OUR STAFF FAMILY
Horizons is not an Agency… it is a Family!
We are reunited by a common passion and drive to serve our community and inspired by our youth whose strength and resilience serve as a model for our own growth. Collaboration and partnership form the crux of the services we offer, with each staff bringing a unique and crucial experience to the table. Our Staff Family is our everyday heroes and soldiers; fighting on the frontlines against an ongoing battle to bring about positive change in the lives of the youth and families we serve.
We are a Family of dedicated, resourceful, and unwavering professionals; humbled and honored by the sacred privilege to serve our community. And like a Family, we support each other in our challenges and successes, we break bread together, laugh together, and cry together in depths and the beauty of the work to which we have given our lives. We are family!
Meet Our Family
Celina Lucero · Nancy Abdul-Shakur · Phyllis Lozano · Donna Saffioti-Johnson · Hector Ramos · Pon Thoummavong · Daniel Tenuta · Joanne Cole · Agua Bracho · Celso Silva · Christian Cuadrado · DJ Quest (Carlos Aguilar) · Grace Vasquez · Juan Duran · Kristine Kaehler · Lorena Plaza Torres · Mariana Lopez-Herrera · Michelle Monterrosa · Rasul Grayson · Vilma Herrera · Vic Aguirre
Celina Lucero
Celina is living testimony to the power and impact that Horizons has on the youth and community it serves. Like many other Mission District youth, Celina joined the Horizons Familia over 25 years ago as a youth worker, and has since held several other leadership positions before being duly appointed Executive Director in 2015.
The youngest of 9 children, Celina brings with her an unmatched drive to excel, be of service, and create teachable moments. Graduating with honors from UC Berkeley in Sociology was much more than receiving a degree; it represented the opportunity to bring that degree back to her family and neighborhood, and excite others to pursue what they thought was impossible.
Her most prized possession (next to her son) is her innate ability to develop and maintain lasting relationships. When asked, her biggest achievement isn’t the countless awards and recognitions she has received, it is the family she has made along the way. “Being in the position that I am to truly bless others is really a double blessing. Not only am I able to bless those around me, but in reality, receive the ultimate satisfaction and blessing through giving.”
Nancy Abdul-Shakur
Nancy was born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District. A self proclaimed non-profit baby, she comes to Horizons with over 20 years in combined experience in youth development and empowerment work, environmental justice youth organizing, and environmental service learning education. Nancy joined the Horizons family in 2010 as the MYEEP Program Coordinator focusing on finding Mission and Potrero Hill youth employment opportunities.
She naturally transitioned into managing the LifeWorks Employment Program (LWP) which offers wraparound job readiness training, case management, and academic support to system involved youth. In 2018, she transitioned into the role of Program Director supporting the Employment and Prevention team. Along with her Directorship responsibilities, Nancy also co-facilitates Horizons’ Strengthening Families Program, and supports the Horizons Community Advisory Board. With the lived and worked experience she brings, Nancy hopes to help move Horizons into a new phase, that incorporates, deep rooted cultural humility, innovative programing, and youth centric leadership advancement work.
Nancy’s life mission has been to give back to the community that once gave so much to her and her family. She is a fluent Spanish speaker, merengue and cumbia dancer, who dabbles in art, and self-healing writing. She loves to travel and spend time with her husband Amir and reading revolutionary books to her son Zaire.
Phyllis Lozano
I have been working in the corporate accounting field for more than 30 years and transitioned to the nonprofit financial area in 2012.
I love reading, cleaning and gardening.
Currently responsible for the daily finance, accounting and HR matters for Horizons.
Donna Saffioti-Johnson
Donna Saffioti Johnson began working at Horizons in March of 1988 in the HIV Prevention and Early Intervention Program. She provided comprehensive HIV education to Middle and High School students as well as for non-traditional sites such as Larkin Street, Hospitality House and YGC. Horizons’ HIV program was expanded to target two other groups that often fell through the cracks including injection drug using youth, which led to long-term collaboration with needle exchange programs and her founding of a youth specific site.
