As Chief Operating Officer, Zeena is an integral part of strategic planning, program development, budgets and finance, policy development, construction projects, and enhancements to the agency's day-to-day functioning, including ensuring that all aspects of programs align with agency functions.
Zeena’s heart for serving started in her early childhood as she grew up with parents from India and Singapore and witnessed the needs of people from various backgrounds during travels worldwide as well as here in Los Angeles. While a young undergraduate student at University of California at Berkeley, she was further inspired by anthropologist Margaret Mead’s famous quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It led her to begin working internationally with children and families in places like Ecuador and Ghana.
Then in 2000, she returned to the United States and began her path in clinical work. After receiving her Master of Science (MS) in Counseling from California State University at Fullerton, she became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and over the years moved progressively into more leadership positions after starting her early clinical career as a case manager.
Zeena began working at Rancho in 2018, as Clinical Quality Assurance and Improvement Director, when Rancho became a Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) and was specifically hired to help obtain and implement the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) contract. Since then, she has been integral in applying for and onboarding additional contracts/programs.
In 2021, Zeena was promoted to Contracts and Compliance Director and joined the executive team. Zeena brings a strategic mind, strong technology skills, exceptional organization, and clinical experience to her work. Her ability to turn complex requirements into workable systems and bring departments together in the process has made a lasting difference at Rancho.
In addition, Zeena speaks Spanish proficiently. Zeena and her husband have 4 adult children and an adorable granddaughter. She enjoys comedy shows, concerts, and long walks as well as traveling and learning about new cultures/languages.