About Us

WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF WORKING TOGETHER.


Working together is about breaking down silos, both internally and externally, to make the greatest impact. By joining hands with employers, government agencies, fellow nonprofits, business leaders and donors, Goodwill of Orange County will be able to empower, serve and change more lives than ever.

Partnerships are a vital component of our mission—helping people who are facing barriers get and keep jobs, which provides purpose, pride and dignity. We envision a community where there is a job for everyone who wants to work. We believe the power of work changes lives. We know that we can’t do it alone. There is Power in Working Together.

– A message from Nicole Suydam, CEO of Goodwill of Orange County

MISSION | Goodwill helps people who are facing barriers to find and keep jobs,
which provides purpose, pride, and dignity.

VISION | We envision a community where there is a job for everyone who wants to work.

VALUES | Be Kind. Be Honest. Be Helpful. Be Creative.

Kindness Logo Integrity Logo Service Logo Innovation Logo


History


We’re proud of our heritage and have a rich, active history in the local community.

Goodwill Industries was founded in 1902 by Reverend Edgar J. Helms in Boston Massachusetts Goodwill of Orange County opened its doors in 1924 as a branch of the Los Angeles-based Goodwill Industries of Southern California

Our Orange County operation began as a storefront on Fourth Street in Santa Ana and has since become a well-recognized community service provider and leading employer with more than 900 employees and an annual budget of more than $78 million.

Thousands of children and adults with disabilities or other barriers are served every year.



THE POWER OF WORK


Since 1924, Goodwill of Orange County has provided thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers the opportunity to achieve their highest levels of personal and economic independence through competitive employment.

Comprehensive education, training and employment services assist individuals to succeed at home, at work or at school

We train people for meaningful jobs in a variety of industries, including retail sales, custodial services, maintenance, hospitality, retail processing, recycling & more

Program participants are
paid for their work

Participants are referred to Goodwill by the Regional Center of Orange County, the state Department of Rehabilitation, local schools, hospitals and insurance companies.

We focus on a person's ability not their disability

Goodwill workers are valued employees at leading businesses across Orange County,

COMMUNITY IMPACT


18,000 local adults and children served by Goodwill program and services

615 people found employment right here in Orange County

345,000 hours of job coaching provided

551 kids and adults served by the Assistive Technology and Exchange Center (ATEC)

$5.5 million earned by individuals employed with Goodwill Orange County’s help

1.6 million shopper transactions at our 23 stores

More than $5.7 million sold by Goodwill of OC on ShopGoodwill.com

41,052,746 pounds of goods diverted from local landfills

713 veterans served through the Tierney Center for Veteran Services

HOW YOU CAN HELP




carf logo goodwill of Orange County has been accredited by CARF

Goodwill of Orange County has the highest level of accreditation from CARF, an independent nonprofit accreditor of health and human services.


Visit our Financial Stewardship Page to Learn More.

senior leadership


Nicole Suydam

Nicole Suydam, who served nearly a decade as Goodwill of OC’s vice president of Development, returned to Goodwill of Orange County as president and CEO in 2018. She has more than 20 years of management and leadership experience working with local and national nonprofits dedicated to meeting human service needs. Suydam graduated from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, and is the past president (2018) of its Alumni Association Board and is a member of the university’s Board of Trustees.

Nicole Suydam President & Chief Executive Officer

Corrine Allen

Corrine Allen has more than 35 years of progressive management success with strong results in sales, after-market operations, customer service and e-commerce business. She most recently served as Vice President of Retail Operations where she successfully expanded retail processes and sales in support of Goodwill’s mission.

Corrine Allen Chief Operating Officer

Elizabeth Jensen

Elizabeth Jensen is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with nearly 20 years of experience in finance for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining Goodwill, she served as the CFO for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange where she managed an operating budget of more than $100 million. After graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from University of Notre Dame, Jensen worked as a Senior Audit Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers for eight years specializing in the restaurant, oil, gas, automotive, nonprofit and higher education industries with an emphasis in publicly traded companies and financial reporting to the SEC.

Elizabeth Jensen Chief Financial Officer

Phillip Runnels

Mr. Runnels has over 20 years of experience in the computer industry with an extensive background in production and management. He also trained corporate employees in the use of proprietary computer applications and hardware for manufacturing firms prior to joining the Goodwill team. Mr. Runnels has received special training in project and cost management during his career in the computer industry.

