Kellie studied psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno and worked as a medical administrator in the area for twenty years. After relocating to Los Angeles, she worked in entertainment, but longed to serve the community via an empathetic and supportive environment. She was born in England, but has lived in the United States all of her adult life.

Shannon is the Director of Operations at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center and works closely with the Development Director in all aspects of fundraising and event planning. Shannon started with OUR HOUSE as the administrative assistant, but quickly found a passion for development and began to foster and grow her interest. She is delighted to be able to find new ways to cultivate and support the organizations mission.

Rachel is an Associate Clinical Social Worker with experience providing mental health and supportive services to a wide range of populations, including adults experiencing homelessness and justice-involvement, at-risk children and their families, and transitional age youth. Rachel completed her BA in Sociology & Criminology from Penn State University, as well as her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California. She has long held a special interest in grief, trauma, resilience, and healing. Rachel is incredibly passionate about the meaningful work OUR HOUSE does and is excited to be a part of the team as a Clinical and Community Education Coordinator.

Carolyn is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist working with children, adolescents, and families who seek services through OUR HOUSE. She completed her undergraduate work in Psychology from Portland State University and her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, with an emphasis on Psychological Trauma Studies. Carolyn is the coordinator of the OUR HOUSE School Program and coordinates in-house children’s groups for the West LA office. She collaborates with school personnel and district officials to continue to grow the school-based grief support program and deepen school partnerships. Carolyn also maintains a small therapy practice with adult clients in West LA, and prior to joining the OUR HOUSE team, she volunteered with Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) in Portland, Oregon, supporting children and families facing medical hardship through creative arts.

Tanner is the Development Coordinator at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center and works closely with the Development team in all aspects of fundraising, marketing, and event planning. Tanner graduated from the University of Notre Dame as a double major in Film and American Studies, and he started with OUR HOUSE as a Camp Erin volunteer in 2018 and then joined the Associate Board in January of 2019. He is thrilled to become an official staff member and he is excited to continue advocating for grief support throughout Los Angeles and worldwide. Tanner also loves his twin brother Sal very much.

Ken is a social worker who has experience working in a hospital setting as well as with court appointed clients. Ken completed his Bachelor’s of Social Work from Eastern Michigan University, as well as his Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan. Ken is honored to be a part of OUR HOUSE and is eager to contribute to the mission of OUR HOUSE.

Ramona previously worked at Trader Joes for 6 years while studying film and theater at San Francisco State University. Ramona supports OUR HOUSE’s School and Spanish Satellite Programs and the Operations department. She is bilingual and has previous experience volunteering with organizations that support children at camp and the LGBTQIA+ community. Ramona is very excited to begin her journey in the non-profit world.

Josh is the Director of Development at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center. He completed his BA in History at UCLA, MA in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, and MPhil in Classical Archaeology at the University of Oxford. Josh is currently studying for an MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is honored to advance OUR HOUSE’s important grief support mission through his work and serve Los Angeles in this meaningful way.

Brenda Hernandez is a Marriage and Family Therapist who serves as the first point of contact for callers seeking grief support. In the last 10 years, Brenda has provided a wide array of services to at-risk youth, families, and adults including academic, individual, and group-based treatments designed to strengthen their social/emotional and behavioral needs. Brenda is an advocate for underserved individuals in the Latino community and is passionate about empowering grievers with the knowledge, resources and understanding to better help themselves. She leads grief support groups in Spanish and provides translation for callers and grievers as needed. Brenda received her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis in Child Studies from Antioch University: Los Angeles.

Timothy Johnson was born and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated in 1985 from Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA. He went onto Junior College where he received a football scholarship to Western Michigan University. Eventually, he transferred to the University of Idaho where he played football and graduated in 1990 with a degree in Industrial Management. After returning home from college he went into a hotel management program at the Hyatt at LAX. After two years of working in the hotel business he found himself working in production accounting where he now freelance as a bookkeeper for non-profit, property management and independent entertainment companies.

Laura is pleased to join OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center as an Administrative Assistant. They attended Denison University and graduated with a BA in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry. With a background in grantmaking, Laura found their passion for supporting mental health initiatives through volunteering as a crisis counselor for The Trevor Project. They are grateful to have the meaningful opportunity to support grievers with empathy, hope, and connection.

