Leadership
OUR TEAM IS COMMITTED TO TRANSFORMING LIVES
The Doors of Change Executive Team and Board of Directors is a passionate and experienced group of professionals with a singular mission: Get Homeless Youth Off The Streets Of San Diego So They Can Live Healthy And Productive Lives
EXECUTIVE TEAM
JEFFREY SITCOV
President & Founder
Jeffrey Sitcov has led a team of caring people wanting to help homeless youth get off the streets for over 21 years. Jeffrey has received awards locally and nationally, including the Channel 10 Leadership Award, Torrey Pines Bank Circle of Excellence Award, La Mesa Rotary “Peacemaker of the Year Award,” and the Jewish Family Services Volunteer of the Year Award. He was also a semifinalist for the national Volvo For Life Award.
BOARD ANGEL TEAM™
VIVIANA ALEXANDROWICZ
BOARD MEMBER
Viviana is an associate professor in the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of San Diego. Her areas of expertise and scholarship focus are on the effectiveness of in-service bilingual teacher education, theory and methodology for teaching English as a second language, internationalization of the curriculum, community engagement, and Changemaking. Viviana has been involved in community service learning and engagement for over 20 years, mentoring faculty and guiding students in service. She also served on the board of directors for Bayside Community Center and has delivered a variety of workshops to families in Linda Vista. She is the co-founder of the Open University initiative which provided community members with free access to university courses and is a Global Change leader for Ashoka U.
STEVE BRAM
SECRETARY
Steve has been on the board of Doors of Change for over 14 years. He has four decades of experience in real estate development including developing, constructing, and managing desperately needed affordable housing for low-income people and families. Steve has participated in many other programs and charitable ventures including being Chairman of the UCSD Architectural and Construction Department, volunteering and contributing to rehabilitate family housing shelters, assisting another non-profit teen homeless shelter organization to develop a facility, volunteering and donating funding to Providence Place (a program that helps women who have been incarcerated get back on their feet and stay out of trouble), and has run the YMCA’s Annual Giving Campaign for the Coyote Nation.
LINDA CONOVER
BOARD MEMBER
Owner and Co-Founder of Leucadia Pizzeria and Italian Restaurants, Linda has been a resident and pillar of the North County community for nearly 40 years. Her dedication to her 100+ employees and to make a difference in the lives of her family, friends, and community is evidenced by her 18 years as an Angel to Doors of Change. Born and raised in New Jersey, she graduated from Endicott College in Beverly, MA. She lives in Solana Beach.
GABRIEL IGARTUA
BOARD MEMBER
Gabriel is a native of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. At 16 he moved to San Diego to finish high school and attend college at San Diego State University. Gabriel now has over 17 years of banking and finance experience and is currently a Vice President of Homestreet Bank. During his 20 years in San Diego Gabriel has seen the impact that homelessness has within our community and after meeting Jeffrey at a chamber event, Gabriel realized he wants to be part of the solution by volunteering with Doors of Change. Gabriel is married and has a young son.
ANDREW MINER
BOARD MEMBER
Over the past two decades, Andrew has been assisting numerous nonprofits that focus on helping homeless youth, at-risk youth, and individuals and families that have experienced crisis and/or sudden loss. He has helped develop programs to give homeless children valuable life skills in the form of music, art, athletics, and entrepreneurship.
Professionally, he is an entrepreneur and marketer who helped launch and grow Neil Patel Digital into one of the world’s most sought after marketing agencies and industry software providers. Andrew is now leading Aggregate.ai as the emerging leader in Ai and big data activation and analysis. Andrew with his wife and children, enjoy time with their horses, surfing, and many other outdoor activities.
LAURA M. NAVA
BOARD MEMBER
Laura is an attorney that is licensed to practice in Mexico and licensed to practice in New York with over 30 years of experience. Laura is currently a member of the Corporate and Labor and Employment Practice Groups in the firm’s San Diego (Downtown) and New York offices.
Laura’s legal practice focuses on cross-border transactions involving Mexico and other countries of Latin America. Her main areas cover investments in Mexico, mergers and acquisition and international business. Laura also handles international mediation cases involving cross-border issues or Spanish-speaking parties. Laura acts as a mediator and arbitrator for disputes and controversies between US corporations and Mexican/Latin American corporations and individuals.
