Douglass Foundation and named one of the Frederick Douglass 200, alongside luminaries like Colin Kaepernick and Michelle Obama, a testament to her influence and contributions. In 2021, I was featured in Lifetime's Women Making History alongside Vice-President Kamala Harris, immunologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, activist Crystal Echo Hawk, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Amanda Nguyen. Aside from her professional endeavors, Laura enjoys going to any of San Mateo County’s libraries, cooking, hiking and spending time with her husband, beloved dogs Coco and Cosme, and cat Milky.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.