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Family Resource Centers
Manuela (Nelly) Paredes-Walsborn serves as a community representative on the Stanislaus County Children and Families Commission. Paredes-Walsborn is an Oakdale resident and a co-founder of a production company. She has a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Communications and a Masters degree in Human Behavior from Honolulu University in Hawaii.
She is a volunteer teacher for Citizenship and Basic English classes at the Family Support Network in Oakdale and at St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church in Riverbank. She also provides free Citizenship Educational conferences throughout Stanislaus County. Her community involvement activities include director and co- founder of the 605 Citizen Project, an immigration and citizenship preparation program. She also served as a member of the Naturalization Advisory Council for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Department of Homeland Security and as a volunteer for the U.S. Department of State, Passport Agency in Los Angeles.
Paredes-Walsborn, a former Telemundo Network television producer, noted author and speaker, is excited about serving on the nine member Commission dedicated to improving the lives of children and families countywide. “I like to be involved in projects that impact the community,” stated Paredes-Walsborn. “I also like to dedicate my life, knowledge and education to increase the opportunity of success and prosperity of others.”
Ignacio Cantu is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Stanislaus Union School District. He graduated from Patterson High School, Modesto Junior College, and Stanislaus State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. He received his Master of Arts in Education in Educational Administration from Concordia University, Irvine. He worked as an elementary teacher in Newman and then became a high school teacher at Patterson High. Ignacio was then hired as a Vice Principal for Modesto City Schools. He worked as a Principal for Modesto City Schools for 12 years.
Ignacio has always been passionate about providing services to underserved children and makes it a priority at the schools he works at. He understands the struggles, as he himself was raised by migrant farmworkers. He has volunteered his time coaching children in sports.
Ignacio lives in Modesto with his wife Katie and their sons Carter and Collin. Katie works as a principal for Salida Unified School District and has lived in Modesto for the majority of her life.
Vito Chiesa is a lifelong resident of Hughson. He graduated from Hughson High School, attended Modesto Junior College then went on to graduate from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture.
Vito works in a family farming operation with his parents, Mary and Aroldo and brother, Andrew. In addition to growing walnuts, almonds and peaches, the family operates a commercial walnut hulling and drying business.
Prior to being elected to the Board of Supervisors, Vito served the community as the President of the Stanislaus County Fair Board as well as the President of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. He also served as a Director for the Modesto Chamber of Commerce and State Director for California Farm Bureau. He is currently in his second term as Stanislaus County Supervisor for District 2. Some of his other many responsibilities include serving as the President of CSAC, Commissioner of the Children and Families Commission, Member of the Stanislaus Council of Government (StanCOG), Executive Committee and Policy Board, Member of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Member of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, Alternate Member of the Emergency Medical Services Board of Directors, Member of the City of Hughson Oversight Board and Member of the City of Turlock Oversight Board.
Dave Cooper retired in June, 2006, from 34 years as a teacher and administrator in Modesto City Schools. He received his B.A. from San Francisco State University and an M.A. in education and school administration from California State University - Stanislaus. Dave began his career as a science teacher at Mark Twain Junior High School in 1971. He became an Assistant Principal at Mark Twain, then an Assistant Principal at Beyer High School. He then spent 9 years as the Principal of Modesto High School, followed by 8 years as the district's Director of Secondary Education. Dave also served as an adjunct professor at Chapman University for 13 years.
Dave has been active in community theater, serving as the board vice-president for Modesto Performing Arts and as a cast member in 7 productions. He served as an instructor and instructor trainer in C.P.R. with the American Heart Association. He has also been involved with numerous district/community education committees.
Dave lives in Modesto with his wife Suzanne. They have two children - Amy, an English teacher at Laguna Beach High School, and Stefan, a professional trumpet player in Malmo, Sweden. They also have two grandchildren, Ryan and Catarina.
