Breaking Barriers 6th Annual Interagency Symposium

Learn more aboutGoldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn

Founder & CEO

MindUP

Accept all Reject Preferences Home About Programs Membership Research Donate Goldie Hawn Founder and CEO About Goldie Hawn is an Academy Award winning actress, producer, director, best-selling author and true children’s advocate. She created The Hawn Foundation, a public charity with a mission to equip children with the social and emotional skills they need to lead smarter, healthier, happier and ultimately more productive lives. Alarmed by increases in school violence, youth depression and suicide, and the persistent failure of the education system to help children cope with increasingly stressful lives, Hawn started her Foundation in 2003, applying cutting edge scientific research to create education programs that support the social and emotional development of children. Working with leading neuroscientists, educators, psychologists and researchers, the Foundation developed MindUP ™ an evidence-based curriculum and teaching model for grades K-12 that provide tools to help children self-regulate and understand their own emotions, moods and behaviors; reduce stress and anxiety; sharpen concentration; increase empathy; and improve academic performance. MindUP ™ is the signature program of The Hawn Foundation which is serving over six million children in the US, Canada, UK, Finland, Ireland, Venezuela, Uganda, Portugal, Serbia, Jordan, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. The skills and mindfulness practices that are being taught have helped children improve learning and academic performance and learn valuable social and emotional skills that build personal resilience for a lifetime. Hawn authored two best-selling books, a memoir “A Lotus Grows in the Mud”, in 2005 and in 2011, “10 Mindful Minutes”, offering guidance on raising healthy, joyful and resilient children. In 2015, Hawn released “10 Mindful Minutes: A Journal”, a practical application to her last book, offering prompts and exercises to enhance the reader’s daily life through mindfulness practice. Goldie has lived with her partner Kurt Russell for over 30 years and has four grown children, Oliver and Kate Hudson, Wyatt Russell and stepson Boston Russell. They have also been blessed with six grandchildren. Hawn believes “children light the path to joy” and dedicated much of her life’s work to creating innovative solutions to help children thrive.

Learn more aboutMelissa Stafford Jones

Melissa Stafford Jones

Director for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative

California Health and Human Services Agency

Melissa Stafford Jones has been Executive Director of First 5 Association of California since 2020. She was Executive Director of the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation from 2017 to 2020 and Regional Director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX from 2014 to 2017. Stafford Jones was President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems from 2005 to 2013, where she was Vice President and Director of Policy from 2000 to 2005. She was Regional Vice President of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California from 1998 to 2000 and a Senior Research Analyst for the Legislative Counsel Bureau of the Nevada State Legislature from 1997 to 1998. She is a member of the Saint Mary’s College School of Science Dean’s Advisory Board and the City of Walnut Creek Diversity, Equity Inclusion Task Force. Stafford Jones earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Learn more aboutElizabeth Estes

Elizabeth Estes

Founder

Breaking Barriers California

Elizabeth Estes is the Founder of Breaking Barriers California and Of Counsel with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo. She represents school districts and county offices of education throughout California. For the past twenty years she has focused her practice in the areas of special education and student matters. She brings extensive experience on legal matters including student discipline, inter-district transfers, open enrollment, First Amendment protections, IEP processes, discrimination, cyber-bullying, technology and media literacy, student assessment and achievement, program development, and much more. She has comprehensive litigation experience regarding special education programming and the rights of parents and children and has been integral in training attorneys statewide on these issues. Based on a harrowing experience in college and a fundamental passion for education and children, Ms. Estes has dedicated her legal career to supporting schools and the children they serve. She is committed to championing education for the whole child and uniting the multiple agencies and parties that serve children to do the same. In these efforts, Ms. Estes has developed alternative dispute resolution processes and systems for families and agencies. Prior to joining AALRR, Estes served as the statewide chair of the Students and Special Education practice group at the law firm of Dannis Woliver Kelley (DWK). Before working at DWK, she served as counsel for dependent children in Los Angeles County.

