Care Fair 2025 – Santa Cruz

🔘 Info on Tabling

What is Care Fair?

Care Fair is back for its second year — an annual community event focused on mental wellness, connection, and healing, in honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This event brings together neighbors, advocates, and providers for a day dedicated to mental wellness, community support, and healing.

This year’s event will feature:

• Free community resources and local wellness services
• Opportunities to connect with mental health professionals
• On-site assistance and program information
• Recognition of outstanding Mental Health Heroes serving Assembly District 28
• Light refreshments and activities for all ages

Whether you're seeking support, looking to give back, or want to celebrate those doing the work, Care Fair is for you.

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2025 Mental Health Heroes

Garnetta Annable

There is significant evidence indicating that access to nature is essential for mental health, and Garnetta Annable has contributed to providing free public access to 30,000 acres of local natural areas in Santa Clara County. She has been a dedicated regional leader for parks, trails, and open spaces since the 1980s and was actively involved in the foundation and leadership of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. 

In an effort to help individuals access free or affordable personal and professional development courses, Garnetta successfully preserved large parts of the Camden High School site, now the Camden Community Center, which provides the essential support that is greatly needed.  

Garnetta has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters and is the 2025 Guardians of Nature Honoree of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. During Garnetta's years of Caring for Nature Benefits All community service, she worked for the Santa Clara County Public Administrator, Guardian, and Conservator as an Estate Administrator, managing property for the elderly and mentally ill, and investigating financial abuse of the disabled.

Michael Beebe

Michael Beebe is a retired senior business leader and current NAMI Santa Cruz County Board President. In his working career and with NAMI, he’s needed to know the big picture in order to advance solutions that benefit all parties. Knowing the needs of clients and the importance of employee contributions has always been central to his approach.  With an education in accounting, finance, and support to global corporations in information technology, he developed a broad foundation to address complex challenges.  Since retirement, Mike has both refreshed his golf game and begun making ceramics in the Japanese aesthetic. With his wife Jean, he shares a love of family, including their new granddaughter, and they enjoy travel, art, reading, and their German Shepherd Husky dog.

Mary Cortani

Mary Cortani is an Army veteran and founder of Operation Freedom Paws, a nonprofit that empowers veterans, first responders, and individuals with disabilities to train their own service dogs. With nearly a decade of military service and over 20 years in technology, she combines expertise in canine training and service dog partnerships to transform lives. Since founding the organization in 2010, Mary has helped over 600 clients and rescued more than 450 dogs. She is nationally recognized for her work, including being named a CNN Hero, and holds a degree in Computer Engineering. Mary lives in Gilroy, California.  

Beverly Heninger

Beverly Heninger has been a Scotts Valley resident for 18 years and a Santa Cruz County resident for 52. Beverly has been a client of Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired since 1994 and a dedicated volunteer for 16 years. She has led weekly peer mentor meetings since 2017, providing a safe space for those experiencing vision loss, and also co-teaches iPhone classes and trains sighted guides. She is a retired massage therapist and a member of Regeneration Church. Beverly is also a 36-year recovering alcoholic, proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Seventeen years ago, she founded Global Cane Outreach, a nonprofit organization that delivers white canes, talking Bibles, and mobility training to developing countries, and recently completed her 12th mission trip to Peru. Beverly is passionate about helping others navigate blindness, saying, “I like to take the hand of the person behind me and help people to learn to accept and deal with their blindness.”

Sophia Krish

 As ASB president of Los Gatos High School, former class president, and youth commissioner in her town council, Sophia Krish combats mental health struggles. She served as the Education Lead of the Eating Disorders Resource Center (EDRC), where she spread awareness of eating disorders (EDs) in the county and provided education to adolescents on available resources. In 2024, Sophia worked on mental health initiatives under CA State Senator Josh Becker and was invited to Congress to advocate for ED legislation - she was ecstatic that the Senate passed the Kids’ Online Safety and Privacy Act shortly thereafter. Sophia is the lead high school research intern under Stanford Professor Eric Stice and implements The Body Project, a scientific program proven to reduce the onset of EDs by 77%, across numerous high schools in the Bay Area. In the near future, Sophia hopes to incorporate more education on mental health, including eating disorders, throughout California school systems. Given her substantial contributions, Sophia was recently recognized by the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Board as their Young Mover and Shaker (May 2025). 

Dr. Delilah Noronha

Dr. Delilah O. Noronha is a clinical health psychologist who has dedicated over 20 years as both a servant leader and practicing psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs and university-based hospitals. She currently is the Integrated Care Section Chief for the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Clinical Resource Hub.  Dr. Noronha has spearheaded innovations in mental health access, most recently using her behavioral medicine expertise to provide access to rural and underserved populations. In addition, she has been awarded grants that support healthcare access to remote Pacific Islands. Her publications and clinical interests are in the areas of behavioral health integration in medical settings, training and education and behavioral management of chronic and acute medical conditions. She spends her free time immersed in the outdoors with her husband, family, and friends, as well as volunteering in the SF Bay area. 

