Board of Directors

WCS~DdM Board of Directors guides the agency is pursuit of our mission to end domestic violence and sexual assault. Our current board members are:

  Rita Walker | Chair

Rita Walker has been the Title IX and Sexual Harassment Officer for UC Santa Cruz since 1993. In that role Rita is also responsible for implementing the UCSC Policy on Sexual Assault. In addition, Rita serves as the Special Assistant to the UCSC Locally Designed Official for Whistleblower matters. Rita received her BS degree from Ohio University and a Masters of Business Administration from Golden Gate University.
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Gary Bencomo | Secretary

Gary Bencomo is the Vice President of Administration for the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group.  He is responsible for the company's strategic vision for staffing, organizational development, employee relations, employee training and development, compensation, benefits and facilities management. Gary has been in the Human Resources field over 24 years in both the profit and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining NIAG, Gary was Director of Human Resources at Network Appliance.  His previous high tech experience includes senior Human Resources roles at Sun Microsystems, Cobalt Networks, Cisco Systems and Tandem Computers. Gary holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from California State University, Fresno.

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Doug Fischer | Board Member

Doug Fisher was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. He is a Graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Degree in Business & Economics. His is now Vice President of Santa Cruz County Bank and an Advocate for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). Doug lives in Scotts Valley with his wife Claudia and their two children.

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Cheryl Glover | Board Member

Cheryl Glover is Assistant Manager of Comerica Bank, with responsibility for directing sales and service products, events and activities for the bank.  Cheryl has been with the Watsonville Banking Center since 1992 and is dedicated to the Watsonville community and its families. Cheryl also has a lead role in building and developing business relationships. Cheryl has been involved in several, successful community events through Comerica Bank. Cheryl lives in LaSelva Beach with her husband where they raised their two children. She is now the proud grandmother of two.

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Janet Mahoney | Board Member

Janet Mahoney is the Director of Global Compensation for Driscoll's. She has been a Human Resources Director with Driscoll's for over eight years in various human resources roles. Janet was born and raised in the bay area and she an her husband Jim have lived in Watsonville for the last 12 years. Janet has served on other Boards of Directors, most recently Loaves and Fishes in Watsonville. She has been involved in working to end domestic violence for many years.

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Martina O'Sullivan | Board Member

Martina is the Director for Community Engagement for Dominican Hospital and has been involved with Women's Crisis Support~ Defensa de Mujeres for the past twenty years. She has served on various boards including United Way of Santa Cruz County, CASA of Santa Cruz County, Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Catholic Charities locally and USA, and others. Martina is the co-chair for Healthy Kids of Santa Cruz County and a Commissioner for the Central California Alliance for Healthy and is an honorary trustee of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County. Martina's first tenure at Dominica Hospital included eight years as the Director for Acute Behavioral Health Services. She was recruited in 1997 to be the Executive Director for the local Catholic Charities agencies that served four counties on the Central Coast. Martina, her husband and three daughters arrived in Santa Cruz County from Detroit, Michigan in 1983.

 leticiapreciadoboardmemberLeticia Preciado | Board Member

Leticia Preciado has been serving on the board since 2005. She is a Watsonville native, married and has two daughters. She is highly involved in her daughter’s education and is committed to spending quality time with her family.

 mariaelenatantaloboardmemberMariaelena Tantalo | Board Member

Mariaelena has been involved in community service activities for over 20 years.  She has served on several other nonprofit boards or advisory councils including The Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) of Santa Cruz County, YWCA and Notre Notre Dame Americorp. She is currently a board member of Watsonville Community Hospital and volunteers as a mediator the Restorative Justice Partners in Monterey County and CRC.
 

 

 

Women’s Crisis Support ~ Defensa de Mujures

Women’s Crisis Support~Defensa de Mujeres provides crisis intervention, including our 24-hour crisis line, crisis counseling, support groups, and referrals and information about domestic violence or sexual assault. WCS~DdM also provides counseling services for children and youth, educational presentations about domestic violence and sexual assault to schools and service providers throughout the county, and emergency safe shelter for women and children in need. All of our services are available in Spanish.

 

 

 

Contact Info:

WATSONVILLE OFFICE,
233 East Lake Avenue, Watsonville, CA 95076, (831) 722-4532

SANTA CRUZ OFFICE,
1685 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95065, (831) 425-4030

TDD: (800) 735-2929 (California Relay Service),
24-Hour Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1-(888) 900-4232