Learn more aboutLupita Alcalá

Lupita Alcalá

Director of Education Policy & Outcomes

WestEd

Lupita Cortez Alcalá has over 20 years of experience championing better educational outcomes for the children and adults of California and over a decade of experience in government affairs for pre- K-12 and higher education. Most recently, she co-led the development of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care for the Newsom Administration. Prior to joining WestEd she served as the first Latina Chief Deputy Superintendent, for the California Department of Education. She has served in numerous leadership roles including as Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission, becoming a prominent voice in the statewide discussion on college affordability and financial aid reform. Lupita also served as member and Chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.

Learn more aboutJodi Amaditz

Jodi Amaditz

Director of Lower and Middle School

Chartwell School

Jodi Amaditz is the director of the lower and middle school at Chartwell School. She holds a masters degree as a Reading Specialist from Columbia University Teachers College. Ms. Amaditz taught as a learning specialist in a New York City elementary school for six years and then as an English Language Arts and Reading teacher for 13 years in Westchester New York Public middle schools. Ms. Amaditz is a certified Orton-Gillingham classroom educator and has trained in various language-based programs including the PAF Reading Program, the Wilson Language Program, The Writing Revolution, and the Columbia College Reading and Writing Project. She is the coordinator for Chartwell’s UCSF Dyslexia Phenotyping and Outcomes partnership and is co-director of Chartwell’s Teacher Training Institute.

Learn more aboutMaureen Burness

Maureen Burness

Retired Assistant Superintendent

, SELPA/Special Education Consultant

Maureen O’Leary Burness currently works as a consultant in Special Education Leadership and as a Technical Assistance Facilitator in matters of disproportionality in districts. She volunteers in several areas related to services to children, including as an Advisor to the Executive Board of Breaking Barriers, as a “Friend of the Board” to California Mental Health Advocates for Children and Youth and for the California Children’s Trust. She recently led California’s Statewide Special Education Task Force for Special Education, was a Commissioner for the state Advisory Commission on Special Education, and served as Assistant Superintendent for SELPAs in Northern California for over 20 years.

Learn more aboutSriya Chilla

Sriya Chilla

Chair

California Coalition for Youth (CCY) Youth Advisory Board

Sriya is a high school senior in San Diego, CA. She comes from a school with many clubs spreading awareness of mental health on campus. However, when a friend reached out to her about their struggle with mental illness, she was at a loss for words. She later realized that she and many of her peers didn’t know how to provide support in a crisis, despite the fact that youth are more likely to confide in their friends than an adult. When looking at her school’s mental health resources, she found a lack of support services from youth to other youth. From then on, Sriya committed herself to establishing peer-to-peer mental health programs in high schools across California. Now, Sriya is the Chair of the Youth Advisory Board at the California Coalition for Youth (CCY), the Co-Chair of the Community Affairs Committee at the California Mental Health Advocates for Youth and Children (CMHACY), a crisis counselor at the California Youth Crisis Line, and a panelist at several conferences on youth advocacy in school mental health. Sriya continues to use her voice to ensure that no student is at a loss for words when it comes to their mental health. Sriya can be reached at sriyachilla@gmail.com.

