Paco Retana, MSW, LCSW
Wellnest
Chief Program Officer
Paco Retana’s passion is serving underserved and marginalized communities. As Vice President of Programs at Wellnest, he is responsible for all clinical services, including program evaluation and training. He also oversees Wellnest’s Division Directors in areas of outpatient, early intervention, intensive services, and life learning/transition-age youth services. Previous roles Paco has held include: Clinical Supervisor at Green Dot Public Schools, Regional Director of Community Mental Health Services at Children’s Institute, Inc., Director of Outpatient Services at Wellnest, Co-founder of the Youth Development Project of St. John’s Health Center, and Clinical Coordinator of the Child and Family Development Center at DiDi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center.
Paco is the co-chair of the Latino Underserved Cultural Communities for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) and was a voting member of the System Leadership Team and former co-chair of the Service Area Advisory Committee for South Los Angeles. Paco is a Board of Director for the UCLA Alumni Association and serves as the co-chair for its Diversity Advisory Committee. As an expert in Boys and Men of Color work, he is invited to conferences and forums as a panelist, speaker, and mental health expert.
Paco is the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, and an Honoree of NAMI Urban Los Angeles. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Masters in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles.