Executive Management Team

St. Joseph Center’s work is overseen by a dedicated Executive Management Team that consists of Interim CEO and Chief Program Officer LaTonya Smith; VP of Finance & Chief Financial Officer Daniel Braun; VP of Human Resources Simona Brown; VP of Administration Keith Anyon; and VP of Systems and Innovation Josh Decell.

Interim CEO & Chief Program Officer
LaTonya Smith

LaTonya Smith has been in the behavioral science profession for more than 19 years, with the last 8 years in Nonprofit Leadership. Her experience began in Atlanta, Georgia, and later took shape in Los Angeles, her hometown. LaTonya’s experience includes work with the criminal justice system for both adults and children, addiction, mental health, homelessness, and education. LaTonya is especially proud of the work accomplished while working in one of the most notable and challenging environments in Los Angeles, known as Skid Row.

LaTonya is an agent of change, and as a leader in the behavioral health profession she has trained many teams in the areas of conflict resolution, trauma informed care, and crisis intervention.

LaTonya is a member of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. She holds a BS from Georgia State University, an MS from Capella University, and is currently in the research phase of her Ph.D. at Grand Canyon University. She believes in advocating for those who are unable to do so for themselves and serving the most underserved and disenfranchised populations.

VP of Finance & Chief Financial Officer
Daniel Braun

Daniel Braun brings over 30 years of non-profit experience to the St. Joseph Center. He has spent most of his career working in the field of children’s services, developing a deep understanding of mental health services, supportive housing, and government contracts. Before moving into the non-profit sector Dan worked as a forensic economist developing economic-financial models for personal injuries and testifying in court. As St. Joseph Center’s VP of Finance & Chief Financial Officer Dan oversees the agency’s finance, budgeting, and mental health revenue teams.

Dan was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. He arrived in Southern California as a college student and made it his home. He earned an undergraduate degree from Azusa Pacific University and has an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

VP of Human Resources
Simona Brown

Simona Brown brings over 15 years of experience contributing to Workforce Planning strategies that support optimizing organization effectiveness and proactive Business Partner Relationships. She is a results oriented Human Resources Professional possessing strong interpersonal skills to create business partnerships and build trust with employees to create a positive work environment that increases organizational outcomes and effectiveness.

Simona has professional experience in the for profit and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining St. Joseph Center, she was previously the Director of Human Resources at Children’s Institute. Most recently, she was the Director of Human Resources Business Services at AltaMed Health Services.
In her role as Vice President of Human Resources, she oversees the employee experience that includes talent acquisition, benefits, compensation, worker’s compensation, employee relations, performance management, DEI initiatives, learning & training, and rewards & recognition.

Simona is a native of California and grew up and currently resides in South Bay. She also holds volunteer leadership roles with neighboring athletic organizations that focus on youth and their participation in sports to build confidence, resiliency, and skill to help them thrive.

VP of Administration
Keith Anyon

Keith Anyon has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years. Prior to joining St. Joseph Center, he served as Director of Administration at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health for several years. With oversight of Human Resources and Recruitment functions, he has led efforts to diversify the agency’s workforce significantly, opening opportunities by removing degree qualifications from certain positions; partnering with community-based organizations to seek candidates with lived experience with homelessness, mental health, substance use and/or justice involvement; participating in workforce development programs to widen pools of qualified candidates to enter the homeless services sector; and expanding the agency’s portfolio of internship programs, with multiple disciplines and with an emphasis on working engaging colleges and universities with a significant population of first-generation college students.

VP of Systems and Innovation
Josh Decell

Bringing over fifteen years of public and nonprofit sector experience, Josh has spent his career transforming the administrative infrastructure of organizations to align with their programs and missions. He spent over six years at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, overseeing data management, program evaluation and research. In that role, he oversaw the County-wide transition to Clarity HMIS and led a multi-year reallocation of Federal funds that created thousands of additional permanent housing subsidies for the region. Most recently, he served as the first data and technology leader at Brilliant Corners, a state-wide permanent supportive housing organization. In that role he implemented and optimized numerous applications, workflows, and analytic tools to align technology, people, and processes as the organization tripled in size. For the past four years, he has served on the Los Angeles Continuum of Care Board, LAHSA’s advisory board for HUD homelessness funding.

Josh grew up in southern LA County. He currently resides in the Elysian Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles where he regularly volunteers with SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, building relationships with unhoused neighbors living along the LA River and connecting them to services and housing. He earned a B.A from San Francisco State University and an M.B.A. from the USC Marshall School of Business where he was an MBA Society and Business Fellow at the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, cooking, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and seeing live music and comedy.