Learn more aboutLara Choulakian, LCSW

Lara Choulakian, LCSW

Manager

THRIVE: School Mental Health at PUSD

Ms. Choulakian graduated from USC with her MSW degree in 2008 and shortly thereafter began working for the Pasadena Unified School District’s Child Welfare, Attendance, and Safety (CWAS) office as a Clinical Social Worker. Her initial responsibilities included overseeing federal and state funded grants for the CWAS department, and ensuring the grants were being implemented with fidelity. These grants were centered around youth violence, drug use, social emotional well-being etc. Ms. Choulakian also provided individual therapeutic services to students across the district. She then joined the Pasadena Unified School District’s Mental Health Services program, an LA County Department of Mental Health contracted agency under the umbrella of the district, and split her time providing clinical services for both departments. Meanwhile, Ms. Choulakian became a Field Instructor and supervised MSW Interns through the CWAS department. Ms. Choulakian, her intern, and fellow Clinical Social Workers provided attendance, dropout prevention, bullying, mental health, social emotional, and crisis supports district-wide. Ms. Choulakian eventually became the MSW internship coordinator for the district. Ms. Choulakian expanded the internship program and began overseeing the district mental health services. Once licensed and eligible, Ms. Choulakian began supervising district Clinical Social Workers in addition to the MSW Interns. She further expanded mental health services in the district while continuing to oversee several state and federal grants awarded to the district. Ms. Choulakian is now the Manager of the THRIVE: School Mental Health program. The mental health program has recently branched off from the CWAS department and has become its own established department under Student Wellness and Support Services. Ms. Choulakian manages the district’s mental health consortium, composed of 7 Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health contracted agencies who provide school-based services to designated PUSD school sites. Additionally, Ms. Choulakian helped establish and train school site mental health crises response teams, is the lead for the district crisis team, helped draft a mental health policy for the district, and is working on further expanding the mental health workforce for the district.

Learn more aboutTina Christie

Tina Christie

Wasserman Dean

UCLA School of Education and Information Studies

Christie is committed to training educational scholars in mixed-methods, and evaluation and research methods. She is the former Chair of the Theories of Evaluation Division and the Research on Evaluation Division and now serves on the board of the American Evaluation Association (elected) as member at large (2011-2013). She served as a section editor of the American Journal of Evaluation (2004-2009) and serves on the editorial board of Studies in Educational in Evaluation

Learn more aboutFatima Clark

Fatima Clark

Associate Director, Health & The Children's Movement Equity Fellowship

Children Now

Fatima Clark joined Children Now in 2013 to spearhead the Coveredtil26 campaign, a statewide outreach and enrollment project focused on promoting Medi-Cal coverage up to age 26 for current and former foster youth. Currently, Ms. Clark supports Children Now’s health, early childhood, and oral health projects with policy analysis, research and outreach support, and manages the Children’s Movement Equity Fellowship program which engages college and graduate students in Children’s Movement recruitment and engagement efforts. In addition to her work at Children Now, in 2016, Ms. Clark joined the national Oral Health for All 2020 Network’s network support team as the network relationships manager. Ms. Clark past work experience includes policy analysis and research, community organizing, and communications and media relations work focused on immigrant rights, economic justice, and health equity issues. Ms. Clark holds an MSW from the University of Washington and a B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern California.

Learn more aboutKate Cordell

Kate Cordell

CEO, Co-Founder, Behavioral Health Services Data Scientist and Researcher

Opeeka

Dr. Kate Cordell is a Behavioral Health Services Data Scientist and Researcher. Through 2020, as Managing Director of Mental Health Data Alliance, LLC, she led a consulting team to integrate data systems to support a whole-person approach for mental, behavioral and social health care. She used insight gained from consulting to co-found Opeeka. As CEO at Opeeka, Dr. Cordell leads the development of technology to integrate into everyday practice the artificial intelligence statistical models she has developed and published in peer-reviewed journals. Opeeka builds solutions to enable providers of care to gain efficiency and improve quality of care. By identifying in real time whether individuals and families are improving during care, Opeeka’s products support person-centered care using success-focused artificial intelligence to learn over time what works for whom. Every person and family in care have a story, often complex but also sewn with common thread. Dr. Cordell’s models use longitudinal methods to model the changing patterns in these complex tapestries, identifying the common elements of design. Dr. Cordell holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, an M.P.H. in Biometry from the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University and a Ph.D. from the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley.

