Our Team

Allison Haley

President – District Attorney, Napa County

Allison Haley is the first woman to serve as District Attorney in Napa County. She was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2016 and elected to serve in 2018. A 2001 graduate of UC Davis Law School, Ms. Haley holds a law degree, a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Social Science.

Ms. Haley came to the Napa County DA’s Office in 2005, having served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert W. Alberts in the Central District of California and as an Assistant Chief Counsel in the US Department of Homeland Security in the Los Angeles office. She has earned recognition specifically in her handling of complex child molestation and domestic violence matters. She also has a passion for trauma exposed children and issues surrounding safety in the home and community intervention for all our vulnerable family members including children and the elderly.

She currently serves her community as a board member of If Given a Chance, and is an advocate for establishing a Napa County Family Justice Center to better serve crime survivors. She also regularly teaches at UC Davis and is a member of both the California District Attorney’s Association and the National District Attorneys Association.

Francis Abella

Vice Chair – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

As a Senior Financial Advisor with the Napa office of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Francis Abella provides goals-based wealth management to families in the Bay Area. Francis has more than 25 years of financial services experience, serving businesses and families throughout the United States. Francis received his double B.B.A. in Finance and International Business from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Originally from the East Coast, he moved to Marin County in 2001, and currently resides in Napa, CA with his spouse, 6 year old daughter, and their rescued Poodle.

Linda Cantey

Owner, Clarus Consulting Group

Linda Cantey is a management consultant and independent director. She founded Clarus Consulting Group, Inc. in 1999, a privately-held management consulting business. Leveraging her background in aerospace engineering, she has led engagements for commercial and government clients in aerospace, defense, telematics, and other industries.

She built her 20-year business on referrals through her strong proficiency on delivery of complex, large-scale change. She is an accomplished board member with many years of experience overseeing Clarus and serving on non-profit and professional association boards.

James Gladfelter

Board Treasurer

CPA, Treasurer Principal, Alta Mesa Group. LLC

With more than thirty years of experience providing “cutting-edge” thinking and leadership in financial management and operations, Jim’s focus is very operational, process and “infra-structure oriented.” His expertise is in developing and implementing systems and processes to ensure that best practices are used in business and fiscal operations.

Jim established the Alta Mesa Group in 2006, and has consulted with a varied portfolio of not-for-profit organizations and wine industry businesses in Northern California. He holds a Master of Business Taxation degree and a B.S.B in Accounting from the University of Minnesota. He holds additional certificates in: Wine Distribution and Production, Sonoma State 2003; Federal Tax Compliance for Wineries, Sonoma State 2003; Analyzing Winery Financial Statements and Benchmarking, UC Davis, 2003 and Accounting for Small Wineries, Accounting for Small Vineyards, UC Davis 2003.

Currently, Jim volunteers at Napa Valley Hospice & Adult Day Services and with the Trevor Project, and is also the Treasurer for If Given a Chance and sits on the Finance Committee for Cope Family Services.

Peg Maddocks

Peg Maddocks, Ph.D. retired as interim executive director from If Given A Chance in December 2022 and returned to the board as chair of the program committee. 

Peg retired from NapaLearns in 2021 and was responsible for advancing the organization’s innovative programs to improve the educational outcomes of students in public schools throughout Napa County. Over the ten years of her leadership, Peg and her team raised over $13 million, trained 1,000 Napa County teachers to integrate technology with curriculum, and kick-started technology solutions, enabling one-to-one laptops for every student.

While Peg has spent most of her career in private sector leadership positions, she began her professional life as a teacher, principal and program director in a K-12 public school district. After working for Cisco Systems for over 14 years in technical training positions, Peg served as CEO of Maddocks Learning, a consulting practice focused on accelerating educational change through the redesign of teaching and learning through leveraging successful integration of technology.

She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education/Special Education, a Master’s of Education in School Administration from Rhode Island College, as well as a Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology from Michigan State University.

Liz Marks

BA, Development Director for Mentis

Liz Marks is responsible for the management and oversight of development and marketing since 2016. She is a graduate of Leadership Napa Valley Class 31. She has 30 plus years of experience in sales and marketing starting her career in the high-tech industry, beginning with Oracle and transitioning to non-profits working for Cope Family Center and consulting for Sonoma State University, Salvation Army, Community Resources for Children and others. She has led Mentis to a 255% growth in unrestricted donations from individuals and businesses during her tenure. She has also overseen a brand marketing campaign to recognize Mentis as the mental health champion in Napa County. In her free time, Liz likes to spend time with her family, play pickleball, read and bake.

