Board Of Directors & Advisors

Who We Are

(Bio photos Coming Soon)

Board of Directors
Leading with Purpose

The Board of Directors provides strategic oversight, accountability, and direction for Pathways to Services Development. Each member brings a record of leadership, integrity, and commitment to transforming lives through service, faith, and community impact. Together they guide the organization’s mission, ensure fiscal responsibility, and uphold the values that define Pathways.

CEO & Founder, Chair

James Gonzales

James Gonzales is the Founder and CEO of Pathways to Services Development. He leads with lived experience, faith, and a commitment to rebuilding lives impacted by addiction, incarceration, and homelessness. As a CALMHSA Certified Peer Support Specialist and registered SUD Counselor, he guides Pathways with purpose, integrity, and a vision to create lasting change through community and connection.

Director & Chief Financial Officer

Simbarashe J. Ndemera

Simba Ndemera is a mission-driven finance and operations leader with decades of experience in advancing equity and opportunity through sound financial governance. A tenured CFO, he has served in leadership roles at the Drupal Association, New Forests, and the Sierra Club Foundation. Originally from Africa, he founded the Yathom Foundation and led the construction of a school in rural Zimbabwe, with another underway in The Gambia. Across nonprofits and social enterprises, he builds systems that align purpose with accountability to help communities learn, thrive, and lead.

Director & Governance & Strategic Growth

Shibu Kizhakevilayil

Shibu Kizhakevilayil is a technology and business leader with more than 20 years in IT and over a decade in healthcare innovation. He is the CEO and Founder of PACIFYR, a digital mental health platform focused on accessible and compassionate care. Shibu has founded and scaled multiple ventures and served on the board of a NASDAQ-listed company. His expertise bridges vision with disciplined execution, combining strategic finance, technology integration, and measurable growth. His connection to Pathways’ mission is personal, rooted in empathy for those impacted by addiction, incarceration, and homelessness. He is committed to building scalable, healing-centered systems that restore dignity and create opportunity.

Advisory Board

Guiding the Vision Forward

The Pathways to Services Development Advisory and Leadership Team is a group of people driven by purpose and experience. Every member brings something different—professional expertise, lived experience, and a shared belief that transformation happens when compassion meets accountability.

This team is the heart behind what Pathways is building. They come from fields such as housing, healthcare, law, operations, recovery, and community leadership. Together, they focus on creating systems that help people find stability, healing, and purpose.

Our culture values integrity, teamwork, and transparency. We believe in results that matter—because the work we do is about more than programs or policies. It’s about people, and the team standing behind Pathways reflects that truth.

Senior Advisor – Operations and Trauma-Informed Leadership

Paida Ndemera

Paida Ndemera is a nonprofit and healthcare leader with over 20 years of experience in clinical care and operations. A former Psychiatry Nurse Practitioner and Senior Vice President at Covenant House California, she has established healthcare programs across London, Melbourne, and the Bay Area. She champions whole-person care and housing stability, and through her family foundation supports hundreds of children in Africa.

Senior Advisor – Veteran, Counseling, and Trauma-Informed Services

TJ Espey

TJ Espey is a retired federal leader and Army Veteran with more than 30 years of combined military and public service. She holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and serves as a Certified Health Education Specialist and Scrum Product Owner. TJ has led veteran reintegration and trauma recovery programs for the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense, focusing on structure, purpose, and wellness. At Pathways to Services Development, she advises on veteran engagement, trauma-informed care, and counseling strategy, helping to build programs that restore dignity, stability, and community.

Advisor – Healthcare Systems Integration & Strategic Operations

Chris Hopwood

Chris Hopwood is a healthcare strategy and operations executive with more than 15 years of experience transforming national health programs and clinical networks. She is the Founder and CEO of Mode 7 Design, a firm specializing in health technology, analytics, and automation. At Pathways to Services Development, Chris provides strategic guidance in healthcare systems integration, compliance, and operational scaling to strengthen sustainability and measurable impact.

Co Founder & Advisor – Client Care and Lived Experience Integration

Trina Gonzales

Trina Gonzales brings deep lived experience as a mother and advocate who has walked alongside families impacted by trauma, recovery, and exploitation. Her perspective is shaped by personal experience supporting a child affected by trafficking, giving her a rare understanding of both pain and resilience. At Pathways to Services Development, she helps bridge client care with lived experience, ensuring services are trauma-informed, compassionate, and centered on real healing.

Advisor – Lived Experience and Community Empowerment

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa Hernandez was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a single mother dedicated to giving her daughter the best life possible. Her life reflects the power of transformation through perseverance and faith. Having overcome addiction, trauma, and young motherhood, Vanessa made the decision to break cycles, rebuild her life, and serve her community. Today, she is an active mother and an advocate for those still finding their way, reminding others that their past does not define their future. At Pathways to Services Development, she helps create spaces where people can heal, grow, and live with purpose.

Advisor – Digital Strategy, Youth Engagement, and Community Outreach

Jaspreet Khatra

Jaspreet Khatra is a communications strategist and community engagement professional dedicated to connecting people with purpose. She currently serves as Community Engagement Coordinator at Hively, where she leads digital outreach, volunteer mobilization, and public engagement initiatives supporting families and youth across Alameda County. Her background includes roles in digital marketing, youth advocacy, and storytelling for social impact. At Pathways to Services Development, Jaspreet helps strengthen digital visibility, amplify voices of lived experience, and engage young leaders in building more connected, compassionate communities.

Advisor – Digital Community & Communications Strategy

Sarto Jama

Sarto Jama is a community and communications strategist with more than seven years of experience in customer success, technical support, and SaaS community management. She currently serves as a Technical Community Manager at GitHub, where she leads engagement across the API, Webhooks, and Accessibility programs.

Sarto specializes in building digital systems that strengthen communication between organizations and their audiences through data-driven insights, inclusive design, and authentic engagement. Her work focuses on helping teams create community spaces that are accessible, collaborative, and grounded in trust.

Based in Sacramento, California, Sarto holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology and Systems Management. At Pathways to Services Development, she supports the organization’s mission by developing a digital engagement and communications strategy that connects people to transformation, strengthens outreach systems, and builds a unified message of hope and purpose.

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Board Of Directors & Advisors

Board of Directors Leading with Purpose

Advisory Board

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Board of Directors
Leading with Purpose