Learn more aboutShelafi D'Sa

Shelafi D'Sa

Assistant Vice President, School-Based Mental Health & Early Education

Sycamores

Shefali D’Sa is an LMFT and LPCC. She is currently the Assistant Vice-President of School-Based Mental Health and Early Education. She has worked at Hathaway-Sycamores for 17 years. Currently, Shefali leads a team of clinicians, behavior specialists, and managers who provide direct services to children ranging from ages 0-24. Shefali was responsible for forming a partnership with an agency that oversees thirty Early Head Start and Head Start locations across LA County, resulting in expansion of school-based mental health services in preschools. She is currently responsible for the expansion of birth-5 and school-based mental health services across LA County and also serves as the Birth-5/Child Parent Psychotherapy Lead at Hathaway-Sycamores. Shefali is also certified in several evidence-based practices, including MAP, Seeking Safety, TF-CBT, DTQI, and CPP and utilizes them in her private practice in Burbank, California.

Learn more aboutMary Ann Dewan, Ph.D.

Mary Ann Dewan, Ph.D.

Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools

Santa Clara County Office of Education

Dr. Dewan is the Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools. She has served in education over 34 years in a variety of leadership roles. Dr. Dewan believes that all students deserve high quality, equitable, and inclusive education. She leads and serves on committees and boards to promote equity focused system’s change at local, county, and state levels. Dr. Dewan is an award winning educator and recognized for her youth focused advocacy work and for her commitment to serve the community. She is passionate about diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice.

Learn more aboutAmanda Dickey, Esq.

Amanda Dickey, Esq.

Executive Director, Government Relations

Santa Clara County Office of Education

Amanda Dickey, Esq. is the Executive Director of Government Relations at the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). Her areas of expertise include K-12 funding, early education, extended learning, special education, school-based health and mental health, and federal legislation. Her advocacy work supports the SCCOE values of equity, inclusion, diversity and partnership. Amanda is a graduate of Pacific McGeorge School of Law, where she focused on legislative interpretation and constitutional law. She is admitted to practice law in the state of California.

Learn more aboutNghia Do

Nghia Do

Founder, Youth Minds Alliance; Board Member, CMHACY

Youth Minds Alliance

After struggling with depression, Nghia Do became passionate about youth mental health. He advocates for improved mental health systems for youth by founding and running a youth-led organization with members nationwide, YouthMindsAlliance, which raises awareness about the importance of mental health and transforms systems to better serve young adults through policy advocacy. YMA was recognized by U.S. Congress Representatives and California State Senate for their suicide prevention campaigns. Nghia is also the Project Director of the Youth Advocacy Board, a partnership of California Children's Trust and the California Coalition for Youth, and a member of the Board of Directors at CHMACY. He is working to transform the California mental health system by working on public policy to implement peer-to-peer programs within high schools. If Nghia is not working, you will find him swiping Tiktok, reading books, or watching shows (and crying). Nghia can be reached at doducnghia2018@gmail.com.

Learn more aboutKen Epstein

Ken Epstein

Former Director of Children, Youth and Family ’System of Care

San Francisco County Behavioral Health Services in the Department of Public Health

Dr. Epstein has worked within family and youth service programs since 1981 as a line worker, clinician, program director, professor and chief executive officer. Dr. Epstein is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Ph.D. in clinical social work from Smith College and an MSW from UC Berkeley. Dr. Epstein currently works as a consultant and for East Bay Agency for Children helping organizations promote and achieve culture change by improving organizational practices and workforce development. Previously he directed the Children, Youth and Family ’System of Care for San Francisco County Behavioral Health Services in the Department of Public Health. In this capacity he developed and lead the vision and implementation of Trauma Informed Systems which has become an organizational promising practice and has been spotlighted by SAMHSA. In addition, he served as the Principal Investigator for Trauma Transformed a regional SAMHSA grant. Beginning in 1990 Dr. Epstein has specialized in developing, supervising, teaching and practicing couples and family therapy. He is the founding director of the Intensive Family Model Clinic that he replicated at UCSF as well as other organizations. Dr. Epstein has focused his career on working with High Conflict couples and families and building effective services and programs to serve this population.

