Meet the Team

Meghan Medlin, M.A.S.

Founder/ Chief Executive Officer

Meghan has been a leader in the workforce development and reentry community since 2006 which led to her founding H.I.R.E. in 2020 in response to the overwhelming need for service linkages and employment in Orange County for system impacted people.

She has been recognized as one of Orange County's top Women of Year by the OC Business Journal and an OC Visionary by the LA Times.

Medlin is known for her dedication to the Orange County community, specializing in recidivism reduction, workforce development, and poverty eradication. She has been an integral part of various initiatives such as Prop 47, AB109, Stepping Up, Ban the Box, and the Continuum of Care board. She currently represents the community on the Orange County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council and Orange County Community Corrections Partnership.

Meghan is also an active member of the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association and InfraGard Los Angeles.

She has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Redlands, a certificate in Gang Prevention and Intervention from Coastline Community College and a Master of Advance Study in Criminology, Law & Society from UC Irvine.

Samantha Harris, M.Ed

Programs Manager

Samantha (Sam) Harris joins us in a contract role as our Programs Manager. Sam has 12+ years of experience working as a Director of Programs at a non-profit organization that focused on workforce development targeting opportunity youth. She hired, trained and supervised up to 18 staff over multiple departments including: hard skill training, admissions, case management, support services, employment and education readiness.

Sam also helped develop a hybrid learning model during the pandemic and develop curriculum for adult learners. She brings a trauma informed care approach and is passionate about meeting people where they're at and helping people turn their lives around. In addition, she has experience in staffing and recruiting.

Sam has an MA in Education from Ashford University with a specialization in family and community services.

Lynh Tran

Intake & Office Coordinator

Lynh Tran is a bilingual English/ Vietnamese recent graduate from UC Irvine. She got connected with H.I.R.E. through one of her Criminology courses and has been with us ever since! She started volunteering with H.I.R.E. since the spring of 2022 and was hired in April 2023 as our Office Coordinator, her role changed in March 2024 to the Intake & Operations Coordinator.

Lynh has experience working as a Youth Program Leader for her church and as a Community Service Leader for the City of Costa Mesa Parks & Recreation. She is passionate about helping incarcerated individuals, particularly youth who have faced unjust experiences, and is dedicated to promoting safety and equality for her community. She also contributed to UCI's Prison Pandemic project, where she read and redacted letters from incarcerated individuals in California state prisons. Additionally, she was involved in professor-ran project on campus related to system-impacted youth and their treatment plans.

Lynh aspires to further her impact on juvenile justice and continue her advocacy for those who have been unfairly treated by the system.

Karyn Mendoza, LCSW

Clinical Supervisor

Karyn Mendoza is a founding board member, Advisory Board Member and now is in a Clinical Supervisor role supervising master level interns. Karyn wholeheartedly believes in second chances which is why H.I.R.E.'s mission is so important to her. She has worked in various leadership capacities at non-profit and education settings. Karyn currently operates a private practice offering licensed therapy and counseling.

Karyn has extensive experience in leadership roles at nonprofit organizations overseeing programming, staff and training. She is particularly passionate about working in non-profit settings with youth and families impacted by violence, substance abuse, and poverty.

Karyn earned her BA in Sociology from California State University Long Beach and her MA in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She is a licensed clinical social worker. When not working or volunteering, Karyn loves spending time with family, friends, her puppy (Teddy Mamba), reading and listening to podcasts.

Asia Donnelson

Chapman Univ. MFT Trainee

Asia comes to H.I.R.E. as an MFT Trainee via Chapman University’s external traineeship program. A first generation college graduate, Asia is currently working toward a M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy and upon graduation will seek licensure as both a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Clinical Counselor as their second major career in life.

Asia has recently exited a seventeen year career in disability services, specifically at the intersections of disability justice and advocacy. Their most recent work involved supporting disability service organizations in enhancing their practices and culture change toward true inclusivity, dignity, and human rights, in order to align with stated values. In shifting to this new career, Asia bridges personal and professional lived experiences and perspectives with their own social justice orientation in support of others in ways they define.

Lizbeth Quintero

Communications (Volunteer)

Lizbeth (Liz) is a recent graduate from UC Irvine, and got her bachelor’s in Criminology, Law & Society and Psychological Science. She is now currently in her first year as a Masters in Social Work student at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Lizbeth will be receiving her MSW concentration in Community Mental Health and seeks to become a Licensed Clinical Social Work after graduation. She is interested in working with the incarcerated/system-impacted community to provide counseling and support needed for individuals to better reintegrate into society. She is passionate about social reform and advocating for reducing the barriers formerly incarcerated individuals face upon release.

Ryann Storey

Ohio State Univ. MSW Intern

Ryann is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Ryann is from Orange County, CA - born and raised in Tustin where her passion for psychology and working with people began. Upon her arrival at Ohio State, she became employed at a halfway house, focusing on reintegration after incarceration. This experience shifted Ryann’s

path, unveiling her true calling of entering the social work realm. She is currently working towards

her Master’s degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University’s Full-Time MSW online

program, anticipating graduation Spring 2025. Ryann is extremely passionate and determined in

challenging the institutional and societal factors that allow the broken prison system we know

today to prevail. She looks forward to challenging the individualism that encourages complicity

and ignorance, not only in Orange County, but across the nation.

Katie Waggoner

Training Coordinator (Volunteer)

Katie is a PhD student studying Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California Irvine. In her hometown of Indianapolis, she gained experience working in support of justice-involved individuals and their families. She is passionate about her community and the importance of assisting those who are re-entering the community from incarceration.

Katie earned her B.A. in Philanthropic Studies and her M.S. in Criminal Justice and Public Safety from Indiana University.

