Suzzette Garcia

Suzzette Garcia, LPCC

Executive Director | Guide Behavioral Health

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (#5979)

Suzzette Garcia brings deep heart, vision, and over a decade of leadership experience to her role as Executive Director at Guide Behavioral Health. A Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Suzzette leads with a rare combination of clinical expertise, cultural humility, and unwavering commitment to equity and social justice.

Her journey began in a small agricultural town in California’s Central Valley, where she witnessed the profound impact of poverty, systemic injustice, and generational trauma. Those early experiences planted the seeds for a life of service—rooted in compassion and driven by the belief that every young person deserves access to healing and opportunity. Inspired by this vision, Suzzette earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from Alliant International University and is currently completing her doctorate in Organizational Development.

Since 2010, Suzzette has worked across a range of settings, from community-based programs at Rebekah Children’s Services to leadership roles in outpatient care. In 2019, she joined The Meadows Outpatient Center in Sunnyvale as a consultant, later stepping into the role of Director of Outpatient Services where she led multidisciplinary teams and championed clinical excellence. She is certified in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and brings an evidence-based, relational lens to every aspect of her work.

Suzzette’s impact reaches beyond the walls of treatment centers. She’s a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, CEO of the California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (CALPCC), and a recipient of the Audre Lorde Voice and Vision Award for Outstanding Social Justice Advocacy. Her leadership has extended to consulting with the White House, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the APA on mental health access and equity for marginalized communities.

But Suzzette’s dedication isn’t limited to the professional sphere. She co-founded a fellowship program to support BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students entering the mental health field, and long before her clinical career, she founded a nonprofit serving at-risk youth through mentorship, academics, and athletics. Her passion for helping young people thrive has always been her compass.

At Guide, Suzzette is known for cultivating trauma-informed, affirming spaces where teens can explore their identities, reconnect with their strengths, and imagine new possibilities for their lives. Whether she’s supporting families, mentoring young clinicians, or shaping the strategic direction of the organization, she approaches it all with clarity, heart, and purpose.

When she’s not in leadership meetings or case consultations, Suzzette finds joy in the simple things—gardening, hiking, camping, and soaking up the stillness of nature. She’s an avid traveler, a budding golfer, and a student of American Sign Language. In her free time, she trains service dogs (yes, they’re every bit as impressive as they sound).

Suzzette believes in meeting people exactly where they are—and walking with them toward a future rooted in healing, strength, and self-defined success.

"My purpose isn’t simply to help people survive their pain—it's to guide them in reclaiming their power and rising into a life beyond survival, one defined by strength, purpose, and possibility."