Penny Mehra

Penny first joined Alcott in 1981 as an intern. In only a few years she became an Administrator, which included managing the facility, maintenance, food service, housekeeping, night managers, medication management ,and program staff. She felt overwhelmed by all this and even felt a little bit of imposter syndrome but overcame all of that because she believed that what the agency did for the community was worth it. As our programs and services expanded, Penny continued building bonds with the Department of Mental Health, attending local mental health stakeholder groups, fundraising, advocating for the Alcott Arts programs, and continued to support a sense of community with weekly meetings at the facilities.  Penny dedicated 37 years to supporting our community members through the Alcott Center and continues to support the work being done.

Tom Pritchard

Tom was motivated to start his work in non-profit mental health because of his internship at Camarillo State Hospital and saw so many people being pushed out that had nowhere to go. When the Camarillo State Mental Health Facility was closed, there was an influx of people needing help with mental health and housing. In April 1979, Tom organized a team of dedicated volunteers and started Beverlywood Center which started out small and grew greater and greater because of the demand for its services which was a combination of housing and social rehabilitation. The county started funding the organization based on the effectiveness of the services provided. Tom is now retired, but continues to support the work being done through the Alcott Center.