Even though she lives and works in Texas, Dr. Ashley Hollweg goes out of her way to attend OPCC's Leadership Network breakfasts here in California. According to Ashley, her time spent working with OPCC's Daybreak Day Center years ago set her life's career path and she is committed to supporting the agency no matter the distance. A bright-eyed, independent 22 year old, Ashley found herself in Santa Monica searching for her passion. She had always volunteered in the mental health field and when a friend introduced her to the Daybreak Day Center, it was a perfect fit. After just 3 months of volunteering, the enthusiastic girl who entertained the clients by lip syncing to songs on the radio, found herself a full time employee of Daybreak and stayed for 3 ½ years. She had grown up convinced she would not work as a psychologist like her dad but found herself drawn to it. Ashley began studying psychology at nights at UCLA and went on to earn a Masters in Clinical Psychology and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. She now works alongside her dad as a corporate psychologist. Ashley credits her time at Daybreak as the driving force behind her career decisions. She had never heard of a place like Daybreak, specifically for homeless women living with mental illness. Witnessing the sense of safety the women feel at Daybreak and the positive changes in their lives after they become clients of Daybreak, was a life changing experience for her too!
For more information about volunteering at OPCC, please contact Donna Miller at OPCC: (310)264-6646 x235 or dmiller@opcc.net.
