Dr. Hillary Mennella, DNP, FNP-BC
Associate Dean of Student Health & Wellness

Dr. Mennella joined SHS in 2014 as the Associate Dean of Student Health & Wellness. Dr. Mennella has 20+ years of clinical experience in private practice and emergency medicine; past work includes utilization management, hospital auditing and quality assurance, legal compliance consulting, and writing clinical skills and guidelines for an international database. 

College health has been Dr. Mennella’s passion since she was an undergrad in Biology & Community Health at Virginia Tech, volunteering with the Student Health Advisory Committee, and interning with various student health centers as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University and California State University, Long Beach. The evolution of student health needs and evidence-based quality improvement programming led her to Duke University for her doctorate degree. 

Dr. Mennella has over a decade of professional experience in student health and believes that optimal health & wellbeing are essential for students to accomplish their educational and professional goals. As a congenital cardiac patient, she understands the importance of medical and mental health support during the college years that reach beyond typical recommendations for temporary withdrawal from academia. She has implemented numerous health-related campaigns and grants to promote healthy lifestyle choices and to educate our campus, including stress management, meditation, yoga, nutrition, depression/anxiety screenings, alcohol/drug use, safe sex, STI testing, and prevention and reporting of sexual assault/violence. Dr. Mennella is currently working to embed healthcare and wellbeing into various programming opportunities and campus initiatives.

Dr. Mennella enjoys working with the fantastic and dedicated staff at SHS! We are a fun group that loves our campus and program! It is important to all members of SHS to maintain campus relationships and partnerships to continue to provide students with holistic support. 

Elika Roybal, MS, APRN, FNP-C

Elika Roybal is one of our nurse practitioners at Cerritos College Student Health and Wellness Center. She was an intensive care nurse for many years before deciding to attend the family nurse practitioner program at the University of California, Irvine. One of the primary reasons she wanted to become a nurse practitioner was to focus on patient centered healthcare services and preventative care. She is passionate about providing holistic and cost-effective healthcare services to all members of the community. She believes that through disease prevention and education that she can help the people she serves live happier and healthier lives.

Fun Fact: Grew up in Okinawa, Japan and LOVES 70 & 80's music!

Clarissa Semeniuk (she/her) MS, APRN, FNP-BC

Clarissa Semeniuk is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a wealth of experience in the nursing profession. She commenced her career as a Neonatal ICU nurse, providing specialized care for newborns and their families. Subsequently, she dedicated several years to oncology nursing, earning certification as an Oncology Certified Nurse. In her quest to expand her scope of practice and provide more autonomous care to her patients, Clarissa pursued a Master's degree in Nursing Science with a specialization in Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of California, Irvine.

Since 2014, Clarissa has been serving the Cerritos College Community at the Student Health and Wellness Services. She has a mission to provide quality health care, with a strong emphasis on health promotion and wellness. Her extensive knowledge and expertise in nursing practice have equipped her with the skills to provide effective and efficient care to patients.

Fun fact, Clarissa enjoys scuba diving and has a deep appreciation for the culture and style of the 1980s. She also takes pleasure in spending time outdoors and exploring new adventures with her family.

Melissa Lego (she/her/siya) FNP-C

Melissa is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with over 13 years experience in primary care & over 4 years' experience in student health. Her areas of interest include preventative health, reproductive health, and travel medicine. She firmly believes that health & wellness are integral to student success & is thrilled to be part of Cerritos College Student Health Services.

Monica Chora, CMA

Monica is a Certified Medical Assistant who has worked for Student Health Services since 2006. She is originally from San Diego CA, and attended Southwestern College and Pima Medical Institute where she obtained her Medical Assistant & Phlebotomy Technician certificates. In an effort to be able to apply her skills she relocated to Los Angeles, CA. Monica has become a vital part of the Student Health & Wellness medical team. This has allowed her to make contributions to the department’s mission and goals towards meeting students’ needs, which are reasons she enjoys working at Cerritos College. Monica was awarded Outstanding Employee of the Month in October 2021 for her exceptional work to meet the scheduling & health needs during the pandemic. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, listening to music, watching movies, and taking her dog for walks.

