OTW People
Opening the World is a large community that includes our participants, staff, advisors, alumni who have become peer leaders, volunteers, community partners, and supporters. We would not be here without the joint effort and participation of all involved.
Staff
Jeannine Curley, LMFT
Founder, Director
Opening the World (OTW) was founded in 2012 by Marriage and Family Therapist, Jeannine Curley (LMFT #53773).
For over twenty years, Jeannine dreamed of taking young adults struggling with adversity on educational community service trips. Growing up in rural Canada, Jeannine faced her own life challenges and travel became her savior. Exposure to other cultures and human suffering altered her perspective and life choices forever. As a result, Jeannine had an unrelenting desire to help young people from similar circumstances find community, feel supported, and experience the world. This population and their families are also the focus of her private practice in San Rafael, California.
Rainiero (Rene) Miranda, Ph.D., LMFT
Group Facilitator and Program Therapist
Rainiero (Rene) Miranda, Ph.D., LMFT, has over 25 years of clinical experience in the field of counseling and psychotherapy. He has a private practice in San Anselmo, California in Marin County. Rene has worked in multiple settings including residential and day treatment centers, community mental health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, and alternative schools. His experience includes working with children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and groups.
Rene's personal training and experience as a clinician is complemented by his many travels into the Amazonian rain forest where he has learned ancient knowledge from indigenous cultures living there regarding our lost human ability to live more sustainably with the Earth.
Wendy Calomiris, LMFT
Program Therapist
Wendy Calomiris is a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #117299) in California. She has 2 master’s degrees from Sonoma State University in psychology and counseling, and a master’s in human resource management from Golden Gate University. Wendy has a private practice, Calomiris Counseling, in the North Bay where she specializes in trauma-informed treatment. Wendy has worked with emotionally, physically, and sexually abused youth, individuals, and families to help process their trauma. For 25 years, Wendy worked with severely emotionally disturbed and adjudicated youth and their families both in and out of the system in Sonoma, Marin, and San Francisco Counties. Wendy is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and Lens Neurofeedback and draws from psychodynamic, CBT, and client-centered positive psychology theories. Wendy’s trauma and polyvagal-informed approaches offer an accelerated, reliable, and sustainable pathway to a more regulated nervous system, emotional stability, and internal safety.
Laura Narcisse
Program Coordinator
Laura Narcisse believes in the power of helping yourself by helping others. She joined Opening the World as a participant in 2016. She took on more leadership roles until she eventually transitioned into her current position. Her interest in learning about other cultures and people, and helping those in her community, initially drew her to study Anthropology and Sociology, and ultimately, to join OTW. During her first few years in the OTW program, Laura received her associates in Anthropology and Sociology from the College of Marin. While working for OTW, Laura is certified in NCTI’s Real Colors and Crossroads and now teaches these programs in OTW. When Laura isn’t volunteering or conducting various social and educational events, she enjoys cooking and trying out new recipes, going on hikes, crafting, reading, and hanging out with her loved ones.
Xitlalli Lechuga
Youth Leader Project Coordinator
Xitlalli’s family came to San Rafael from Mexico before she was born. They taught her to work hard and to care about the community. When attending Davidson Middle School, Xitlalli got involved in community efforts, including restorative justice. At San Rafael High School, she started a club with friends that raised funds to provide care packages for Marin’s unhoused residents, worked in domestic violence prevention, and was introduced to public health, equity, and social determinants of health. Since then, she has worked on campaigns to affect policies, systems, and social factors that affect people’s health, including the Marin County Youth Commission’s subcommittee on alcohol and other drugs. She is a community leader, bringing people together to have fun, learn, and take action. When not working in the community, Xitlalli enjoys art, nature and challenging herself through new experiences like travel.
OTW Peer Leadership Team
Omar, Fernely, Marcela, Xitlalli, Elena, Laura