Phillip Runnels Vice President, Technology/CIO

Joe Ringer

Since joining Goodwill of Orange County, Joe Ringer has developed strategic and tactical approaches to education, compliance, safety and internal controls. His development of business solutions for theft prevention, internal audit, regulatory compliance, injury and illness prevention have significantly improved compliance and revenue, reduced expenses and validated a culture of integrity. Prior to Goodwill, he developed asset protection, safety and compliance programs for national retailers.

Joe Ringer Vice President, Asset Protection, Risk and Compliance

Rick Adams

Rick Adams has more than 30 years of experience working in rehabilitation settings with individuals with disabilities and mental health barriers. Rick holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from California Southern University. Rick began his career at Goodwill in 1996 as an Employment Training Specialist and has since worked in several different roles within the Mission Services department. He currently serves as VP of Mission Services where he oversees the organization’s programs and services.

Rick Adams Vice President, Mission Services

CJ Calderon

CJ Calderon is Goodwill of Orange County’s Chief of Staff and VP of Advancement. She provides oversight of the development department and its fundraising efforts, and is a key strategist supporting organizational decisions, board relations, community relations and strategic partnerships. For more than 20 years, CJ has been committed to human service and servant leadership, serving on several local nonprofit leadership teams and helping solve and respond to the greatest needs in Orange County.

CJ Calderon Chief of Staff & VP of Advancement

Jose Perez

Jose Perez leads Goodwill of Orange County’s Human Resources department overseeing Recruitment, Training and Development, and HR Administration and Benefits. During his more than 11 year tenure with the organization, Jose has also implemented several career development and employee engagement programs for Goodwill team members, including the GoodLearning Academy and GoodHealth Wellness Program. Prior to joining Goodwill, Jose led HR and customer service programs for another non-profit and two large banking institutions. Jose is also a military veteran and served in the U.S. Army with a tour of duty in Vietnam.

Jose Perez Vice President, Human Resources

Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith has more than 25 years of e-commerce experience and online advertising experience, and serves as Goodwill of Orange County’s Vice President of Online Operations. As the head of our ShopGoodwill.com platform, he has helped Goodwill organizations across the network grow their e-commerce revenue. During his 15 years leading ShopGoodwill.com operations, the platform has generated nearly $1 billion in revenue to support Goodwills across the country and Canada.

Ryan Smith Vice President of Online Operations

Sergio Munoz

Sergio Munoz serves as Vice President of Donated Goods Retail. He oversees all aspects of retail operations, logistics and donation flow, and is committed to continuous process improvement, staff development, and high operational and merchandising standards for Goodwill’s collection of thrift stores and boutiques. Sergio has more than 25 years of multi-retail management experience.

Sergio Munoz Vice President, Donated Goods Retail

Eric Smissen

Eric Smissen serves as Goodwill of Orange County’s Director of Employee & Brand Engagement, creating and innovating new ways to enhance the brand, engage with Goodwill’s internal team, and drive the success of the bigger Goodwill mission. Eric has more than two decades of experience working in retail, including many years at Nordstrom and time spent running his own art gallery. Eric began his tenure with Goodwill more than 10 years ago as a store manager.

Eric Smissen Director of Employee & Brand Engagement

Nicole Morrison

Nicole Morrison serves as Director of Marketing & Communications for Goodwill of Orange County. She oversees the organization’s internal and external communications and leads public relations and brand awareness strategy. Nicole has more than a decade of experience leading and executing marketing strategy for nonprofits and retail-industry leaders.

Nicole Morrison Director of Marketing & Communications

Board of directors


Sarah Stark

Sarah Stark is Audit Partner at Grant Thornton’s Irvine practice and serves as Treasurer on the Board. She earned a B.S. in business administration with an accounting concentration from California State University, Fullerton. For the last nine years, Ms. Stark served as a guest professor to undergraduate and graduate-level audit classes at her alma mater. She is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Sarah Stark Chair

David Seidner

David Seidner serves as Board Secretary. He is co-owner of Cardinal Development, a real estate firm specializing the development of commercial projects throughout Southern California.

David Seidner Vice Chair

Jacob Gonzales

Jacob C. Gonzales joined the Goodwill board of directors in 2017. Mr. Gonzales is an experienced trial attorney, litigator and shareholder at jcg | law. He has handled a variety of complex business legal matters at both trial and appellate levels.

Jacob Gonzales Secretary

Zachary Parker

Zachary Parker is President of Redline Detection, an Orange-based industry-leading designer and manufacturer of professional grade diagnostic leak detection equipment for automotive and heavy-duty truck markets. Parker has lead the Redline team for 13 years, ushering in growth and global industry recognition, including most recently being named SEMA 2020 Manufacturer of the Year.

