Leadership in California
Phoenix House has served communities in California since 1979, helping thousands of individuals to overcome the problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse and go on to lead healthy, productive and rewarding lives. Some 1,200 adults and teenagers receive treatment each day through more than 22 Phoenix House programs in Southern and Central California.
Winnie Wechsler
Senior Vice President & Regional Director Phoenix Houses of California
Winnie Wechsler, who has served as executive director of Phoenix Houses of California since February 2003, is responsible for all of Phoenix House’s activities in California, which span 18 programs serving over 1,200 people each day.Prior to joining Phoenix House, Winnie spent 20 years in the private sector, working in the cable television, Internet, and education technology fields. She was executive vice president and general manager of Internet and broadband services for Lightspan, Inc., an educational multimedia company which she helped take public. Prior to that, she held a number of executive positions with The Walt Disney Company over the course of 14 year. As one of the founders of Disney Online, Ms. Wechsler launched and managed Disney.com, directing all operations, including design, production, e-commerce, advertising and marketing domestically and internationally.Prior to her four years at Disney Internet Group, Winnie spent ten years at Disney Channel. As senior vice president, new business development, she was responsible for exploring new distribution and program development opportunities for Disney Channel, both domestically and internationally.Winnie has also worked with two federal commissions chartered with creating recommendations to Congress about the government’s role in overseeing the online media. She was a member of The National Academy of Sciences’ committee investigating how to protect children from pornography and other harmful material on the Internet, which issued its recommendations to Congress in May, 2002. In addition, from 1993-1995, she served as a senior staff member of the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIIAC), focusing on the impact of the Internet on intellectual property and copyright protection. Winnie earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.- Geoffrey Henderson, M.S.
Senior Program Director, Phoenix House Orange County
Geoff Henderson oversees Phoenix House’s programs in Orange County, including adult and adolescent residential, sober living, and outpatient programs, as well as our in-custody & post-custody treatment, community case management, and re-entry programs in the county. Geoff has more than 20 years of experience in a wide variety of substance abuse treatment modalities and settings. He serves as the Board Chair of the Orange County Reentry Partnership and on numerous advisory panels and committees in the county and state. Geoff has also served as a college-level instructor for four years. He holds a Master of Science degree in Special Education from California State University at Fullerton and is a candidate for a Doctorate in Management and Organizational Leadership. - Raymond N. Knight, Jr., CPA
Vice President & Director of Finance, Phoenix Houses of California
Ray Knight oversees all of Phoenix Houses of California’s financial operations and information systems activities. Having joined Phoenix House in 2003, he brings to Phoenix House more than 20 years of accounting, finance, and information technology experience. Prior to joining Phoenix House, Ray was Director of Finance and Administration at Mattel, Inc., and held a number of other positions in the private sector, including Director of Finance/Controller at Wickes Companies Inc. and Vice-President of Finance at Bridgestone Software. - Kevin A. Ralph
Vice President and Director of Human Resources & Training, Phoenix Houses of California
Kevin Ralph joined Phoenix House in September 2006, having served for many years as a senior human resources manager in the Los Angeles Unified School District. At LAUSD, Kevin oversaw employee relations for several community districts within the Facilities Services Division and Maintenance and Operations group. Prior to this, he has held senior human resources positions with Priority Records, LLC and the Vons Companies, Inc. Kevin has an extensive background in employee/labor relations, training and development, California labor law, recruitment, and staff development. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of Southern California and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from California State University, Long Beach. - Elizabeth A. Stanley-Salazar
Vice President, Director of Public Policy, Phoenix Houses of California and Managing Director, Phoenix Academy of Los Angeles
With Phoenix House since 1991, Liz Stanley-Salazar wears multiple hats at our organization, overseeing government relations, advocacy and outreach activities for Phoenix Houses of California while also managing Phoenix Academy of Los Angeles, our adolescent treatment program serving hundreds of youth and families each year. Prior to joining Phoenix House, Liz served in leadership and executive roles in public health, substance abuse, mental health and corrections settings. She served as Chief Deputy Director for the California State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs; Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator for Monterey County Health Department; and Vice President/Administrator for Behavioral Health Services. Liz currently serves as a board member of California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, is a member of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Institute, an appointee to Healthy Families Project Advisory Panel, a member of the American Pubic Health Association and of the Statewide Advisory Group to Proposition 36, among other organizations. Liz has a B.S. in Nursing from San Jose State University and an M.P.H. from UCLA. - Maja Trochimczyk, Ph.D.
Director of Planning and Research, Phoenix Houses of California
Dr. Trochimczyk oversees all research, planning, and proposal writing for Phoenix House’s government contracts and awards, including those from federal, state, city, and county agencies. Maja has 13 years of grant-writing and fund-raising experience at institutions such as the University of Southern California, Catholic Charities, St. Francis Medical Center, and other social service agencies in Los Angeles area. She holds a Ph.D. from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and two M.A. degrees from Poland – in music history from the University of Warsaw and in sound engineering from the F. Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw. She is also the author of three books of music history, two books of poetry, and numerous academic and popular publications – poems, essays, papers, book chapters, dictionary entries, CD liner notes, reviews, and so forth. - Elizabeth Urquhart, M.Ed.
Senior Director, Phoenix House San Diego
A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Elizabeth Urquhart oversees San Diego’s adolescent operations. Prior to joining Phoenix House in 2003, Elizabeth worked for 21 years in the public health field, focusing specifically on substance abuse issues for most of that time. Elizabeth is a licensed Health Educator and holds a Masters of Education degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lowell in Massachusetts. For the past ten years, she has been teaching in the graduate Marriage and Family Therapy Program of the University of Phoenix.