Mary Ann Lilly-Tengowski is the Managing Director of the Health Services Agency. As the Managing Director she is leading the organization through the challenges of the strategic and facility reorganization plan, financial and quality improvement efforts, emergency preparedness and the development of strategic partnerships.
Mary Ann has executive leadership responsibility for the HSA organization including programs such as: Public Health services; 6 outpatient primary medical care offices; all specialty and ancillary services; a Medi-Cal managed care health plan partnership with Blue Cross of California; the Indigent Health Care Program; the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program; and the Stanislaus Family Medicine Residency Program. She leads an organization with an annual operating budget of approximately $100 million serving over 500,000 patients and clients each year.
Before coming to HSA in 1999, Mary Ann served as Vice President of Contract Management for the Cleveland Health Network and as Sr. Director of Provider Network Management for National Health Plans. Mary Ann serves on the Children and Families Commission, the Children’s Coordinating Council, and the Emergency Medical Services Committee. Mary Ann enjoys working to achieve efficient operations, while at the same time serving residents of the community including those who need it most. Mary Ann received her BS from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and her MBA from Regis University.
Tony Lomeli serves as a community representative on the Stanislaus County Children & Families Commission. He is currently a principal for Modesto City Schools. He graduated from Patterson High School. He attended University of Memphis to obtain business degree in Accounting. He continued his education at CSU Fresno, CSU Stanislaus, and Brandman were he earned his teaching, counseling, and administrative credentials and Masters degree. He worked as an elementary, high school, and alternative high school teacher in Fresno and Patterson. He has worked as an administrator for Patterson and Modesto City Schools for 7 years.
Tony’s passion is in bringing opportunities and support for underserved students in his own community and his school community in Modesto. Having the opportunity to teach and work at all age levels, he understands the struggles that occur for students and families.
Tony lives in Patterson with his wife Janet-- a vice principal in Patterson Unified School District. Tony is a lifelong Patterson resident and spends his free time volunteering coaching both his son and daughter in multiple sports.
George Skol was first appointed to the Children and Families Commission in June of 2002. He has been reappointed in 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014. George was Chair of the Commission during the 2004-2005 year, the 2011-2012 year and the 2016-2017 year.
George is a lawyer in Modesto, CA. In September of 2007, he retired as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of the E.& J. Gallo Winery. His areas of responsibility included Employment/Labor and International Trade law as well as legal department management duties. Prior to joining Gallo in 1986, George worked in the legal departments of Crown Zellerbach Corporation and General Electric Company. His first job as a lawyer was in the Foreign Commerce Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice. George graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1967. He is a member of the bars of California and the District of Columbia.
Since l995, George has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Crisis Center of Stanislaus County. From 2000 to 2002, George was Chairman of the Board. During that time period, the Children's Crisis Center went from one to three facilities, tripling its ability to protect abused and neglected children.
George's other civic and professional activities have included service as Chair of the State Bar of California's Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section, member of the City of Modesto's Community Quality Forum, member of the board of the California International Relations Foundation and as a member of the Group of Experts on Regulation and Law of the O.I.V. which is an International Organization of wine producing and consuming nations. He has been a speaker at conferences sponsored by the U.S. Government, the European Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
George and Gloria have four children.
Amanda (Mandy) Sharp has strong roots in the Central Valley with family calling Stanislaus County home for five generations. She has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a focus on strategic planning and project management from California State University, Chico and a B.A. from University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Mandy’s career began as an entrepreneur in technology, starting her own business to increase technical skills for manufacturing, leadership, clerical and technical workers in her home state of Wisconsin.
She moved to Texas to continue work in I.T. and later to Oregon, where she continued her work with workforce development in a multi-county one-stop resource center at a large community college. This was where Mandy began her path in serving disadvantaged families, combining forces with staff in unemployment, education, job skills training, work experience and social welfare programs.
After moving to California, Mandy served as Tehama County Director of Social Services. In 2018, she became the Deputy Director of Health and Human Services in Placer County leading the veterans, housing and human services divisions.
