Meet Our Team

Our team is dedicated to helping clients receive affordable mental health care. We invite you to learn more about our staff and board.

Samantha Lopez Carrizales

Program Coordinator - Open Path

Samantha earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Anthropology from Princeton University. She is passionate about advocacy, particularly around immigration issues, and ensuring that marginalized communities receive care, justice, and the resources they need to feel empowered. Samantha is excited to join Open Path and provide support to people seeking accessible mental health services.

Sheena Ruffin

Director of Community and Marketing

A proud Brooklyn native and recent Stockholm transplant, Sheena brings over 16 years of experience working in diverse environments, leading marketing and social media initiatives across the globe. From the start-up scene in NY to the sustainable fashion industry in Sweden, her heart has always been in ensuring inclusion and equity for all, with a keen focus on historically marginalized people. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Brown University and is staunchly committed to social justice issues across the world.

Maggie Schroder

Program Manager

Maggie brings over five years of experience at Open Path to the Program Manager role. Maggie earned her Bachelor of Social Work at NC State where she focused on interpersonal violence prevention education, farmworker rights, and nonprofit studies. She finished graduate school at Western Carolina, earning a Master of Social Work, and gaining experience in providing individual and group therapy during short-term psychiatric care. She is passionate about increasing accessibility for folks seeking therapy and mental health education, and supporting Open Path’s Staff.

Elizabeth Thompson

Community and Social Media Manager

Elizabeth earned a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration in 2016 and has been working in Marketing and Communications roles ever since. She enjoys working collaboratively to tell digital stories across platforms and audiences, especially within the nonprofit sector with organizations that impact our lives and communities for the better. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, traveling with her husband Doug, and eating delicious food.

Juman Khweis

Program Associate - Open Path

Juman (pronounced Jew Mann) holds a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco (USF). While she has chosen to transition away from clinical work, she remains deeply committed to the mental health field. That’s why she’s excited to contribute to the Open Path affordable therapy program, supporting both prospective and enrolled clients and therapists. Her passion lies in educating people about mental, emotional, and relational wellness as well as connecting individuals, particularly those in marginalized communities, with the comprehensive care they need for holistic wellness—addressing spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical aspects. Outside of her professional endeavors, Juman enjoys going on walks, tuning into podcasts on psychospiritual topics, exploring new cafes, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Melanie Wagner

Program Coordinator - Open Path

Melanie comes to Open Path with a decade of experience working in education and social services. She holds a B.S. in Adolescent to Young Adult Education from Bowling Green State University and has served as a teacher, tutor, and case manager. She is also active in social justice work in Chicago, particularly around youth incarceration. Her work is driven by her investment in building toward a world where individuals and communities have the resources they need to thrive, and she is excited to help connect people to affordable therapy through Open Path.

Ritti Mendieta

Program Assistant - Open Path

Ritti holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and has dedicated most of her career to working in nonprofit organizations. Passionate about supporting social issues that make a meaningful impact, she is dedicated to creating affordable access to therapy for all. With a background in operations, Ritti is committed to helping initiatives that foster positive community change.

Kelly Zentgraf

Program Associate - Open Path

Kelly comes to Open Path with an undergraduate degree in psychology from the George Washington University and a master's degree in social policy from the University of Pennsylvania. She has extensive experience in mental health and substance use disorder research and brings a passion for equitable access to mental health care to her work. Outside of her professional life, Kelly enjoys practicing yoga, hanging out with her dog, and exploring her home city of Philadelphia.

Jasmine Reynoso

Program Associate - Open Path

Jasmine is delighted to bring her experience in product and service design to the Open Path team. She holds a B.S. in Science, Technology, & Society with a concentration in Product Design from Stanford University. Her commitment to advocating for equitable access to basic needs aligns with Open Path's mission of providing affordable access to mental health care. When she's not supporting our Mental Health Education Program as a Program Associate, she can be found hanging out with her dog, drawing outdoors, or looking for a new read at the local library.

Lisa Isenhart

Deputy Director

As Deputy Director, Lisa directs and oversees Open Path’s programs and operations. She wholeheartedly supports Open Path’s mission to provide people in need with affordable resources for their mental health and overall wellbeing. Lisa received her BA in International Studies from Kenyon College, and earned her MA in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. After researching social movements and the politics of change during her graduate studies, Lisa decided to actively participate in bringing about a healthy and just society. She has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2007.

Paul Fugelsang

Founder & Executive Director

Paul has worked in the mental health field since 1996 with a focus on projects committed to improving mental health services for lower-income individuals and families. Before beginning his own private psychotherapy practice, he spent five years as counselor and supervisor at Esperanza, NY, a community-based agency designed to implement procedural reform throughout the juvenile justice system in New York City. A graduate of Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychotherapy program, Paul operates Open Path Psychotherapy Collective and resides in Asheville, NC.

Amy Durso

Board Member

Amy is an educator and musician. Her specialty areas include working with children with severe emotional and learning disorders and positive behavior management program design and implementation. She spent the first 12 years of her career working at the Wright School, a pioneering treatment program that focuses on the child’s family and community system. Amy also is a musician for heart2heart, a nonprofit that services communities and individuals during the dying time. Through heart2heart, she contributes her music and support to a wide variety of spiritual rituals, workshops and bodywork/healing sessions.

Patricia Calastro Ortiz, LCSW

Board Member

Trish has spent the last 20 years of her career at Esperanza, NY Inc., a program that works to reduce reliance on out of home placement, jail, and prison for NYC’s justice involved young people- disproportionately children of color from communities highly impacted by poverty, violence, and resource inequity. At Esperanza, Trish has collaborated with justice system stakeholders throughout two decades of structural reform to provide an approach to reducing the use of placement, detention and prison that is responsive to critical issues like racial equity and social justice, trauma and mental health. As a therapist specializing in adolescent and family work, with a particular focus on trauma and attachment disruption, Trish has supervised and trained staff to provide comprehensive services including intensive therapy, and case and crisis management. Trish was previously Clinical Supervisor of Alternative Sentencing programs at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. She also served as a court advocate for CAMBA’s Choices for Youth, an alternative sentencing program for juveniles. Trish also has experience with adolescents and families in other settings, including in an alternative high school and a residential foster care facility.

Paul Bialek

Board Member

Paul is a psychotherapist in private practice in Boulder Colorado. He works with individuals, couples and groups. Prior to moving to Boulder, he ran a non-profit mentoring program for teens in rural Colorado. He came to Boulder to study psychotherapy at Naropa University, and then spent ten years as core faculty in Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychotherapy program.