Her work with street affiliated youth led to a decades long partnership with CALLES/CRN and the establishment of Late Night programming for this marginalized population. She returned to school and received her CATC certification to provide Substance Use counseling to youth dealing with substance use and related issues. Currently she is a youth trainer for the SFP program, the EP program, a Joven Noble trainer and provides a 4-part educational series to meet school requests.
AWARDS: Mujeres Adelante | Heroes of the AIDS Epidemic | The Samuel Puckett Memorial Award | The Wedge Program’s Distinction Award | Concordia Award for Community Work | Cheyenne Bell Award | Mission Peacekeeper
Hector Ramos
Hector Ramos joined the Horizons’ family in 2001. He started working in the Outpatient Program and later moved to Prevention Education when offered a Coordinator position.
Currently, he is the Principal Program Coordinator for EPSF (Environmental Prevention San Francisco) and SFP (Strengthening Families Program). Hector is also the lead instructor for Facilitators for the SFP program in San Francisco and is the CPR / First Aid Instructor for Horizons.
Hector is originally from Argentina, speaks both English and Spanish, and has worked with youth in San Francisco since 1995. His education includes a Bachelors and MBA from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA.
Pon Thoummavong
Pon is a communications and development professional who builds strong relationships to support community growth. She uses storytelling to ensure messaging authentically represents the experiences of underserved communities and families.
With a background in multimedia communications, marketing, and business development, Pon has worked across both private and nonprofit sectors. She addresses community needs through strategic communication and multicultural outreach, with a collaborative and service-oriented approach.
Pon holds an M.A. in Technical Communication from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in English and Journalism from Mills College at Northeastern University. Originally from Laos and raised in the Bay Area, she enjoys hiking with her family, exploring new cuisines, and making ongoing attempts at learning new languages and novel-writing.
Daniel Tenuta
Daniel Tenuta recently relocated to the SF Bay Area after nearly 20 years of overseeing operations at various levels within a prominent Christian nonprofit organization in Brazil. He began his career in the organization’s broadcast television network, eventually transitioning to roles such as producer, digital media coordinator, and TV technical supervisor. In 2016, Daniel was promoted to Director of Operations, where he led fundraising efforts, oversaw nationwide branches, and managed philanthropic activities in Angola. In his final two years, he served as the Head of Operations, implementing strategic planning, resource optimization, and change management strategies.
Daniel moved to San Francisco with his family and has since transitioned his career to Human Resources. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree. Daniel is also a theologian and a dedicated student of the Holy Bible. He is delighted to contribute to Horizons and support staff in their development and needs.
Christian Cuadrado
Chris Cuadrado is a writer, artist, poet, producer, and cultural organizer, originally from Inglewood, CA, currently based in the Bay Area. Chris uses words, sights, and sounds as a means of empowerment, with the hope of offering tools of healing and liberation through creativity.
Chris has been using the arts to work with system impacted youth of color, from media programs, to cultural programming in juvenile halls, to the environmental prevention and event coordination programming with Horizons Unlimited. Chris is committed to using the arts to further strengthen the rich cultural foundation of the Mission District.
DJ Quest (Carlos Aguilar)
DJ Quest is a Turntablist Mastermind, co-creator of The First Battle Record ‘Hamster Breaks,’ and one of the founding members of Bullet Proof Scratch/Space Travelerz, a pioneering group in the art of scratch music. He is the Originator of the widely adopted Hamster Style Technique and the Architect of Jazz/Hip Hop Trio LiveHuman, renowned for its improvisational use of the turntable as an instrument.
DJ Quest began his work with The DJ Project in 2001, providing satellite workshops and recording collaborations, and later became the lead DJ instructor. Passionate about the future and working with youth, he continues to practice and teach his craft, advancing its evolution by passing down the skills to the next generation.
Grace Vasquez
Grace was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of LA. She’s always had a keen interest in helping others in some capacity and has found herself drawn to public health. Grace received her BA in Public Health from UC Merced and began her nonprofit journey working with Southeast Asian communities to address mental-health issues and coordinated a produce delivery program for low-income residents.
