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Management Team
John Eckstrom
Chief Executive Officer
A native San Franciscan, Eckstrom is experienced with all phases of
business from start-ups through multinational corporations and has held
executive positions at Fortune 500 companies such as TRW and Bank of
America. He has served as a management consultant specializing
in launching startups, developing business plans, procuring startup
capital, managing turnarounds, effecting business process
re-engineering, and providing interim executive management to global
corporations such as Schwab and DHL. He has also been an advisor to
and board member of start-up companies.
John has been the CEO, a Director, and the Board Chair of
several non-profits and was a lecturer at U.C. Berkeley. John
graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Psychology from San
Francisco State University, John has served as a volunteer
counselor for a drug treatment program in East Contra Costa County and
also as a crisis counselor at Central Emergency Hospital in San
Francisco. An accomplished musician, John plays jazz and
rock-and-roll in local clubs and also performs in local community
orchestras. John is the proud father of three sons.
Gralyn Jacques
Chief Financial Officer
Gralyn brings a strong business and entrepreneurial mindset to the
organization. He started his career in the non-profit sector at the
National Economic Development & Law Center in Oakland where he served as
a Staff Accountant. He later moved on to gain more forensic experience
being an auditor at Old Republic Title Company. Gralyn then moved on
and started his own finance company where he concentrated on wealth
building through real estate and other investments. Gralyn came to The
Clinics in 2007 and has worked collaboratively with the management team
to build and maintain a strong infrastructure.
Mark Sears, MD
Medical Director
Mark graduated from the University of Maryland in Biochemistry
before attending St. George’s School of Medicine in Grenada, W. I. He
went on to Internal Medicine residency training at Mt. Sinai Medical
School and the Bronx VA Hospital in New York City. His practice over 25
years has included Emergency Medicine, HIV Care, Geriatrics and
Addiction Medicine. He has previously been Chief of Addiction Services
at Staten Island University Hospital, Medical Director of Seton
Coastside Medial Center, and the first civilian Medical Director of the
US Antarctica Program.
John DeDomenico,
MFT
Program Director - Behavioral Health - Outpatient
John DeDomenico, or “John D” as he is known throughout The Clinics, is a
transplant from Brooklyn, New York. He first arrived in San Franciscan
in 1965 and returned after a tour in the Navy to set down roots in 1967.
He grew up in the civil rights, counter-culture movements of the time,
and took part in many of the “extra curricular campus activities” made
famous for that era.
John left the Bay Area to receive his MFA from the Art
Institute in Chicago in 1977, but returned to the City to get his
Master’s degree in Family and Child Counseling from San Francisco State
University. John has been with Haight Ashbury Free Clinics for more than
twenty years, beginning as an MFT Intern volunteer and advancing to the
role of Clinical Supervisor and Director of Behavioral Health Outpatient
Services. John is also a faculty member at the College of San Mateo,
where he teaches classes in Psycho-pharmacology, Family Therapy and
Assessment, and Intervention Skills.
When he is not teaching or at work, John follows his other passion,
still photography. He is often wandering around the Bay Area and the Far
East, covered in film with camera in hand. He lives in Berkeley with his
wife, 12 cameras and darkroom studio.
Nazneen Abdullah, MPH
Director - Health Center Operations
Nazneen Abdullah is a native San Franciscan with a rich and varied
ten-year career in community health, both here at home as well as in
South America, Asia and Africa. She credits her mother for teaching
her the importance of community service and for inspiring in her the
passion to make the world a more equitable and just place.
Nazneen joined HAFCI after a two-year position as Program Director for a
Mission-district substance abuse prevention program where she provided
clinical direction to staff and client counseling. Nazneen lived and
worked in Kenya as a health educator where she trained commercial sex
workers to be HIV/AIDS peer educators. In Ecuador she was instrumental
in advancing tobacco education and policy. Most recently Nazneen led
the strategic planning process for NISA, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit
working with the survivors of Domestic Violence.
Ms.
Abdullah received her Master’s of Public Health from UCLA. While in
graduate school she interned for the SF Mayor’s Office of Criminal
Justice helping to launch the city’s Violence Prevention Plan, a 5-year
evidence-based study to help youth and young adults leave gang life.
When
not working, Nazneen is a Bikram yoga devotee, an avid hiker, and a
dedicated gardener.
