About the Staff

• About La Luz
• About the Staff
• Board & Advisors

Brenda Serrano
Administrative Assistant

My name is Brenda Serrano; I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco and came to this country when I was 2 years old.  I have lived in the town of Sonoma for 3 years, but have lived in the Sonoma County area most of my life. I graduated from Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa in 1992.  I enjoy helping people and being organized.  When I am not working I like to relax by watching old movies, walking my dog Charlie, and making jewelry with all kind of beads.  I look forward to my upcoming years at La Luz.

Kara Olness

Family Service Director

Kara has been the Client Services Coordinator at La Luz since September 2002, but for three years before that, she volunteered here in the office and taught a weekly ESL class. Her present job is a full schedule of working with clients, helping them find jobs, housing, and medical and legal services. She helps translate negotiations between employer/employee and landlord/tenant. Kara also oversees the monthly Latino Concilio meetings sponsored by La Luz.

“I love what I do at La Luz,” says Kara, “especially, if, at the end of the week, I have been able to help some people resolve some of their problems. I’m a real people person and have always enjoyed working in the community. I like working with many issues, even the difficult ones, because they are always interesting!”

Kara is the only La Luz staff member who was born and raised in Sonoma. She is a graduate of Sonoma Valley High School and Sonoma State University, where she received a B.A. in Spanish and International Studies. She first learned Spanish while living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and later studied at the University of Seville in Seville, Spain.

In addition to her duties at La Luz, Kara has served as an Outreach Worker at the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center and a member of the Redevelopment Advisory Committee for the Springs Area.

She and her husband, Ricardo, have two sons. When she has spare time, Kara likes to travel and, in addition to Mexico and Spain, has visited North Africa, Europe and Canada.

Daniel Pignataro
Computer Learning Center Coordinator

Daniel is the staff member in charge of the Computer Literacy Program. Daniel has an extensive experience maintaining and troubleshooting computer networks in his native Argentina. His teaching experience includes teaching computer literacy and intervention classes in reading, writing and Math for elementary students (k-5) at Flowery School, tutoring in Spanish and training technicians on the job.

Daniel has the patience and understanding to work with adults new to the computer and exhibit a real commitment to learning from them as he tailors his teaching methods to best reach his students.

The acquisition of this important job skill can help employees improve their position at work and, incidentally, help close the "digital divide" that occurs in families where only the children know how to use the computer. The five-week classes are extremely popular, with a waiting list for the next two sessions already filling up.

Amy Doherty
Volunteer Coordinator

Amy grew up in San Rafael, CA and learned the value of volunteer work through participating in an AIDS organization as a teenager. Since that time, she has volunteered and worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the Boys and Girls’ Club and an organization for coffee farmers in Northern Nicaragua. More recently, she was an English as a Second Language Teacher in Oaxaca, Mexico. Amy is very excited to share her love of volunteering with the community and to be a part of the team at La Luz.

Amy crecío en San Rafael, California y aprendió el valor del trabajo voluntario a través de su participación en una organización de ayuda para gente con SIDA. A partir de esta experiencia, ella ha trabajado para varias organizaciones sin fines de lucro incluyendo el Boys and Girls’ Club y una organización para cafetaleros en el norte de Nicaragua. Recientemente, fue maestra de inglés en Oaxaca, México. Amy está muy emocionada por compartir su entusiasmo con trabajo voluntario con toda la comunidad y ser parte del Centro La Luz.