After some time working with several underserved communities and seeing the impacts of unjust policies affect people’s overall health she began her Masters of Public Health at USC. Grace’s latest work experience consisted of addressing disparities and inequities in tobacco use prevention and she coordinated policy campaigns to make Marin County more tobacco-free.
Grace is ecstatic to join the Horizons team to continue her passion in addressing health disparities and health education with the LevelUpSF program. Outside of work Grace enjoys reading, traveling, and trying new restaurants across the Bay Area.
Kristine Kaehler
Kristine Kaehler joined the Horizons family in December of 2022 and has been serving youth with substance use needs ever since. Kristine also has over 6 years of experience working with youth and adults suffering from substance use and mental health conditions. Kristine received her BA in Psychology from San Francisco State and is currently working towards her Masters in Counseling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Sciences.
Originally from the Philippines but mostly raised in the Bay Area, Kristine has lived in San Francisco for the last 20 years. She is a homeless and mental health advocate in the community and has a deep passion for helping individuals free themselves from substance use and other life problems. She loves traveling, mindfulness, spirituality, and just about all things related to sports and psychology. She is intensely proud to be serving the amazing youth and families who come through the Horizons program!
Michelle Monterrosa
Michelle Monterrosa, a native of San Francisco, CA, grew up alongside her siblings Sean Monterrosa and Ashley Monterrosa. Tragically, the loss of her brother Sean on June 2nd, 2020, spurred her into action, determined to seek justice not only for him but for all those affected by police brutality. Michelle has dedicated herself to advocating for reform within the Vallejo Police Department, vowing that her family will be the last to suffer at their hands.
Despite the weight of her activism, Michelle remains committed to her education, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Latino Studies with a minor in Race and Resistance at San Francisco State University. Balancing her studies with her advocacy work, she tirelessly campaigns for legislative and policy changes both in California and nationwide, determined to honor her brother’s memory and prevent further loss of life due to police violence.
In her role as the Principal Program Coordinator for the Lifeworks program, Michelle provides vital workforce development for system-impacted and system-involved youth. Beyond her formal roles, she actively engages with these youth at a local nonprofit in San Francisco, offering mentorship and guidance in career pathways. Since her brother’s passing, she has emerged as a beacon of empowerment for families and youth affected by state violence, working tirelessly to ensure they receive compassion and support from both local and national stakeholders.
Joel Uicab
Rasul Grayson was born and raised in San Francisco. He has seen the city shift, morph, and transform. Land, once founded in tradition, has become layered with the imprint of a flawed system that benefits itself by exploiting resources and culture from its inhabitants. Rasul believes the answer to this oppression of the collective cultural identities is to imbue our community with messages that demonstrate and reveal the significance of the past, that strengthen the present, and cultivate the power we hold to transform the future as people, by rewriting our own narrative.
Rasul chooses to amplify his own narrative through music as it can give us the power and freedom to present and shape our experiences from our own perspectives. His main instruments are saxophone and soul/funk guitar. Additionally, he plays flute, bass, and drum set. His main production DAW is Logic.
Vilma Herrera
Vilma Herrera works in the Administrative Office as an assistant to Executive Director, Celina Lucero, and Accountant, Phyllis Lozano. She mainly handles the employee files and keeping them up to date, Credit Card Transactions, Check Requests, and organizing all paperwork.
Apart from her office duties, she has recently taken babysitting for the Strengthening Families Program to a whole new level by incorporating a curriculum filled with engaging, hands-on activities for all ages. Vilma started at Horizons 3 years ago as a babysitter for the Strengthening Families Program and has since then worked her way up to her current position. She is passionate about helping families and children, and connecting them to helpful resources.
Vic Aguirre
Vic is a bilingual, 1st generation Vallejo native with a background in gender studies, sexual violence prevention, and state-certified massage therapy and health education. They describe themselves as, by nature, community builders and organizers with a deep commitment to leaving a legacy of resistance in multiculturally diverse groups of people.
