Johanna Villa-Gomez is an Area Manager for the Day Program at Project Independence (PI). She came to PI 17 years ago. What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy traveling and exploring new places. I like riding my bike, drawing, and writing. My happy place is spending time with family and friends. What drives you / motivates you to help others? Helping others has always been in my ...

It’s hard to remember a time in my public relations career when I wasn’t associated with Project Independence. I know I’m a better person for it. The experience began one afternoon in the 1980s, when I was asked by my boss to sit in for him at a meeting with a nonprofit organization called the Vantage Foundation. The rest is history, as the saying goes. Back then it was housed ...

Donna Voss joined Project Independence (PI) in July of 2018 as a Community Support Specialist in the Independent Living Department. In June of 2019, she was promoted to Independent Living Area Manager – North County, where she now supports clients with independent living and supported living services. When did you begin working at PI? I started with PI seven years ago.   What do you do in your spare time? ...

By Sara CardineStaff Writer  / Oct. 11, 2023 6:54 PM PT If a natural disaster like an earthquake, flood or fire were to strike today, what would you do? While many might panic, a group of clients served by the nonprofit Project Independence now know to recall the preparedness triangle — evacuate, communicate, reunify — and to grab the essentials before they flee to safety. Brenda Emrick, acting emergency services ...