America Cortez-Amador (a.k.a Wonder Woman), CMA 

America is our Certified Medical Assistant/Phlebotomist at SHS. She has worked for Student Health Services since 2006 and has loved every minute. She attended Bryman Vocational School in Rosemead California and received her certification. She is also a licensed Phlebotomist with the California Department of Health Services. This has afforded her the opportunity to put into practice her skills as well as her passion to help others. America has played a vital role in SHS daily functions as well as contributing towards the goals of Student Health Services of offering medical services to the students as a whole. What she enjoys the most is the learning environment in which Cerritos College, especially SHS embodies. She says, “I learn something new every day and the great team at SHS encourages me to grow and learn”.

She loves reading her bible and the outdoors. Going camping, hiking, bike riding at the beach.

Hazel Ng, RD (Registered Dietitian)

Hazel obtained her B.S. degree in Nutrition & Clinical Dietetics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her certification in Adult Weight Management through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is also a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and a Certified Lactation Educator.  She has been working as the Cerritos College dietitian in the past 15 years, and she enjoys having 1 on 1 consultations with students and giving nutrition talk to different student groups.  Hazel is dedicated to helping students to achieve their health and nutritional goals through lifestyle change and weight management.  Hazel also runs a private practice which provides Medical Nutrition Therapy to culturally diverse individuals in the San Gabriel Valley. 

She is a mother of 2 teens.  She enjoys travelling and trying new restaurants and cuisine.

Angela Williams, LCSW & Manager of Mental Health Services (she/her/hers)

Angela has over 20 years of experience as a social worker and her career spans work in private psychotherapy practice, healthcare, nonprofits, and employee assistance programs including director of clinical operations for a behavioral health insurance company.

Angela earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Long Beach. She has served on task forces in Orange and Los Angeles Counties related to interpersonal violence and child abuse prevention as well as behavioral health services task forces for multicultural and diversity issues. She is committed to social justice causes such as assisting the unhoused at a local shower program, supporting Ugandan LGBTQIA+ refugees in settling in the US, and protecting and standing with undocumented folks facing deportation.

She has expertise in counseling college students with stress, anxiety, depression and trauma as well as chronic illness and relationship issues. She is LGBTQIA+ affirming and has experience working with those from diverse cultural backgrounds including folks who are from under-resourced backgrounds. Angela’s lived experiences of navigating obtaining transgender affirmative care, neurodivergent affirming support and chronic pain care for a family member bolster her commitment to making her clinical practice and the Mental Health Services program inclusive and accessible.

Angela partners with each individual to leverage their strengths, build new skills and bring day to day living in alignment with their values. While she draws on many theoretical orientations utilizing techniques determined by each client's needs, mindfulness-based approaches and the latest neuroscientific evidence support clients in their journey to well-being. Angela's clients appreciate her acceptance, compassion and wholehearted attention.

She enjoys supervising MSW Practicum Interns in their journey to honing a trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and culturally competent approach in their clinical practice.

Bernadette Ferrel, LCSW (she/her/ella)

Bernadette is a licensed therapist with over 10 years of experience in nonprofit and private practice settings. Bernadette earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, with minors in both Child Development and Gerontology, from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles, CA and earned her Master of Social Work from Columbia University In New York., NY.

Bernadette has spent much of her career working with people seeking therapy for the first time and provides a collaborative, gentle approach to treatment. She has experience working with diverse cultural backgrounds and enjoys teaching others coping skills to improve their overall wellbeing. Bernadette is trained in several evidence-based practices and pulls from those to create individualized plans for clients. She enjoys providing services to the students at Cerritos College and along with the mental health team, creating opportunities for students to learn to care for their mental health.