Meet the Mentors

Marta Barreto

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Marta Barreto is a detail-oriented Navy Veteran and aerospace professional who serves as a lived experience mentor in our T.I.M.E. youth mentorship program. She is committed to helping people flourish and communities thrive. Marta serves as a guest lecturer and youth mentor and takes this spirit into her professional work, from communicating across teams with a shared mission, to delivering high-quality results.

Marta has a Master in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management from Cal State University San Bernardino. Marta shares her professional and lived experiences with at-promise youth in our community through our T.I.M.E. mentor program.

Hung Nguyen

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Hung Nguyen was sentenced to Life Without Parole at 19 in 1998, but made a commitment to rehabilitation after his mother's passing in 2004. He identified the factors that led him to make poor choices and opted to enroll in various self-help programs, including anger management, which enabled him to channel his anger and negative tendencies into a positive response. He also participated in the Alternative to Violence Project, learning to channel his emotions positively, respect others, and reject criminal thinking.

After 23 years of incarceration, Governor Brown commuted his sentence in 2018, and Hung was released. Now a proud member of H.I.R.E., he is dedicated to giving back to the community and making amends for his past actions through volunteer work and active participation in the organization's efforts.

Tin Nguyen

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Tin was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. as a child. As a young adult, he was convicted of a couple of aggravated felonies and was sentenced to LWOP where he served over twenty years in prison.

Tin completed his Transitional Housing through Action Sober Living and volunteered at Paws For Life - K9 Rescue and Cal State LA. He participated in the monthly transportation of shelter dogs, gave presentations and lectures to students, and worked with professors to assist their students in class projects. He also promoted Covid vaccination at Cal State LA and received his Bachelor’s Degree, graduating with Summa Cum Laude.

Since leaving the transition house, he rented a house with friends, was employed by Cal State LA Center of Engagement of Public Good and Service as a consultant, and worked and volunteered with Paws For Life as a dog trainer.

Tin also runs a small business in dog boarding and training in collaboration with Rescue, such as It’s Yogi House, and Zeppre Rescue to board and train shelter dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized from Riverside County Dog Shelter.

He most recently worked for VietRISE, as the Immigrant Justice Coordinator and graduated from Cal State LA with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in 2023.

Irving Relova

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Irving "Irv" Relova is a T.I.M.E. youth mentor who was previously incarcerated for twenty-five years. He was sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole in 1996 and his sentence was commuted in 2018 by Governor Brown.

While incarcerated with very limited access to rehabilitative programming, he helped to start a Youth Diversion Program, mentoring justice involved youth brought to the prison once a month to meet with selected inmates.

Irv facilitated a weekly meditation group while incarcerated, with a focus on mindfulness and spiritual principles.

One of the first prisons to begin a shelter dog training program was at Lancaster. Irv was with the program from the beginning, designing and manufacturing dog leashes, harnesses, crate pillows and blankets, as well as dog training.

Since his release from prison in 2019, Irv has participated in a number of trainings and teachings to cultivate compassion, completing the Compassion Cultivation Training © (CCT) from Stanford University.

As a former Youthful Offender, this work is critically important to Irv due to his life-long commitment to be of service to those who may benefit from his experience with the criminal justice system and mindfulness training, helping them to avoid the pitfalls. H.I.R.E. provides him with the opportunity to make his dream a reality.

His hobbies include training his dog, walks on the beach with his wife, listening to music, skateboarding, and cooking new and interesting dishes.

Oscar Rodriguez

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Oscar was born and grew up in South Los Angeles to immigrant parents. He witnessed domestic violence and verbal abuse and was also at the receiving end of it. At 13 yrs Oscar ran away from home and joined a local gang. He had two older brothers who were already members of the gang, and it became a way for them to escape the violence in their home and still be together. By age of 17 Oscar was drinking alcohol, using drugs and behaving reckless. Oscar was arrested shortly after and sentenced to two life sentences plus 8 years.

After 8 years in a maximum security prison, Oscar started to reflect on his behavior and way of thinking, helping him learn to take responsibility for his actions. This led Oscar to the practice of Buddhism which gradually helped him to identify and develop a way to interact with the emotions, the thinking, and views directing his behavior in a way not harmful to himself or others. That is when his life changed.

After serving 25 years in prison, Oscar had done a lot of self inventory and developed a different way of addressing his emotions, making it possible for him to become a kinder, and more responsible and caring man. Oscar was granted parole in 2019 and now live in Los Angeles, where he is a dog trainer and is becoming a small business owner in the dog training service. Oscar also serves as a youth T.I.M.E. mentor sharing his experiences and journey of healing with local youth.

Nhut Vo

T.I.M.E. Mentor

Nhut Vo is a tattoo artist and muralist, dog trainer, and a community coordinator for the Boundless Freedom Project. He also volunteers with nonprofit organizations that serve the reentry and incarcerated population, including H.I.R.E. as a T.I.M.E. youth mentor.

Nhut previously served 20 years in the state correctional institution system where he was initially sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole for a crime he was involved in when he was 16 years old.

During his time of confinement, he took responsibility for his past, and sought every opportunity to improve himself. Nhut earned two Associate Degrees and become a certified Paralegal. He volunteered to organize activity groups, led religious services, mentor at-risk youths, and train rescued dogs.

When the Supreme Court ruled that youth sentenced to Life Without Parole was a cruel and unusual punishment, Nhut was given a lifeline and eventually earned his freedom in 2020.

Today, he is a grateful and humble contributing member of his community. He is now dedicated to creating a pathway for men and women in a similar situation through his arts and entrepreneurship.