Mercy is a visionary, hands-on and highly motivated leader with a track record for defining, building, and optimizing programs, communications, services and operations in the public sector. Her reputation for achieving organizational excellence using exemplary leadership principles to engage staff, teams, stakeholders and constituents of all ages is underscored in her nearly 30 years of career accomplishments. Mercy’s human-centered approach to leading and managing has continuously resulted in improved business practices, including increased staff performance, effective and efficient program management, and alternative funding/revenue generation to sustain and grow services/programs.

By putting people first and embracing the Disney principle, “the frontline is the bottom-line,” Mercy’s style of leading by example and hands-on coaching/mentoring, has expanded services and measurably improved the utilization of services/programs. Her experience as a communications strategist has increased brand recognition of the organizations she has served through awards, evaluation findings, and partner involvement.

In 2023, Mercy led a cross-functional team in winning LA County’s coveted Golden Eagle Award by improving systems to expand employment placements for over 400 youth in Parks, with over 100 youth earning entry level employment opportunities at the conclusion of their work experience program. She too led her team in growing the attendance from the nationally recognized Parks After Dark prevention program from 130,000 participating in 2022, to over 400,000 in 2023. In 2024, the Our SPOT Teen Center program she co-created expanded to 16 sites offering youth safe havens across the County as a result of expanded funder engagement. LA County Public Health identified Our SPOT Teen Centers as an effective prevention program in 2024.

Mercy’s focus on collective impact work has influenced how she approaches partnerships, which resulted in the creation of Collaborate PASadena, a multi-jurisdictional initiative now in its tenth year of existence. This initiative draws from the community school’s framework and sets out to enhance outcomes for children and youth in the cities of Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre. Since 2020, Mercy has served as the co-chair for the Juvenile Justice Coordination Council spending allocation committee. As co-chair, Mercy has the responsibility of leading an annual update of the Comprehensive Multi-Agency Juvenile Justice Plan to inform funding recommendations to allocate over $64M in grants annually to support the continuum of care to ensure at-promise-youth and their families thrive.

Mercy’s undergrad studies are in English Literature from Cal State San Bernadino, and she earned a Master of Science Degree in Child Development from the University of La Verne. Mercy completed post-master’s studies in anti-bias work at Pacific Oaks College and earned her Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership at the University of La Verne. Her dissertation, naturally trauma-informed: a mixed methods case study of trauma-informed care training for frontline parks and recreation staff working in urban after-school programs. Most recently, Mercy participated in Appreciative Inquiry in Positive Business and Social Change from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University to create more depth in her change management work and leadership.