Our Team
Blue Healing Journeys was Co-founded by John Gonzalez who lives in Long Island, New York. John is an avid recreational sailor and a strong advocate for mental health awareness. John is a suicide loss survivor and after the loss of his sister, John was motivated to start Blue Healing Journeys.
John realizes the power of healing among loss survivors who share in a unique experience can transform lives. He is an advocate for suicide prevention and post-vention and mental health. John is an AFSP-trained facilitator of support groups.
John Gonzalez
Co-Founder
Martha Salavarrieta Mora
Co-Founder
Martha is the Co-Founder of Blue Healing Journeys and an advocate for mental health and suicide prevention. A suicide loss survivor, Martha is the embodiment of resilience and optimism. Martha is an accomplished writer who recently published her first book called Atrapada y en Silencio.
Prior to her writing career, she worked in the health care industry as a Certified Medical Translator for patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and as a pediatric medical office assistant in Queens, NY. She is John’s mother.
Lara Gonzalez
Co-Founder
Lara is a longtime public school educator. She is a passionate advocate for young people and their families; she has worked as a teacher and school leader in a variety of educational settings for more than 25 years.
Lara earned her doctorate in Education Leadership from Hofstra University. She loves the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with family.
Paula Jennings - Executive Director
Paula is a transformational coach, program facilitator, and former Wall Street executive with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and organizations through complex life transitions. As Founder of Metamorphosis Coaching & Retreats, she has designed and led immersive programs that integrate coaching, nervous system regulation, and holistic healing practices.
Paula brings a unique blend of strategic leadership and compassionate, trauma-informed care to her work. She is certified in Leadership & Executive Coaching through Teachers College, Columbia University, and holds a High Performance Coaching Certification. She is also trained in trauma-informed healing, supporting individuals navigating grief, loss, and major life challenges.
In addition to her coaching background, Paula is certified in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation and has trained extensively in sound healing and energy-based practices, which she incorporates into her work to support nervous system regulation and emotional well-being.
Her earlier career includes senior leadership roles at Deutsche Bank, where she led global operational strategy and talent development initiatives. Paula holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics & Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
Therese Logan - Program Director
Therese is a Holistic Life Coach who uses the heart-centered principles of A Course in Miracles to support personal growth and spiritual transformation. She is also a Certified Grief Facilitator and a former Wall Street professional whose career was reshaped by 9/11. You’ll often find her at the barn with her beloved horse, Sherman—her teacher in healing—or sailing on Long Island Sound.
Kelly McCarthy - Program Director
Kelly joins the Blue Healing Journeys team as a volunteer. Bringing years of experience from her career in Human Resources, Kelly now focuses her energy on community and wellness. She is a passionate advocate for the Blue Healing Journeys programs, finding strength in both the camaraderie of fellow survivors and the different programs offered. Outside of her volunteer work, Kelly can be found biking or walking with her faithful companion, a miniature poodle named Lucy.
Beth Reimer, MA
Expressiver Art Therapy Program Director
Beth is a Brooklyn-based psychotherapist with a degree in art therapy from Pratt Institute. As a suicide loss survivor, Beth brings a deep personal passion to supporting the survivor community. They have extensive experience researching art therapy as a postvention treatment for survivors and have been an integral part of the Blue Healing Journeys team, co-facilitating the Paint to Heal program over the past year.
During the 2025/26 season, Beth took on a leadership role within the organization, serving as the lead coordinator for our fall and winter Paint to Heal sessions. In this capacity, they were responsible for the comprehensive curriculum planning of the program, ensuring that each of the ten workshops offered a meaningful and structured path toward creative expression and healing for our participants.
Throughout their graduate studies and professional clinical work, Beth has served a diverse range of populations. They volunteered at Saturday Art School, a Pratt-based program for children with disabilities and behavioral issues, and interned at PS46, where they focused on social-emotional learning for students. Most recently, Beth completed a clinical internship at Metropolitan Hospital’s inpatient psychiatric unit, facilitating art therapy groups for patients navigating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, and depression.