Laura is involved in Casa Cornelia assisting in asylum matters and visas. Also, from 2002 through 2011 she participated and worked on the Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliary, for two of those years as a member of the Del Mar Unit and for the seven other years she founded, chaired and participated in the Milagros Unit of the Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliary. Laura is currently serving a two year term (2022 – 2024) as President of the US Mexico Chamber of Commerce – West Coast (LA) Chapter.
Laura grew up in Tijuana, Mexico and moved to San Diego in 1997. Laura is fluent in Spanish and English, and conversant in French and Italian.
Laura has two sons in their twenties that helps her realize the importance of providing love, guidance and care to young persons and specially appreciates the importance of working with homeless youth as they have found themselves in the despair or problems that took them to become homeless in San Diego.
Laura is very proud and enthusiastic about being a member of the Board of Directors of Doors of Change and working with this organization knowing how it helps homeless youth change their lives and become independent self-supporting individuals.
JOHN SIMONELLI
BOARD MEMBER
John was born in Boston and educated at Brown University. He is a retired executive VP of ABC Supply Co., a $10 billion exterior building products distribution company. In his 30 years with the company John was entirely responsible for P&L and was the line authority for the West Region (one of five regions designated in the company). John now spends his time giving back, traveling, growing his tequila business, and consulting in the distribution industry.
KIM WEZNIAK
TREASURER | BOARD MEMBER
Kim has been in the Wellness business for over 25 years, most of that time with Egoscue, Inc., serving in various positions including Director of Clinic Relations and Vice President of Finance. Kim has been supporting Doors of Change for many years. She strongly believes in volunteering and giving back to the community. Kim has two sons and lives in Carlsbad with her husband. She enjoys traveling, swimming, hiking, and spending time with her family.
JULIE YOUNG
BOARD MEMBER
Julie has more than 35 years of human resources experience and has spent the last 30 years in law firm management. As Administrator and Chief Operating Officer she oversees the day-to-day operations of her firm’s eight office locations throughout the Western United States. She has established firm policy and procedures, handles recruitment, employment, and employee relations, and has designed and implemented the firm’s health and welfare plans. Julie is also responsible for strategic planning, marketing, and client development. A favorite part of her job is involving staff in various community volunteer programs. She is a strong advocate to give voice to the voiceless and to empower those without power, and she can be spotted at various community events as a volunteer including Produce for Good, The Salvation Army, Coastal Roots Farm, Habitat for Humanity, Father Joe’s, Special Olympics, Meals on Wheels, and many local food banks. She is an advocate for homeless youth in San Diego and is committed to helping Doors of Change continue as a beacon of hope for underserved youth.
PHIL BAKER
BOARD MEMBER
Phil Baker has developed products for many of the world’s iconic consumer hardware companies. He’s a former technology columnist for a San Diego newspaper and the author of two books, “From Concept to Consumer” and “To Feel the Music,’ co-written with Neil Young. He currently works for Young developing his archival website. Phil has a B.S., M.S., and MBA, holds several dozen patents, and was Entrepreneur of the Year for San Diego. He lives with his wife in Solana Beach.
LACRETIA KELLY
BOARD MEMBER
LaCretia started working at age 16 with at-risk youth under EDD’s Youth Employment Opportunity Program, where she helped youth with interviewing skills and job searching. During her career in the insurance industry she has worked at Prudential, Unum, and Principal Financial Group. She joined Teague Financial Services in 2008. LaCretia continues to serve her community by volunteering weekly at her church’s Super Food Pantry. Raising her four children taught LaCretia the importance of developing the next generation to be compassionate and caring to ALL. LaCretia is proud to be part of Doors of Change, where she can help serve homeless youth in whatever capacity.
GARETT HOUSEAL
BOARD MEMBER
Garett is a Commercial Insurance Broker who is a 20-year resident of San Diego County and specializes in providing Insurance and Risk Management to businesses in San Diego County. As a trusted advisor to hundreds of San Diego businesses he has a passion to help them manage their risk and helps them navigate the insurance marketplace. He and his wife have two children. He loves to surf and spend time with his family.
