Our Team

he/him/his
Program Director
francisco.sapp@sanmateopride.org
650-579-5441

Working both nationally in the US and provincially in Ontario, Canada, Frankie has been entrenched in social justice advocacy and programing for 20 years. He started out his career working with youth and creating workshops around leadership, advocacy, and anti-oppression. Quickly moving into the field of HIV, he ran a peer education program around HIV prevention, substance use, and harm reduction. He has experience as a Capacity Building Specialist partnering with Indigenous communities to help them run their own HIV prevention campaigns and educational events. Frankie’s portfolio also includes experience speaking about sexuality, gender identity, active listening, sex education, and equity. He is well-versed in volunteer management, event planning and coordination, public speaking, and community networking. He supervised and operated a peer-run Ontario-wide LGBT phone/chat support line. Most recently, Frankie co-directed a province-wide harm reduction capacity building program to support networks of frontline workers, their managers, and public health units around overdose prevention, best practices, and supporting extremely marginalized and silenced communities. Frankie views his work through a lens of intersectionality and implements his vision utilizing strategic thinking. He is deeply connected to his Filipino roots and has a complicated history with the messiness between gender and sexuality. He has worked as a consultant to nonprofits, has been featured as a plenary speaker at conferences across Ontario and the US, is an excellent baker, and brings his humor and life experiences with him everywhere he goes. Oh! And he may also bring his adorable dog!

she/her/hers
Clinical Program Coordinator
catherine.haueter@sanmateopride.org
650-591-0133 ext. 147

Catherine “Cat” Haueter, a native of San Mateo County, has known she wanted go into counseling ever since she learned what a therapist was at 10 years old. She comes to us from Pyramid Alternatives where, since 2014, she has served the community’s mental health needs by providing therapy to individuals, couples and families, in addition to leading groups for domestic violence offenders, teaching classes on Nurturing Parenting, and working with transitional age youth around trauma and substance use. Other relevant experience includes facilitating therapy groups for teens in the Inpatient Adolescent Behavior Health unit at Mills Hospital in San Mateo, providing telephone counseling for StarVista’s San Mateo Crisis Line, and assisting with research on complex trauma in children and adolescents through UCSF Child and Adolescent Services at San Francisco General Hospital. Cat is a proud alumna of the Wright Institute in Berkeley, a program she selected for its strong social justice approach to mental health. Her clinical specialities include couples and intimate partner work, family therapy, nonmonogamy and polyamory, sex therapy, and BDSM/kink. In her down-time, Cat enjoys cooking, making art, playing her ukulele, petting friendly dogs, laughing with friends and family until her ribs hurt, and taking time to leave technology behind and venture into nature, especially redwood forests. Cat is thrilled to be working at the new Pride Center and serving her LGBTQ+ community.

she/her/hers
Older Adult Program Coordinator
ellyn.bloomfield@sanmateopride.org
650-403-4300 ext. 4383

Advocate and educator, Ellyn brings over twenty years of experience working in community based, non-profit organizations serving the needs of disabled and aging adults. Ellyn has assisted older adult community members in finding affordable housing by locating available resources to support services for eviction defense, healthcare, employment, and mental health counseling. Ellyn also coordinated Friendly Visiting and Senior Peer Counseling Programs where LGBT community members were matched with volunteers to help overcome isolation and create community connections and additional support. She has been a certified long-term care administrator (RCFE) at the Home for Jewish Parents and a guest lecturer in the gerontology department at San Francisco State University. The former Social Services Manager at Openhouse, Ellyn has assisted hundreds of LGBT older adults with accessing aging and community resources and services.  A resident of Foster City, Ellyn considers herself a lifelong learner, curious, and growing day by day.

he/him/his
Lead Case Manager & Clinical Data Coordinator
alex.golding@sanmateopride.org
650-465-6795

Born and raised in Fremont, Alex has lived in the Bay Area his entire life. Driven by his passion and dedication to help improve the lives and well-being of fellow LGBTQIA+ individuals, Alex earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University in 2016. Since then, he has gained valuable experience serving local community-based nonprofits and has specialized in work with homeless and at-risk youth. As the Pride Center’s Case Manager, and a member of the queer community himself, Alex brings his knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity to the forefront of his work. By cultivating the unique strengths and abilities of the those under his care, and by connecting them to any resources and services they may need, he aims to help individuals achieve wellness and autonomy while meeting their goals. Outside of work, Alex enjoys unwinding by spending time with his loving partner and family; staying fit through yoga, dance, and kickboxing; rocking out on the drums; and binge watching his favorite shows with his cat.

