Staff
Leslie Ewing – Executive Director
Leslie is a longtime resident of the Berkeley/Oakland area who has worked to strengthen the LGBTQ community for over twenty-five years, starting with her involvement with the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and AIDS Emergency Fund. Prior to becoming Pacific Center’s Executive Director in 2008, Leslie raised community health care funding as the Development Director of Lyon-Martin Health Services. She is also a founder of the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund.
Email: lewing@pacficcenter.org
Louise Monsour, LMFT – Director of Clinical Training
Louise is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Berkeley. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Operations Management from Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from National University, where she graduated with distinction. Louise has been the Director of Clinical Training at the Pacific Center since 2009 and has served on the Board Blue Oak Therapy Center since 2007. Louise specializes in working with all issues related to sexual or gender identity, dissociative disorders and characterological disorders. She also provides cultural competency trainings for agencies that serve LGBTQ clients.
Email: lmonsour@pacificcenter.org
Aaron Testard, LMFT – Director of Clinical Services
Aaron is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Berkeley specializing in sexual and gender identity, chemical dependency, HIV, and felon re-entry. A former Pacific Center intern, he has also worked at Alta Bates Medical Center, Jewish Home for the Aged, Baker Places, and Sunny Hills Services. Aaron has been a member of Pacific Center’s staff since 2007, first managing its HIV Program then expanding his oversight to all clinically-related services. He has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies with a concentration in Drama Therapy.
Email: atestard@pacificcenter.org
Mark Wilson, MDiv, PhD – Youth Program Coordinator
Mark is a native of Oakland, California, where he currently resides, and long time community leader and educator in the Bay Area faith community and City of Berkeley. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, a Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan. Before coming to the Pacific Center in 2010, he was a Assistant Professor at Pacific School of Religion and lecturer at UC Berkeley, where he currently teaches undergraduate courses in the Music and the African American Studies Departments. Mark has a twenty-five year history of developing youth programs and counseling teens and young adults and working to end homophobia in the faith community.
Email: mwilson@pacificcenter.org
eddie gesso – Operations Manager
eddie has lived in Oakland since 2003 and joined the staff of Pacific Center in 2008 after completing his BFA in fine arts at California College of the Arts. eddie’s community involvement includes volunteerism for Lambert House, the Seattle LGBT Community Center, the Queer Cultural Center and Fresh Meat in the Gallery.
Email: egesso@pacificcenter.org
Leo Brown – Volunteer & Facility Events Coordinator
Leo is a Bay Area native. Leo has spent the majority of his professional life working with nonprofit organizations including the Lighthouse LGBT Center in Hayward CA, and the Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center (LYRIC) in San Francisco, CA. Serving the community has always been a passion for him from the day he first began mentoring middle school students through the Friday Night Live program. He enjoys event planning and reading a good book.
Email: lbrown@pacificcenter.org
Board
Jim Hodgkins, Esq – President
A native of Hayward California, Jim currently serves as the Supervising Deputy City Attorney for the City of Oakland, CA. He has a long history of involvement with Pacific Center, starting with his participation in peer groups over 10 years ago.
Email: board@pacificcenter.org
Dennis Darrow – Vice President
Dennis, a resident of Berkeley, has an extensive background in marketing and public relations. He currently is an associate of the Berkeley branch of the YMCA. In addition to his duties as treasurer, Dennis acts as a community events and fundraising liaison for Pacific Center.
Brandon Gan – Secretary
Brandon is a pharmaceutical engineer and lives in Oakland. He has extensive event fundraising experience and has helped many organizations including GLAAD, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and the Human Rights Campaign. His primary activities, beyond being the board secretary, revolve around community outreach and events.
Douglas R. Rose, EA – Treasurer
Doug is a retired Enrolled Agent and a resident of Berkeley. He has an extensive background in organizational fund development and serves on Pacific Center’s financial committee.
Shannon Brueckner, MFT – Member at Large
Shannon has served on Pacific Center’s board for over three years. She is a psychotherapist with years of experience helping the LGBTQ community. Shannon acts as an event liaison for Pacific Center in addition to advising the Director of Clinical Training as a member of the Clinical Quality Assurance Committee. Shannon also is active on the board recruitment committee.
Website: www.bruecknercounseling.com
Sheila O’Rourke, Esq. – Member at Large
Sheila is the Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs at University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining UC, she was a civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School. She has a J.D. from Boalt Law School and an A.B. from Stanford University.
Steve Toby – Member at Large