Learn more aboutLilia Espinoza

Lilia Espinoza

Principal, R.O. Hardin Elementary School

Hollister School District

Lilia Espinoza is a 23 year veteran in education. Currently, a principal at R.O. Hardin Elementary School, a TK-5 site within the Hollister School District. She has been building upon an early literacy program with her team based on the practice of Orton Gillingham and in partnership with Chartwell. Lilia also has a background in working with English learners through instruction, professional development and assessment. Previously, Coordinator of English Learner services for the Hollister School District, her passion is in language development and literacy, a focus she has brought to her current site.

Learn more aboutToby Ewing

Toby Ewing

Executive Director

Mental Health Oversight and Accountability Commission

Toby Ewing, Ph.D., joined the Mental Health Commission in 2015 after working for governance reform as a consultant to the California State Senate, research director at California Forward, and a project manager at the Little Hoover Commission. In addition, Ewing worked as the Director of the California Research Bureau and the California Cost Control Commission. With the Commission, Toby launched California’s first Mental Health Innovation Summit and an Innovation Incubator to promote novel approaches to improving mental health systems in California. He has also steadfastly worked to increase public access to high-quality data on mental health funding, programs, and outcomes. Toby has championed community engagement with more than $5 million in annual grants that support stakeholder advocacy, the launch of a youth leadership initiative, and creative ways of reaching the public, including through community engagement and filmmaking. The goal has always been the same: to elevate the voices of consumers, family members, and communities on mental health issues. Toby did his undergraduate studies at Grinnell College and received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Syracuse University. He served as a Fulbright Scholar in Central America.

Learn more aboutLisa Eisenberg

Lisa Eisenberg

Policy Director

California School-Based Health Alliance

Lisa Eisenberg is the Policy Director at the California School-Based Health Alliance, the statewide organization leading the movement to put healthcare in schools. She is responsible for planning and leading CSHA’s policy agenda and advocating for legislative change to support school-based health services at the local, state, and federal levels. Lisa has garnered almost 15 years of experience in child and family services, research, and policy advocacy with specific expertise in children’s health, mental health, and K-12 education policy. She received her Master’s in Public Policy and Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Learn more aboutKathryn Eustis

Kathryn Eustis

Director of Student Support Services

Calaveras County Office of Education

Kathryn Eustis has been building student support programs and inter-agency collaboration for the Calaveras County Office of Education (CCOE) for the past 19 years. She is currently Director of Student Support Services which include mentoring programs, FNL programs, student mental health programs, and foster youth services. Kathryn also supports several countywide collaborative efforts around student mental health, such wellness centers, crisis protocols and communication, school mental health workers, and the Student Mental Health Leadership Consortium. Her passion is in bringing people together to solve problems and achieve goals. Prior to moving with her family to Calaveras County and joining CCOE, Kathryn was a self-employed publicist and editor in San Francisco.

Learn more aboutDavid L. Faigman

David L. Faigman

Chancellor and Dean

UC Hastings College of the Law

David L. Faigman is the Chancellor & Dean and the John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. He also holds an appointment as professor in the School of Medicine (Dept. of Psychiatry) at the University of California San Francisco. He received both his MA (Psychology) and JD from the University of Virginia. Chancellor Faigman is the author of numerous articles and essays, published in a wide assortment of journals, including leading law reviews (Chicago, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Northwestern) and science journals (Science, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Current Biology, and Sociological Methods and Research). He is also the author of three books, Constitutional Fictions: A Unified Theory of Constitutional Facts (Oxford, 2008), Laboratory of Justice: The Supreme Court’s 200-Year Struggle to Integrate Science and the Law (Henry Holt & Co. 2004) and Legal Alchemy: The Use and Misuse of Science in the Law (W.H. Freeman,1999). In addition, Professor Faigman is a co-author/co-editor of the five-volume treatise Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony (with Cheng, Mnookin, Murphy, Sanders & Slobogin). Chancellor Faigman was a member of the National Academies of Science panel that investigated the scientific validity of polygraphs, the MacArthur Law and Neuroscience Network (Phases I and II), and was a Senior Advisor to President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), for its Report, Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods.