During the pandemic, Vic began working with a collective of healers and educators, co-facilitating 10-week somatics-based workshops dedicated to empowering those who have caused harm or been impacted by violence to build accountability through individual and group work. This was a response to Bay Area communities’ calls for people-powered action addressing violence rather than relying on police/prison and punitive measures. Before being trained to facilitate, they first participated in the program after surviving violence and recognizing they themselves had caused harm to others in various forms, especially gendered harm.
Through practice and error, Vic is committed to a lifelong journey of reflecting on healing masculinities from the symptoms of patriarchal toxicity, beginning with their own. They are proud members of the Peaceful Warriors, a healing circle exclusively for men of color where vulnerability and brotherhood are encouraged through a return to circle work, cultural teachings, and ancestral practices.
Their work in addressing the intersections between gender, race, culture, and institutional, interpersonal, and individual reinforcements of violence led them to their position at Horizons as the JEEP Program Coordinator for high-school aged male-identifying youth.
Meet Our Board of Directors
Matthew Moretti · Zachary Johnson · Steven Gallardo · Brenda Martinez · Melanie Martinez
Matthew Moretti
Board Chair
Matthew Moretti
After five years as an employee of Horizons Unlimited, serving as a Program Coordinator for The DJ Project, Environmental Prevention, and Strengthening Families programs, Matthew Moretti is thrilled to continue to contribute to the Horizons community as a member of the Board of Directors.
Matthew earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA, where he studied World Arts and Cultures and was involved in on-campus concert production through the University’s Cultural Affairs Commission. Upon graduating in 2009, he began his employment at Horizons, and spent his time outside of work promoting Bay Area hip-hop music as a Project Manager and Freelance Writer at Thizzler.Com.
In 2014, Matthew enrolled in the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he is currently pursuing his Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Intellectual Property Law. Matthew is an Editor on the Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, and a member of the Association of Communications, Sports and Entertainment Law. He expects to earn his degree in the Spring of 2017.
Zachary Johnson
Board Member
Zachary Johnson
Zachary Johnson is a serial tech entrepreneur, startup advisor, product leader, data scientist, social justice advocate and community builder. After an eventful and nomadic childhood ranging over 8 schools on both the east and west coast, Zachary was given the opportunity to attend his dream school at Stanford University. During his undergraduate experience, Zachary leaned heavily in community building to build the sense of belonging, security and support he wished would have been available to other individuals in his position. As a result of prioritizing social connection, he was able to see the formation of several key tech startups such as Instagram, Snapchat and many other startups from the ground up.
After graduating, Zachary spent the first seven years of his career as a data scientist focused on anti-fraud and activities targeting underrepresented groups. Zachary continued his love of community building and social connection by joining the board of Horizons Unlimited SF and supporting several organizations that championed diversity in tech initiatives. Through his community work, he met his future co-founders of his first tech startup, TicketDM, an on-demand exchange application for social communities. TicketDM was featured as part of StartX’s 2019 cohort and featured in the Silicon Valley Business Journal during its pre seed fundraising track. After success with TIcketDM, Zachary worked as a director of Growth Product at several startups in the ecommerce, streaming (BallerTV), gaming (GamerXSociety, Destruction Labz and Future State University), and ed-tech spaces (Springboard and Careerist). Zachary currently has a specific focus on ed-tech, AI and web3 based startups. Zachary focuses on supporting startups with building scalable products preparing businesses to raise capital and scale from seed stage.
In maintaining his focus on community, Zachary also leads several organizations that focus on supporting underrepresented founders and tech professionals including, Cafe Cultura. Over the years, Zachary has advised over 100 tech startups and worked with over 50 tech partners for recruitment and upskilling for underrepresented groups.
Steven Gallardo
Board Member
Steven Gallardo
A Mission Native and former Horizons Program participant through the MYEEP program, Steven Gallardo is inspired and excited to be a part of the Horizons familia and serving the Mission community for generations to come.
Steven earned his undergraduate degree at San Jose State University, where he studied Business Marketing and minored in Mexican American Studies. Upon graduating in 2013 he returned home to San Francisco to start his public service career and eventually landed at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. Throughout his career he has been an alley and voice for those longtime San Franciscans being pushed out via gentrification and redevelopment.
Meet Our Community Ambassador
Michele Almodobar
Community Ambassador