Corinne Eldridge
President & CEO
“Our culture at CCA is more than inclusive; we are committed to fostering a sense of belonging. Our shared dedication to our mission of empowering and uplifting the caregiving workforce connects all of us and reflects our own personal values. Together, we strive towards a future where caregivers are recognized and respected as professionals.”
Corinne Eldridge is a recognized expert on issues related to caregiving and the long-term care workforce. An accomplished leader with over 20 years of management experience, including more than 15 years in the field of long-term care, Corinne speaks to the benefits to the health care system of training nursing home workers and Medi-Cal funded In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) caregivers. Speaking engagements include: the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), NASUAD, and the American Society on Aging.
As the President of CCA, she has overseen efforts to train over 13,000 IHSS and Skilled Nursing Facility workers, ensuring that workers are prepared to meet the growing demands of long-term care. Corinne’s work lead to the first study to make the link between training IHSS caregivers and better health outcomes and cost savings for consumers. She has established innovative funding partnerships with health plans across the state, including Alameda Alliance for Health, Health Net, L.A. Care, and Blue Shield Promise California to provide training for IHSS caregivers. Her work has been published in the journal Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. She has also served on the Advisory Committee for UCLA’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (UCLA GWEP), is on the Healthcare Career Advancement Program Education Association (H-CAP EA) Education Association Board, provided insight to the Community Catalyst and LeadingAge LTSS Center for the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council around family caregivers, and has recently been appointed to the National Skills Coalition Healthcare Industry Recovery Panel.
Corinne’s dedication to improving the long-term care system through education was inspired by seeing the challenges women in her family experienced as caregivers and the impact quality care can have on seniors’ life spans and quality of life. Married for over 10 years and a mother to two young daughters, Corinne is inspired by the outdoors and is a lover of music.
Emmalynn has spent most of her policy career focusing on improving the services supporting our state’s most vulnerable populations. Starting her journey in Sacramento with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, she quickly caught the labor bug and began focusing on creating policy change through organizing.
After developing a unique familiarity with the state In-Home Supportive Services Program while working for the United Domestic Workers, Emmalynn transitioned into a consultant role with the California Legislature. Here she continued her policy work on IHSS and provided expertise regarding other public programs that serve our state’s aging and disabled populations. During this time, she expanded her roots in her community by volunteering in local politics and getting involved in the 916 art scene.
As the organization’s first Policy and Research Director, Emmalynn hopes to use her heart for labor and expertise in policy development to push forward the vision of CCA at the state and federal level.
Gwyneth has over 28 years of experience across multiple industries with a concentration in the non-profit arena, with the last 15 focusing on management. As Chief Financial Officer, Gwyneth provides financial, operational, HR, and data management leadership for CCA.
Recently coming from a local arts & culture organization, she spent the last eight years developing systems and policies to fit the organization’s growth projections. The last two and a half years were spent pivoting program and financial plans to sustain operations and securing relief funding available during the pandemic.
Hailing from the East Coast and England, Gwyneth made the move to California where she resides and maintains a busy life with her husband and three children.
Moraima is a cum laude graduate of South University in Savanah, Georgia, with a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor of science degree in Healthcare Management. She brings 30 years of domestic and international experience in clinical operations and management and over 13 years leading healthcare education and quality improvement programs. Moraima is Certified as a Healthcare Simulation Educator and Simulation Operations Specialist through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare; and is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer. Prior to joining CCA, she served as Director of Simulation and Education for PIH Health, a nonprofit healthcare system located in Whittier California.
Pia Orense brings her passion for storytelling as a tool for advocacy to her role as CCA’s Communications Manager. “These caregivers have powerful stories to tell — stories that will hopefully inspire fellow caregivers to improve their skills, raise awareness of their challenges and successes, and show the health community how critical these men and women are to a patient’s journey to wellness,” she says.
Pia previously served as assistant director of communications and marketing at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English and is currently finishing a master’s degree in humanities.
Prior to her time in higher education, Pia worked in the newspaper industry. She began her journalism career as a freelance writer and through the years advanced to the position of editor in charge of community weeklies, a lifestyle magazine, and custom publications.
Syuzanna Petrosyan joined CCA in 2015 and has since assumed increasing levels of responsibility within the organization, building collaborative relationships with dynamic and key stakeholders to increase the reach of the Education Fund across California. In her current role, she is responsible for shaping the strategy and implementation of the high quality educational and training programs offered to SEIU Local 2015 long term care workers employed at over 80 skilled nursing facilities. She leads a statewide team dedicated to empowering marginalized workers from diverse backgrounds and providing access to equitable educational opportunities as well as increasing the pool of skilled health care workers to meet the present and future needs of the rapidly growing senior population. California has a caregiver crisis and Syuzanna is determined to be a part of the solution by preparing the workforce with the capacity and skills to provide quality care to the vulnerable population.
