Our Leadership

Amy Spade is the Deputy Director for FACES for the Future Coalition at Public Health Institute. Amy has dedicated her life’s work to serving others and to fighting on behalf of those who have been marginalized. Her expertise in nonprofit management includes project and grant management, coalition building, collective impact, convening, policy and advocacy, operations, and program evaluation.

At the Bay Area Jewish Federation, Amy oversaw grantmaking, ensured operational excellence, established evaluation practices, and mentored staff to think deeply about goal-setting and outcomes. She supervised and coached managers of community programs in leadership development, security, and scholarships. Additionally, she held portfolios in social services and public affairs, with which she especially supported mental health and refugees.

While at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Amy served as the initiative director of the Los Angeles Regional Coalition for Linked Learning, a collaboration of more than 60 stakeholder organizations working together to increase postsecondary completions in Los Angeles County. She also worked closely with the Los Angeles Unified School District to develop work-based learning systems, manage an intermediary network, and house and analyze data.

In 2017, Amy was a Presidio Institute Cross-Sector Leadership Fellow, learning to apply principles of systems change, design thinking, and inclusion and belonging to collaboratively solve the world’s most complex problems.

Amy’s board service has been rich and varied. From 2013-2018, she served as the Board Secretary of Resolute Academy, a public middle school that opened in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2015. At the Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley, a 50-year-old institution run by and serving the QTBIPOC community, she served as the Board Secretary for two years from 2021-2023. From 2019-2024, she served on the board of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, working to advance anti-poverty and anti-hate policies in partnership with legislative caucuses and other state coalitions.

Before her nonprofit and philanthropic career, Amy taught and served in administrative roles at Houston, Detroit, New York, and Bay Area high schools. A first-generation college graduate, she holds a BA from University of Michigan and an MFA from University of Houston.

Kelly Salazar serves as the Program Administrator for the FACES for the Future Coalition program at the Public Health Institute. She holds a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from California State University, Chico.

Kelly‘s journey in public health began during her undergraduate years when she immersed herself in community health education through internships in local schools, community support centers, nonprofits, and volunteering at Napa State Hospital. Over the past decade, Kelly has focused her career on health promotion, grant management, and peer health education initiatives within Higher Education. She has successfully developed and managed health promotion programs, many of which were funded by grants or established through community partnerships, to address campus needs and enhance campus health education and promotion efforts.

In her current role with the FACES for the Future Coalition program, Kelly applies her expertise in grant and project management, capacity building, and strategic planning to support the team in various aspects of their work. Outside of work, Kelly enjoys spending time with her family, taking long walks with her dog while listening to podcasts, and pursuing creative hobbies.

Jennifer Mejia Nieto is the Project Coordinator for FACES for the Future in South Alameda County and FACES Alumni Programs. She graduated from California State University, East Bay with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. As a proud Bay Area native, Mexican-American, and first-generation college graduate, Jennifer has focused her efforts on addressing the mental health needs of diverse communities.

Jennifer quickly identified a significant gap in mental health services, particularly for monolingual families seeking to support their youth. To bridge this gap, she utilized her bilingual skills to host Spanish-speaking parent groups, offering psychoeducation and fostering a sense of community to better support their children. During this time, Jennifer also played a crucial role in helping youth explore career paths, apply to college, secure jobs, and navigate mental health challenges, all while empowering them to pursue their own growth.

Reflecting on her own experiences, Jennifer’s passion for her work deepened, as she has expressed, “I want to be someone I wish I had during my adolescent years.” Her commitment to youth extends beyond her role at FACES; she also contributed to the creation of a new 24-hour crisis facility for adolescents in Alameda County and volunteered as a mentor for BUILD, a nonprofit that empowers underserved youth through entrepreneurship, helping them become CEOs of their own lives.

During her time at FACES for the Future, Jennifer aims to mentor students aspiring to careers in public health by emphasizing the critical importance of cultural attunement and diversity in all healthcare professions. She is dedicated to building bridges that connect these students to their goals, ensuring they are well-equipped to serve diverse communities effectively. Her core values include: Authenticity, Creativity, Respect, Humility, Community, and Resiliency.