Stephen Montgomery

Entrepreneur

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics, Steve attended the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), earning his MIM/MBA and intent on an international career in business and finance.

His first 20 years were with IBM, where he steadily climbed the ladder to executive/leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Financial Services. Capitalizing on the value of the management and leadership training provided by IBM, Steve was fortunate to parlay his experiences to other emerging and increasingly larger technology markets. Ultimately, he was also able to shoot for the moon and dabbled as an entrepreneur and start-up executive.

And then it was time to hang up the cleats and move to the second phase of life.

Steve is now enjoying the second phase of his life with extensive travel, active and healthy living, consumption of fine food and wines, and philanthropy. He and his partner, Cindy Butitta, are committed to projects that promote education and improved opportunities for the less privileged, and the If Given A Chance board has been fortunate to avail of their tremendous success in their professional endeavors.

Denise Moore

Retired, Senior Director of Public Relations, The Doctors Company

Denise Moore recently retired as the senior director of public relations for The Doctors Company, the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer headquartered in Napa. Before coming to Napa 8 years ago, she was employed in public relations with Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device company.

Denise has nearly 30 years of experience in corporate communications, public relations, internal communications, event management, and investor relations. In her early career, she worked as a journalist.

Denise holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado and a Master of Science Degree in Mass Communications from San Jose State University. She has served on the Board of Directors for the American Diabetes Association Silicon Valley Chapter and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for If Given a Chance.

Michael Mulcahy

Sr. Consultant Brakeley Briscoe Inc.

Michael has over 40 years of leadership and consulting expertise in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s College and went on to the American Graduate School of International Management MIM/MBA. After a successful international career in global apparel, technology, and strategy consulting, Michael established the worldwide foundation for the Napa based Christian Brothers De La Salle Global Education Fund, and their worldwide network of 900 institutions teaching 1,000,000 poverty level students in 87 countries. He generated more than 30 million in annual revenues, confirmed over 20 million dollars in planned gifts and led a 50 million dollar capital campaign.

He has worked over 10 years with Kay Sprinkel Grace consulting on all aspects of best practice fundraising, capital campaign management, program, and board development. Recently, Michael served as Executive Director for College Summit (now Peer Forward) and is currently a volunteer leading a 10 million dollar capital campaign for St Mary’s College Athletics. He is a senior consultant for Brakeley Briscoe Inc., specializing in capital campaigns, major gift programs, board development, and interim executive director, CDO, and board president Roles. Michael currently serves on the board of If Given A Chance, after serving as executive director for several years, and currently lives in wine country and enjoys travel, reading, hiking, winemaking and serving on local and national boards.

Elizabeth Glenn O’Dell

O’Dell Foundation

Elizabeth, MA, RN, CRRN, has over 40 years’ experience in healthcare as a clinician and healthcare executive. She has a solid strategic background in creating, managing and marketing innovative health related services and products for acute, post-acute and community care.

Elizabeth served as Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Integrated Health at St. Joseph Health, overseeing development of programs relating to prevention, wellness and disease management. Most recently, she’s worked with MyType Inc., as Chief Operating Officer for a Bay Area based mobile health tech company in U.S and international markets. Elizabeth is also the proprietor of Health + You LLC, consulting services for private and corporate businesses.

Her passions focus on quality of life commitments with emphasis on keeping healthy people healthy and helping those with chronic health conditions live productive and meaningful lives in community and workplace.  She is committed to living a longer, happier, healthier life in pursuit of her passion for health and wellbeing and welcomes all to join the journey.

Sonia Ortega

LCSW, CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER, NAPA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Sonia Ortega is a bicultural and bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker serving Napa Valley youth for the past twenty years. Born in Napa, Sonia is a proud product of our community. As a first-generation Mexican-American student, she is the only person in her family to graduate from college. During high school, she participated in Upward Bound and represented Napa County in Washington, DC. Sonia graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Development with an emphasis in Social Work and Community Groups, and received her Masters of Social Work with a Pupil Personnel Service Credential from the California State University of Sacramento.