Learn more aboutLishaun Francis

Lishaun Francis

Director, Behavioral Health

Children Now

As part of the health team, Lishaun supports Children Now’s mental health/trauma efforts. Prior to joining Children Now, Lishaun Francis was an Associate Director at the California Medical Association. She provided policy support and analysis for California physicians on the issues of Medi-Cal, Workers’ Compensation, and Health Information Technology. Lishaun spent over two years with the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO where she provided fiscal and policy analyses to the State Legislature on issues of mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcohol and drug programs. In Washington, DC Lishaun Francis worked as a Program Analyst for the U.S Department of Education, providing fiscal support on issues of higher education. Lishaun Francis received her Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.

Learn more aboutSteve Hornberger

Steve Hornberger

Director

SDSU School of Social Work, Social Policy Institute

Steve Hornberger, MSW, has more than 25 years of senior-level experience in human services, community building, program development and innovation, management, training and technical assistance. Throughout his career, he has provided consultation and technical assistance to government and private agencies on cross-system collaboration, organizational change, family driven services, community-based services, and financing strategies. Mr. Hornberger directs the Social Policy Institute at San Diego State University School of Social Work, whose mission is “bridging academia with government, business and community to achieve individual, family and community well-being.” He has also held faculty positions at City University of New York, Fordham University, Virginia Commonwealth University and now SDSU. He possesses a comprehensive understanding of behavioral health promotion, treatment and recovery issues, with expertise engaging and sustaining collaboration among federal, state and local stakeholders across health and human services systems. For instance, Mr. Hornberger co-led the first WrapAround team in New York City, has facilitated successful cross system MOUs between local, state and national stakeholders as well as facilitated redesign and process improvements that have increased access, quality and outcomes of care in jurisdictions in California and across the country. He is a strong advocate for family, peer-to-peer and community involvement to achieve the Triple Aim of “better care, better health, and lower cost.” Currently, Mr. Hornberger leads the San Diego Chapter of the national Network for Social Work Management, is the founder and principal facilitator of an award winning Board Fellows Program which matches 2nd Year MSW and MBA candidates with local nonprofit boards of directors, serves on the board of the National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network, is a Planning Partner for the National Recovery Month Planning Partners, a Friend of the Board to CMHACY and serves on the San Diego Accountable Communities for Health Stewardship and Wellness Fund committees. In 2008, Mr. Hornberger was elected into the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Pioneers to recognize his innovation, leadership and success over the course of his career.

Learn more aboutTom Insel

Tom Insel

Former Director

National Institute of Mental Health

Thomas Insel is an internationally renowned neuroscientist and psychiatrist who is co-founder and president of Mindstrong, a Silicon Valley health care startup dedicated to developing new technologies to advance the diagnoses and treatment of mental illness. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently appointed Dr. Insel as Special Advisor to the Governor on Mental Health. From 2002-2015, Tom served as director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the component of the National Institutes of Health committed to research on mental disorders. In that role, he also served as chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, and as co-lead of the NIH BRAIN Initiative. He left NIMH to lead the mental health team at Verily, an Alphabet company focused on improving health care through technology, research and innovation. Prior to serving as NIMH director, Tom was a professor of psychiatry at Emory University, where he was founding director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and director of the Yerkes Regional Primate Center in Atlanta. His research has examined the neural basis of complex social behaviors, including maternal care and attachment. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, he has received numerous national and international awards and served in several leadership roles at NIH.