Kristin Praly

Kristin Praly is a UC Davis graduate, veterinary technician, and lifelong horsewoman dedicated to biodynamic horsemanship, craniosacral healing, and trauma-aware education. As the founder of Horse Sense Education and Advocacy, she designs inclusive programs that support mental health, emotional resilience, and community connection—honoring both horses and humans. With over 40 years of equine experience and 25+ years teaching across schools, nonprofits, and 4-H, Kristin blends science, art, and advocacy to create healing spaces rooted in deep listening and mutual respect. Her work reflects a commitment to legacy, somatic wisdom, and the belief that horses are powerful partners in emotional healing.

Melody Randel

Melody Randel is a retired bilingual teacher within the Watsonville and Pajaro communities, where she welcomed students to explore, create, and find personal meaning in their learning. Also a former math education specialist, Melody supported teachers through university and national professional development programs, helping them deepen their understanding and inspire curiosity, confidence, and enthusiasm in their math instruction. Now a dedicated volunteer, she shares her time with the chess program at Juvenile Hall, with the Santa Cruz Poetry Project, which facilitates weekly poetry workshops with incarcerated men and women in the county jail facilities, and with a monthly singing group at a local memory care facility. Melody is passionate about meaningful, present-moment connections person to person that create mutual gratification in challenging personal and global times.

Emilio Rubalcava Jr.

Emilio Rubalcava Jr. is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Director of Clinical Services at Front St. Inc. His recent work has centered on expanding mental health access, training fellow professionals, and helping Veterans and adults with serious mental illness maintain stable housing. His ongoing goal is to foster lasting, positive change and strengthen the well-being of the communities he serves.

Devin Setoguchi

Devin Setoguchi, a former first‑round pick (8th overall) by the Sharks in 2005, played a total of 10 seasons in the National Hockey League. In 2007, he became the first Sharks rookie to score two goals in his NHL debut, and by 2008‑09 was centering the top line with Thornton and Marleau, registering 31 goals. After struggles with alcohol and depression derailed his career, Setoguchi sought help—entering rehab in 2015 and remaining sober since, crediting sobriety with helping him reclaim his life. He has since been an open advocate for mental health awareness, participating in media projects like NBC Sports’ “HEADSTRONG: Mental Health and Sports” to help break the stigma around male mental health. Since retiring, he's established deep roots in San Jose as the owner of Studio Willow Glen, Next Level Fitness and F45 Redwood City, channeling his passion for fitness into helping others transform their lives. Fitness has become for Devin both a personal lifeline and a platform to support mental well-being, as he believes exercise plays a vital role in mental health recovery. Today, he balances family life—alongside his wife Kelly and three children—with empowering others through health, strength, and resilience. 

Debra Sloss

Debra Sloss, LMFT, is a retired Santa Cruz, California-based psychotherapist and lifelong mental health advocate with over 30 years of experience in private practice, nonprofit, school, and community settings. A former clinical supervisor and therapist trainer, she has long championed access and equity in mental health care. Debra is the creator and host of State of Mind, a mental health radio show and podcast inspired by her own experience navigating the mental health system with her son and her volunteer work with NAMI. The show amplifies lived experiences and clinical wisdom to reduce stigma and foster healing. She shares this recognition with her team of dedicated volunteers, courageous guests, and the KSQD community, who helped bring her vision to life.

Nor Cal Carpenters Union Life Maintenance Program

Through apprenticeship-based mental health training, Local Union-led classes, mutual aid meetings, and resources at nccu-life.org, Nor Cal Carpenters Unions' Life Maintenance Program is making mental health challenges and solutions visible. The Nor Cal Carpenters Union representatives and members are leading the way in building a healthier future for all.

Resource Tables – Apply to Participate

Are you part of an organization providing mental health, wellness, or community care services in Assembly District 28?

Join us as a resource table host and share your work with community members. This is an excellent opportunity to:

• Provide materials and referrals
• Offer on-site guidance or demonstrations
• Connect with local families, caregivers, and service providers

Space is limited! Please contact our office at (831) 425-1503 to inquire about tabling. 

Thank you for Nominating a Mental Health Hero!

The 2025 Mental Health Hero nomination period has closed for this year, and the 2026 nomination period is now open! This year's Mental Health Heroes will be announced by August 20, 2025. RSVP for updates! 

Do you know someone in Assembly District 28 who is making a difference in the mental health or wellness space? Nominate them today!

We’re looking for:

• Frontline workers
• Counselors or clinicians
• Educators and youth advocates
• Community volunteers
• Compassionate neighbors

Nominate a Mental Health Hero today

Selected honorees will be recognized during Care Fair 2026 in Morgan Hill.

A Look at Last Year’s Mental Health Heroes

In 2024, we honored an incredible group of individuals who uplift and support the mental health of our community. You can read about their inspiring work here.

Questions?

Contact our district office at (831) 425-1503 for more information.

We can’t wait to see you at Care Fair 2025.