she/her/hers or they/them/theirs
Peer Group & Administrative Coordinator
lowellyn.sunga@sanmateopride.org
650-591-0133 ext. 145 or 650-695-0006

Lowellyn Sunga (she/they) resides in San Bruno, CA with her partner. She has various years in customer service as well as administrative skills in her professional background. Her experience with a life-changing event a few years ago allowed her to look at the world through a different lens. She realized that she wanted to give back to her community and help people in any way possible. She works at the San Mateo Country Pride Center as the Peer Group & Administrative Coordinator where she can interact with the her community and offering support to everyone on her team. As part of the LGBTQ+ community, she is extremely excited to get to know folks of all ages that walk into the Pride Center. During her free time, she enjoys listening to all types of music and spending time with her family and friends.

he/him/his or they/them/theirs
Mental Health Clinician
Registered Associate MFT #117496
menchun.wong@sanmateopride.org
650-618-9499
Supervised by Ralph Notor, LMFT

Men Chun is a Hong Kong Chinese, born in The Netherlands, who is determined to make a difference in the communities, and extended communities he identifies with. He has lived in and around the Bay Area for over 16 years. His passion for the creative process, and curiosity for the human psychology steered him towards obtaining a BA in Psychology and Art from UC Davis. He obtained his Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Expressive Arts at JFK University in Pleasant Hill. He trained with Star-Vista’s Crisis Center in 2018 and worked with children and youth struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. At the Pride Center, Men Chun works with a wider variety of the population in categories such as age, LGBTQ+, and any intersectional identities that come with them. While also trained in traditional psychological approaches as a foundation, he believes Expressive Arts Therapy can be a perfect holistic modality for working with the LGBTQ+ community, known for their expression of colors, resilience, diversity, and strengths. Furthermore, when working with individuals, groups, couples, and families, Men Chun follows the Pride Center’s lead by using a strengths-based, and client-centered application of therapeutic interventions. He is extremely thrilled to be a part of a community center that embodies the resilience, strengths, and beauties of the communities they serve.

she/her/hers
Community Outreach Coordinator
marilyn.fernando@sanmateopride.org
650-465-6789

Marilyn is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the San Mateo County Pride Center. She is a First-Generation Filipina-American who graduated with BA in Women and Gender Studies from San Francisco State University in 2017. She has been an organizer with the San Francisco Dyke March for the past 5 years and have served as the co-chair for the past 2 years. Her experience as an organizer with the Dyke March and my identity as a QWOC have emphasized my devotion to creating safe, accessible and inclusive spaces for Queer folks to gather and build community. She is originally from Salinas and moved to San Francisco almost 10 years ago. If the Golden Girls were zodiac placements, she describe herself as a Rose Sun, Blanche Moon & Rose/Dorothy cusp rising. Outside of work, you can find her karaoking to George Michael, watching cooking shows, and thrifting or re-watching episodes of Bob’s Burgers on her spare time.

she/her/hers
Mental Health Clinician
verna.barrientos@sanmateopride.org
650-644-1632

Verna is a Bay Area native. She is a lover of both formal and informal education, and received her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from San Jose State University in 2018. Currently, she is obtaining hours toward becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). By Verna obtaining her MSW degree, and working toward becoming an LCSW, she is living proof that it is important for people with mental health challenges to dream big because they can accomplish amazing things in their lives.

Verna has lived with depression and anxiety since she was a teenager, and several of her family members also live with mental health challenges. Verna has lived with depression and anxiety since she was a teenage, and several of her family members also live with mental health challenges. Verna strongly believes that some of the ways to end stigma around mental illness are by creating a space for open and honest conversations about mental health and wellness, having unconditional love and support from peers, friends, and family members, and for service providers to be knowledgeable and empathetic about mental health and wellness. Some of the ways Verna utilizes self-care are by reading books with strong female characters, playing card games, practicing mindfulness, having deep and meaningful conversations, and going for walks on the beach with her pound puppy Zero.