Mental Health Board Biographies

District 1 - Susan Gorin

Peterson Pierre (General Public)

Peterson joined the board in 2019 as a Registered Nurse with over 30 years in the acute care setting. He is currently reading for a Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree at Pennsylvania State University. Peterson also holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Sonoma State University.  He also practices as an emergency nurse at a local hospital in Sonoma County.  He noticed mental health patients are not treated with the same urgency as medical patients during his career, and transfer to inpatient behavioral facilities is much delayed. He is hoping to see improvement in that area. Peterson is a part-time clinical faculty at UCSF School of Nursing.

Denia Candela

Denia currently is the equity lead analyst for Marin County's Office of Equity at the County Administrator's Office where her current focus is to co-lead Marin's first Participatory Budgeting Process. Denia's role extends from the Office of Equity's work in building internal capacity, policy development, Marin's County's Race Equity Plan, as well as co-leading strategic systems that center data through an antiracist approach. 

Denia was previously the Sonoma County Department of Health Services Equity Manager. Her focus as Equity lead for the department was to ensure a strategic and systemic advancement of Racial Equity. In this role, she led Sonoma County's efforts in addressing the pandemic’s disparate impacts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color by centering and systemizing racial equity within the County’s COVID-19 emergency response and vaccine administration.

Candela holds a degree in statistics with a concentration in the actuarial field, from Sonoma State University. As a statistician, she approaches analytics through an equity lens, with an emphasis on methodology and cultural sensitivity, resulting in metrics that place community narrative, and storytelling at the forefront. Denia’s previous work has focused on training, development, and assessment of equity metrics and analysis through community organizing and co-design, with a strong anti-racist lens.

Kathleen Miller

District 2 - David Rabbit

Brad Katuna

Brad is a recently retired public school teacher, having taught math and science for 30 years. He has witnessed the increasing need for mental health support for adolescents in Marin and Sonoma counties. He joined the board just last year in order to utilize this extensive front-line experience and team with other concerned citizens to improve the mental health of our community.

Weekends are mostly spent with his wife, beagle, and playing bass in a rock and roll dance band.

Graham Thomas, Vice Chair

Graham holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas and brings 20+ years of experience in homelessness and housing services. Graham has been employed by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa (CCDSR) since 2022, most recently serving as the Director of Housing and Housing Strategy. Before working at Catholic Charities, Graham was a Program Director with Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco, where he served homeless youth. 

In addition to a passion for Mental Health Services, Graham specializes in Trauma-Informed Care, Harm Reduction, LGBTQ Advocacy, and Domestic Violence Prevention. Graham and his wife, Iris, moved to Petaluma in 2022, where they reside with their furry family (one cat and one dog). Graham plays guitar, enjoys hiking and reading, and often can be found working on various craft projects. 

District 3 - Chris Coursey

Michael Johnson (Consumer)

Michael joined the board in 2020.  Michael graduated from Clayton School of Arts as an art major. He wants to use his firsthand knowledge of the mental health system to advocate for change in the system with more of an emphasis on conversation and communication instead of just medication. Michael wants to acknowledge the strengths he saw from within the system and address those areas that need change.

District 4 - James Gore

Bob Cobb (General Public)

Bob was appointed to the Mental Health Board in 2016. He has a background in engineering and agricultural economics and obtained an MSW at Loyola University, Chicago, with a specialization in mental health. Professional activities have included hospital Medical Social Worker, rape crisis counselor/survivor advocate, and adult, individual and couples, therapist. Bob supports local civic issues, both individually and with established community groups.  His particular interest is participation with groups focused on mental health and wellness, including involvement with Windsor Wellness Partnership and as a cancer support group facilitator.

Gregory Fearon

Gregory joined the Board after years of service in developing and operating homeless facility and service agencies.  Experiencing inadequate collaboration and partnerships between community agencies he led and County mental health and recovery services, he decided to pursue appointment to the Mental Health Board.  Observing inconsistent and  under-developed support for public engagement with all of the boards and commissions, he is looking forward to strengthening the abilities of all involved.  

He also has a long history of nonprofit board membership in support of the California coast, and of our redwood forests and parks.  Growing up surfing in Southern California, and learning to love our earliest civilizations, his travels have taken him to the world’s most exciting ruins and surf spots.

Connie Petereit, Chair

Connie Petereit has been a member of the Sonoma County Mental Health Board since 2022.  She is the mother of a son who has been a consumer of services for many years in both acute and non-acute circumstances. She is an advocate for Sonoma County-based services for those living in Sonoma County. On many occasions, her son was sent to out-of-county hospitals due to shortages of resources, and once with very serious consequences.  She finds it much easier to advocate and know what is happening when the one who is in need is also physically close.   Connie has been an educator for most of her adult life.  She has spent the last 22 years teaching in Sonoma County schools where she sees the need for increased mental health support for people of all ages.

District 5 - Lynda Hopkins

Nicole LeStrange

Having spent most of her career as an administrative professional in the nonprofit sector, Nicole has been heavily invested in community-driven work in the North Bay area for more than a decade. Motivated largely by personal and family members' experiences related to finding mental health services in the aftermath of recent natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicole joined the Mental Health Board in 2023. She is committed to effectively participating in education and activities that reduce the stigma around mental health issues and increase access to community residents in crisis. She has a BA in Political Science from Sonoma State University and spends her free time guarding her husband's fantastic meals and snacks from her two sweet but greedy dogs.

Irene Aguilar

My name is Irene Aguilar.  I am retired military, I served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years.  I joined the board because I want to do my part in ensuring access to mental health services continue to improve.  I am not only a consumer, but I have a family member and friends who are consumers as well.  I love to run! I have completed multiple marathons and half marathons; I also love to hike.  A primary goal that I have for the board in the next 3 years is for us (the board) to become a strong and solid team by establishing communications with the various non-profits that provide health and homeless services throughout Sonoma County.