MEET OUR TEAM

The Diversity Center Team is filled with dedicated and experienced professionals who understand the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ community!


Cheryl Fraenzl

Executive Director

Prior to taking the Executive Director position at The Diversity Center, for 14 years Cheryl served as the Director of Programs for Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. There she impacted the lives of thousands of people who enrolled in courses that encouraged human potential. Additionally, Cheryl has been a leader at major non-profits such as the Girl Scouts and AFS Intercultural Programs.

Cheryl was also a co-creator of the Wellbeing Project, an international nonprofit whose work supports many of the most remarkable social entrepreneurs across the globe today. Cheryl spends much of her personal time building community and creating a sense of belonging as well as engaging in many well-being practices such as somatic expression, meditation, and music therapy.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers


Cybele Lolley

Clinical Program Director

Cybele Lolley, LMFT #37124

Cybele (she/her) grew up in Southern CA and has lived as a cisgender lesbian since her early youth. Experiencing the challenges of limited resources and minority stress, she is a strong advocate for gender and sexual orientation equity, access to care, wellness and radiant thrive-ability. She’s been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) for over 20 years in California and joined TDC’s team in late 2022 to develop and manage the agency’s new Mental Health Program, offer clinical services and training and oversee our shift to a Well-Being affirming community approach. Our Mental Health Program, under her guidance, opened in 2023 for the LGBTQ+ community and offers free-of-charge outpatient individual counseling, group counseling and specific case management services to eligible individuals. Cybele is a seasoned clinical supervisor; therefore she has extended our MH Program to offer clinical learning practice opportunities for Master-level clinical counseling students and post-graduate Associates who are invested in offering LGBTQ+ affirming clinical services. Her aspiration is for Santa Cruz County to be a community of strong LGBTQ+ allyship and inclusiveness.

Pronouns: She/Her

Contact Cybele


Melanie Zaragoza

Director of Development and Communications

Melanie Zaragoza is a leader in the nonprofit sector dedicated to increasing accessibility and organizational sustainability. Most recently, Melanie served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries (2023) and Director of External Relations at the Monterey Museum of Art (2020-2023). In both positions, she oversaw fundraising, marketing, events, operations, and design, ensuring a cohesive and inclusive experience for donors, members, and visitors. Prior to that, Melanie spent six years with the nonprofit Hosteling International – USA, building accessible experiences for young travelers. In addition to her professional achievements, Melanie has served as Board Co-Chair of Monterey Peninsula Pride since 2021.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Contact Melanie


Meggie Pina

Senior Manager of Well-Being Programs

Meggie is a community organizer, advocate, and artist. She has a deep-rooted respect for the human journey knowing that when we connect with others, share our story, and celebrate life we experience joy and healing. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Development from San Diego State University. With over 16 years of experience supporting non-profits across the Greater Bay Area Meggie has forged partnerships with collaboratives, governments, funders, and volunteers to create compassionate visions for our community’s future. She managed the Monterey County Long-term Care Ombudsman Program and led a team of certified staff and volunteer Ombudsman as they empowered long-term care residents, investigated reports of suspected abuse, and partnered to resolve care concerns. Meggie has delivered innovative workshops that promote self-care, elder justice, advanced care planning, emergency preparedness, and LGBTQ+ cultural competency. She is trusted as a go-to development and event specialist by nonprofits in Santa Cruz and Monterey. Meggie co-chaired Monterey Peninsula Pride’s 2019 and 2022 Pride Parade and Celebration at Custom House Plaza. Meggie believes that inclusivity and representation matter when we build teams and create social change.

Pronouns: She/Her

Contact Meggie


Nic Laflin

Program Specialist

Nic Laflin is a gender non-conforming and queer Santa Cruz resident, with several years of non-profit and direct service experience. Before joining The Diversity Center, Nic worked within the fields of domestic violence, youth violence prevention, and substance abuse recovery. They participated on the Perinatal Mental Health Coalition, Shared Safety Committee, and in a transformative justice program called A Space for Change. Nic's training includes transformative justice facilitation, motivational interviewing, ACEs screening, crisis intervention, data collection, and harm reduction. They graduated from UCSC in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in psychology. Nic's specialties include providing healing-centered engagement for program participants, facilitating engaging workshops to educate and inspire, and building out curriculum that reflects the needs and diversity of our community. Nic is passionate about creating a world free from violence and oppression, where resources, care, and support are available for everyone.

