Who We Are

Emily Stewart joined Casa Esperanza, Inc. as the Director of Development in 2004. She then served as Deputy Director for six years before stepping into the role of Executive Director in 2011. Before joining Casa, her career included experience as a producer for radio and television followed by a transition the non-profit sector where she spent several years consulting to start-up businesses, academic institutions, community health centers, and government agencies on strategic communications, management, program development, fundraising, special events, and property development.    

Emily is responsible for broad oversite of all of Casa Esperanza’s programs and services in addition to overseeing administrative staff, human resources, finance, communications, development, and operations. During her tenure at Casa Esperanza, she has secured and implemented more than fifteen competitive grants from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. She has spearheaded the implementation, adaptation, and evaluation of more than 20 culturally relevant evidence-based interventions, including our CasaCare integrated care model, and increased treatment completion rates by more than 30%. She has overseen major strategic initiatives including implementing Evol, an electronic health records system to modernize patient information tracking and developing programs to significantly expand Casa’s capacity for patient services, such as Familias Unidas Outpatient Clinic, Conexiones CSS (Clinical Stabilization Services), and Nueva Esperanza Supportive Housing which each address unique community needs.   

Emily holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from the University of Massachusetts and has more than 20 years of experience working with populations facing barriers to care, including marginalized racial and linguistic communities, at-risk women and girls, disadvantaged youth, homeless individuals and families, and individuals living with mental health and substance use disorders. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Behavioral Health Care, where she co-chairs the Partnering with Underserved Populations Committee, as well as the Providers Advisory Committee. 

Diliana De Jesús joined Casa Esperanza, Inc., as the Development Associate in 2005. She served in several positions before transitioning to Deputy Director in 2011, Director of Advancement and Communications in 2018, and currently serves as Deputy Director and Chief Development Officer.   

Diliana is passionate about social justice issues and has more than 20 years of experience working in the Latino community with individuals and families living with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, at-risk youth and young adults, recent immigrants, returning citizens, survivors of domestic violence, people living with HIV, and homeless individuals.  

During her time at Casa, she has worked closely with Casa Esperanza, Inc.’s Leadership Team to implement 24 competitive grants from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, bringing more than $40M to Casa, as well as writing and implementing 12 competitive awards for Ryan White Part A services.  She has also led efforts to integrate culturally competent evidence-based practices into all agency programs and services. Over the years, Diliana has worked to ensure the highest possible quality of care for Casa’s programs, serving as the Compliance Officer for Casa and working with the Management Team to ensure compliance related to programmatic, financial, outcomes reporting, and facilities requirements, including monitoring achievement of strategic goals and objectives.  She has also provided training and technical assistance to other federal grantees and community-based organizations on issues related to developing culturally competent models of care and securing funds to sustain these models as well as presenting on Casa’s integrated treatment model.   

Diliana is originally from Puerto Rico, is fully bilingual, and has personal experience supporting family members in recovery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University. 

Jessica Evans, LCSW joined Casa Esperanza, Inc., as Operations Assistant in 2006. She has held various roles at Casa Esperanza, Inc., including Director of Operations, Director of Clinical Stabilization Services, and Director of Organizational Development, and now serves as the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Casa, she worked at Community Teamwork Inc. (CTI) in Lowell, UTEC Lowell, and the YMCA, where her experiences included working with homeless populations, teen leadership development, and youth services.  

As Chief Operating Officer, Jessica oversees the Operations and facilities team, which includes repair, maintenance, and property management; Supportive housing leasing; Casa’s Technology Department, including electronic health records administration, IT help desk support, and IT partnership for network and security; the Practice Management department, including insurance eligibility verification, benefit assignment, and authorization for patients, and the Training Department, including development and implementation of staff trainings. She also collaborates with leadership and programs on design, development, and implementation of leadership tools and process improvement activities such as standard operating protocols, change management tools, and process mapping.  

Jessica holds an MSW from Salem State University and has also completed the Core Certificate Program from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (formerly Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership), an affiliate of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. She has a strong interest in organizational development and leadership development and is currently taking courses toward an Organizational Behavior Certificate at the Harvard Extension School. 

Melisa R. Canuto, LICSW joined Casa Esperanza, Inc., as Director of Behavioral Health in 2017 and now serves as Chief Clinical Officer. In addition to her role at Casa, she holds positions at Boston Children’s Hospital Emergency Psychiatry Department, Brigham and Woman’s Social Work Department, Cambridge Health Alliance and a surveyor for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Before joining Casa, she worked at YouthConnect, a program of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston in partnership with the Boston Police Department. Her extensive clinical experiences have included supporting high-risk youth/young adults, providing therapy services/case management, supporting families in connecting to service for their child’s mental health needs after a comprehensive assessment, providing trauma response and care coordination to patient and families and supporting clients with navigating state agency involvement.  

Melisa manages implementation and practical application of Casa’s Integrated Care Model and oversees programming, services, and staffing at Familias Unidas Outpatient Clinic and also provides oversight for Casa’s Residential Recovery programs and all clinical staff. She has an interest in working with marginalized communities and advocating for social justice. Outside of Casa, she is known for hiking, nature walks, and spending time with family.

Melisa holds a degree BS from Lesley University and MSW from Boston College. She is certified in the following: Post- Masters Clinical Certificate Program in the Relational and Multi-Contextual Treatment of Trauma, Psychological First Aid, Developing Nurturing Families and Communities, Clinical Supervision in Behavioral Health. Currently servers on Boston College School of Social Work Alumni Board and Co- Chair for the Awards Committee through National Association of Social Workers – MA chapter.  

Merceditas “Merci” Gimenez-Weltman was appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer for Casa Esperanza in April of 2023. With over 11 years of experience, Ms. Gimenez-Weltman is an accomplished finance professional in all aspects of accounting and financial management operations.  

 Before joining Casa, Merci was the CFO at Broward Regional Health Planning Council, where she successfully managed the $120 million-dollar financial operations of multiple local, state, and federal grants.  

Merci has experience in the specialized fields of grant accounting for the non-profit sector, fiscal management for healthcare business administration, and adherence to compliance with county, state, and federal requirements.  

Merci has a BS in International Business from the Universidad de la Marina Mercante in Argentina. She holds an MBA in Finance and Accountings from Regis University in Denver, Colorado and an MBA in International Business from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.  

Merci is a native of Argentina and fluent in Spanish. She is married with three daughters and lives in Florida. 

Ani Rodriguez joined Casa Esperanza, Inc., as Director of Human Resources in 2019 and now serves as Casa Esperanza’s Chief People & Culture Officer. As Chief of People and Culture, Ani provides leadership and strategic thinking around a wide range of Casa Esperanza activities, including workforce development, conflict resolution, benefits and compensation, Human Resources policy development, and legal compliance.    

Ani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a concentration in Business Law from Hesser College and is a Certified Professional with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), as well as, a Certified Strategic Human Resources Business Partner with Human Capital Institute (HCI). 

Sarah Trieweiler, joined Casa Esperanza, Inc., as an executive assistant in 2021 and now serves as Chief of Staff. In her current role, Sarah is responsible for providing high-level planning, communications, and project support to the CEO, as well as managing her relationship with external stakeholders and the Casa Board of Directors.  She has a strong commitment to health justice, racial justice and liberation for LGBTQ people. Sarah holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Northeastern University.