ADAM LOEW
BOARD MEMBER
Adam’s passion for helping people as a luxury real estate expert in San Diego is unmeasurable and unparalleled. As a long-time executive for a large, international fitness chain, from New York to San Diego and Stockholm to Oslo, he has been responsible for thousands of lives being changed across the world. Throughout his career, he has always been involved in real estate as an active investor and conduit for others. As a luxury agent, he has helped numerous San Diego homeowners, negotiated many short sales and modifications, and professionally advised clients on all of their real estate needs.
Community Involvement
Adam also actively serves his local community on the Honor Council at Ecke-Magdalena YMCA, and as a member of the Fitness Committee at the Lawrence Family Campus JCC. Whether you are selling your luxury home, a first time home buyer, or an investor looking for a great opportunity, Adam will dedicate himself to your situation and engage his experience and expertise to ensure the best outcome.
STAFF
JOANNE NEWGARD
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
From a successful 33-year Wall Street career to helping over 700 homeless youth get off the streets into safe housing, Joanne has been a lifesaver for many youth. She began her time with Doors of Change by volunteering for the music and art program, helping with outreach, and working with youth to achieve their goals. After witnessing her talent, commitment and passion, DOC invited her to become the Program Director. Joanne leads our Homeless Youth Advocacy Outreach program and works closely with our case managers on how best to support and mentor our youth. Under Joanne’s leadership, we have doubled the number of homeless youth placed in safe housing. For her dedication and leadership, Joanne was chosen by the San Diego Magazine in 2022 as Woman of The Year in their Public Servant category from more than 250 nominations.
MELISSA FLORES
GRANT MANAGER
Melissa has a BA in Anthropology from the University of California San Diego, and a MA from the University of San Diego in Nonprofit Leadership & Management. As a member of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC), Melissa’s passion lies in helping and educating others and believes that by helping people reach their goal, one will in turn reach his/her own goal. In her free time. Prior to coming to Doors of Changing, Melissa worked at an international nonprofit in education and economic empowerment. In her free time, Melissa enjoys traveling, reading, and volunteering at other local nonprofits.
Carina Staerck
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Carina has been with Doors of Change for over 4 years, and is our Executive Assistant. She has worked in the non and for profit world for over 20 years and enjoys working with people who are making a difference in the world. She is a San Diego native who enjoys spending time outdoors with her 4 children and friends.
MAYA OBEID
CASE MANAGER
A Dean’s List graduate of Southern Connecticut State University in 2020, Maya moved from the East Coast to San Diego to get involved in helping the homeless community. Working as a case manager for a global nonprofit helping individuals experiencing homelessness was her first job out of college. She loves her work connecting with homeless youth to identify and work through barriers and connect to vital resources.
VOLUNTEER ANGEL TEAM™
MARSHALL LEWIS
PRO BONO ATTORNEY
Marshall Lewis is the head of Lewis, Hoxie & Spear, APLC, a San Diego law firm that concentrates in tax and estate planning and business formation and transactions. He contributed his services to form this organization and has helped with legal compliance and contract documents ever since, without charge. He holds five diplomas from UCLA and began his legal career on Wall Street servicing major corporations and bringing companies public. After working for two years in Paris he longed to return to California and has lived here happily ever after, solving peoples’ problems and leading community revitalization and youth orchestras to help the homeless live self-sufficiently off the streets.
DEB SMITH
WRITER AND PROOF READER
Deb Smith is a retired marketing executive and editor who worked extensively with nonprofit organizations both in her marketing career and as a volunteer and board member. She and her husband live in Oceanside and when not traveling spend their time with their children and grandchildren.
KEN ROY
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Ken is a senior graphic designer with over 25 years of experience in several facets of design, from production/preflight to creating eye-catching designs. He began creating print materials and other design projects for Doors of Change in 2013 as a freelance designer and has volunteered his time and expertise ever since.
Support homeless youth when they need you most.
Your unrestricted gifts enable us to provide immediate shelter, case management, and life-changing ongoing support for Homeless Youth in San Diego County.
