Built from lived
experience, shaped
by compassion.
About MERKUZ At MERKUZ, we believe that true healing begins when you finally feel at home. For many in our community, the path to wellness is often obstructed by a "Period of Rejection"—a time when clinical care feels disconnected from cultural reality. We are here to change that. By seamlessly blending clinical expertise with the profound richness of African cultural heritage, we transform isolation into a powerful sense of connection. Our approach ensures that no one has to leave their identity at the door to receive world-class care. We aren't just treating symptoms; we are fostering a homecoming where your heritage is the heartbeat of your healing. At MERKUZ, you are never an outsider in your own recovery—you are exactly where you belong.
Merkuz Holistic Mental Health and Wellness Center was founded through the lived experience of our founder, Menbere Abere, who spent over a decade as a caregiver for loved ones living with mental health conditions. Her personal journey ignited a deep commitment to support others — especially those from underrepresented communities — who are navigating similar challenges.
MERKUZ is an Amharic word which means a walking stick. From many years of experience supporting family members who were struggling with mental illness , she wittnesed that being a support like MERKUZ in their journey from acceptance to recoery was the main component.
A 2022 study by the American Psychological Association highlighted that children and families who have experienced migration-related trauma often encounter significant obstacles in accessing mental health support. Merkuz was founded to help bridge that gap.
Located in the Greater Bay Area, Merkuz was created to serve individuals and families of the African Diaspora communities. Many of these families face unique barriers to mental health care due to cultural stigma, language differences, and a general distrust of health systems.
We offer culturally sensitive, language-specific services that recognize the central role of family and community in healing. Our work addresses issues related to mental health, substance use, and emotional well-being — with a particular focus on helping immigrant communities adjust to life in the U.S. We understand the emotional and psychological challenges that come with resettlement and aim to provide the support and tools needed not just to survive, but to thrive.
Leadership & Governance
Menbere Teklu Abere
Founder & Board Member
A dedicated advocate with over a decade of experience as a caregiver, Menbere founded MERKUZ to bridge the gap in culturally sensitive mental health support for the African Diaspora.
Desta Gebre-Medhin-Huff
Chief Financial Officer & Founding Board Member
Desta provides strategic financial oversight and governance, ensuring the organization’s resources are effectively managed to support community wellness and sustainability.
Dr. Sara Maklad
Clinical Director & Founding Board Member
Dr. Maklad leads the clinical vision of MERKUZ, integrating professional mental health expertise with culturally resonant care models to foster deep healing.
Sharon Wossen
Founding Board Member & Secretary
Sharon is a business-minded professional with a strong foundation in business principles and a passion for growth and development. With a solutions-oriented approach, she is dedicated to building opportunities that create long-term value and meaningful community impact.
Saron Ephraim Williams
Founding Board Member
The strategic architect of MERKUZ, Saron brings 12 years of public health expertise across state and federal sectors. As a strategy expert and entrepreneur, she oversees our large-scale initiatives, ensuring they are professionally executed and strategically messaged for maximum community impact.
Dr. Yesalemush Sendeku
Board Member
A distinguished educator and advocate, Dr. Yesalemush brings decades of institutional knowledge to MERKUZ. She focuses on cultural preservation and community building, ensuring our programs offer meaningful opportunities for growth.
At Merkuz, we walk alongside our clients as they begin a new chapter — grounded in culture, supported by family, and empowered to heal.
