Board of Directors

Leah Adams

Leah AdamsLeah Adams is the Founder and Partner at Linton Group Consulting delivering trauma-informed solutions to schools and organizations. She serves as the Vice President of Engagement at the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center, an independent, interfaith organization. In this role, she fosters awareness of the Institute’s mission and work. She collaborates on public and private projects, developing lasting relationships and creating meaningful programs. Leah is a trained and certified facilitator with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and facilitates support groups for children and adults. She holds a Project Management Professional designation from the Project Management Institute, with more than twenty-five years experience leading programs and delivering global projects with top-tier organizations. Leah enjoys collaborating in the community. She is a contributor to Rice University’s Best Boards Conference. She is currently participating on a select team for crisis intercept mapping for suicide prevention for US veterans. She enjoys ongoing collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Methodist Hospital, and other meaningful organizations as a thought leader in trauma-informed care.

Marian Cabanillas, MBA

Marian CabanillasMarian Cabanillas serves as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community & State’s South Texas Health Plan. She is responsible for Medicaid products including the STAR, CHIP, STAR Kids and STAR+PLUS programs which generate approximately $4 billion in revenue annually. Marian leads initiatives at the health plan that result in growth through strategic relationships and innovation. Her team consists of more than 1,000 diverse employees that are responsible for provider, member, community and employee engagement. Marian is committed to addressing the issues of healthcare and disparities in the communities she serves.

Kathryn E. Hayden

Katie HaydenKathryn E. Hayden is a financial advisor with Raymond James and, along with Robert Wayne Jamail, Sr., created the Jamail Hayden Group. The team provides holistic wealth planning, investment portfolio construction, performance analytics, and monitoring for high-net-worth individuals and families. She has more than 35 years of experience and has held managerial, marketing, training, and consulting positions in both the broker/dealer and investment advisory industries.

Katie Jackman

Katie JackmanKatie Jackman is a marketing professional with more than 25 years’ experience with both non-profit and corporate organizations. Currently she is the Marketing Manager for Home Service Plus at CenterPoint Energy. Previously she was an independent marketing consultant whose clients included Children’s Museum Houston, Houston Habitat for Humanity, and Jewish Family Service. She has also led marketing departments for the Alley Theatre, Lone Star Flight Museum and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Her commercial theater experience includes Clear Channel Entertainment and Cirque du Soleil. Katie also worked in Marketing Planning for Target Corporation. She also holds a Certificate of Distinction at the Leadership Institute of Non-Profit Executives at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University.

Melissa Goldberg Mintz, Psy.D

Melissa Goldberg MintzDr. Goldberg Mintz received her Master’s and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver. After completing her doctoral internship at Kaiser Permanente, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Menninger Clinic with Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Goldberg Mintz has also served as a staff psychologist at the Harris County Children’s Assessment Center and most recently as Assistant Clinical Professor at UTHealth McGovern Medical School. She currently owns a small private practice, Secure Base Psychology, holds the title of Clinical Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and is the author of Has Your Child Been Traumatized? How to Know and What to do to Promote Healing and Recovery (The Guilford Press, 2022).

Shawn Alex Nemeth (Chair)

Shawn Alex NemethShawn Alex Nemeth is a talented speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur whose life purpose is to help childhood trauma survivors heal and thrive. He is also the Founding Director and CEO of Chester Street Foundation, a nonprofit he established to shine a light on childhood trauma through education and awareness. Having suffered horrific abuse as a child, Nemeth threw himself into nonprofit work as an adult, compassionately working around the world to help others heal while the child inside suffered in silence. In 2009, he was hospitalized with PTSD and learned that severe trauma had been encoded in his brain and body during the many years of abuse and neglect. With treatment, courage, and self-compassion, Nemeth began the long road to recovery and set out on a mission to give traumatized children a voice by educating the community about childhood trauma issues. In addition to sharing his inspiring story with audiences large and small as a professional speaker and through his work with Chester Street Foundation, Nemeth has also chronicled his experiences in his book, Thorns of Chester Street.

Albert M. Sanchez, MBA (Treasurer)

Albert Sanchez is a dynamic and influential servant leader with a passion for serving others and a track record of building strategic partnerships and leading high-performing teams. He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Central Houston, Inc., where he plays a key role in executing the organization’s strategic alignment plan. With an extensive background spanning over 18 years, Albert has gained valuable experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including 13 years as a Dallas Police Officer. Albert holds an MBA from Texas Wesleyan and has further augmented his expertise through certificate programs at Cornell University (Executive Leadership, Diversity & Inclusion, Financial Success for Nonprofits) and Harvard Business School (Power & Influence for Positive Impact).

Albert is deeply dedicated to tackling childhood trauma head-on. Albert’s passion and determination serve as a guiding force in his mission to create a brighter and more nurturing future for all children, championing their well-being and enabling them to thrive despite their past experiences.

Meghan Tibo, M.A., LSSP

Meghan Tibo

Meghan Tibo, M.A., serves as the Founder and Managing Director of The Tallest Trees, an educational consulting firm dedicated to collaborating with Texas school districts. The firm specializes in delivering exceptional services, including high-quality special education evaluations, staff training, consultation services, and comprehensive support tailored to special education needs. Boasting an impressive professional journey spanning over 15 years, Meghan is a highly regarded School Psychologist. Her academic journey includes the successful attainment of a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master of Arts in psychology from Houston Christian University. Meghan completed a rigorous internship in Katy Independent School District after which she worked in Klein Independent School District. She then transitioned into a pivotal role as a contract school psychologist with a prominent educational staffing agency based in Houston. In this role, she served in diverse capacities, including managerial roles, for a noteworthy period of nine years.

Meghan’s areas of proficiency encompass a wide spectrum, including assessment methodologies, comprehensive understanding of special education laws, IEP development, and the implementation of effective behavioral and social interventions. Her professional acumen extends to managing contentious cases, where she has been an expert witness in due process hearings.

Marlen J. Trujillo PhD, MBA

Marlen Trujillo

Dr. Trujillo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Spring Branch Community Health Center (SBCHC), a non-profit community health center that provides low-cost healthcare, social and educational services. Trujillo was one of the community leaders on the founding Board of the community health center in 2003. She was a volunteer at the time serving on the Board as the Secretary while completing her undergraduate studies. She spent many hours planning and fundraising as a board member to reach the objective of opening up a faith based charity clinic.

In May 2004, this charity clinic was opened in the Spring Branch Community, in West Houston Texas, to target the Medically Underserved Population and help reduce healthcare disparities by increasing access to affordable quality prenatal care. The community health center was deemed as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2005. In recent years, the organization has experienced a population explosion which has increased the need for additional healthcare services in the West Houston area. Currently the organization has 8 locations and two mobile health clinics serving 25,000 individuals in need. Dr. Trujillo was born in Houston, Texas and raised in the Spring Branch Community. Her parents are from Colombia and Mexico. She has been the Chief Executive Officer of SBCHC for 15 years. She truly understands the healthcare needs of her community and is an advocate for reducing health disparities across all populations.