Learn more aboutLaura Jana

Laura Jana

Associate Research Professor

Penn State’s Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center

Pediatrician, educator, health communicator and award-winning author, Dr. Laura Jana finds connections across disciplines and crystallizes big ideas into far-reaching, real world applications, with a focus on social impact. Currently an Associate Research Professor at Penn State’s Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Dr. Jana was most recently Director of Innovation in Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Particularly interested in improving life outcomes for all children, she continues to serve as a strategic consultant to numerous government, nonprofit, and corporate clients and has become adept at navigating the traditionally siloed worlds of academia, medicine, education, publishing, and commerce. Broadly focused on applying innovative and strategies to parenting, pediatrics, public health, education, health system transformation, community and workforce development, Dr. Jana is an internationally acclaimed speaker invited to present at venues spanning from local, state and national pediatrics, education and early education conferences to the US Chamber of Commerce, the TED stage, and the annual meeting of The World Bank. What she sees is a bevy of great minds circling the same topics from different angles. As a translator of ideas and facilitator of dialogue, Dr. Jana is on a mission to unite these worlds in order to change public conversation and understanding about the skills and support needed for our children to succeed and thrive in the 21st Century. Her most recent books, The Toddler Brain: Nurture the Skills Today That Will Shape Your Child’s Tomorrow and Jumping Into Kindergarten, introduce the fundamentally important concept of QI Skills and convey the powerful role parents ,educators, and other caring responsive adults play in children’s healthy development during their foundational first 5 years.

Learn more aboutCornelle Jenkins

Cornelle Jenkins

Director of Strategic Initiatives

CA Alliance and Catalyst Center

Cornelle Jenkins serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives of the CA Alliance and Catalyst Center. Cornelle earned his Bachelor's at Saint Mary's College of California where he created his own major of Advocacy, Reform, and Social Change. He then went on to earn his law degree at McGeorge School of Law before returning to St. Mary's to obtain his MBA. Before accepting his current position with the Alliance, Cornelle worked primarily in civil, criminal, and family law. However, during his five years as a licensed attorney, he focused more on his “side,” community-oriented projects than his legal career. When he was presented with the opportunity to join the Alliance, it was an easy decision. Cornelle is dedicated to making a positive impact in the community by advocating for those who historically have been rendered voiceless. Upon joining the Alliance and the Center, Cornelle was immediately tasked with overseeing the Center’s ACEs Aware Initiative Supplemental Training, Provider Engagement, and Communications Grants. The Center utilized its grant award to train providers on cross-sector collaboration and trauma-informed, culturally responsive screening practices; connect providers with community-based organizations to streamline the sharing of ACEs-related resources; and uplift youth, provider, and community stories of the impact of ACEs on their lives and practices. The Center continues its ACEs efforts with a focus on the unique impact ACEs have on marginalized, underserved communities.

Learn more aboutHayin Kimner

Hayin Kimner

Managing Director

CA Community Schools Learning Exchange

Hayin Kimner is a practitioner, researcher, and policy advocate with a focus on community schools systems and partnerships. Currently, she is the Managing Director for the CA Community Schools Learning Exchange, and a Senior Policy and Research Fellow for Policy Analysis for California Education. Hayin is also a nonresident scholar in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution in support of the Community Schools Forward national task force. She previously worked as a Senior Program Director for The Opportunity Institute, and led the development of district-wide community school strategies in San Francisco and Emery Unified School Districts. She received her B.A. from Amherst College and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Learn more aboutRichard Knecht

Richard Knecht

Managing Partner

Integrated Human Services Group

Richard Knecht is a consultant and trainer, presently working with state agencies and counties to design and build collaborative and shared interagency process, deliver community centered services, and to better engage youth and families served by those systems. Richard served for 10 years as Placer County's Children's System of Care Director, and has worked with youth and families for more than 29 years in government, for-profit, and non-profit organizations. He is a founding board member at I foster, the country's on line leader in resources and job supports for foster and kinship involved families. He completed undergraduate training at Brigham Young University and a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology at the California State University, Sacramento.