የእኛ ታሪክ
የምርኩዝ ሁለንተናዊ የአእምሮ ጤና እና ደህንነት ማእከል የተመሰረተው የመስራቻችንን ከ10 አመት በላይ የአዕምሮ ጤና ችግር ላለባቸው የቅርብ ቤተሰቦች አስታማሚ እና ረዳት በመሆን ባሳለፉት በግል ጉዞ ምክንያት ያገኙትን ልምድ መሰረት በማድረግ ያገኙትን ልምድ ለሌሎች ለማካፈል ነው።
ማእከሉ የተወለደው በካሊፎረኒያ ግዛት በሳንታ ክላራ ካውንቲ ውስጥ ከአእምሮ ህመም ሁኔታዎች ጋር ለሚታገሉ በተለይም ከአፍሪካ በተለያዩ ምክንያቶች ወደ አሜሪካ ለመኖር የመጡ ብዙ ግለሰቦች ለመርዳት ካለው ራዕይ ነው።
በ2022 የአሜሪካ የሥነ ልቦና ማኅበር ባደረገው ጥናት፣ በዩናይትድ ስቴትስ የሚኖሩ ሕፃናትና ቤተሰቦች ከስደት ጋር ተያይዞ ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው ሕፃናትና ቤተሰቦች ለጉዳት የሚያጋልጡ እንቅፋቶችን አግኝተዋል። ምርኩዝ ይህንን ክፍተት ለማስተካከል እና የማህበረሰቡ አባላት የአእምሮ ጤናን፣ የአደንዛዥ እፅን አላግባብ መጠቀምን እና ስሜታዊ ደህንነትን ለመፍታት እንሰራለን።
ተልእኳችን ወገኖቻችን አዲስ ጉዞ ሲጀምሩ ከአዲሱ ሃገራቸው እንዲሁም ከአካባቢያቸው ጋር በተሻለ ሁኔታ እንዲግባቡና እና እንዲያድጉ ነው።
የመሪዎች እና የአመራር ቦርድ
መንበረ ተክሉ አበራ
መስራች እና የቦርድ አባል
ከአስር አመታት በላይ የአእምሮ ጤና አስታማሚ በመሆን ባገኙት ልምድ፣ መንበረ ለአፍሪካ ዲያስፖራ ማህበረሰብ ባህላዊ ይዘቱን የጠበቀ የአእምሮ ጤና ድጋፍ ለመስጠት ምርኩዝን መስርተዋል።
ደስታ ገብረመድህን-ሀፍ
ዋና የፋይናንስ ኦፊሰር እና መስራች የቦርድ አባል
ደስታ የማህበረሰቡን ደህንነት ለማረጋገጥ እንዲቻል ድርጅቱ ውጤታማ የፋይናንስ አስተዳደር እና ስልታዊ አመራር እንዲኖረው ያደርጋሉ።
ዶ/ር ሳራ መክላድ
የክሊኒካል ዳይሬክተር እና መስራች የቦርድ አባል
ዶ/ር ሳራ ሙያዊ የአእምሮ ጤና እውቀትን ከባህላዊ የሕክምና ሞዴሎች ጋር በማዋሃድ የምርኩዝን ክሊኒካዊ ራዕይ ይመራሉ ።
ሳሮን ኤፍሬም ዊሊያምስ
መስራች የቦርድ አባል
የምርኩዝ የስትራቴጂ አርክቴክት የሆኑት ሳሮን በክልል እና በፌዴራል የህዝብ ጤና ዘርፎች የ12 ዓመታት ልምድ አላቸው። ትልልቅ ፕሮጀክቶቻችን በማህበረሰቡ ላይ ከፍተኛ ተፅእኖ እንዲፈጥሩ በስልታዊ መልኩ የተመሩ መሆናቸውን ያረጋግጣሉ።
ሻሮን ወሰን
መስራች የቦርድ አባል እና ፀሐፊ
ሻሮን በንግድ ስራ መርሆች ላይ ጠንካራ መሰረት ያላት እና ለዕድገትና ለልማት ከፍተኛ ፍላጎት ያላት ባለሙያ ነች። የረጅም ጊዜ ጠቀሜታ እና የማህበረሰብ ተፅእኖ የሚፈጥሩ እድሎችን ለመገንባት ትተጋለች።
ዶ/ር ይሳለሙሽ ሰንደቁ
የቦርድ አባል
ታዋቂ አስተማሪ እና የማህበረሰብ ተሟጋች የሆኑት ዶ/ር የሰላሙሽ፣ ለብዙ አስርተ አመታት ያካበቱትን የእውቀት ልምድ ወደ ምርኩዝ ይዘው መጥተዋል። ትኩረታቸውም ባህልን ጠብቆ ማቆየት እና ማህበረሰብን መገንባት ላይ ነው።