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Matt Walton
Executive Director -
Rami B. Assad
Senior Director of Finance -
Nimra Gardley
Senior Director of Clinical Services -
Donna L. Johnson, JD
Director of Training -
Shireen Ossanlo
Director of Development -
Jon Quach, MD
Medical Director -
Ken Simms
Director of General Operations
Matt Walton
Executive Director
Rami B. Assad
Senior Director of Finance
Rami is a seasoned financial management professional with a passion for driving impact within the non-profit sector. Armed with an MBA from Loyola Marymount University, which he completed in 2009, Rami brings over 20 years of invaluable experience to the table, with 6 of those years spent honing his skills in the for-profit sector.
Throughout his career, Rami has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to organizations whose missions resonate with his personal values. His expertise spans a wide range of financial disciplines, including managing audits, financial reporting, analysis, budgeting, and forecasting. Known for his collaborative approach, Rami excels in fostering partnerships across all levels of an organization to achieve shared goal
Nimra Gardley
Senior Director of Clinical Services
Donna L. Johnson, JD
Director of Training
Donna L. Johnson has over 25 years of experience working with substance use disorders, criminal justice and integrated care. She has a long history of increasing profitably, growing and enhancing programs, while ensuring quality services for programs in all levels of care. Donna has significant knowledge of legal/judicial issues and an excellent understanding of organizational systems and processes. She has a special interest in international work, providing consulting, Matrix model training and various behavioral health and criminal justice topics training to many countries that include: South Africa, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, to name a few. Donna believes that staff training, demonstration of skills and clinical supervisions are the keys to quality care and she values the role that Matrix offers to agencies through the training, consulting process and Key Supervision component.
Donna has been a consultant and trainer for the Matrix Institute on Addictions for over 17 years and is the lead author on the Matrix Model for Criminal Justice. She has also worked as a contributor on several other Hazelden publications, and she is a trainer for Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Donna has written numerous magazine articles and has been featured on CBS Atlanta, PBS, CNN and Fox News on various addiction issues.
She served as the Director for a large community mental health center, overseeing all levels of care including detox, inpatient, crisis stabilization, intensive outpatient, residential, women’s programs and adolescent services. In addition, she worked in several areas of the criminal justice system including: corrections, drug courts, community supervision and youth justice. Donna also worked with a large hospital system to integrate behavioral health and trauma informed care into their primary care system.
Donna founded her own company, Addiction Solutions of Georgia, Inc., where she specialized in consulting and training in substance use disorders, criminal justice, tele-mental health and integrated care. She has provided consulting and training to numerous state addiction authorities, CSAT projects, hospitals, drug courts, agencies, Fortune 500 companies and many criminal justice programs. Donna has been a speaker and keynote for numerous national and international conferences, including the National Association for Drug Court Professionals Conference and the National Conference on Addictive Disorders and the United Kingdom and European Symposium on Addictive Disorders.
Shireen Ossanlo
Director of Development
Shireen Ossanlo is a development professional with over 13 years of experience working for established nonprofit organizations, such as the YMCA and Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Shireen has dedicated the past eight years to the marketing and advancement of youth through education. Most recently serving as the Executive Director for the Torrance Education Foundation, which funds 31 schools and 23,000 students per year.
Shireen possesses a background in fundraising, capacity building, marketing, event planning, grant writing, capital campaigns, major gifts, planned giving, nonprofit operations, board development, alumni relations, management, and customer service for small to medium-size nonprofit organizations. She specializes in board development with certificates from the Annenberg Foundation- Alchemy and Alchemy+ programs and the Executive Service Core- Developing Development Program.
A West Los Angeles native, Shireen is passionate about making a difference in the community she grew up in. Shireen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from California State University of Northridge. She is dedicated to positively impacting people’s lives and advocates for those marginalized by society.
Jon Quach, MD
Medical Director
Jon Quach, MD, received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Summa Cum Laude, from University of California, San Diego and his Doctor of Medicine from New York University School of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine.
Dr. Quach completed both an internal medicine residency and addiction medicine fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center. He was previously an assistant professor of internal medicine and served as a teaching attending at UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital and UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. He oversaw the training of interns, residents, and medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Quach co-founded and manages the UCLA-RR Inpatient Addiction Consult Service and UCLA Bridge Clinic for patients suffering with substance use disorders at UCLA Health. He oversees the training of fellows from the UCLA Health/Eisenhower Addiction Medicine Fellowship at CLARE|Matrix, which serves as a training site for multiple academic programs in Los Angeles County.
Ken Simms
Director of General Operations
Ken Simms is a proven professional in the Greater Los Angeles Area; he has over 20 years of experience working with small to medium-sized organizations as a key member of executive management. He has worked in multiple industries including service, technology, manufacturing, commercial real estate, and not-for-profit sectors. He has been responsible for business planning, strategic development, cash management, vendor management and monthly closing process. He specializes in systems conversions, operational streamlining. He has participated in due diligence for merger and acquisitions, post-acquisition restructuring, and implemented cost cutting initiatives. He has been responsible to report to bank officials and various board of directors. Additionally, he has managed numerous standard, forensic and municipal audits. Mr. Simms has a BA from the University of Southern California in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting.