Hospitality House Staff
​Ashley Von Ruden, Program Manager
Ashley Von Ruden was born and raised in Owatonna, MN. Ashley has been interested in helping individuals all her life; her compassionate demeanor led her to attend Riverland Community College where received an Associate’s Degree in Human Services. While working on her degree, Ashley was introduced to Hospitality House of Owatonna, where she performed over 350 internship hours. This is where Ashley’s love of HHO began. Shortly after, Ashley began working for Hospitality House in August 2014 as a Guest Advocate and was later promoted to Program Manager in July of 2019. Ashley has received additional training in CPR/First Aid, Narcan, and co-occurring disorders..
Ashley is trained in Crisis Intervention, Mental Health First Aid, and a member of Community Service Community Team (CSCT). Ashley works to partner with many organizations in our community to get resources for our guests such as SEMCAC, Community Pathways, South Central Human Relations Center, Trasinsitional Housing, Salvation Army, Furnishing Hope, MN Pairie County Alliance to name a few.
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Ashley is a mother of two children and is currently raising them in Owatonna. Ashley is also actively involved with BSA Scouts and is an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop #355 in Owatonna. In her spare time Ashley loves camping, fishing, gardening, canning, crafting, and fungiculture.
David Anguria, Program Coordinator
David has a Medical Assistant Diploma from Riverland Community College where he served as a Peer Tutor and led other students in various subjects, healthcare ethics, and study groups for clinical procedures. He also has a Bachelor of Computer Applications from Bangalore University in Bangalore, India. He was born in Austin, MN and has resided in Southern Minnesota for most of his life. David has received additional training in CPR/First Aid, Narcan, and co-occurring disorders.
David is passionate about healthcare, public service, and giving back to his community. He was a
Certified Medical Assistant for several years through Allina Hospitals and Clinics. He is certified in First Aid and CPR and brings an extensive knowledge in the medical field.
In his spare time, David served as an Urgent Action Coordinator for Amesty International and Vice
President of Amnesty International Chapter at Riverland Community College. He enjoys reading,
traveling up the North Shore, the outdoors, and movies. David looks forward to working at Hospitality House and being part of the team to help men facing homelessness in our community.
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Sarah Dillon, Senior Guest Advocate/Staff Trainer
Sarah is originally from New Hampshire. She came to Minnesota when she was 13 years old, residing in Rochester first, then moving to Owatonna in 2002. Sarah has primarily worked in customer service and credit/collections. She is currently a full-time employee as an APS Collections Specialist with Apogee Enterprises Inc. Sarah was first introduced to the Hospitality House of Owatonna by Joleen Sherrets, one of the original founders. Sarah has a passion for helping others and enjoys the work she does with the guests at HHO. She has been with the Hospitality House for five years now. She calls her position with HHO her “feel good” job. Sarah has received additional training in CPR/First Aid, Narcan, and co-occurring disorders.
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Sarah has one grown Son. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, swimming, gardening and spending time outdoors with friends and family
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Brittni Gonzales, Guest Advocate
Brittni was born and raised in Southern MN. She works full time with US Bank in Owatonna and has her own baking business called """". Brittni is following in her grandmother's footsteps as Mary Gonzales was a social worker in Steele County for many years. Brittni has years of experience in the service, banking, and administrative sectors. She loves helping others and is a huge advocate for mental health. She is training in cooccurring disorders, Narcan, and First Aid and CPR. She continues training in areas of mental health and substance use disorder. Brittini has received additional training in CPR/First Aid, Narcan, and co-occurring disorders.
In her spare time, she loves to cook and bake, a quality the guests at HHO love about her as she is always bringing in cookies and sweet treats. Brittni loves spending time with her family and friends and enjoys giving back to others in the community. Her sweet dog Hank William has quickly become our house mascot and loves getting to know our guests.
Cherish Perez, Guest Advocate
Cherish is originally from. Cherish has lived in Owatonna for the past 4 years, before moving to our community, Cherish lived in Mankato. Cherish enjoys spending time with her husband and is a mother of three. She also has 2 wonderful grandchildren that she enjoys spending time with. Cherish has worked in healthcare settings most of her life and worked as a CNA for several years. Cherish comes to us with 13 years’ experience as a Human Service Technician and has extensive knowledge of substance use disorders and years of experience working with individuals who suffer from substance use disorder. She has received additional training in CPR/First Aid, Narcan, and co-occurring disorders. Cherish is very excited to join our team as a guest advocate.