College of San Mateo | Personal Counseling & Wellness Services

Johnny León, LMFT, Bilingual English and Conversational Spanish

Title: Personal Counselor
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling for students, offers presentations/workshops, and consults with staff/faculty.
Years at CSM: Since 2023
Education: M.A., Counseling Psychology, Univeristy of San Francisco, B.A., English, UCLA; transfer student who attended Chabot College, Laney College, and Merritt College
Other Interests: Running, listening to music, reading, traveling, meeting new people.

Gil Perez, LPCC, CST, NCC, CCMHC, BC-TMH

Title: Personal Counselor
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students and consultation to staff/faculty; Coordinates the Mental Health Peer Educator Program; Serves as the Club Advisor for Active Minds
Years at CSM: Since 2016
Education: M.S., Counseling, San Francisco State University
Other Interests: Running, being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, exploring different cultures and food

Makiko Ueda, LMFT, Bilingual English and Japanese

Title: Coordinator/Clinical Supervisor/Counselor
Responsibilities: Makiko provides confidential counseling/consultation to students, staff, and faculty; handles crisis on campus; and coordinates the Marriage and Family therapist (MFT) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) internship training program.
Years at CSM: Since 2007
Education: M.A., California Institute of Integral Studies
Other Interests: Singing, traveling and reading

Alexandra Caldeira, LMFT, Trilingual-English, Spanish and Portuguese

Title: Personal Counselor
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students and consultation to staff/faculty; specializing in psychodynamic and expressive arts therapy. She also offers a variety of groups on campus including Guided Visualization and Expressive Arts group and the Women's Circle.
Years at CSM: Since 2017
Education: M.A., Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Other Interests: Dancing, connecting with nature, and traveling.

Daniel Rhyne, LMFT, APCC

Title: Personal Counselor
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students and consultation to staff/faculty specializing in work with Veterans and Athletes; provides crisis support for students on campus; provides workshops on de-escalation and crisis management.
Years at CSM: Since 2019
Education: M.A., Counseling, Palo Alto University, B.S. Psychology and Social Action Palo Alto University
Other Interests: Biking, Backpacking, Video Games, Reading, Family, Hockey, Helping people.

Lisa Chu, Bilingual English and Conversational Mandarin Chinese

Title: Personal Counseling Intern

Preferred Name and Pronouns: Lisa (She/Her)

Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students.

Education: M.A. (expected 2025) Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Palo Alto University; M.D. University of Michigan Medical School; A.B. magna cum laude Biochemical Sciences, Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges

Other Interests: mixed media art making (textiles, bookmaking, art journaling), meditation, hiking, travel, volunteering

Laura Held, AMFT

Title: Personal Counseling Intern
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students.
Years at CSM: Since 2022
Education: M.A., Counseling, Palo Alto University, B.A. Psychology and Mass Communication, UC Berkeley
Other Interests: Traveling, Reading, Gardening.

Svetlana Ishchenko, AMFT, Trilingual in English, Russian, and Conversational Ukrainian

Title: Personal Counseling Intern
Preferred Name and Pronouns: Svetlana (She/Her)
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students.
Years at CSM: Since 2024
Education: M.A., Counseling Psychology from USF, B.A Child Development and International relations minor.
Other Interests: Weight lifting, cooking, music, traveling.

Alexa Padilla, APCC, Bilingual in English and Conversational Spanish

Title: Personal Counseling Intern
Preferred name and pronouns: Lex (She/Her/Ella)
Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students.
Years at CSM: Since 2024
Education: M.S. in Counseling with Specialization in College and Emphasis in Clinical Mental Health at San Francisco State University; B.A. in Sociology with a Minor in Applied Psychology at UC Santa Barbara; transfer from Skyline Community College.
Other Interests: Traveling, dancing (samba, salsa, Tahitian, and more), creating art, watching Harry Potter, reading books at a nice coffee shop, and spending time with my loved ones.

Celine Warner

Title: Personal Counseling Intern
Preferred Name and Pronouns: Celine Warner (She/Her)

Responsibilities: Provides personal counseling to students.
Education: M.A. (expected 2025), Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University; B.A. Communication Studies, University of San Francisco; transfer from Foothill College
Other Interests: Tennis, painting, floral design, cooking and baking for family & friends

Gloria D'Ambra

Title: Staff Assistant
Responsibilities: Schedules appointments for Health Services & Psychological Services, manages international student insurance and campus accident insurance, handles absence notifications and P.E. Waivers for health reasons, coordinates the intake and billing process for Family Planning Services (FPACT), and assists in coordinating the health fair and other events.
Years at CSM: Since 1986
Education: Diablo Valley College & College of San Mateo/Business
Other Interests: Exercising, cooking, and spending time with seven grandchildren.

Meet the Staff