Jennifer Puthoff
Jennifer Puthoff joined the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Victim Services Unit in January 2021. She has extensive background in education, health, and human services.
Michelle Cabrales
Michelle was born in Durango, Mexico and has been a San Jose, CA resident for most of her life. Michelle has a Bachelor’s in Science from Cal State East Bay and plans to pursue her master’s degree in Social Work.
Elvia Enriquez
Elvia is a Victim Advocate with the Office of the District Attorney and has been with the County of Santa Clara for over 20 years. Elvia has dedicated her career to helping her community and much of her professional career has been supporting young survivors of sexual and physical abuse.
Cathy Hjelt
Cathy is a Victim Advocate with the Office of the District Attorney. A San Jose native and graduate of San Jose State University, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development.
Kathryn "Kalee" Sims
Kathryn has been a child forensic interviewer for the past two years and retired as a lieutenant with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. She has over 20 years of experience interviewing children and youth.
Lydia Cardoza
Lydia is a Forensic Interviewer at the CAC. Lydia has a law enforcement background and has experience working with children and families who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault.
Dr. Marlene Sturm
Marlene A. Sturm, MD has served as the Medical Director at the Children’s Advocacy Center since the Center’s opening. Dr. Sturm has been a pediatrician for more than thirty years.
Dr. Caitlyn Kurinsky
Dr. Caitlyn Kurinsky is a board-certified pediatrician at the Medical Clinic at the Children’s Advocacy Center, where she helps provide care for children who may have experienced abuse and neglect.
Mary Ritter
Mary Ritter is a physician assistant (soon to be called “physician associate”) who has been working in pediatric medicine for over 40 years, the last 34 as the primary medical examiner of child sexual abuse at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s Center for Child Protection, and now at the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Sunayana Pydah
Sunny is a certified Physician Assistant working with children who have experienced abuse or neglect and is trained in Pediatric Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations.
Sarah Oliveira
Sarah Oliveira joined Santa Clara Valley Healthcare in April 2023 and currently serves as the CAC’s Program Manager for the Medical Clinic.
Mayra Galindo
Mayra has twelve years of experience working with the YWCA providing counseling and advocacy to children and families who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault.
Samantha Ledesma Garcia
Samantha is a Victim Advocate with the YWCA. She was born in Tijuana, Mexico, but raised in San Jose, CA for most of her life.
Diamond Holland
Diamond, a San Jose, California native, is deeply passionate about social change—a commitment that inspired her to earn a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Debbie Ruiz
Debbie has been an Advocate with Community Solutions for over 22 years supporting survivors of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Abuse.
Antonio Padilla
Antonio Padilla works as Law Enforcement Liaison for Santa Clara County, Dept. of Family and Children Services (DFCS). His current role is to facilitate a collaborative relationship between DFCS, Law Enforcement, and other county agencies to address child abuse challenges.