About us

Day One has over 30 years of experience in working alongside residents, young people, elected officials, and other stakeholders to strengthen and build healthy, vibrant communities by advancing public health, advocating for public policies, meaningfully engaging youth, and igniting community-level and behavioral change.

Through the years Day One’s work has earned the organization countless awards, an increase in grant funding, and most importantly key public health policy victories that help address issues of inequity, social justice, bias, tokenism, and social determinants of health among vulnerable, underserved communities.

The agency and its staff are noted leaders in youth advocacy, community engagement and coalition building, policy development and advocacy, and environmental health in the San Gabriel Valley. Our team is skilled in conducting outreach, facilitating community meetings, forming coalitions, and sharing, leading, and implementing community-driven strategies to prevent chronic disease and promote healthy, active communities through evidence-based policy and public health-oriented city/urban planning.

Mission

Our agency’s mission is to build vibrant, healthy cities by advancing public health, empowering youth, and igniting change.

Vision

Our vision is to create a healthy, connected, vibrant world.

Meet the Team

Christy Zamani

Executive Director

A graduate and former Student Body President of California State University Long Beach, Christy Zamani has served as Day One Executive Director since 2007. Christy brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in public policy, community health and youth leadership development to Day One. A Pasadena resident, Christy also is a Board Member for Leadership Pasadena and a member of Vision 20/20, City Conversations and the Asset Development Network.

Jazmin Jimenez

Director of Operations

Jazmin Jimenez is a Pasadena native and has been involved. She holds a Master in Public Administration from Cal State LA and is a UCLA Alumni, with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Chicano/Chicana Studies. Jazmin has been with Day One since 2008, starting as a Youth Advocate and being in the following roles: Administrative Assistance to the Executive Director, Prevention Coordinator and now as a Director of Operations. Jazmin enjoys working out and watching the Dodgers play during baseball season!

Claudia Hathcock

Director of Environmental
Prevention Strategies

Claudia is a Pasadena native and a former Youth Advocate (2006 - 2008). She attended UC Davis and received her B.A. in History with a minor in Political Science. She is currently working on her MPH at California Baptist University. As the Director of Environmental Prevention Strategies at Day One, she is committed to empowering communities to engage in policy making and reducing youth access to alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs through education, advocacy, and youth engagement. Claudia currently serves as the Vice-chair for Rethinking Access to Marijuana, a Los Angeles County wide coalition of prevention leaders committed to reducing youth access to marijuana, minimizing exposure to marijuana, and addressing the unintended harms associated with marijuana legalization.

In her free time she enjoys exploring her community, checking out local restaurants, and listening to audiobooks.

Jennifer Jimenez

Director of Prevention Programs

Jennifer Jimenez was raised in the city of Pasadena and attended Pasadena Unified School District schools. She is the Prevention Programs Director for the Comprehensive Prevention Services at Day One. She is bilingual, and a native Spanish speaker. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Jennifer is a Day One Youth Advocate alumni and has been consistently involved with Day One for over 11 years. She began working at Day One as an Outreach Coordinator for the Advanced Energy Community project in the Bassett and Avocado Heights area. She also served as the Bicycle Outreach Coordinator and has over 2 years of experience working with Champions for Change/CalFresh programs as a Health Educator in El Monte. Jennifer has supervised the implementation of approximately 150 nutrition classes, started the installation of the first community garden at the Jeff Seymour Family Center, and coordinated various walking audits with Youth Advocates from El Monte Unified School District. She currently focuses on Substance Abuse Prevention among youth and adults in the Pasadena area. She also works closely with Pasadena Unified School District students where she provides students with safe spaces and resources through our Youth Advocate Program, Life Skills Social Emotional Education , Project Sticker Shock Internship, and Summer SKILLZ program. She is committed to amplifying youth voices and advocating for social justice issues in her community. Jennifer is a very active person whom you will find running at the Rosebowl or along the Arroyo Seco trails every day. She loves to travel, eat delicious food, horseback ride under the sunset, and dance in her cowboy boots. She is a unique individual that strives to be a champion in her own personal life by maintaining wellness and inspiring others to start up a healthier lifestyle.

Daniel Fong

Director of Regional Violence Prevention Coalitions

Daniel is a testament to a homegrown leader, not just of Pasadena but the San Gabriel Valley! Daniel has always been very involved with sports and after-school programs since elementary school. Through his involvement he has successfully networked with many organizations and mentors throughout the San Gabriel Valley. This is how he came to be a part of Day One in 2008 as a High School Youth Advocate. During his time as a Youth Advocate, Daniel assisted in various campaigns and ordinances for Pasadena and surrounding cities including a city wide Smoke-Free outdoor dining ordinance for the city of Pasadena. The public speaking skills, networking, advocacy, and knowledge of local governments he gained at Day One assisted him in earning his Bachelor's Degree of Science in Sociology with an emphasis on Law and Society from California State University, Los Angeles. With over 10 years of community engagement, Daniel has since worked at various organizations throughout Los Angeles including Active SGV, become an American League of Bicyclists League Certified Instructor (LCI), alumni of Leadership Pasadena, and most recently chaired the Los Angeles County wide Rethinking Access to Marijuana (RAM) coalitions media committee. He is currently the Director of the Regional Violence Prevention Coalition at Day One and wholeheartedly believes in, and is a testament to, Day One's mission to build local youth into powerful leaders.

Alisha Lopez

Director of Tobacco Programs

Alisha was born in Long Beach, CA where she witnessed firsthand the many health disparities that exist in communities of color. Her desire to create change began at a very young age with her own personal experiences seeing the toll alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse takes on families, especially children. She is a graduate of Los Angeles Valley College with an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts and plans to return to school in Fall 2022 to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy. She brings 25 years of public health experience in both the non-profit and public sector. She has almost two decades of experience with community organizing in the tobacco control and prevention policy arena. She served as Chair of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free LA County from June 2007-June 2009, and Chair of the Pasadena Tobacco Prevention Coalition from May 2016-May 2018, further building upon her leadership skills. She enjoys working with communities towards health policies that seek to change the social norms around alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. When she’s not working in communities creating change, she enjoys writing and performing music, cooking, dancing, and spending time with her family.

Colin Bogart

Director of Active Transportation Programs

Colin grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Fine Arts at Loyola Marymount University. Following college, he lived in Prague and San Francisco where he experienced what it means to live in a walkable city with good public transportation. After returning to Los Angeles, he bought a bicycle and his transformation into an active transportation advocate began. Initially a volunteer for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), he became a full time staff member of LACBC in 2008, where he worked for 11 years; first on a grant-funded project in Glendale and then as Education Director. He’s a certified League Cycling Instructor (LCI) and has coordinated multiple LCI training seminars through the League of American Bicyclists. He moved to Pasadena in 2015 with his partner, Jennie, and their three cats. Colin is a Steering Committee member for the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, through which he connected with Day One. When he’s not riding his bike or taking walks with Jennie, he enjoys cooking, gardening, visiting with friends and neighbors, and listening to music or podcasts.

Ashley Mercado

Director of Strategic Engagement

James Cortes-Rivera

Director of Watershed Programs

James was raised in Mexico before migrating to Los Angeles. In LA, he has lived in the communities of south LA where he is socially active. He studied at UC Berkeley and most recently worked as a project manager for a design company which serves businesses with an environmentally conscious agenda. He has also been part of several organizations seeking to improve the lives of marginalized communities in LA. In his free time, he loves reading and writing. He also enjoys traveling and experiencing new places and cultures.

Domonic Moran

Project Coordinator

Domonic graduated from Rio Hondo College with an AA in both Sociology and English. He then transferred to California State University, Long Beach and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology. Since then, Domonic has joined the Day One team as the Tobacco Prevention Community Engagement Coordinator where he is helping various communities around Southern California by way of research and community involvement. When Domonic is not busy working on closing the gap of disparities in public health, he enjoys eating a good vegan meal and playing tons of video games!

Ashley Carrasco

Preventions Program Coordinator

Ashley Carrasco is a Pasadena native who received her Bachelors in Business Administration with a minor in Public Art. She is passionate about creating change in the Pasadena community and is co-chair of the local organization, Hood Liberation who focuses on community healing and economic justice. Today she is the Preventions Program Coordinator for Day One where she creates safe spaces for youth in the community and provides resources to PUSD Families. Ashley works closely with our middle school and high school students through our Youth Advocate Program, Life Skills Social Emotional Education , and our internship program

Evangelica Child

Outreach and Education Coordinator

Evangelica was a former SKILLZ student and Day One Youth Advocate who graduated Pasadena High School in 2016. She has been working as a Day One volunteer for 5 years and finally joined the Day One Staff team in 2019. Evangelica has worked on Project Sticker Shock since joining the team and has worked with local retailers in Altadena and now El Monte which she now works alongside Carly Lopez, working with college interns and El Monte liquor stores to reduce youth access to alcohol. She also works with the El Monte Youth Advocate program to build a more connected city as well and guide youth into finding their voice in public matters as the voices of their city. When Evangelica is not working she attends Pasadena City College as a full time student. She loves to do things like travel, go to music festivals, explore new foods and explore new forms of art.