Quick Take
Encompass Community Services CEO Shellee Stopera abruptly resigned Friday, highlighting broader challenges facing community health care organizations in the Trump era. Encompass is Santa Cruz County's largest health services nonprofit.
The head of Encompass Community Services, Santa Cruz County’s largest health and human services nonprofit, announced she is stepping down after just six months on the job, a period marked by funding challenges and program closures.
Shellee Stopera’s departure is effective immediately, the organization wrote in a Friday statement. Stopera told the board that “Encompass is not the right long-term professional fit for her at this time.”
The board of the community services organization appointed Kim Morrison as interim CEO. Morrison has been chief financial officer at Encompass for eight years and served as interim CEO earlier this year after longtime chief executive Monica Martinez was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
Encompass operates 25 programs across Santa Cruz County, providing services in behavioral health, housing, early childhood education and substance-use recovery. The organization is the only provider of mental health residential services in Santa Cruz County for residents enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Stopera took the helm of Encompass in April, bringing more 30 years of leadership experience in health and human services. During her brief tenure, Encompass faced significant challenges and uncertainty as the Trump administration cut funds to federal programming run by the community health services organization.
In June, Encompass was forced to close a mental health facility in Live Oak that had operated for nearly three decades. The closure came after Santa Cruz County reduced its reimbursement rates for patient room and board costs.
Another mental health facility, Casa Pacific in Watsonville, faced potential closure when the county also proposed cutting room and board reimbursements by 40%. The 12-bed facility, which serves about 50 people annually and employs 17 staff members, provides long-term care for patients who have been stabilized at crisis management centers.
In October 2025, Encompass’s Head Start program, which provides free child care to over 250 low-income families, faced a crisis when federal funding was suddenly cut from $10 million to $6 million. The Trump administration also ended the practice of allowing carryover funds, resulting in the loss of another $400,000. While the program secured emergency funding to remain open through the end of October, its long-term future remains uncertain.
“We thank Shellee for her contributions over the past six months and wish her the very best in her future endeavors,” Elaine Johnson, chair of Encompass’ board of trustees, said in the news release. “We are grateful for her service.”