Melissa Sandoval, in-house counsel at SoCalGas, was elected to the governing board of CLARE MATRIX in March 2021. She joined the SoCalGas team in September 2020, and is Senior Counsel with the litigation group. Prior to joining SoCalGas, she served as in-house trial counsel for Union Pacific Railroad. Before joining Union Pacific Railroad, Melissa was an Associate Attorney for Randolph, Cregger & Chalfant, LLP, a Sacramento-based defense firm representing railroads and public entities.
Law is a second career for Melissa. She began her professional work as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York City and Northern California, where she provided school-based and in-home services to families and children. Melissa worked full-time as Clinical Supervisor at Victor Community Support Services (VCSS) while attending law school, and finished her clinical career as Assistant Director of Business and Program Development and HIPAA Compliance and Privacy Officer at VCSS.
Melissa holds a B.S. in Family Studies from University of Arizona, a M.S.W. from New York University, and a J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in California and Nevada. Melissa is a die-hard college basketball fan, and enjoys running and biking in her spare time.
Propelled by the shared belief that together we can save more lives, CLARE Foundation and Matrix Institute on Addictions joined forces in 2018.
Today, we have become an industry-defining organization that successfully combines CLARE Foundation’s 50 years of expertise delivering an extensive continuum of residential services with the Matrix Institute on Addictions, which has 35+ years of experience in outpatient treatment, training and research, and worldwide recognition for its evidence-based Matrix Model.
Latinos LEAD promotes more inclusive and effective civil society organizations by preparing and recruiting Latinos for nonprofit board leadership; helping nonprofit organizations to develop governing boards that reflect their constituents; and, collaborating with partners to increase ethnic diversity in nonprofit governance.
