Marisa Ornelas
Associate Director of IHOT & HOPE Outreach Programs

Marisa manages and oversees multiple homeless outreach programs, a behavioral health program, and housing resource centers that – when combined – service more than 600 individuals each year. While managing 15 staff members, including a manager and clinical interns, she is responsible for quarterly and annual reports, as well as budget, payroll, and staffing needs for multiple contracts. She regularly coordinates with Alameda County Behavioral Health and Healthcare for the Homeless regarding care-coordination needs. Marisa also manages compliance for HMIS and HIPAA, among others, and maintains up-to-date training requirements for staff. In previous roles at Abode, she served as clinical program manager for IHOT, and as lead mental health outreach worker for both the HOPE Program and Street Outreach Team.

She has nearly 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has spent almost two decades in a workplace leadership role. She also has served as a San Francisco street crisis response clinician, working on a multidisclipinary team with the S.F. County Fire Department, S.F. Department of Public Health, and RAMS, a mental health nonprofit organization. 

Marisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, San Bernardino, and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. She also is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor.