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Meet our Board of Directors
Jennifer Mouzis, Chairwoman
Jennifer Mouzis, Chairwoman: A long-time resident of El Dorado County, Jennifer is a former prosecutor with the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office and is now a leading criminal defense attorney and principle at her own firm. Jennifer has been honored to serve the Upper Room Dining Hall since 2018 as a volunteer, board member, and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors. Jennifer is dedicated to service in her community and those who call it home. As Chairwoman, Jennifer enjoys working with Upper Room staff and volunteers, community members, non-profit partners, and local government to address the issues which impact our most vulnerable neighbors and the community at large. In her time away from the Upper Room, Jennifer enjoys practicing law, cooking, baking, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Carla Milhomme, Vice Chairwoman
Carla Milhomme, Vice Chairwoman: Carla joined our volunteer team in 2019 after a fulfilling career in the healthcare insurance industry, where she specialized in directing large-scale operations through major transitions. She developed a passion and talent for facilitating executive level strategic planning, organizational change management, and enterprise portfolio management. She retired in 2018 and lives in El Dorado County where she has been a resident for over 20 years. During her time with the Upper Room Dining Hall, she has added to her scope and knowledge in the non-profit sector as a grant writer, board member, and active partner to our Executive and Operations Directors. Carla is dedicated to serving the needs of the food insecure in our community. She and her husband of 43 years enjoy traveling and spending time with their 3 daughters and 11 grandchildren.
Derrell Roberts, Treasurer
Derrell has been a resident of El Dorado County, and in particular Camino, for close to 44 years. He is a retired, self-employed CPA. He operated his own firm for 40 years and was a practicing CPA for 45 years. In addition to serving on the Board of the Upper Room he also serves as treasurer for two additional non-profits. Since joining the Upper Room Board of Directors in 2022 he has found great joy in serving those who are food insecure. He and Renee, his wife and best friend of almost 49 years, both enjoy serving monthly at the Upper Room. Parents of 6 children and 26 grandchildren they travel extensively to keep their family connections. They also love traveling and have been blessed to visit over 40 countries.
Debbie Kiersey, Secretary
Debbie joined our Board of Directors in 2022 and now serves as our Board Secretary. She is a native Californian and a long-time resident of El Dorado County having lived in our foothill communities for over 23 years. Debbie has had a passion for serving those in need for as long as she can remember and was introduced to the Upper Room Dining Hall by her mother in 2017, where they would serve together preparing the dining hall for service. In addition to volunteering at the Upper Room and serving on our Board, Debbie’s passion for serving others has been woven throughout her years of volunteering in the Catholic Church and community ministries. She and her husband, Kevin, of 22 years partner together in the running of their company, Altamont Technical Sales.
John Fitzpatrick, Board Member
John and his wife moved to El Dorado County from Phoenix, Arizona in 2018. After working in radio and television as an announcer and technician, he moved to providing media support for corporate conferences in the Scottsdale resort industry. After that he worked as a Media Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District in Phoenix and Scottsdale where he retired from in 2017. He comes to the Upper Room after 16 years as a volunteer at André House serving the poor and homeless of Phoenix. He has also been a long-time volunteer with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other charities in the Phoenix area. He has been a volunteer with the Upper Room since 2018 and a board member since 2019.
James Gasper, Board Member
Dr. Gasper completed his Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver followed by residency in psychiatric pharmacy at UCSF. He spent the first 10 years of his career with the San Francisco Dept of Public Health caring for the indigent population suffering from addiction and serious mental illness. In the process he helped introduce opioid addiction treatment in primary care, mental health, and pharmacy-based systems to make these services more accessible to those in need. Since relocating to Camino 8 years ago, Dr. Gasper has helped close the gap in access to addiction treatment in El Dorado County. In addition to the direct patient care he has provided through the years, he serves as a consultant for the UCSF National Clinician Consultation Center Substance Use Warmline which helps health care providers across the country to better treat those suffering from chronic pain, addiction, and mental illness.
Lucille villalobos, Board Member
Lucille Villalobos is an immigrant from the Azores Island who passionately believes in supporting the community she lives in. A 30-year resident of El Dorado County, she holds two Masters Degrees; an MHA and an MPM. In addition to serving on our Board for the last several years, Lucille is actively involved in our community in several other areas. She is a long-time community advocate as Drug Free Community Program Coordinator, the Sierra Mobile Medical Clinic Coordinator for the indigent members of El Dorado County, a Big Sister for the BBBS Organization of El Dorado County and serves on the Parish Council at her church. Married to her husband of 35 years, she has two adult children and is an active foster parent working closely with some of the most vulnerable children in El Dorado County.
Cindy Nicholson, Board Member
Cindy first moved to El Dorado County in 1984 at the age of 14. She attended Oak Ridge High School where she met her husband of 32 years. After studying law at UC Berkeley, she and her husband settled in the Bay Area and raised their two children. She was highly involved in her children’s schools and served on several boards in the process. Cindy and her husband moved back to El Dorado County in 2020 to be closer to their families. In 2021, she began volunteering at Upper Room as part of the cooking and serving teams. Upper Room combined her love of cooking, connecting with others, and serving the community through helping people. When she is not at the Upper Room, she enjoys traveling with her husband, cooking, and trying out recipes on family and friends.
John Pesce, Board Member
John Pesce has held a volunteer position at the Upper Room since January, 2024. After finding his volunteer work to be a positive and powerful experience, he joined our Board of Directors a year later with a desire to expand his reach in support of our community. John had a career as a commercial graphic artist for over 21 years before becoming an educator in the Placerville area. He has taught at-risk populations of high school students, special education for over 4 years, and has held the position as an administrator at a local high school. He brings a wealth of experience, passion, and creativity to the Upper Room Board of Directors. When he isn’t at the Upper Room, he enjoys spending his free time cooking, traveling, and restoring antique woodworking tools.
Renee Roberts, Board Member
A long-time resident of El Dorado County, Renee has been a volunteer with the Upper Room for several years. She recently joined our new food truck team, bringing hot meals to members of our community who are unable to make it to our dining hall. Renee has dedicated her life to family and community, including donating her time and talent toward missionary work through her church, and comes to our Board with a strong background in service to others. She and her husband of over 50 years enjoy traveling and spending time with family and friends.