Adriana Morieko advocates for health and wellness for the community and constantly focuses on the areas of Diversity and Inclusion, addressing social determinants of health issues and using research to inform the development of effective health promotion strategies. Adriana has over two decades of experience in community education, program administration, management, training, mentorship, coaching, advocacy, and research. Among her most recent experiences were helping coordinate a broad scope of communicable disease prevention and control, investigation, surveillance, intervention, and educational activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through a public Health Department. She holds a master’s degree in business, earned a certification in the Stanford Clinical Research Operations program, and recently earned her certificate in E-Learning Instructional Design. She enjoys team development, relationship building, program management, design, and delivery of adult education programs.
Afolabi brings an extensive amount of experience to his new role as Salesforce Administrator. He is an expert when it comes to Salesforce, NetSuite, Boomi, and various other business systems.
Prior to joining CCA, Afolabi worked at Curative as a Salesforce Manager where he primarily defined, documented, and improved business processes and procedures within an organization of over 900 users. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance, as well as his Master’s degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge.
Andrea provides key administrative support for our IHSS provider students, class instructors, and the entire Home Care Program team. She works closely with program management to ensure staff compliance with requirements such as activity and expense reports and maintains efficient data management systems across multiple departments.
Prior to joining CCA, Andrea worked as an Office and Teacher’s Assistant at Emerson Community Charter School. Her responsibilities there included assisting with daily lesson plans and serving as an interpreter for Spanish speaking students. She previously served as an Administrative Staff member at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) Management Office.
Andrea earned her B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology from UCLA in 2017.
Andres Solano has 12 years experience working in the LMS field for different industries, with a large portion of that experience in healthcare. He has worked for nonprofits, small businesses, and large international companies. Andres has helped organizations launch new LMS platforms, upgrade to new systems, define their processes, and consult on how the LMS can be leveraged for efficiency. Originally from New Jersey, he moved to Southern California four years ago. He absolutely loves it here.
Antonio is a physician with a lifelong commitment to improving the health of families and communities. He grew up in Cuba, where he earned his medical doctorate with a specialty in family medicine and OB/Gyn from Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Santiago de Cuba. He emigrated to the US in 2011, where he has dedicated himself to medical education.
“As an instructor for the CCA, I am gratified to work with IHSS providers,” Antonio says. “They have a tremendous responsibility as a member of the consumer’s healthcare team. For example, properly administering medications is critically important to the health and well-being of the care recipients. It is also important for providers to understand when it is appropriate to seek out emergency care in order to reduce the burden on the healthcare system and reduce hospitalizations. Through my work, I am helping to improve healthcare quality throughout the community.”
Prior to joining CCA, Blanca Lopez served as a Member Services Intern at SEIU 2015. She primarily introduced members to SEIU functions, departments, and operations while managing the reception desk. Blanca joined CCA earlier this summer as a Home Care Intern, where she provided administrative support and helped execute program projects for the team.
Recently, Blanca transitioned to the role of Home Care Program Coordinator. Within this role, Blanca provides administrative, program, and data management support to the Home Care department.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Blanca graduated from Cal State Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon!
As a Manager of Enrollment for CCA, Juvenal has a deep interest in education and social justice. He is extremely passionate about serving underrepresented communities.
Juvenal is responsible for performing recruitment and class coordination for CCA’s educational programs. Juvenal’s experience in recruitment management informs his work as a Field Coordinator. Before joining CCA, he was a proud member of the IBEW Local 47 labor union. He has previously worked as a Relationship Manager for Bank of America, and prior to that was a Legal Assistant for a business law firm in the Bay Area, where he was responsible for deepening client relationships and managing business records.
He earned his degree in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley. Juvenal is also a proud member of Gamma Zeta Alpha Inc. and is a lifelong Dodger fan.
Kia Watley is a new Lead Instructor on CCA’s Home Care team! Kia is a Certified Medical Assistant and Licensed Vocational Nurse who is highly-skilled and passionate about home care and nursing. She has substantial experience in the caregiving field as she previously filled two managerial roles at residential home care facilities, and has worked as a lead caregiver and an LVN Charge Nurse. Additionally, Kia holds numerous medical certifications and licenses. She is excited to bring her experience and knowledge to the CCA team!
Bio coming soon!
Miya has been working in the healthcare field for 20 years, providing care for a diverse population. She began her career as an In-Home Care Provider and furthered her education in health care as a Licensed Vocational Nurse through the University of the Antelope Valley. As an LVN, Miya worked in mental health, pediatric, and geriatric care. These experiences led her to discover her passion for education.
