Supporting adults with developmental disabilities to reach their full potential.

about us

Incorporated in 1982, Partners for Potential was originally established by leaders from local Southeast Asian communities, to provide services that would improve the self-sufficiency and economic independence of refugee populations living in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. As the needs of persons with disabilities within these refugee communities increased and it became evident that there were little to no multilingual programs available at the time, we shifted focus to serve persons with developmental disabilities who needed service in their own language.  Over time, we expanded beyond the Southeast Asian communities and now serve adults with disabilities from many different cultural backgrounds.  Partners for Potential is proud to currently serve more than 200 individuals with developmental disabilities per year in more than 10 different languages.


our staff

Over the past 40 years, Partners for Potential has grown from an all-volunteer organization to a staff of more than 70 dedicated employees, who share the same unique cultures and languages as the people we serve. We are very proud to have a highly educated staff working with our consumers. In addition, Partners is governed by a very passionate and dedicated all-volunteer Board of Directors.

At Partners for Potential, we believe that dedication and commitment is the key to success. This is why we strive to ensure a high quality work environment for our employees, fostering a low turnover rate compared to the field in which we work. In turn, our staff strive to create high quality programs and training activities within consumer's local communities to maximize learning and increase levels of independence.


executive staff

LISA WILLIAMSEN
Chief Executive Officer
 

SENIOR management STAFF

ANDREA VILLALOBOS
Director of Programs
 

MAIN OFFICE - VAN NUYS


ANNAMARIE JACKSON
Program Manager

MERCEDES AMAYA
Program Coordinator (METRO)

TRACY MAY
Program Coordinator (LA)


CRISTINA SORIA
Program Coordinator (VALLEY)

SANTA CLARITA OFFICE - NEWHALL


DANIELLE MARTIN
Program Manager

ERIKA ALANIS
Program Coordinator

JANICE DOLE 
Program Coordinator

 

board of directors

 

Erik Hendrickson, Chair
Sr. Vice President & Sr. Wealth Advisor, Northern Trust
 
Robert Baer, Esq., Vice Chair
Broker/Realtor, Coldwell Banker

Jessica Patterson, Secretary
Interior Designer, JLP Design, Inc.


Alexa Magallon Treasurer
Commercial Banker, First Foundation Bank

Liz Bodie
PHR

Eliza Minassian, CPA
Partner, CliftonLarsenAllen LLC

Misty Montgomery
Assistant Vice President, Momentous Insurance Brokerage, Inc.


Dana Nialis-Saulson
Associate, Commercial Real Estate, CBRE


Timothy Reynolds, JD
Attorney, Paul Hastings LLP

Zac Turke, JD
Partner, Sheppard Mullin

Chloe Wazir
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