About Us

Director (mfrapwell@ucsd.edu) she/her/hers

Marianne Frapwell joined the CARE team as Director in 2021. She brings to this role over a decade of experience and a deep commitment to transformative community empowerment, trauma-informed and intersectional program design, and sustainable and healing movement-building.

Prior to her time at UCSD, Marianne oversaw the sexual and intimate partner violence prevention and advocacy services at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She also co-chaired the campus-wide restorative justice committee and spearheaded the implementation of campus-wide restorative practices.  

As a consultant, she has worked with K-12 educational institutions and community agencies to design sexual violence prevention and response programs and incorporate trauma-informed practice and philosophy into service provision. 

Prior to her time in California, Marianne worked in community mental health as a clinical team leader and volunteered as a therapist for folks navigating the American asylum process. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Marianne received her BA from Boston College and a Masters in Social Work and an MBA from Washington University in Saint Louis. She is most at home with her husband, exploring the desert, cooking, reading, or doing jigsaw puzzles.

Assistant Director (cpvillaflores@ucsd.edu) she/her/hers

Cindy Villaflores joined the CARE team in 2016 and has served in the roles of CARE Senior Advocate and now as Assistant Director. She brings over a decade of advocacy experience in variety of community settings and has a passion for survivor support that is rooted in empowerment based, trauma-informed, and intersectional approaches. Cindy provides leadership and guidance to the amazing team of CARE advocates and provides oversight of CARE's direct support services for survivors.

Prior to her current position, Cindy was the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate for the Navy’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program at Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL). Cindy has also worked at the local San Diego Rape Crisis Center, Center for Community Solutions, as the East County Sexual Assault Victim Advocate.

Outside of her role at CARE, she enjoys time with her family and friends, being outside in nature, cooking, eating at her favorite restaurants, and reading. 

Senior Confidential Victim Advocate (elg022@ucsd.edu) she/her/hers

Liz has worked in the CARE office since March 2015. She received a MSW from Boston University in addition to a 60-hour Crisis Intervention Training to become a certified Victim Advocate and now provides direct services to students, staff and faculty. Liz also obtained a bachelor’s degree in literature from UC Berkeley and is bilingual in Spanish and English.

She is a first-generation college graduate and has lived abroad in Italy, Germany and Mexico. Her multicultural identities and life experiences help her focus on providing services to international students whose first language is not English. She also has experience working with victims of crime requesting political asylum to the United States.

Liz is passionate about creating a safe space for survivors and empowering their choices. She has facilitated workshops and trainings to several different groups on campus and is the point of contact for outreach collaborations with international, transfer and graduate students. Liz is an avid world traveler and in her free time enjoys exploring different cities and cultures. 

Senior Confidential CARE Advocate (iledonne@ucsd.edu) he/they

Isaiah LeDonne is the confidential CARE advocate at SARC who started at of the beginning of May 2021. Isaiah was born and raised in San Diego with experience in the non-profit sector providing support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth in the South Bay region through community trainings, case management and group support.

Isaiah earned his B.A in Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and achieved an M.S in Health Policy and Law at UCSF. Isaiah has passion in creating affirming care for all intersectional identities, addressing policy issues that impact accessibility and the impacts of colonialism on BIPOC communities. Isaiah also has teaching experience in the areas of community health and health ethics.

In their free time Isaiah enjoys running, watching scary movies, video games, and hopes to visit all the National Parks in the U.S.

Confidential CARE Advocate (ammarquez@ucsd.edu) she/they

Alassandra obtained her 70-hour Intimate Partner Abuse, Sexual Assault, and Human Trafficking Advocate Certification in 2020. In conjunction with providing crisis intervention for survivors of gender-based violence, Alassandra provided case management services for commercially sexually exploited children in Santa Clara County.

Prior to advocacy, she worked for large social media platforms in Silicon Valley to assist engineers in identifying and reporting sexual exploitation and child sexual solicitation. As the first person in her family to attend college, she earned her B.A. in Sociology and Education at UC Santa Barbara. She is passionate about education, holistic health, and empowering individuals on their journey towards healing from complex trauma.

In her free time, Alassandra enjoys painting, cooking, hiking, and spending time with family.

Training & Education Specialist (jevalencia@ucsd.edu) she/her/hers

Jessica Valencia began her sexual violence prevention work as a student activist during her undergrad. She received a dual B.A. in Women's Studies and Spanish, along with a certification in Spanish-English Translation and Interpretation from San Diego State University. She has experience in volunteer management, youth programs and primary sexual violence prevention education. Jessica is passionate and committed in working with others to end sexual violence and dismantle the roots of oppression. On her down time, Jessica enjoys reading, running, and dancing to live music. 

Training & Education Specialist (athomassanchez@ucsd.edu) she/they

Andi initially became involved in violence prevention during their time in college at University of Puget Sound. As a student, they served as a peer educator and delivered prevention programs to the student body while also connecting survivors with campus and local resources. This experience inspired Andi to pursue their M.A. in Student Development Administration at Seattle University so that they could continue the important work of preventing violence and supporting survivors specifically within higher education settings. Applying a focus on student development and empowerment in their work, Andi believes that education is crucial to shifting campus culture to keep everyone safe.

Prior to working with CARE, Andi served as the Program Coordinator for Healthy Relationships at Seattle University where they developed and delivered sexual health and violence prevention programs to the campus and advised peer health educators. In addition to this, they interned with Kappa Alpha Theta Women’s Fraternity and developed a toolkit for the organization’s members on supporting survivors and responding to disclosures.

Born and raised here in San Diego, Andi enjoys any opportunity that they can to get in the water to swim or surf (although they’re not very good!) Additionally, Andi loves cooking with their partner, being outdoors, and trying all of the delicious food that San Diego has to offer.

Intake & Program Coordinator (ybecerra@ucsd.edu) she/her/hers

Yessica began working for CARE at SARC in September 2022. Yessica received her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Applied Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then went on to pursue her Master of Social Work degree at Cal State San Marcos.

Throughout Yessica’s academic and professional career, she has had the privilege to support underrepresented communities by providing case management services, creating treatment plans, facilitating psychoeducation groups, and providing client advocacy. Post grad, Yessica became a Correctional Counselor at the Santa Barbara County Jail, which drove her passion in this field. As a Correctional Counselor, she connected with incarcerated individuals and listened to their stories and experiences. Since then, Yessica has been eager and focused on making support more accessible for those impacted by dating violence as well as providing violence prevention education to help avoid vicious cycles. She is passionate about empowering individuals and supporting them throughout their journeys.

Yessica loves to spend her free time at Petco Park cheering on the San Diego Padres, trying new coffee spots around San Diego, and going to the beach for self-care. One of Yessica’s bucket list goals is to watch a baseball game in all the Major League Baseball stadiums.