Our board members tell us a little about themselves and their work with Operation Care.
If you would like to join the Board of Directors of Operation Care, please contact us by emailing info@operationcare.org.
Al Casias-
I was born and raised in Stockton, California, and after completing high school I joined the United States Navy. I served as a Hospital Corpsman for eight and half years, and then returned home. I have been actively working as a police officer in Amador County for the last thirteen years. I started my career with the Ione Police Department where I also completed my Bachelors Degree in Law Enforcement Management. At the end of 2023 my time with the Ione Police Department came to an end, and I was hired by the Sutter Creek Police Department.
During that time, I have worked with the members of Operation Care on numerous occasions and I admire the service they provide to the community. When I heard there was an open position on the Operation Care Board, I applied for the position. I felt that I had the ability and specific qualifications to fill their open seat and I was lucky enough to join the organization..
Since 2019, my wife and I and our three young children have happily resided here in Amador County. I also have three older children who are married and working on their own families, one of which has given me a grandson.
Amanda Gonzales-
I was born and raised in the greater Sacramento area. I received a BS in Business Administration at Sacramento State University. During my time there, I developed a passion for marketing. I joined a marketing club on campus and worked on several marketing projects helping local businesses and nonprofits.
After college I joined corporate America where I’ve held positions in sales, marketing, and product management. I continued my education and obtained a Master of Business Administration at UC Davis. My passion for marketing grew and I founded Marketur, a marketing agency specializing in helping small business owners grow their business.
My husband and I moved to Amador County in 2021 when we fell in love with Sutter Creek after only one visit. I love everything about Amador County, the landscapes, the community, the small town feel and I am making it my mission to help make it an even better place and help those in need.
Chris Wendland –
I was born in Los Angeles, California during World War II at which time my father was serving as a paratrooper in the Army. My mother knew she could not take proper care of me and made the heart felt decision to adopt me out to a wonderful couple who raised me. Ten years ago I found out that I have a younger biological sister, what an amazing blessed event in my life. Now that I am retired after raising four children and devoting many hours to my 40 year career as an administrative manager for the State of California I am so very fortunate to enjoy many hours with my delightful seven grandchildren 12 great children and 1 great great grand child, so very blessed. I knew I had a need to give back to my community by joining various nonprofit organizations.
I have been a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault and a cancer survivor, so what better way than to join with all of my heart and soul those who provide amazing services to so many in our community. So that said this is what inspires me to do for those in need
To quote Maya Angelou “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel”
Jennifer Zanetta –
I was born in Berkeley, California and raised in Contra Costa County. I had two siblings, one older and one younger. I attended Catholic school up to the eighth grade and public schools through graduation from high school. I took some business classes from the local junior college. I married my husband in 1974 and started my family soon after. My first child was a girl and two and half years later, I had a boy. I started my banking career with Bank of America. The great thing about my time with Bank of America, was the time off given to work at my children’s co-op nursery school. This school was a great experience for the children and me.
After Bank of America, I worked for a small bank and in 1993, I followed my husband to Amador County. I quickly picked up a job working for a local bank. Our youngest child soon graduated Argonaut High School. I moved through a number of banks from operations officer, loan officer, and branch manager. During this time, I volunteered as a teacher’s assistant mainly in the classes of my grandchildren. I have six grandchildren, with four of them living in Amador County. After working for some 40 years, I retired in 2017 from the same bank that I started with in Amador County.
My husband retired from Amador County a few years after my retirement. We did some traveling in our trailer after retirement. With our extra time when not traveling, we volunteered for different community organizations. Mine has mainly been with Operation Care. I loved the time spent working the afterschool program with the junior high school kids.
My goal is to continue to volunteer with Operation Care and support other non-profit clubs in the community. My reward is just knowing that I’m helping those people less fortunate than myself.
Luisa Almeida –
Born and raised in colonial Angola has imprinted in me the need to be vigilant and fight for social justice. As an RN, MPH, the realities of domestic violence and the prevalence of the abuse became visible even when some of victims were in denial and ashamed to admit the problem. Domestic violence is not unique to a socio-economic group.
In Operation Care I have found the opportunity to, maybe, contribute to a cause I believe in.
Being the wife of a supportive partner, mother of two caring, productive and empathetic children and the grandmother to three grandchildren is a gift and a privilege!
Mark Harmon-
I was born in Oakland and grew up in Newark California. I attended Chabot College in Hayward where I received an AA degree in Administration of Justice. I worked in Loss Prevention and then started my career in Law Enforcement in 1977.
I visited Jackson in Amador County in 2003 and knew this was where I wanted to be. I started working for the Jackson Police Department shortly thereafter and retired in 2016 to care for my father. I continued to work with the Jackson Police Department after I retired and to this day, still work there part time.
Having worked with Ashley and Operation Care in that role, I decided to give back to Jackson and the community. I applied to become a board member in early January 2024 and was given the opportunity to join the organization.
Michelle Porter –
I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was a flight attended for 20 years and flew both domestic and international. I did many odd jobs until I was fortunate enough to land a job at BART. I retired from BART in 2005. I moved to Amador County with my, now, husband D’Arcy to be closer to my parents. I love my small-town community and volunteer often with many different non-profits in Amador County. I came from an abusive marriage and wish I had the support of Op Care when I was dealing with the terrible injustices. I wholeheartedly believe in the services and support Operation Care affords its clients. I joined the Operation Care Board because there are people that wanted and needed the help and support and believe in the mission that Operation Care holds.
Sandy Sullivan –
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, my family moved several times as I was growing up in the Midwest and on the East Coast and eventually settled in California. When I married, we settled in Southern California and lived there until we moved to Amador County in 2005. We continued to travel and eventually retired in 2010.
After retiring I wanted to become more involved in the community. I served on the Board of the Friends of the Library for several year and then I became a Master Food Preserver in 2013 and continue today to educate the public about safety when preserving food.
I am a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona with a BS degree. During my working career I worked for various financial institutions and spent the majority of my career working with all aspects of IRA plans helping many people understand and save for their retirement.
Now, on my own, I hope to contribute to support of Operation Care in their mission of offering services and support related to domestic violence in the community. These services are vital to so many in the community as I have learned by talking to people who have been in such a situation and needed help and support.