Pronouns: They/Them

Contact Nic


Tara Maxon

Well-Being Coordinator

After moving back to the Central Coast just before lockdown, Tara was happy to find community through the Diversity Center's online genderqueer peer group. A bi-cultural Army kid raised in Germany, Tara studied comparative literature and gender studies at Bryn Mawr College, and as a perpetual student of life they continue to investigate mindfulness, psychology, and Gestalt Awareness Practice. Tara believes in service, mutual aid, community building, and supporting the wellbeing of the planet and all its inhabitants. They hope to help increase the quality of life and the wellbeing of Santa Cruz LGBTQ+ community members in the ways they most need or want, connecting them to themselves, each other, and the wider community.

Pronouns: they/them


Neal Savage

Bookkeeper

Neal retired a few years ago from an 18 month project at Cabrillo College upgrading technology in classrooms, and moved from the Host Desk to the admin/bookkeeping desk, half time. Prior to that, his career was "over the hill" as a Program and Project Manager for HP and 3Com. Neal has an MBA from MIT and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford. Neal lives in Capitola with his wife Rose. They have three children, Matt, Andrea, and Torie, and a grandchild Emma, scattered across the country.

Pronouns: He/Him


Teresa Ruiz Decker

Development, Contractor

Teresa is a proud LatinX, an indigenous woman with roots in the Yaqui tribe, and a first-generation college grad. Before starting Dream Catch Consulting, she spent the last two decades writing for and working at organizations including the Los Angeles Times, Trust Company of the West global investment firm, Inc. Magazine, CSU Office of the Chancellor, Cal State Long Beach, and more. In those roles she worked on nearly every aspect of communications, from supporting fundraising and leading marketing strategies to running social media accounts. She received a Master of Communication Management from USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Cal Poly Pomona. She was the leader of Latinas Who Brunch and a co-organizer of the Central Coast Giving Circle for the Latino Community Foundation. She is excited to help bring more financial support and resources to the Diversity Center!

Pronouns: She/Her/Ella


Interns


Tracy Korpela

Tracy Korpela

#APCC16040

Tracy earned her MA in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Clinical Counseling from Naropa University.  She has also trained in Internal Family Systems Therapy and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy.  Tracy completed a year-long graduate studies internship with The Diversity Center of Santa Cruz and is deeply committed to allyship and advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community. Tracy is trained as a Gender Affirming Therapist through the Family Acceptance Project®  and RISE, a program of the LGBT Center of Los Angeles.

Tracy’s philosophy in working with clients is to share Cognitive, Mindfulness and Transpersonal + Spiritual techniques. She brings a deep presence to the therapy space and is warm, compassionate and empathetic to the human experience.  Tracy aims to help clients reconnect to Self energy, often through the use of Internal Family Systems Therapy.  Her areas of speciality include trauma, depression, anxiety and spiritual emergence.

Santa Cruz is home for Tracy and in her free time she loves to hike in the redwoods and visit the dog beach with her pup, Jade.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

View more information about our Mental Health Services.

Jaden Wilkes

Jaden grew up in South Carolina and went to catholic school through high school. During their college years in North Carolina, they were able to explore their identities and began living as a queer, transgender young adult, albeit quite challenging. Because of the limited access to affirming gender care and gatekeeping policies preventing transgender people from accessing care, they wanted to gain the knowledge, skills, and connections to support others experiencing similar adversities. To start this journey they moved to the Bay Area of California in 2014 and have been working toward their goal since. Starting in San Jose as a peer mentor in their LGBTQ+ youth programs in 2015, they have been dedicated to increasing wellness and access to care for the LGBTQ+ community. Jaden has previously spoken as a TDC Triangle Speaker starting in 2016, co-facilitated TDC support groups in 2021, and has now returned to TDC as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) in September 2023. Jaden has specialized training to serve the LGBTQ+ community with affirming clinical services and is invested in strengthening the well-being of our Santa Cruz County LGBTQ+ community. Jaden has experience in providing trauma-focused CBT, DBT including skills groups, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and Internal Family Systems. By providing these services, Jaden hopes to continue to work toward increasing access to affirming care and ultimately improving the quality of life of our LGBTQ+ community.