Sonia specializes in supporting at-promise youth and families. She began her career working with diverse teens and facilitating girl empowerment mentoring groups at Nuestra Esperanza. For a decade, Sonia worked in the Juvenile Justice System, providing therapy, leading rehabilitation youth groups, and providing transition support. Additionally, she was a bilingual therapist providing assessment and diagnosis for Aldea Children and Family Services. She was a behavioral health specialist at Ole Health. For two years, Sonia served on the Youth Opportunities Commission (formerly known as the Gang & Youth Violence Commission) to create healthier teens’ conditions. Since 2015, Sonia has worked at the Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD), providing culturally responsive support services to students and their families at several different school sites.

Growing up in our community, Sonia witnessed the impact of the “If Given A Chance” organization amongst her friends and former student participants who achieved their goals of going to college amidst immense struggles. As part of the Board of Directors, she hopes to continue supporting at-promise youth to achieve their educational dreams and life goals while connecting them to necessary resources. Sonia is a lifelong mental health professional.

Gianna Peralta

Infection Prevention Manager, Queen of the Valley Medical Center

Gianna Peralta is the Infection Prevention Manager for Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, CA, as well as an If Given a Chance alumna. Gianna received her Masters in Public Health (MPH) degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

She then served two years as an infectious disease fellow, as part of a post-graduate fellowship in applied epidemiology with the CDC and Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta.

In her current role at Queen of the Valley, Gianna oversees hospital surveillance, reporting, and prevention of hospital-acquired infectious. Her work involves serving as a subject matter expert, educator, and consultant, and prevention of hospital-acquired infectious diseases.

Cristina Schott

Board Secretary

Realtor, Retired Silicon Valley Executive

Cristina Schott retired in 2001 after a 30 year career in High Tech Sales and Marketing. After graduating from UCLA with a Bachelors in Economics and an MBA in Finance, Cristina went on to work in various Silicon Valley companies such as IBM, Accenture, Tandem Computers, Oracle and Netscape/AOL.

She managed many large-scale product introductions, including managing a $500M product marketing division at Tandem Computers, but most enjoyed working directly with customers. Her customers included many Bay Area Fortune 500 companies where she worked with executives to identify and implement technology solutions to meet their business challenges.

In retirement, Cristina’s interests have been varied. She is passionate about education, especially for the most disenfranchised. She is presently Director Emeritus of the Lasallian Education Fund (Christian Brothers), where she has served nine years, and four as Vice Chairman. Their mission is to raise scholarship funds for underserved students, across 12 Lasallian schools, who live below the federal poverty line.

In addition, Cristina works as a Real Estate agent in Napa and also enjoys traveling all over the world.

Katlin Kiehl

Student Services Manager

Katlin Kiehl serves as the Student Services Manager for If Given A Chance, providing direct services to the IGAC students through mentoring, training, advising, and distributing financial support. Katlin is an If Given A Chance Alumni, who received her award in 2017. Katlin received a Bachelors in Psychology from Sonoma State University in 2021. She has overcome a complicated childhood, a great loss of a significant other, and much more. She intends to return to school and work towards a masters in psychology with a concentration on adolescent/family therapy. Her goal is to work in a children’s hospital. Her sensitive, nurturing, and professional approach is a perfect match for the If Given A Chance vulnerable yet resilient student population. Katlin is excited to be a part of the IGAC family and assist the students through their college education.

Jazmin Naranjo

Development Associate

A true Napan born and raised, Jazmin Naranjo has always had a compassionate heart and passion for helping others. A daughter of immigrants and first-generation college graduate, Jazmin is no stranger to adversity and working through it to persevere. With 12 years experience working in a nonprofit setting, eight of those years in development, she has been able to change many lives through the various causes she has helped raise money for at Collabria Care Hospice, formerly known as Napa Valley Hospice. Jazmin currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Colorado Technical University, with this education and her natural caring nature and charisma, she has been able to combine these traits to become a vital part of any development team she is a part of. She has now joined If Given a Chance with the intention to continue changing lives in a positive way, by raising money to fund the amazing mission this organization has, to see the youth of her hometown excel and grow into successful adults who can one day return and help out the community as well. Through If Given a Chance and her own company Infinitum Professional Services, LLC, she hopes she can continue to make Napa Valley and the world a better place day after day for everyone who is wanting positive change in their lives.