Karen Toto

Executive Director

Karen has a Masters degree in counseling psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She has over 18 years of successful leadership, administrative, case management, and direct service experience working with people with disabilities in a diverse range of service delivery environments. She has experience with providing residential and home support services to people with developmental disabilities, including work within licensed environments. Karen has excellent crises management experience both from a service delivery (operational) standpoint and a case management/quality assurance standpoint. She has considerable and longstanding experience serving individuals with significant behavioral and medical/dental challenges. Karen demonstrates a thorough knowledge of and successful track record in California's developmental disabilities services system.

Her previous experience includes: Project Director, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (San Francisco, CA); Director, Crisis Response Project (Antioch, CA); Client Program Coordinator and Crisis Coordinator, Regional Center East Bay (Oakland, CA); as well as experience as a Psychiatric Social Worker (San Mateo, CA) and Clinical Interviewer (Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA). She also had a private therapy practice specializing in work with people with special needs and their family members.

Karen's Professional Affiliations/Memberships:

Victoria Boccanfuso PsyD

Director of Behavioral Services

Dr. Boccanfuso is a native of Southern California where she completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Loyola Marymount University. She began working with children with Developmental Disabilities and their families and continued this work when she moved to Northern California to attend graduate school at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill. It was at JFKU where Dr. Boccanfuso obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Her experience includes work with culturally diverse children, adults, families, and couples in both inpatient hospital and outpatient clinic settings. She is trained in behavioral techniques and clinical therapy modalities. Her interest in Developmental Disabilities and her belief in the importance of supportive caregivers and family have led her to Alegria.

Carla Hernstrom

Home Administrator

For nearly fifteen years, Carla has dedicated her focus on the field of Social Service. Her experience includes respite care, independent and supported living, vocational development, supported employment and recreational day programs in Illinois, NYC and the Bay Area. These opportunities have nurtured a philosophy that remains to this day: client centered. Her background in yoga and holistic arts have assisted in maintaining a very simple theme where helping others is at the core. Carla has found a sense of similarity in approach with Alegria Community Living and she is enthusiastic about serving people with Development Disabilities.

Mark Tedsen

Home Administrator

Mark began his social service career in 1995 as a day program aid in Chico, CA.  He quickly made the transition to social skills instructor, a position that allowed him to apply his creativity to the design of innovative teaching approaches.  Mark has a person-centered philosophy and believes in offering and respecting a persons' choices to promote personal growth. The challenges inherent in helping individuals to successfully transition from State-run developmental centers into the community was what attracted Mark to Alegria.  The prospect of going above and beyond the basic-needs of individuals to focusing on personal growth and development was a calling Mark could not pass up.  When he started with Alegria Community Living, Mark was actually working as a Golf Professional in the Bay Area.  He is thrilled with his return to the social services field and thankful for the opportunity to help individuals served by Alegria achieve their dreams.

Julie Tishler

Lead Staff

Julie is a native Californian who earned her bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Administration at San Diego State University. She then began her career with the California Highway Patrol where she provided safety and service to the residents of California. Julie has over 7 years experience working with children and adults with developmental disabilities in both educational and residential settings and has extensive behavioral and crisis management experience. Julie was extremely excited about joining the Alegria team and looks forward to assisting those citizens from Agnews Developmental Center beginning their journey into a community full of growth and choice. Julie is passionate about providing these citizens with patience, and compassion.

Stephanie Davis

Quality Assurance

Even as a young girl, Stephanie had a passion for the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities, electing to always pick her friends with disabilities to play on her teams at school. She attributes her development of compassion and comradely with peers who had developmental disabilities with her own struggle with learning disabilities, including speech and hearing impairments. This love of people with disabilities has continued and led Stephanie to pursue studies in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She received her B.A. in Communicative Disorders and went on to obtain her M.A. in Early Childhood Special Education. Over the last 21 years in the field of developmental disabilities, Stephanie has worked with children and adults with disabilities in a variety of capacities, including direct care staff, inclusion specialist, parent educator, early interventionist, family service coordinator, and director of natural supports. She started her work in California in 1989 and has since worked in Oregon, Washington, and Georgia. She has served as a personal care assistant and consultant on inclusive care in Ecuador and Serbia. She is the proud mom of 3 children, one of which has an autism spectrum disorder. In her spare time she loves hiking, fishing, kayaking, and hand gliding with her family.

Martin Lubega

Lead Staff

Martin has a management degree from Birmingham City University in the UK. He has worked in the social services sector for the last 5 years in Europe, Africa and the United states in different roles as a case manager and program coordinator. He has been working full time in the mental disability area full time for the last two years.

Alfredo Guerrero

Lead Staff