Taquesha Dean, LSWAIC (she/her) Training & Events Director
Taquesha Dean is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Associate and the Training & Events Coordinator. She identifies as an African American, queer, neurodivergent woman, with cultural roots in NYC and Florida. Taquesha is deeply committed to Black liberation and community care—from individual healing to systemic transformation.
Taquesha earned dual master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health from the University of Washington in 2022 and went on to open her private practice, Black Liberation and Community Care, PLLC (BLACC). Through BLACC, she provides affirming, justice-centered therapy for Black individuals, while also advancing equity and access through consultation, training, and advocacy.
Taquesha has co-developed and facilitated several community-centered trainings, including Legal Requirements & Cultural Considerations of Forming a PLLC and Culturally Affirming and Responsive Mental Health (CARE) for Kids and Families. Additionally, she is an avid researcher, and has co-authored 10+ research reports. Her work is rooted in a belief that healing is both personal and collective—and that joy, culture, and connection are essential parts of that journey.
Joyanne Joseph, Payroll Administrative Assistant
My name is JoyAnne Joseph and I am a Smith College graduate in Biochemistry and Spanish. My passion is making mental health care and medicine in general accessible to all communities, through advocacy, practical solutions, and clinical research. Through my work I aim to break barriers and advance mental health care inclusivity.
Komalpreet Sahota (she/her) Youth Programs Director
Komalpreet Kaur Sahota (Komie, has over a decade of community organizing and building in King County, WA and is invested in community healing as the pathway to our collective liberation. Komie has been involved in abolitionist, gender based violence, and youth organizing spaces in the region, and became committed to collective liberation through her and her loved ones lived experiences.
Komie has worked with youth of all ages, focusing on youth agency, leadership development, youth emotional and mental wellness, and restorative programming. At DMHS, she designs mental and emotional wellness programming for youth and community members who work with young people.
Komie is Punjabi Sikh, and her people’s histories and current acts of revolutionary struggle guide her in this work. Komie is a recent graduate of the University of Washington’s Masters of Social Work program, and is a Licensed Social Worker Associate – Independent Clinical. Additionally she has her master’s of science in Justice Studies from Arizona State University.
Leti Ramirez, Client, Provider & Partner Engagement Surveyor
Leti Ramirez (she/her/hers) , who identifies as a Hispanic woman, has received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Diversity at the University of Washington in Seattle and is a current student in a Master of Social Work program through Eastern Washington University. She is one of only two members of her immediate and extended family to pursue a master’s degree and has the support and excitement of her family who worked tirelessly to create this opportunity for her. She works for Seattle Children’s Hospital as a Family Services Coordinator and is developing social work skills through a mental health counseling practicum at Peaceful Soul Healing.
Leti is interested in becoming a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker so she can
provide trauma-informed counseling to adults in need, but is constantly finding new interests and passions through her studies. She is grateful for the opportunity to engage in the impactful work DMHS does and to learn more about contributing to broader-scale systemic change.
Shaena Spoor, Clinical Director of DMHS Free Therapy & Wellness Program
Committed to disrupting the traditional paradigms of Social Work, Shaena is thrilled and humbled to join DMHS as their first Clinical Director. In her role, she will be overseeing the Free Therapy & Wellness Program, supporting DMHS’ efforts to expand access to community-driven and BIPOC-centered mental health care that resists the barriers of bureaucracy.
Shaena has over a decade of experience working in community-based settings with experience providing direct service, program design, facilitation, curriculum development, grant writing support, training, partnership-building, development/fundraising and capacity building. Seven of those years were spent with a focus on supporting survivors of intimate violence and their loved ones. In more recent years, her work has been centered around building and managing mental health and wellness programming for BIPOC young women and gender expansive teens. Informed by her experiences both personally and in the field, her passions live where gender justice and reimagining community safety meet. This heart-work greatly shapes her practice as a healer, collaborator and educator.
Shaena holds an MSW from the University of Washington (UW) and a BA in Psychology from San Francisco State University. On a part-time basis, she is also an instructor at the UW School of Social Work and co-owner of Yukkuri Wellness PLLC, a politicized therapy and coaching practice. Beyond professional experience, Shaena is an eldest daughter, sister and loving friend with ancestral roots in Japan, Korea and Europe. She sees healing as inherently political and dreams of a world so abundant, the role of the “social worker” is obsolete.
Makinie Fortino, Founder of DMHS & CEO
Makinie Fortino (she/her/hers) is the Founder and President of DMHS: Deconstructing the Mental Health System, Inc.
She identifies as Black and Afro-Caribbean American and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who has been working in mental health for 10+ years.
Makinie received her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2013 from Central Connecticut State University, and has worn many hats ranging from in-home counselor to case manager, vocational counselor, academic advisor/behavioral health counselor and in social services, in Connecticut, Florida and Washington State. Program Creation & Management is a passion of Makinie’s, and her first Free Therapy Program was for a state technical college in January of 2020.
In all of Makinie’s work, she is intentional about interrupting and dismantling the racist aspects of the mental health system through direct therapy services for Black and Melanated people, consultation services for community leaders and organizations, helping organizations kickstart and launch free therapy initiatives, and providing webinars and workshops to providers.
Makinie has also published two manuals to help build cultural competence and awareness in the mental health community.
For more information about Makinie, please visit: LinkTree: MakinieTherapy.