Meet the Team

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Sunny Briscoe, MPA

Deputy Director

  • Sunny uses her perspective as a first generation Salvadoran-American, her education, and work experience to strengthen underrepresented communities. In addition to Social Justice, she is also passionate about Environmental Stewardship, both steeped in the belief of making the world a better place for her children.

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Dawn Michael, aPHR, CADC I, CRM, CGRM, PSS

Director of Human Resources

  • Dawn is a strong woman in long-term recovery, a survivor, a mother, and a role model. She has used her lived experiences to challenge the legal system and uses her lived experience in recovery and her training as an HR professional to empower her community.

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Yesenia Tanchyk, CADC I

Director of Operations

  • Yesenia has worked in the recovery field for over a decade. First in an administrative role at a local non profit and then moved to direct services as a recovery mentor and later as a alcohol and drug counselor. As a daughter of Mexican Immigrants, her love for helping the Latino community is rooted in the culture she grew up in. Yesenia believes in fighting the good fight.

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Roberto Paredes, CRM, CADC I, PWS

Director of Recovery Services

  • I consider myself as a person in long-term recovery, I have been sober since 2016. My title at El Jardín de Recuperacion is Associate Program Director and I started at El Jardín (formally known as NW Instituto Latino) as a Harm Reduction Supervisor. I am grateful that I can help our community in an indirect way find their recovery process. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance in life to be a better person and make healthier choices. I once heard in a self-help meeting that the opposite of addiction is connection, and here at El Jardín we make those connections. I look forward to making future connections with our clients, staff, and community.

Board of Directors

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Mercedes Elizalde

President

  • Mercedes Elizalde is the director of advocacy at Latino Network, located in Portland, OR. Mercedes has professional experience as a direct service provider, a public policy analyst and a community organizer. She has worked for both local government and nonprofit organizations. She holds degrees in psychology and women and gender studies and a master's in nonprofit leadership. In addition to her role at Latino Network, she is an adjunct professor at PSU and sits on the board of directors for organizations specializing in nonprofit business development and affordable housing. Mercedes is deeply passionate about community-led direct service, civic engagement, and addressing root causes of social issues through public policy.

  • BA and MNPL

  • Background in nonprofit development, advocacy and lobbying and a former case manager.

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Orlando Rivera

Secretary

  • Orlando Rivera brings over 15 years in academia and 25 years in the nonprofit sector to his work in Portland’s recovery community. Originally from East LA, where he managed major healthcare initiatives, he moved to Portland in 2015 and quickly integrated into the behavioral health sector, working with organizations like Cascadia Healthcare, Allied Health, and Madrona Recovery. Rivera specializes in culturally specific treatment, particularly accessibility for the Latinx community, and introduced the humanizing "names not numbers" approach for clients.

    Currently a full-time faculty member in Portland Community College’s Addiction Counseling Department, he helped develop a nine-month Spanish language certificate program launched in 2024. Heavily credentialed (including CADC-II and NCAC-I), Rivera is an expert in co-occurring disorders, psychopharmacology, and trauma-informed care. Outside work, he mentors new counselors and supports the Oregon AA Intergroup Board.

  • CADC-II, NCAC-I, CHTC-II, CPT-I

  • Nonprofit executive management, Healthcare and clinic operations, Curriculum and educational program development

  • Edward Smith, Regional Administrator of Oxford House Oregon, California and South Dakota. Ed began working for Oxford House in 2004. His career began working with the Recovery Association Project as a worker for Oxford Houses in Oregon. At the beginning of his career, there were just over 100 houses serving 10 counties in Oregon. There are currently more than 200 Oxford Houses, serving 16 counties throughout Oregon. Ed worked with Recovery Association Project to train volunteers to be leaders and voices for those in recovery. In 2018, he accepted a job with Bridges to Change as a housing director working with each of the programs to facilitate housing options for the most needy clients. Ed helped open housing for the Latino community by partnering with Bridges to Change and Central City Concern in 2018.

    After two years with Bridges To Change, he decided to return to Oxford House to work as a Regional Manager, overseeing three states. The organization gives anyone who wants the opportunity to have a safe place to work on their recovery and a place they can call home.

  • N.A

  • Background in infrastructure management, housing programming, and perr leadership and training.

Mitzie Pennet

Board Member

  • While studying literature at the University of Puerto Rico, Mitzie Pennet worked on a border project that shifted her focus to social work. She relocated to the Dominican Republic, dedicating herself to unhoused and low-income populations, including empowering girls through the “Soy niña, soy importante” camp.

    When the pandemic struck, Mitzie moved to Oregon to continue her advocacy. She served on Multnomah County’s Supportive Housing Advisory Board and brings six years of direct-service experience, advancing from shelter Resident Advisor to outreach and housing.

    Currently a member of the NW Pilot Project’s Access Team, Mitzie provides clients with housing assessments, helps secure vital documentation, and guides them in overcoming systemic barriers to affordable housing. Her diverse background fuels her dedication to making a lasting difference in the unhoused community.

  • N.A

  • Background in advocacy and state advisory work, governance, and oversight

Monta Knudson

Vice President

  • After serving as interim leader, Monta brings values-driven leadership and a deep commitment to JOIN’s mission of supporting individuals experiencing homelessness. His connection to this work is deeply personal; having experienced homelessness as a teenager in Portland, Monta combines lived experience with over two decades of leadership in housing, recovery, and behavioral health.

    Monta previously served as CEO of Bridges to Change for nearly a decade, driving transformational growth, expanding treatment services, and advancing equity-centered practices. A certified recovery mentor, he actively advocates for systems change that uplifts impacted voices.

    Monta’s extensive governance experience includes serving on the Health Share of Oregon Board, as a Governor-appointed Commissioner for the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, and as Board Chair of WomenFirst. Moving seamlessly between frontline service and high-level policy work, Monta is uniquely equipped to lead JOIN into its next chapter.

  • CRM

  • Background in advocacy, program development, and operational leadership

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Edward Smith

Regional Administrator

Salvador Amezola

Board Member

  • Salvador holds the National Hispanic and Latino Executive Leadership Certificate. He has worked in the field of substance use since 1998 and is currently the director of the “Madras Recovery Program” at BestCare Treatment Services in Central Oregon. It is the only culturally specific residential rehabilitation program in the state of Oregon. Salvador has the following affiliations: Board member of the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health (OCBH), board member of El Jardín Recovery Center, and President of Latinos Unidos Oregon.

  • CADC II, QMHA I, CGAC-R

  • Background in Executive leadership in Hispanic/Latino advocacy, treatment center operations, equitable program development