Christie’s Place Rhea Van Brocklin Executive Director

By JP Emerson

I immigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. at age six. My mom was a nurse who petitioned her workplace in Missouri to bring her family to the country as part of her work contract. I grew up in Hannibal, MO, a small river town about two hours north of St. Louis. As you can imagine, not a lot of Asians lived in that town, so at a very early age I learned about discrimination and the need to assimilate. I met my husband in college and we were married after five years of dating. We started our family in Des Moines, IA and have two beautiful kids. We moved to San Diego in December 2012 to be closer to family. My daughter is graduating from UCSD this June and my son is about to start his senior year in high school. I love to travel and experience new places with my family.

Would you please tell us your journey to becoming executive director at Christie’s Place?

I had a friend in high school who was diagnosed and passed away from AIDS in 1995. No one knew about HIV back then, especially a small town like Hannibal.  My friend was not even out about being gay, let alone told anyone about his HIV status. He passed very soon after his diagnosis. I went to school at a small liberal arts college in Northeastern Missouri where I also volunteered with the Red Cross to do HIV prevention presentations on campus. When my husband and I moved to Iowa, I got a job at a grassroots nonprofit as a Prevention Specialist/Case Manager with The AIDS Project of Central Iowa. I worked my way up to the Executive Director position at the AIDS Project and I helped the organization merge with a federally-qualified health center in 2012 to protect our services for our clients. Iowa is a low-incidence state and had lost a lot of prevention funding (most of which went to the AIDS Project) in 2009. The merger process took a real toll on me. I grew up in that agency and loved it with all my heart, and it felt like I was giving it away. 

After we moved to San Diego in 2012, I took a couple of years off to just be a mom to my young kids. In 2014, I got a job as a Program Manager in HIV Services at Vista Community Clinic. It was a good job and got me back into the field here in San Diego. I applied for the Executive Director position at Christie’s Place in 2019. During the grueling interview and hiring process, there was a moment when I stepped into the house for the first time, felt the grassroots spirit and safety of the agency, and have been there ever since.

Would you please talk about the services the organization offers?

Christie’s Place is one of the last remaining grassroots, community-based AIDS Service Organizations left in the country. We are named after Christie Milton-Torres, one of the first women in San Diego who spoke out about her HIV diagnosis in an effort to find support and services for her family. Christie was diagnosed with HIV the same time she found out she was pregnant with her son, Christopher. Her adopted mother, Irene Milton, founded Christie’s Place in her honor. We are the only organization dedicated to serving women and families impacted by HIV in Southern California. Our mission is to empower women, children, families, and individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS to take charge of their health and wellness. We offer wraparound support services including medical and non-medical case management, mental health counseling, transportation assistance, childcare, peer navigation, benefits navigation, support groups, and social/family events. We have a foundation built upon trauma-informed practices and a commitment to cultural humility and social justice. We believe in the power of our clients’ stories to change the narrative in our community about living with HIV.

What is the importance of Christie’s Place for our community?

A lot of the work we do centers around building up our community, inspiring women and people living with HIV to uplift their diagnosis journey, and to advocate for social change and community understanding. We seek to bring people living with HIV out of isolation into a supportive community where love and wellness is nurtured. The way we do our work is very different. Our staff consists of about 50% of people who are themselves living with HIV and have been clients of Christie’s Place in the past. There is something magical when women with lived experience are brought together and that magic is what Christie’s Place seeks to create in all the work we do.

How can folks get involved (ways to donate or volunteer and if there is a need for services?

Volunteering at Christie’s Place involves a screening, orientation, and training process to ensure the highest quality of support. Our volunteers assist with family events, community outreach, and onsite programming. To learn more or express interest, you can email Becky Zepeda at bzepeda@christiesplace.org.

Donations and contributions can make a significant impact to support our essential programs and services, as well as in-kind donations like hygiene products, food, and gently-used clothing that our clients can access. You can learn more through our website, www.christiesplace.org. 

If you are a person living with HIV and are looking for services, please contact Martha Robles at robles@christiesplace.org. 

The WORD is Community-driven