Zachary Parker Treasurer

Gregory Wright

Gregory Wright is Senior Director, Research & Development at Edwards Lifesciences. Wright leads the Tissue Center of Excellence, supports company initiatives, and collaborates with local universities to build the talent pipeline here in Orange County. Wright developed and co-invented Edwards’ next generation tissue RESILIA™, launched KONECT RESILIA, an aortic valve conduit, and has written several other publications and patents. Wright holds a Master of Science degree in Biology, Physiology and Chemistry from California State University, Fullerton.

Gregory Wright

Jesse Aragon

Jesse Aragon serves as Director of Operational Planning at SoCalGas where he is responsible for operational planning and budgeting for the company’s capital and operating expenditures. Aragon is a certified public accountant (CPA) and has more than two decades of experience working in the financial and corporate tax industries.

Jesse Aragon

Joanne Schroeder

Joanne Schroeder is a Vice President and Officer at Arcadis, a global publicly traded €4 billion company headquartered in The Netherlands. Schroeder is an experienced entrepreneur and environmental engineer with more than 25 years driving public and private companies to best leverage technology, data, environmental, health, safety and sustainability (EHS&S)/ESG functions, information and systems in the digital age.

Joanne Schroeder

Dr. Sridhar Sundaram

Dr. Sridhar Sundaram joined the esteemed faculty of Cal State Fullerton in July of 2021 as Dean of the College of Business and Economics, the second largest business college in the nation. Dr. Sundaram’s career in higher education spans more than 30 years, having most recently served as the Dean of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance at the University of South Florida. Dr. Sundaram has vast expertise in leadership, curriculum and new program development as well as community engagement and fundraising.

Dr. Sridhar Sundaram

Kevin B. Jones

Kevin B. Jones leads Kevin Jones & Associates and serves on the Donated Goods Retail Committee. He has more than 30 years’ experience in all aspects retail and wholesale operations. Mr. Jones brings expertise in product acquisition, project management, sales and inventory, retail accounting and operations to the board.

Kevin B. Jones

Justin Ayre

Justin Ayre is an executive vice president in PIMCO’s financial institutions group in the Newport Beach office, specializing in investment management services for financial institutions. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2012, he was a director in KPMG’s risk consulting practice, performing financial risk advisory services for U.S. financial institutions. He has 20 years of investment and financial services experience.

Justin Ayre

James R. Conner

James Conner leads Conner Advisory, LLC and has more than forty years’ experience. He is highly skilled in providing advice and consultation on financial reporting and accounting matters.

James R. Conner

Cynthia Quimby

Cynthia Quimby serves as a Government Relations Manager for Southern California Edison (SCE) where she represents SCE in its relationships with cities and communities in North Orange County. Prior to joining SCE, she was the owner of Quimby Group Consulting, a fundraising and event planning firm for federal, state and local candidates, elected officials, political action committees and nonprofits. Quimby’s career also includes service as Deputy Chief of Staff for a State Senator in Orange County.

Cynthia Quimby

Everett K. Sands

Everett K. Sands is CEO and President of Lendistry, a minority-led fintech Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides lending solutions to small businesses and recovery grant administration solutions to federal, state, and local governments. Since Lendistry’s launch in 2015, the company has deployed nearly $8.5 billion in small business recovery and growth capital to 576,000 businesses. Sands has more than 20 years of experience in lending, banking, commercial real estate and economic development public policy.

Everett K. Sands

Suzi Brown

Suzi Brown is Vice President of Communications for Disneyland Resort. Brown has more than three decades of experience in key communications roles, including 11 years at Disneyland, and currently oversees internal, external and executive communications. She works closely with resort leaders to develop communications strategies and plans designed to engage and inform the 30,000 Disneyland Resort Cast Members. Prior to joining Disney, Brown’s experience spanned several industries, including roles at Anaheim Elementary School District, Carl’s Jr. Restaurants and the City of Anaheim. 

Suzi Brown

Timothy McElfish

Timothy McElfish is Managing Partner at Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP and chairs the firm’s Corporate and Real Estate Practice Group. McElfish leads all aspects of merger and acquisition transactions, entity formation and commercial finance. His practice provides outside counsel for a wide range of businesses that include entity restricting, transactional and corporate governance matters, as well as advanced estate planning and business succession planning. McElfish has also served for the last ten years as an Adjunct Law Professor in the area of Federal Income Tax.

Timothy McElfish

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We are located at
410 N. Fairview St., Santa Ana, CA 92703


Contact us at
714-547-6308 or
cservice@ocgoodwill.org