Our Leadership Team
Steve Fields, MPA, Executive Director
Executive Director of Progress Foundation since 1969, Steve Fields has championed the development of social rehabilitation programs throughout California and the nation, pioneered acute residential alternatives to hospitalization, opened the first social model residential treatment programs for geriatric clients and the first social model residential treatment program for women and children. He received his BA from Harvard and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. A leader in local, state and national efforts to develop and promote change in the mental health system, he was instrumental in forming the San Francisco Human Services Network (HSN), an association of over 100 nonprofit agencies.
Bernadette Navarro-Simeon, PhD, Director of Clinical Administration
Bernadette leads the Foundation’s clinical work across all programs and departments. She is a respected systems reformer and agency liaison to mental health nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and government agencies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her career at the agency in 1984 as a residential counselor in a crisis residential treatment program, eventually becoming the program director. After working in direct service for 15 years, she was promoted to the Deputy Director of Clinical Administration. In this position, she managed quality assurance and regulatory requirements. She pioneered the agency’s leadership cultural competence program while introducing trainings focused on self-awareness and cross-cultural impact between individuals and groups. Her love for diversity stems from her own experience as an immigrant from the Phillipines. Bernadette is fluent in Tagalog and completed her PhD in Organizational Psychology at the Center for Psychological Studies in Berkeley, California.
Steve Fields, MPA, Executive Director
Executive Director of Progress Foundation since 1969, Steve Fields has championed the development of social rehabilitation programs throughout California and the nation, pioneered acute residential alternatives to hospitalization, opened the first social model residential treatment programs for geriatric clients and the first social model residential treatment program for women and children. He received his BA from Harvard and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. A leader in local, state and national efforts to develop and promote change in the mental health system, he was instrumental in forming the San Francisco Human Services Network (HSN), an association of over 100 nonprofit agencies.
Dave Chenok, MBA, MA, MFTI, Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer for Progress Foundation, Dave Chenok brings a unique blend of knowledge and capability to the lead administrator’s role. With an MBA from Yale University and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from John F Kennedy University, Dave brings a clinical perspective to managing operations, understanding how administrative interactions are a component of social rehab. Prior to joining Progress Foundation (where he served in a similar capacity from 2011-2013), Dave served as the Director of Strategic Planning for Kaiser Permanente; Chief Operating Officer for United Behavioral Health; and VP for Chronic Pain Solutions at Paradigm Outcomes.
Bernadette Navarro-Simeon, PhD, Director of Clinical Administration
Bernadette leads the Foundation’s clinical work across all programs and departments. She is a respected systems reformer and agency liaison to mental health nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and government agencies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her career at the agency in 1984 as a residential counselor in a crisis residential treatment program, eventually becoming the program director. After working in direct service for 15 years, she was promoted to the Deputy Director of Clinical Administration. In this position, she managed quality assurance and regulatory requirements. She pioneered the agency’s leadership cultural competence program while introducing trainings focused on self-awareness and cross-cultural impact between individuals and groups. Her love for diversity stems from her own experience as an immigrant from the Phillipines. Bernadette is fluent in Tagalog and completed her PhD in Organizational Psychology at the Center for Psychological Studies in Berkeley, California.
Steven Boyd, LCSW, Clinical Director to Napa and Sonoma Programs
Steven has directed the Foundation’s Sonoma and Napa programs since 1989. He received his Bachelors in Social Work from Ball State University and his Masters in Social Work from California State University, Sacramento. Steven has been involved in the development of many programs in Sonoma and Napa counties, including programs for the homeless, transitional residential treatment programs, crisis residential, programs serving TAY and emancipated foster youth, housing alternatives for psychiatrically disabled adults, and case management programs serving adults and families. He is a founding member of the Napa Valley Coalition of Non-Profit Agencies.
Jim Roberts, MA, Director of Transitional Services & Supported Living, SF
Jim grew up in the United Kingdom and has worked in the social work field for 25 years. Jim gained a Graduate Degree and a Masters in Drama & Movement Therapy from the London Central School of Speech & Drama in 2000. He was for many years an Arts Therapist for the National Health Service in the UK with at-risk inner-city youth in London’s public school system. In 2004 Jim moved to the Bay Area and started his career in the USA working for Progress Foundation, becoming Assistant Director in one of the agency’s crisis programs. Jim left Progress Foundation in 2006 to run the day treatment program for adolescents at Edgewood Children and Families Center for three years before returning to work with an adult population as a Program Manager for Baker Places. In 2010 Jim returned to Progress Foundation as a Program Director, developing the Transitional Age Youth program at Progress House, focused on identifying young people aging out of children’s services and requiring adult residential care. He became the Assistant Director of Clinical Services for the Agency in November 2017.
Kimberly Taylor, LCSW, Director of Crisis Services, SF
Prior to moving to San Francisco, Kim received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Central Florida and began her career in substance abuse treatment and community mental health. Kim joined Progress Foundation in 2013 as the Director of the Seniors Residential and Day Treatment Program prior to transitioning to lead the Diversion Evaluation Team, providing assessment and program referral support in the San Francisco hospital and outpatient service community. In her current role as Assistant Director of Clinical Services, Kim oversees the Crisis and Acute services in San Francisco and fosters relationships with other service providers throughout the community to ensure clients can access the mental health support they seek.
Elizabeth Hernandez, LMFT, LPCC, Director of Operations & Clinical Services, North Bay
Elizabeth earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Mills College and her Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University of California and is dually licensed as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Elizabeth has held several different positions within Progress Foundation; she joined the agency in 2008 as a Personal Services Coordinator for the Transitional Age Youth Full Service Program, working with youth with severe psychiatric illnesses. Elizabeth completed the University of Massachusetts Boston Infant-Parent Mental Health Post Graduate Certificate Program in the 2012-2013 cohort, with her final project being the creation of a group curriculum for at-risk parents. Elizabeth became the Program Director for the PLACES THP+ and Supported Living Programs in 2013 and was then promoted to the Assistant Clinical Director for the Napa and Sonoma Programs in 2016.