Meet the Team

Founder

Nadia Padilla

Hello! I am a passionate advocate and a graduate of San Francisco State University, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Philosophy (with an emphasis in law) and Liberal Arts, along with a minor in Labor and Employment Studies. While I was initially drawn to the legal field, my journey truly began to take shape during my internship with JusticeCorps, where I gained hands-on experience in family law, domestic violence cases, and restraining orders.

During my senior year, I had the opportunity to expand my perspective as an intern with the Judicial Council of California’s public affairs department, contributing to initiatives led by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. After graduating, I continued exploring the legal field as a paralegal at a law firm in Pleasanton. However, it was my work with a nonprofit serving homeless individuals and low-income families that truly ignited my sense of purpose and belonging.

I went on to earn my Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on Policy Analysis and Management in May 2025. I am deeply committed to driving meaningful change through policy creation, systems reform, and community empowerment. Building on both my legal foundation and policy experience, I will begin law school in Fall 2026, with the goal of continuing my advocacy for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and ultimately pursuing a career as a prosecutor. Through this path, I aim to hold perpetrators accountable while advancing trauma-informed and survivor-centered justice within the legal system.

My advocacy is not only professional, it is deeply personal. I am a survivor of sexual assault, and I have faced my own mental health challenges, including being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2014. My journey toward healing required finding the right balance of medication, therapy, and self-understanding. Through resilience and determination, I have grown stronger and now use my lived experiences to guide compassionate and equitable advocacy.

I believe deeply in the power of community and connection. Through my work and involvement with SAMA, I strive to create spaces where survivors feel seen, heard, and supported. To me, SAMA is more than an organization—it is a platform to extend a helping hand and remind others that they are not alone. I aim to inspire hope and foster solidarity among survivors and individuals navigating mental health challenges.

Since 2015, I have participated in and led over 15 community drives supporting homeless individuals, women, and low-income families. These efforts have included distributing hygiene kits, collecting new and gently used clothing, and providing holiday gifts to families who might otherwise go without. This work reflects my long-standing commitment to dignity, care, and justice for underserved communities.

Director of Strategic Impact & Partnerships

Stephanie Abrenica

Hi! I’m Stephanie Abrenica. I studied nursing at Dominican University of California and continued and completed my Masters in Health Administration at University of Southern California. I am currently a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland and Nursing Supervisor at Bay Area Healthcare Center. I am a registered nurse, mental health advocate, and survivor who believes healing is both personal and collective.

My journey into nursing was shaped not only by clinical training and education, but by lived experience—and by growing up in a culture where mental health was rarely named, discussed, or validated. In many Filipino families, emotional pain is often minimized, spiritualized, or dismissed altogether. You’re taught to be strong, grateful, and resilient, even when you’re hurting. I know firsthand how deeply that silence can impact someone who is struggling and how isolating it feels when your pain isn’t seen or understood. That experience fuels my commitment to advocacy, education, and compassionate care.

As a nurse, I’ve seen the gaps in our healthcare system: where people fall through, where stigma replaces support, and where silence does real harm. As a survivor, I’ve also seen what’s possible when we replace judgment with empathy and information with empowerment.

This space exists to remind survivors that they are not broken, not alone, and not defined by what they’ve endured. It’s for survivors who were never given the language for what they were feeling, and for those who were taught to endure instead of heal. My goal is to help bridge clinical knowledge with real-life understanding, creating conversations that are honest, accessible, and rooted in hope. I also aim to create a space where mental health is acknowledged, respected, and humanized.

Mental health awareness isn’t just my profession—it’s my purpose. And advocacy, to me, means standing beside others as they reclaim their voice, their strength, and their sense of self. In addition, advocacy means challenging silence, honoring our stories, and reminding others—especially within our own communities—that seeking help is not weakness, but courage.


Event & Volunteer Coordinator

Elizah Ronquillo

I am ElizahMarie Ronquillo but I usually go with Elizah for short. I was born and raised in Northern California. I got to grow up in different neighborhoods all over the Bay Area but my family settled in East Side San Jose. 

When it comes to my hobbies, I tend to pick up random arts and crafts projects. Some of my recent skills that I’ve picked up over the past few years would be crocheting and now baking sourdough. During my free time, I like to enjoy my quality time with my loved ones. Whether we are playing games at someone's house or out exploring a new spot in the Silicon Valley/ Bay Area.

 I am currently enrolled at West Valley College as a Women, Gender and Queer studies and a Liberal Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences major.

After graduating high school in 2019, I wasn’t too sure where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to get into a field that helped people and helped them feel better about themselves. The only thing I was able to think about was the medical field. So in the fall of 2019, I joined a Medical Assisting program and graduated in 2020. 

While being a medical assistant during the peak of Covid, my family went through other serious medical situations. Which all led me to quitting my medical assisting job to help with taking care of some of my family members. 

As I helped care for my family, I decided to go back to school and get my Associates degree since I had the chance. I applied to go back to school, initially to give myself an experience that I didn’t think I’d ever have. But also knowing that gaining higher education will help guide me and also allow me to meet new people. 

I initially chose my majors as a Women, Gender and Queer studies major purely because it sounded interesting and it helped me know more about those in the community. The more I learned about gender and queer theory, I realized I wanted to learn more about the indifference of both topics and help spread more awareness. Later, I added Liberal Arts: Social and Behavioral Science to my major, helping me expand and gain my knowledge in which I can continue to assist and give back to my community.