BOARD OF DIRECTORS

George has focused his attention on a wide variety of community efforts including, City Government, the Arts, Youth Organizations, and leadership programs. In addition, he has served on the City Council of Goodyear AZ.

Although he is now retired, professionally, George keeps busy with a variety of activities. He enjoys boating, golf, hiking, and fishing.

Specializing in substance use and co-occurring disorders, Dr. Mendoza values the integration of harm reduction principles and community-based research methodologies to advance understanding in behavioral health. Her work connects diverse service systems, including crisis response, treatment, health care, legal, and child welfare, providing an integrated perspective on service delivery and workforce development.

Furthermore, Dr. Mendoza’s research explores the intersections of wellness and identity—cultural, gender, and sexual—contemplating the impacts of power and oppression on behavioral health. Her approach is rooted in the analysis of interpersonal relationships within diverse cultural and systemic contexts, emphasizing community-based insights.

Dr. Khadijia is the CEO of Decree Consulting LLC and the Envision, Design, and Develop Leadership program, which helps individuals and business leaders transform and implement transformation and sustainable growth.

Additionally, Dr. Khadijia is a Regional Outreach Coordinator and Facilitator for Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL), a non-profit organization in Arizona that provides faith-based support and educational resources for families with loved ones dealing with issues of substance use disorders.

“New Beginnings, Mighty Faith, and Purpose Living” is the mantra behind Dr. Khadijia’s devotion to helping women rediscover themselves. Her future goals are to provide faith-based sober living and educational opportunities for women’s continued recovery and rehabilitation, emphasizing relapse prevention. She has a heart for serving others and is honored to be on the board of the Arizona Women’s Recovery Center, and she continues to remain committed to organizations making a difference in the lives of others.

Having a heart for the recovery community, and after a first-hand experience with family members experiencing opioid addiction, Becky left her executive leadership position with a local healthcare delivery system and joined Hushabye Nursery’s leadership team in August 2022 and holds the Chief Operating Officer position.

She joined the AWRC Board in 2020 and believes strongly in the Mission, Vision, and Values and is excited to be a part of the growth, operations, and future strategy of the organization.

During nursing school, she was involved with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses MI chapter. She met a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and had the opportunity to shadow “a day in the life of an FNP” in a school-based clinic and she knew that she wanted more than hospital nursing. She furthered her education in completing her BSN at University of MI and ultimately her MSN with an emphasis in Parent-Child Nursing and completed her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner degree in 2008.

In that same year after graduation, her family moved to the west valley of AZ where she started a primary care practice profession in a private pediatric clinic. She has also worked for Grand Canyon University in the College of Nursing as the pediatric professor for a few years before returning to full time practice where she currently works for a Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) in a multi-disciplinary setting. She has the privilege of working with a team of medical and behavioral specialists. It affords the patients that she sees more than just primary care, medical services. If she finds that they need any behavioral services, she can refer in-house to her colleagues for support, not only for her pediatric clients, but also for the parents and guardians if she assesses a need.

Marilyn joined the Arizona Women’s Recovery Center as a board member in 2022 believing in the vision and the mission and is excited to help bridge relationships with the board, the staff, the community, and the city of Phoenix and surrounding areas. She is motivated to work with a team in helping to create tools and resources to help eradicate the cycle of substance use.

Throughout his career, Jeremy has held several key IT and leadership roles in both the nonprofit and private sectors. His notable positions include: General Manager for a software solution at Ticketmaster, President & CEO of bespoke software company and Technology roles with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and Northwest Trek.

With his extensive experience and passion for technology, Jeremy is eager to contribute his expertise to the AWRC Board.

Vince is proud to serve on the Arizona Women’s Recovery Center board, where he is dedicated to expanding the organization’s reach and helping more women in need throughout Arizona.

Lindsey C. is an Instructor and PhD student in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Lindsey has previous experience working with nonprofit start-ups, managing small groups of people, supervising social work interns, and working with pregnant people and their young children.

Her research focuses on substance use and recovery, in particular of women and how exercise supports their recovery.