Miya received her degree in Healthcare Administration, as well as her Director of Staff Development state certification. Before joining the CCA, Miya worked as an instructor for Certified Nursing Assistant programs for over 10 years. As an Instructor, Miya’s expertise in healthcare affords her knowledge to meet the needs of the diverse student population she educates at CCA.
As a Central Coast native, Oscar attended college in his hometown of Watsonville before moving on to UC Santa Cruz and the Bay Area to study alternative medicine. He has worked with various nonprofits in project and program management capacities and enjoys working with the public. He is a passionate advocate for farm workers as he comes from a family of farm workers.
Robin Brown has an extensive background in accounting, with a concentration in non-profit for the past 20 years. She most recently was Director of Accounting and Administration for a community resource center. She has recently returned to school at National University to pursue her license to become a CMA (Certified Management Accountant).
Travis has a wealth of knowledge and experience working with the elderly as a Regional Director, Administrator, and Executive Director in long-term care settings; such as Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Communities, Memory Care Communities, and Independent Living Communities.
Travis earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences from Southern Adventist University in Tennessee and his Masters of Aging Services Management degree in Gerontology from the University of Southern California. He is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and a Certified Residential Care Facility for the Elderly Administrator in the State of California.
Travis is passionate about helping others, especially seniors, and making a difference within his field of choice in long-term care.
In his spare time, Travis enjoys watching college and professional sports; in particular, the NFL, NBA, and USC football and basketball. Fight on Trojans! He also enjoys spending time with his family and friends, exercise, and home improvement projects.
Wendy Ramirez is CCA’s new Human Resources Director! She brings with her over 16 years of industry experience previously serving as the HR Director for DSD Companies, Morphe Brushes and Cosmetics, and GZ6G Technologies, among others. One of the most rewarding aspects of her career is providing employees with the knowledge and skills to complete their goals and success. Her professional legacy is having the honor of working with people who commit themselves to making their business and personal lives a success. In her free time, Wendy likes to do yoga and spend time with her two children- they especially love to hike together!
Bio coming soon.
Jeffrey Forrest serves as Director of Older Youth Initiatives for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. In this role he oversees the Opportunity Youth and Foster Youth Programs which address the needs of young adults (ages 15-24). In his previous role, Jeffrey served as Vice-President of Economic Development for College of the Canyons, which focuses on aligning Career and Technical Education programs with the needs of industry, while offering job training for minorities, women, Veterans, and dislocated workers. In addition, Jeffrey oversaw a number of business units dedicated to providing companies with training resources for growing their business.
In this role, Jeffrey created partnerships with hundreds of companies, community-based organizations, government entities throughout Southern California to advance the efforts of the community college in providing workforce development solutions that lead to economic growth and prosperity for the region. Jeffrey has testified Capitol Hill on the benefits of apprenticeship to small business. Jeffrey is also is the Chair of Finally Family Homes, a non-profit that works with homeless transition-aged youth in North Los Angeles County.
Jeffrey believes that providing access to a quality education and career pathways is critical to creating strong communities and key to the long-term growth of the nation’s economy. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, an MBA from Lindenwood University, and an MDiv from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary.
Jim Mangia is the President and CEO of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, a network of 16 nonprofit federally qualified health centers and two mobile clinics providing free and low-cost medical, dental and mental health services to more than 375,000 patient visits in downtown, South Los Angeles, Compton and Lynwood. Passionate about community health, prevention and social justice, Mangia built the Well Child and Family Centers from a small single-site clinic serving 1200 patients a year to one of L.A. County’s largest nonprofit health care with over 700 employees and a 85 million dollar budget; St. John’s is now the largest primary care provider in the largest area of contiguous poverty (south Los Angeles) in the United States.
Under Mangia’s leadership, St. John’s has opened six school based health centers (SBHCs). St. John’s is the exclusive school based health provider for Compton Unified School District and operates five SBHCs with Los Angeles Unified School District, with plans to open three more. As well, St. John’s is the only federally qualified health center to operate community college-based school based health centers – at Trade Tech College and Compton College.
Appointed by Governor Brown in 2012, Mangia serves as a State Commissioner on the State of California Workforce Investment Board and served as an Expert Advisor to the Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force. He serves on the Los Angeles County Community Prevention and Population Health Task Force for the County of Los Angeles Public Health Agency. He served as Chair of the Public Health & Prevention Task Force for the California Primary Care Organization in 2013-14. Mangia served on the Board of Governors of LA Care Health Plan (the largest Medicaid health plan in the country) from 2008-2012. He served as a member of President Obama’s Health Advisory Task Force in 2008 and served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County from 2010-2012.
Mangia has built St. John’s as an organization that not only provides health care services, but engages social determinants of health, impacts social policy, builds direct patient advocacy organizations in the communities it serves, provides direct access to health for undocumented immigrants and homeless individuals and families, fights for social justice and battles poverty.