Regena Grant
Deputy Director - Women's Services
Wes Fifield
Program Director - Rock Medicine
A Rock Med veteran for more than a decade, Wes brings a wealth
of knowledge and experience in his role as Director of this
important HAFCI institution. An EMT with a passion for classic rock
and roll, Wes has even been trained in Anti-Terrorism-Bio-Agents.
Providing first aid and emergency help at large public events and
concerts, it is not unusual for Rock Medicine teams to treat
everything from cardiac emergencies to crisis intervention in one
night. Be on the lookout for his Corvette (license RockWes) or his
truck (license RocMed)!
Carrie Gustafson
Program Director - Jail Psychiatric Services
After graduating from
Tulane University with a degree in mass communications and public
relations, Carrie began an eight year stint working in the film
industry where she ended up managing a post production facility. While
working in film, she started a computer rental business to fund her
graduate education. After returning to graduate school to study
psychology, she began work on a research project tracking dually
diagnosed homeless for the Rand Corporation and also began volunteering
at the locked psychiatric ward at Los Angeles County Hospital. Both of
those experiences had a huge impact on her future career choices. She
moved to San Francisco thinking she would focus on research and got a
job working for a research institute tracking substance abuse among
teenagers. Shortly after that, she interviewed with HAFCI’s Jail
Psychiatric Services and found her calling.
Carrie has been at Jail
Psychiatric Services since 1994, working directly with mentally ill
inmates in the jails until she accepted the position of Deputy Director
in 1996. In November of 2005 she was promoted to Program Director. She
also sits on the State board of the Forensic Mental Health Association
and is currently its Treasurer.
Jeff Schindler
Chief Development Officer
Jeff brings deep San Franciscan roots with him to HAFCI. A
graduate of San Francisco State University, he has over twenty-five
years of nonprofit experience and leadership, all with San Francisco
organizations. He joins HAFCI after a two year position as Director
of Development for the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and ten years
as Director of Development for Mount St. Joseph – St. Elizabeth.
Prior to fundraising and development, Jeff worked
for over ten years in program director positions, overseeing social
services for elders, teen mothers and their children, and teens living
in the foster care system. His focus on fundraising and development was
sparked by the desire to see vital programs receive the support and
public attention they needed to flourish. Jeff is passionate about
issues of social justice and universal access to affordable health care.
When not at work, Jeff can be found at one of the yoga studios in the
City, or on Bernal Hill with his two dogs, George and Izzy.
Antigone Foreman
Director of Business Operations -
Corporate Secretary
Antigone comes to HAFCI with more than 25 years of work experience, with
the vast majority being in the non-profit sector in the San Francisco
Bay Area. Her experience includes programs that provide mental health
services for medically indigent adults, adult day health services for
frail elders and clients with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as working at
a residential substance abuse facility for the treatment of drug and
alcohol addiction. In addition, Ms. Foreman has worked for the chief of
police of a major city, as a civilian employee of the Air National
Guard, undercover in loss prevention apprehending shop-lifters for a
major department store, with attorneys providing assistance to judges in
State Courts, and conducting extensive pre-employment background
investigations for well-known institutions in the Bay Area.
Antigone has a degree in Fire Science Technology and an extensive
educational background in Business Administration. She has also been
successfully trained in American Sign Language, Advanced First Aid and
Emergency Care, emergency preparedness and strategizing to work
effectively as part of a team. Ms. Foreman originates from the San
Francisco Bay Area, is an advocate for human rights as well as animal
rights, and enjoys the diversity of San Francisco and all that it
encompasses. Antigone fully supports HAFCI's mission, and embraces
other non-profits that serve nationally and internationally.
Stuart Sobel
Director of Human Resources
Stuart Sobel has been a Human Resources executive and consultant for
over 20 years. He established the human resources function at several
companies. His healthcare experience includes serving as Director of
Human Resources at Catholic Healthcare West’s Information Management
Division and at the California Birth Defects Program, along with
consulting with several healthcare organizations.
Stuart’s non-profit experience includes serving as President of the
Board of The Center for AIDS Services in Oakland, CA, Secretary of the
Board of the Oakland Housing Foundation, and pro-bono consulting with
the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco. He is currently also a
volunteer in HAFCI’s Rock Medicine program.
Stuart
was the first recipient of the Northern California Human Resources
Association (SHRM) Outstanding Achievement Award. He taught business,
human resources management, and human relations courses at the
University of California Berkeley Extension and local community
colleges. |
