Health & Wellness Board – Sabot Foundation

The purpose of the Sabot Foundation Health & Wellness Board is to serve as an advisory body to the Sabot Foundation on matters relating to health and wellness, planning, resources, and related issues to provide a meaningful improvement in caring for veterans and others who are related to veterans primarily to battle Suicide and triggers which could lead to suicide.

A broad-based advisory group can help in choosing indicators for a health and wellness assessment, which then identifies the problems that may be highlighted (and later addressed in a health and wellness improvement plan).

The board would strive to influence policy and program decisions by offering input, advice, and recommendations to the trustees of the Sabot Foundation as it relates to veterans, Gold Star Spouses, Gold Star Family members, veteran families, and veteran spouses by:

Identifying primary care needs and priorities.
Encouraging the development of wellness, events, outreach, programs, and care services.
Coordinating various forums on wellness and primary care issues.
Advising Sabot Foundation on matters concerning the nature, scope and extent of wellness programs and policies needed in order to meet their goals and identify current goals that may need revision or expansion.
Reviewing Transition Programs.
Determining if the policies have a positive effect on increasing wellness, while potentially decreasing suicide and creating awareness and prevention.
Monitoring progress made toward attaining the Foundation’s goals.

The advisory board meets four (4) times a year either electronically or in-person to discuss the Sabot Foundation’s past and future goals and activities to address the topics of Suicide, Suicide Awareness, Suicide Prevention, Depression, Anxiety, and Self-Medication. These discussions would encourage openness, innovation, and sharing stories of recent successes and failures.

Current Board Members

Tana Espino, LMFT BA MS

Tana Espino is a licensed psychotherapist and somatic coach, teaching others how to heal from the effects of trauma, attachment, emotional wounds, and codependency. Tana is trauma-informed and trauma trained. She uses somatic work (nervous system regulation) as a foundation for helping, teaching, and guiding others back to wellness through somatic practices so they can deepen their connection with themselves, heal their childhood wounds, transform their attachment wounds, and shift codependency into confidence.

Brittanny Carrera, LMFT BA MA

Brittanny is a Reiki Master, a Trauma-Grief Informed Coach, and a Licensed Speech and Language Pathologist Assistant. Brittanny Carrera received her B.A. in Communication Disorders at California State University, Los Angeles, the support she provides to individuals weaves together a body of work infused with a proactive and holistic approach to mental health, emotional resilience, and self-empowered, body-mind healing that endures. She supports individuals who face a myriad of challenges and limiting beliefs whose lives can revolve around symptoms, which include anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, disrupted moods or cognition, hypervigilance and irritability. Her technique to inspire others to step forward and awaken their true energetic purpose, are empowered through modalities of Reiki, Meditation and Psych-K®.

She’s devoted her career to teaching sustainable well-being and a new paradigm of deep, body/mind healing to those seeking to move beyond surviving the difficult surges of life. She has battled with darkness after experiencing the loss of her brother to suicide and her own challenging experiences. *“The death of my brother is what left me confused, lost, and not understanding the “WHY” he made the decision to leave.”* Through Reiki, Meditation and Psych-K® she was able to recover from her own grief, pain, and heartache which supported her in reaching the root of her traumas. *“It is my soul’s mission to help awaken others’ true energetic self and find their way back to a positive growth and Heal from Within.”*

Andrea Martinez, Realtor & Housing Specialist

Andrea has 22 years of experience working in the housing industry, and well over a decade of experience in developing, implementing and overseeing housing plans for individuals, veterans and families in need.

She has connected program participants to community resources that support the goal of permanent housing acquisition and social services. Her experience has helped those in need to facilitate access to services required to foster housing readiness (credit repair, legal aid, housekeeping, money management, tenant rights and responsibilities, etc.)

As a Peer Navigator Supervisor she has developed relationships with community leaders and community-based organizations that work closely with the unhoused and most vulnerable populations. She has networked, initiated, and managed communications with community leaders and community organizations. She has navigated depressed areas conducting outreach with MD’s, PA’s and PN’s in the field while providing proper medical care and social support. Her strong work history has targeted survivors of domestic violence and human / sex trafficking, veterans, mental health, substance abuse and the list goes on. She has not only housed over 80 individuals and families, roughly 75% of those clients have retained their permanent residence. Her main focus is not “housing first” it is making sure the client is able to sustain their housing while providing the proper life skills they so desire and deserve. Working with various team’s, regularly visiting, and providing services to encampments and surrounding areas, she has built rapport and relationships with assigned encampments and has been the responding liaison for multiple surrounding City and County community partners.

Cal State Fullerton BSW – Psychology/Sociology/Criminal Justice
AA from Cypress Human and Social Services
Licensed Realtor – DRE #02067558

Gunnery Sergeant Lauren Rezai USMC

Lauren joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 2005 for a total of 18 years and is currently actively serving as a Gunnery Sergeant/ E-7 Grade.

Deployment in 2008 during Operation Enduring Freedom for combat tour to Horn of Africa as a Provisional Security Platoon and was the designated Saw Gunner for her squad. Duties included manning all posts at Entry Control Points (ECPs) onto base which included searching of all vehicles for Improvised Explosive Devices/ Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs, VBIEDs) entering the base. Also provided security details for the Embassy, all military ships while docking at the Port for resupply and a Quick Reaction Force (QRF). Additionally, executed weekly vehicle patrols of the surrounding areas and along the Somali border for insurgents and to serve as a deterrent for terrorist activity.

She is also the Uniformed Readiness Coordinator (URC), As a URC, she communicates with Marines and their families throughout their deployment, time in garrison and acts as a liaison between Marine, family and the command. She also provides education and resources on various courses and information available on base for families such as marriage, education and children related in-person classes or online. Additionally, she coordinates with veteran organizations such as USO, Patriot Guard and Navy League to be in attendance during the homecoming returns for support and resources for both the Marine and families.

Raquel “RaqC” Cordova

Raquel Cordova, better known as RaqC, originates from Riverside, CA. Her radio career began in 2000 at U-92.7 in Palm Springs as the morning show co-host. Shortly after, Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. offered her an on-air position with the regional Mexican station, La Ley 107.9 in Chicago. Her successful run in Chicago allowed her to master the art of radio, as well as fine-tune her second language, Spanish.

When learning that a station in Los Angeles was being restructured to a bilingual format, she took a risk by leaving Chicago determined to become a permanent voice in Los Angeles. It paid off. RaqC enjoyed a successful 8-year run as a top personality for Latino 96.3fm. Most recently she enjoyed entertaining Angelinos on their ride home with Exitos 93.9fm. Her top rated weekly podcast with her sister, (Straight Up Sisters) has been downloaded over 6 million times and is a frequent motivational speaker.

Jacqueline Angeles, LMFT BA MS

Jacqueline Angeles is a Bilingual Latina Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 12 years experience working with teens, adults, and older adults in underserved and low-income areas of Los Angeles County. I have gained my experience working both in Community Mental health and in private practice with individuals with chronic mental health, substance abuse, physical problems as well as legal issues. My mission as a Therapist is to be able to provide awareness, psycho-education, prevention, early intervention to mental health issues. Providing a safe space with warmth, compassion, empathy and empowerment is my way to support those in need while at the same time addressing the stigma that impacts their mental health.

My approach is seeing each individual as a whole by focusing on their strengths, skills, abilities, finding their life purpose or fulfilling their purpose while healing and learning to cope with mental health issues. My own purpose is to be able to be present and walk along the side of each persons’ journey with mental health one step at a time, one moment at a time.

Natalie Valle