Julia Miele is the Executive Director of OUR HOUSE and brings to the team over 20 years of nonprofit experience in the fields of public health, human services, and the arts. Prior to joining OUR HOUSE, Julia served as Executive Director of Everybody Dance LA!, an arts nonprofit providing high-quality in/after-school dance education to underserved youth in Los Angeles. Her previous work with AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles leveraged capabilities from her HIV/AIDS, family planning, and maternal and child health work with Population Services International in Washington, DC and India. Most recently, Julia served as the Executive Director of #MEAction, a national public health advocacy organization fighting for research funding, medical education, and public recognition of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Jenny is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years in non-profit agency– with all those years in a clinical role through a DMH funded program. Jenny’s professional experiences include working with the Latino community developing curriculums for Wellness groups, providing individual, groups, couples, family therapy and program management. Throughout her professional career, empowering others to find their inner strengths and live a better quality of life has been her commitment. Jenny strongly believes that everyone deserves to be treated with respect, dignity and worth of the individual/person. Jenny received her Master of Social Work degree from The University of Southern California.

Lauren, a nationally recognized authority on Children’s Grief, has provided trainings for mental health clinicians, educators, clergy, health care providers and graduate students throughout the community since 2000.  Lauren is the author of “Children Grieve Too: A Handbook for Parents of Grieving Children”.  She also created “My Memory Book…for grieving children” as well as grief-related curricula for use at Camp Erin Los Angeles and in OUR HOUSE grief support groups.  Lauren is the Associate Producer of “One Last Hug…and a few smooches” an Emmy award winning HBO documentary about Children’s Grief.  She trains and supervises OUR HOUSE group leaders as well as MSW and MFT clinicians and students.  Lauren maintains a private practice in Los Angeles specializing in grief and loss.

Talya is a clinical social worker dedicated to supporting children, adolescents and families. Talya completed her undergraduate studies in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience as well as Community Action and Social Change at the University of Michigan. She then received her MSW from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Children and Youth in Families and Society, and a minor in Human Services Management. During her time in the MSW program, Talya was a clinical intern at the University Center for the Child and Family providing individual and group psychotherapy. Talya’s excitement for working with children and adolescents grew from her years as a camp counselor and division head. Prior to joining the Our House team, Talya worked as a medical social worker at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on the Bone Marrow Transplant team.

Lucia is excited to join the OUR HOUSE team after 15 years being a partner at Berman-Singer PR and freelance Marketing/PR/Events consultant in the great Los Angeles area servicing lifestyle and non-profit clients. Born in Ischia, Italy to American parents who traveled in support of her father’s Medical Anthropology documentary projects she grew up in MI and came to LA with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan. 

Shantell is a social worker coming to OUR HOUSE as a second career. After graduating from the University of California Los Angeles with a degree in sociology, she spent several years in the real estate business. In 2019 she embarked upon fulfilling the long-held goal of earning her master’s degree. In 2021 she graduated with an MSW from the University of Southern California. Shantell initially reached out to OUR HOUSE with the intention of becoming a volunteer and feels very blessed and privileged to now be a member of the OUR HOUSE team.

Elsa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive work experience in acute medical settings both as a line social worker as well as a leader. She has been in management since 2002 and was on the Board for the Society for Social Work Leadership in HealthCare – Southern California. As the LCSW co-champion of Family Violence Prevention Program she was recognized by Kaiser Permanente regional office for 2016-2017 accomplishments for education & collaboration with other departments throughout the facility and was recognized by Providence Health Services for embodying organizational core values through the Mission Spirit Award. Elsa understands that grief is an integral part of living, with a direct impact on one’s quality of life. As such in her current position Elsa maintains clinical and program development oversight resulting in quality driven services and growth for both the adult English and adult Spanish speaking programs across all locations (including satellite locations). She implements and monitors accountability for all elements of the adult team practice through establishing quality benchmarks, data analysis and research of existing practices. She partners with staff for LCSW coaching, supervision, and consultation and seeks to maintain a robust and accountable practice serving English and Spanish speaking grievers within the Los Angeles County.

Victoria has a diverse background of community work in homeless services, educational equity, and grief support. She completed her BA in Sociology with a Certificate in Peace and Social Justice Studies and a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Long Beach. Victoria is passionate about the work OUR HOUSE does and is looking forward to contributing to the mission of creating spaces that foster connection, support, and hope for grievers.  

Joanne Weingarten is a Doctor of Psychology with more than 16 years of clinical experience – 10 of those years in community mental health, and 5 serving as a supervisor. She has worked with at-risk youth, adults, couples, and groups, including those with chronic mental illnesses and psychotic spectrum disorders. Joanne is passionate about serving the people in her community by destigmatizing and advocating for mental health and grief support services through clinical work and psycho education. As the Senior Clinical Coordinator for Adult Programs Joanne works with grievers as well as those providing grief support services. Joanne attended Phillip’s Graduate Institute where she received her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Diversity.