Pronouns: They/Them

View more information about our Mental Health Services.


Peer Group Facilitators

Zak Keith

Peer Group Facilitator

Born and raised in rural Appalachia Virginia, Zak has spent their life learning about Queer identity and best practices for supporting LGBTQIA2S+ communities. They use their knowledge as a foundation for programming and advocacy, and their Drag artistry for teaching and expressing Queer culture. They received their bachelor degrees from Virginia Tech in sociology, criminology, and psychology. They are currently a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) working with LGBTQIA+ youth to expand our understanding of how digital technology and family relationships inform identity development. They are an active member of numerous community affiliates, some of which include the Safe Schools Project, LGBTQ+ Task Force, Santa Cruz Pride, Monterey Peninsula Pride (MPP) Pride Committee, and others. They develop workshops and seminars from their research to provide meaningful information back into our local communities. Their hope is to center the lived experiences of both Queer communities, and generations, to produce knowledge that can create institutional change, and sustainable support for well-being and development.

Pronouns: They/Them

Emmett Griffith

Cultivating Trans Joy, third Tuesdays from 7-8pm PST

Emmett Griffith (he/him/his) is a trans educator, mentor, and advocate. He currently serves as the Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at Stanford University’s Department of Pediatrics and was previously the Associate Director of Pace University’s LGBTQA+ Center in New York City. He provides educational workshops and group facilitation on LGBTQ+ wellbeing, supporting trans and non-binary populations, inclusive classroom practices, empathy building, and other DEIJ topics. Emmett received his M.A. in Higher Education & Student Affairs with a concentration in Social Justice from NYU and graduated from Chapman University with a double B.A. in Integrated Educational Studies and English Literature. He currently lives in San Jose, CA, with his partner and two rescue pups, Duke and Ruby. He loves cooking, music, and theatre.

Pronouns: he/him/his

Contact Emmett


Roselyn Macias

grupo de apoyo Mariposa de la Comunidad LGBTQ +, Primer jueves del mes, 5:30-7:30pm, Biblioteca Watsonville

Roselyn Macias, una trabajadora agrícola inmigrante mujer transgénera del costa central, soportó repetidamente el ridículo de sus compañeros des trabajo después de que ella salió. Después de conectarse con La Asistencia Legal Rural de California y un grupo de apoyo transgénero, ya no se sentía sola, comenzó a hablar por sí misma e inspiró a otros trabajadores agrícolas a hacer lo mismo. Esto la llego a convertirse en trabajadora comunitaria a tiemp completo con CRLA en diciembre de 2017, donde abogo por otros trabajadores agricolas de la comonida LGBTQ+. Coundo comenzo la pandemia en 2020, Tambien tuvo experiencia de primera mano con nuevos problemas en salud mental, facilitando grupos de apoyo, com Conexiones en idiomas extanjeros, y constuyendo nuevas redes de apoyo en la comonidad.

Pronombres: ella/ellos/ellas

LGBTQ + Peer Support group, First Thursday of the month, 5:30-7:30pm, Watsonville Library

Roselyn Macias, a transgender female immigrant farmworker from the Central Coast, repeatedly endured ridicule from her co-workers after she came out. After connecting with California Rural Legal Assistance and a transgender support group, she no longer felt alone, began speaking up for herself and inspired other farmworkers to do the same. This led to her becoming a full-time community worker with CRLA in December 2017, where she advocated for other farmworkers in the LGBTQ+ community. When the pandemic began in 2020, she also had first-hand experience with new mental health issues, facilitating support groups, foreign language connections, and building new support networks in the community.

Pronouns: she/her/hers