Mangia has testified before congressional committees, the California state legislature and the Los Angeles city council about environmental health issues effecting L.A.’s children, the critical role of prevention in community health, health disparities and the right to health. He has received the Certificate of Congressional Recognition, special recognition in the U.S. Congressional Record, and numerous commendations for his work by city, county and state legislative bodies.
As the Executive Vice President of SEIU Local 2015, which represents long-term care workers, Kim brings a wealth of experience to the CLTCEC board.
Kim strives to empower long-term care workers to make positive changes for themselves, their workplace, and their communities. She believes in the importance of creating a culture where all long term care workers earn a livable wage, are able to access retirement and have a seat at the table in discussions regarding the future of long term care services.
Before serving in her current position as Executive Vice President at SEIU Local 2015, Kim held a variety of roles in SEIU, including Internal and External Organizer for an SEIU local in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Education Coordinator for SEIU International and Deputy Director of the Public Division for SEIU International. She also worked on a project that eventually evolved into SEIU’s Leaders in Action for Justice Committee, which focuses on developing leaders in our organization. As part of her work for the national union, she moved on to become the SEIU Area Director for California, and eventually took on the role of Chief of Staff at ULTCW. In 2013, she was elected as Secretary Treasurer of SEIU ULTCW.
Bio coming soon.
Silvia Yee is a senior staff attorney at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) where her work has included projects to increase physical and programmatic accessibility and disability awareness in the delivery of health care services, as well as impact litigation to increase access for people with disabilities in myriad aspects of public and private life.
Silvia maintains interests in health care reform and the impact on people with disabilities, international disability rights and the implementation of national disability rights laws, and the strengthening of cross-disability and cross-civil rights communities.
Over the past decade, Silvia has presented and written on how disability health and healthcare disparities, civil rights, public health, and other social determinants of health such as race/ethnicity, LQBTQ status, and income level intersect. Recently, she has had the privilege to co-teach the disability rights law class offered at UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to joining DREDF, Silvia worked in private commercial practice in Canada, and with the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, where she published on the topics of Canadian Health Care Standards and the extent of the nursing profession’s legal authority. She received her B.Mus., M.A., and L.L.B. degrees from the University of Alberta.
Silvia joined CCA’s board of directors in January 2021. “Long-term services and supports are critical to people with a range of disabilities across the life spectrum, and community-based services are essential to disability rights and true community integration,” she said. “I am motivated by a desire to help ensure that personal care assistants and direct service workers have a path forward to the living wage, safe working conditions, career recognition, and skill/knowledge base that will attract excellent employees and encourage strong working relationships.”
Bio coming soon.
Arnulfo De La Cruz joined the SEIU 2015 Education Fund (CLTCEC’s nursing home program) Board of Trustees in 2019. For over 18 years, Arnulfo has worked in the labor movement to give voice to Long Term Care workers, hospital workers, janitors and public employees across multiple states including California, Texas, as well as Washington D.C. Fighting for civil rights and social and economic justice in California is in his blood, and dates back to his grandmother Jessie De La Cruz, who was one of the first female leaders of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). Arnulfo was born in Oxnard, California during a strike of lemon workers, when both of his parents were organizers for the UFW.
In 2009, Arnulfo launched and led Mi Familia Vota California, a national nonprofit working to unite the Latino community and its allies to promote social and economic justice through increased civic participation. During his tenure at MFVCA, De La Cruz led efforts to expand the Latino and youth electorate through large scale citizenship, voter registration, census education, and GOTV, resulting in thousands of newly registered and active citizens across California.
As Director of SEIU’s Immigrant Justice Campaign, Arnulfo directed the union’s efforts to secure comprehensive immigration reform that respects the contributions of immigrants, rebuilds our nation’s economy, secures equal labor and civil rights protections for workers and provides a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented workers in our country.
It is with this same passion that he serves as President for Local 2015 and manages operations for regions four, five and six. He is committed to ensuring justice for all. When the landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision to protect the DACA program was announced, Arnulfo worked to elevate members’ voices with the press and on social media to highlight the significant impact the DACA decision had on thousands of workers in California.
Arnulfo is a graduate of Wheaton College and was awarded a highly competitive Fulbright Scholarship to work and study Economics in Mexico. He lives in Sacramento with his wife and two children.
Chimere Randell, LVN, serves as the worker representative for the Education Fund Board of Trustees. As a charge nurse at Medical Hill Healthcare Center in Oakland, she manages a team of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and helps manage operations of the facility’s neurobehavioral unit. She received her Licensed Vocational Nurse certification in 2010. She also earned certifications as medication technician and activity director.
Bio coming soon!
Bio coming soon!