In September 2021, Mandy joined Stanislaus County as Director of Community Services Agency. She is known for innovation, community partnerships and strategic planning and has targeted the issues of hunger, homelessness and poverty as well as family support, children’s and adult services and employment during her career.
Dr. Diep is a board certified Family Medicine physician. He has been caring for patients in Stanislaus County since 2003. He currently serves as a medical director for Golden Valley Health Centers, a safety-net health system, where he supports medical providers and care teams to deliver high quality care to patients. His medical interests include caring for patients who are pregnant and those living with HIV. He is currently serving as the interim Program Director for the Valley Consortium for Medical Education Family Medicine residency program, where he completed his residency training. He is excited for the future of residency education in Stanislaus County.
Dr. Diep received his MD from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and his BS from University of Virginia. His parents arrived in the US as refugees from Vietnam.
Dr. Diep is a member of a local church where he serves as a deacon and is active in children's and youth ministry programs. He is married with three children.
Christine Huber is the Director of the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency (CSA). She is dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of children, families, people with disabilities, and the elderly in Stanislaus County.
Christine graduated from University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1994 and received her Master's Degree in Social Work from California State University, Stanislaus in 1997.
She began her career with Stanislaus County and was hired by CSA as a Social Worker in Child Welfare Services in the Adult, Child, and Family Services Division (ACFSD). She was promoted and became a social worker supervisor in 2000. Christine has held various management positions in Child Welfare Services, including as a Senior Manager overseeing child abuse prevention programs.
In August 2016, she was promoted to Assistant Director of ACFSD. She was appointed Director in April 2022. Christine will oversee more than 1,000 county employees and four divisions within CSA: ACFSD, StanWORKs, Finance and Operations, and Housing and Homeless Services.
Christine has served as Co-Chair of the Child Abuse Prevention Council since 2014. She joined First 5 Stanislaus as a Commissioner in 2022.
Dr. Thea Papasozomenos currently serves as the Public Health Officer for Stanislaus County. She first joined Stanislaus County Health Services Agency – Public Health in 2018 as the Assistant Public Health Officer. Since joining the Health Services Agency, she has worked in a variety of roles, including as the Medical Director of the Stanislaus County California Children’s Services program and as a member of the executive team of the Stanislaus County Opioid Safety Coalition. She has a strong background in women’s healthcare, and is passionate about the importance of prenatal care in optimizing birth outcomes.
Dr. Papasozomenos received both her MD and MPH degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and a BA degree from Johns Hopkins University. She is board certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, after completing a residency in that field at the University of South Carolina/Palmetto Health.
Tony Jordan, a happily married Modesto local and father of 4, has a successful work history with federal, state, and locally funded early education and family support programs spanning over 22 years. As an advocate for the importance of the first years of life and common-sense approaches for programs and services, Tony currently serves children, families, and local communities by leading, as Executive Director, the awarding-winning Child & Family Services (CFS) Division of the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Central California Migrant Head Start (CCMHS) Program Joint Powers Authority (JPA) – organizations known and recognized locally, regionally, throughout the State, and nationally for delivering high-quality services that foster school readiness, family/community engagement, and social competence.
Presently, CFS serves annually, along with its 12 partner agencies including nearly 1,200 staff members, over 8,800 children and 6,800 families in an 8-county region through the $130 million investment it manages and implements. Tony holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, and a Child Development Program Director Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Previously, Tony has served in a variety of roles for early education programs with SCOE and Modesto City Schools including Co-Interim Director, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Special Projects Coordinator, Planning Coordinator, Data Analyst, and After School Program Coordinator. Tony believes in and strives for excellence in holistic and comprehensive services to children and families – a true two-generation approach to impacting local communities. Finally, as an Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army, Tony proudly served our nation for nearly a decade including time in Germany, Korea, and Afghanistan. Therefore, selfless service, duty, honor, respect, and integrity are at his core and guide his work and interactions with others both professionally and personally.
