Katherine Chalas | Family Worker | The Healing Center
Katherine Chalas serves women affected by intimate partner violence and abuse at The Healing Center through bilingual and culturally competent services in Spanish and English. She is passionate about fostering change and transformation within the clients she works with, and works to meet survivors where they are, build their confidence, and inspire them to reclaim power over their own lives. Prior to joining The Healing Center’s team, Katherine worked across victim services, housing, and family court settings. She brings over ten years of experience in the social services field. When not working, she loves to cook, watch movies, and plan nights in with her three kids.
Natasha Pimentel | Administrative Specialist & Family Advocate | The Healing Center
Natasha Pimentel is a dedicated Latina birth doula with a decade of experience empowering BIPOC women through childbirth. She has facilitated transformative women’s workshops, recognizing the impact of trauma on birthing experiences. She is committed to creating a lasting positive impact on communities, and is now transitioning into social work to support women and families holistically by addressing their emotional needs beyond childbirth. She currently serves as an Administrative Specialist & Family Advocate at The Healing Center while completing her social work degree. In this capacity, she supports the organization’s administrative functions and delivers a range of strengths-based, culturally competent services in Spanish and English to survivors of intimate partner violence.
Tammy Tellez | Sexual Assault Advocate | The Healing Center
Tammy Tellez, The Healing Center’s Sexual Assault Advocate, has aspired to dedicate herself to a life where she is able to help others. While earning her Bachelor’s Degree in political science, she was able to dive deeper into her own passions including domestic violence and sexual assault. She believes in advocating for and educating others, and in her free time enjoys reading, listening to music, biking and going on walks.
Raquel Nieves | Elder Justice Advocate | The Healing Center
Raquel Nieves is The Healing Center’s Elder Justice Advocate, and serves the southwest Brooklyn community by fostering education and awareness about elder abuse and well-being. Her work creates a safer community by offering resources and information not only to elders but also to those in their lives. Raquel has previously worked as a parent coordinator at Sunset Park Avenues Elementary School, and in the private sector in finance and legal settings. She loves spending time with her family including playing card games, watching movies at home, and traveling.
Stephanie Rovine | Program Manager | The Healing Center
Stephanie Rovine joined The Healing Center’s team in 2022, and works as a Program Manager overseeing The Healing Center’s victim services programs. She is passionate about survivor-centered services, human rights, and uplifting the personal power of all people. She has previously worked across fields including homeless services, harm reduction, holistic health and wellness, education, and pandemic response. In her free time, she loves learning new things, spending time with friends, family, and her dog, going in the ocean, and journaling.
Mikaella Granzen | Youth Manager | The Healing Center
Mikaella Granzen is The Healing Center’s Youth Manager, leading the organization’s Daughters of the Lotus support group for teens and planning the NYC Teen Dating Violence Awareness Walk each year. Prior to taking on this role, Mikaella supported the organization as a Community Liaison and played an integral role in supporting Daughters of the Lotus. Mikaella previously worked at a law firm and participated in academic work focused on migrant rights and gender-based violence while studying sociology and biology as an undergraduate. Some of her favorite things are writing, listening to oldies music in English and Spanish, and FaceTiming with her family.
Noeline Maldonado | Executive Director | The Healing Center
Noeline Maldonado is the Executive Director of The Healing Center, an organization working to end and prevent gender-based violence, family violence, and sexual assault in Brooklyn, NY. Noeline has experience in administration in the public and private sectors having worked in grassroots nonprofits previously and in global corporations encompassing the adtech, technology decommissioning, edtech, and media industries in NYC.
Prior to becoming Executive Director, Noeline was a fundraising manager and advocate at The Healing Center and was instrumental in helping the organization innovate, adapt, and thrive to better serve the community during the pandemic.
Noeline is passionate about advocacy, community engagement, and organizing to impact social change at the local level. She is an adoring mother to a newly graduated 22-year-old son and cinematographer, Bryan, with whom she spends most of her free time when she is not reading, writing, or thinking about new ways to best serve others.
Whatever I’d like Maldonado | Executive Director | The Healing Center
Noeline Maldonado is the Executive Director of The Healing Center, an organization working to end and prevent gender-based violence, family violence, and sexual assault in Brooklyn, NY. Noeline has experience in administration in the public and private sectors having worked in grassroots nonprofits previously and in global corporations encompassing the adtech, technology decommissioning, edtech, and media industries in NYC.
Prior to becoming Executive Director, Noeline was a fundraising manager and advocate at The Healing Center and was instrumental in helping the organization innovate, adapt, and thrive to better serve the community during the pandemic.
Noeline is passionate about advocacy, community engagement, and organizing to impact social change at the local level. She is an adoring mother to a newly graduated 22-year-old son and cinematographer, Bryan, with whom she spends most of her free time when she is not reading, writing, or thinking about new ways to best serve others.
Antonia Clemente | Founder and Former Executive Director of The Healing Center
Antonia Clemente is the Founder and former Executive Director of The Healing Center, a non-profit organization committed to the intervention and prevention of family violence, abuse and sexual assault that serves people of diverse faiths, cultures, and personal experiences.
Antonia has more than 40 years of experience working within the Puerto Rican and Latino community. In 2000, Antonia Clemente established The Healing Center in response to the growing need to serve women and families affected by intimate partner violence. It is a placewhere women can begin the process of healing and restoring hope in their lives.
In 2009, Antonia Clemente spearheaded a new project called The Daughters of the Lotus for teenage girls who witness and are victimized by violence in the home and in response to the growing epidemic of teen dating violence. The program encourages positive self-image, healing through the arts, goals development, creative activities, and community action. In 2010, Antonia Clemente saw the need to increase awareness about teen dating violence. Under her leadership, the NYC Teen Dating Violence Awareness Walk was created to build a platform highlighting the intersections of violence affecting youth. The Annual Walk brings attention to the threat that teens face through a walk that spans between Brooklyn Heights’ Cadman Plaza and Manhattan’s City Hall.
Over the years, The Healing Center expanded services to include children and senior programs. The Hi-5 Children’s program serves children who have witnessed domestic violence through individual, expressive art, and play therapy. The Elder Justice program serves older people in the community by facilitating group workshops, elder abuse education, and community outreach, leading to awareness, available resources, and a better understanding of elder abuse.
In 2021, under her leadership the organization was able to acquire federal funds to address sexual assault in the Latinx community. In March 2020 and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Antonia Clemente continued the work of The Healing Center, keeping The Healing Center’s doors open to serve women and families, maintaining contact with clients remotely, and coordinating weekly food distribution.
Antonia Clemente completed a certification program in Pastoral Care Studies at Blanton Peale Institute and Clinical Pastoral Education at Long Island College Hospital. She attended the College of Staten Island. Antonia Clemente is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and has served on the Justice for Women Consulting Committee for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Her work has been featured in the documentary film, What Harm Is It To Be A Woman and I BELIEVE YOU: Faith’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence. On October 18, 2022, Antonia Clemente and The Healing Center were featured on News12 Brooklyn in a story titled “Brooklyn healing center dedicated to helping victims in need.”
A tireless and passionate catalyst for change, Antonia Clemente has dedicated her career to working with women and children who are marginalized and suffer in silence and envisions the eradication of family violence in the community. She prays that her actions will extend to the global community.