ABOUT

Our Story

La Casa de Jenny was born out of our founder, Dr. Leslye Salinas, dissertation study where she realized that there was an unfilled gap for newcomer families. Teachers and administrators express that there was adequate support in the classroom and school setting to support the success of newcomer students. However, their families needed support because they were navigating an entire new world on their own and school staff did not have the right skill set or time capacity to be their support. As an immigrant herself, she understood and saw the need to support adults in their career and educational development as a route to their success in the United States. As adults, oftentimes we relate who we are as individuals to our careers and what we do for a living, and many immigrant adults experience an identity crisis when they arrive in the United States and are not only navigating a new world, but also discovering who they are without their career persona. La Casa de Jenny was founded with the intention to serve as a navigation center where not only are we partnering outsourcing for basic needs to be met, but we are also seeking and creating pathways and opportunities for newly arrived immigrants to have the adequate support as they navigate and acclimate to their new home. La Casa de Jenny is an ode to our founder’s late mother, who came to the United States to seek her own american dream and was unable to achieve that before her sudden passing in 2004.

Our Founder

Leslye Salinas

Dr. Leslye Salinas was born in Lima, Peru. She migrated to the United States, the Bay specifically, at the age of seven to reunite with her mother. At a young age, Leslye learned to navigate the different systems such as housing, medical and schooling as a translator for her family after her mother’s passing. That sparked what later became her career as an educator dedicated to supporting families and students to remove barriers in the way of student’s academic success. 

Leslye obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Legal Studies and Sociology with a minor in Education.  She began to work in school operations and found her passion for being a systems thinker. She proceeded to obtain her master’s degree in Leadership Studies and was passionate about systems change and thinking about ways to disrupt systems that were not serving the most vulnerable population in our school.  In 2015, she became the founding Business Manager at Roses in Concrete Community School in Oakland, California, a school that was committed to serve as a true community school. She found her passion for community schools and how responsive it was for students and families of color. During her time at Roses in Concrete, she was able to share about her work at the California Charter School Association Conference, participate in the National Institute for Urban School leaders and grow as a leader in the community. She focused her work on creating culturally competent and community responsive school operation procedures and practices. Through establishing partnerships with community-based organizations, Leslye was able to establish a food pantry, laundry room and resource fairs for her school-based families. She was part of the redesign team of its one of a kind merger between Oakland Unified School District and a charter school during the 2020 pandemic resulting in becoming the Community School Manager of Oakland Academy of Knowledge in Fall 2021. 

In the spring of 2021, Leslye completed her doctoral study focused on newcomer student support that inspired her Surge fellowship capstone project - La Casa de Jenny - a navigation center. After completing her doctoral studies and her Surge Oakland Fellowship,  she continued to dream through her participation in the Surge Angels Fellowship that allowed her to create a business plan and strategy for what La Casa Jenny would be. In January 2023, she won her first pitch competition winning $40,000 seed investment money to create intentional change in the immigrant community in the Bay Area. With over 10 years of experience working with the Oakland community, she has built trust, relationships, and hope for our immigrant communities and continues to execute on that mission as a CEO and founder of La Casa de journey.

Leslye owns a business for her leadership coaching for women of color and consultant. When she is not focused on her service work, she enjoys doing crafts, being by the water, traveling and spending time with her family and friends. Leslye lives and serves in the Oakland community.

Our Board Members

  • Zeyda Garcia is the Founder of Healing Aguas Wellness Solutions, LLC, which provides mental health/wellness consulting, counselor coaching and socio-emotional curriculum to schools and organizations. She is a 1st generation Mexicana, licensed therapist, lead school counselor, clinical supervisor, and healer dedicated to ensuring all students have access to mental health services in schools. She is a systems-driven and community-oriented thinker that strives to create community responsive spaces of healing which honor all of our complexities. She has supported clients and families, both individually and in group settings, to work through trauma and other mental health concerns. Zeyda has developed multiple community responsive counseling programs at various schools. As a highly esteemed adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, she has trained hundreds of graduate students to be community-responsive counselors. She has supported the development of pre-licensed therapists in school settings to meet the needs of students they serve.

  • My name is Kaycee Hasan and I am a Bay Area native (East Oakland raised me). I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with my bachelors in African American Studies and Social Welfare. I obtained my Masters of Social Work from the University of Southern California. I have been working in education and mental health for over 15 years. I am deeply passionate about supporting educators in reaching their capacity to support youth and families in a wholesome and intentional way. All youth and families deserve caring providers and support persons who see them as whole and considers all areas of their experience when helping them to achieve goals and intentions. I am a licensed clinic social worker and I work full time as a therapist in OUSD by way of Seneca Family of Agencies.

  • Annette Garcia-Gonzalez is a driven and passionate individual who has made her mark as a Communications Manager. Born and raised in Hayward, California, Annette has always been determined to achieve greatness and open doors for others along the way. Her mantra, "being the best means improving yourself and opening the doors for others," reflects her commitment to personal growth and empowering those around her. Annette obtained her higher education at Cal Berkeley, where she honed her skills and knowledge in leadership. As a first-generation college graduate, she overcame numerous challenges and obstacles, making her achievement even more remarkable. Annette's accomplishment serves as a testament to her resilience and determination to succeed.

  • Melissa Cavenecia (Troz) was born in Lima, Peru, spending her childhood memories raised in her home country; at age ten immigrated to the US in search of the American dream. Very familiar with the challenges one faces to assimilate into a new culture without familiarity. She is proud to be a first-generation college graduate passionate about mental health and community healing. She has several years of experience in community mental health, case management, and linkage to resources in the SF Bay Area. She understands systems well and implements a culturally sensitive lens while providing care. Experience serving children, adolescents, and adults with diverse mental health diagnoses. Also, she provides care to monolingual Spanish Speaking individuals. She strives to empower individuals to find their voice and is driven to improve public health and access to care.

  • Kadidia Cooper grew up in East Germany, and lived for a short time in Moscow, Russia. The Berlin Wall fell during her stay in Russia, and the country she returned to was not the same, even though she went back to the same apartment. After highschool, Kadidia immediately immigrated to California and never looked back. Coming from a culture where people did not move often, these significant moves early in her life gave her a deep appreciation for the work required of anyone going somewhere new, going beyond finding the grocery store or neighborhood school, especially if you are new to the language or culture. Kadidia received her BA in Business Management from San Jose State University, during which time she worked at a CPA firm. Since graduating, she has managed the second largest law firm in Santa Cruz County, worked as the Controller for a surgery center, was the CFO & Executive VP of a PBS affiliate, and the first Controller & Head of HR for a medical start-up in San Francisco, before landing as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer at 10,000 Degrees, a Marin-based nonprofit. In her free time, you can find Kadidia reading, going to the movies, hiking or otherwise being active, and spending time with her family.