Learn more aboutMayle Johnson

Mayle Johnson

County Welfare Program Manager

Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency

Learn more aboutTracy Lacey

Tracy Lacey

Senior Mental Health Services Manager and Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Coordinator

Solano County Health & Social Services, Solano County Behavioral Health

Tracy Lacey is a Senior Mental Health Services Manager and the MHSA Coordinator for Solano County Behavioral Health a Division of Solano County Health & Social Services. Since 2016 Tracy has been responsible for community program planning and the execution and oversight of the MHSA Three-Year Plan which ensures funding and support for the County Behavioral Health system to provide a continuum of care for the lifespan with services that are equitable, timely, and promote wellness and recovery for all consumers served. Tracy is Chair of the Solano County Suicide Prevention Committee working closely with community partners—including local law enforcement—to work towards communitywide stigma reduction and targeted efforts to prevent suicide deaths in Solano County. Tracy was the lead from Solano County for the Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Cultural Transformation Model (ICCTM) Innovation Project focused on addressing health disparities delivered in partnership with UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities (CRHD), three CBO partners and the community. The ICCTM Project resulted in 14 community-defined Quality Improvement (QI) Action Plans of which one resulted in launching 45 culturally responsive school wellness centers implemented in partnership with the Solano County Office of Education and local school districts. Tracy has 22 years of experience in the human services field including both behavioral health and child welfare. She has been in leadership positions in a County Quality Improvement Unit, a County adult forensic Full Service Partnership (FSP) program, a non-profit children’s mental health outpatient clinic, and a treatment foster care agency. Prior to being in administrative roles, Tracy provided direct services within various milieus in both the behavioral health and child welfare fields including: a youth residential treatment facility, a police youth diversion program, school settings, outpatient clinics, in private practice and working for dependency attorneys serving foster youth. Having worked with foster care children/youth for a good portion of her career Tracy recognized early on that communities of color were disproportionately involved with child welfare and were significantly impacted by transgenerational trauma. Her work experience in the human service field—both working for non-profits and in the government sector—has greatly contributed to her passion for breaking down silos, social justice and health equity.

Learn more aboutKaren Larsen

Karen Larsen

Chief Executive

Steinberg Institute

Karen Larsen brings a rich history of public service and proven leadership to the role of the Steinberg Institute’s first Chief Executive Officer. As a natural result of her own life’s experience, her academic training, and the thirty years of recovery she has achieved, she possesses an unwavering passion and extraordinary ability to improve the lives of California’s most vulnerable communities. Prior to joining the Steinberg Institute, Karen served as the Director of Yolo County’s Health and Human Services Agency, an integrated agency providing social services, public health, mental health, and substance abuse services to the over 212,000 residents of Davis, W. Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland. Prior to her work at the county, Karen spent 20 years caring for uninsured, undocumented, and underserved people in community clinics and non-profit agencies. Her commitment to integrating care has not only ensured people receive the care they need but has exponentially improved the outcomes for those who have both a behavioral health challenge and other comorbid physical health conditions. Her leadership has inspired others to build bridges across systems as a mechanism for improving outcomes between health systems, the criminal justice community, school districts, cities, and many other key stakeholder groups and organizations. This innovative model has served as a beacon which has cleared the way for the development of innumerable innovative programs with braided funding streams that maximized services for those in need across the state. In addition to her work at the local level, Karen has been an active member of many statewide groups engaging in cross system collaboration to address all determinants of health, including the California Welfare Directors Association and California Behavioral Health Directors Association where she co-chaired the Children’s Committee and Criminal Justice Committee. Karen also plays a leadership role on the Child Welfare Council as the co-chair of the Behavioral Health Committee; on the CalAIM Foster Care Model of Care Workgroup; and, as a member of California’s Department of Health Care Services’ Behavioral Health Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Karen is the mother of three children and a rescue dog. She has a long term partner, is a member of the LGBTQ community, and a long time resident of Sacramento. Her self care strategies include daily walks, a gallon of water a day, and gardening.

Learn more aboutEverardo Legaspi

Everardo Legaspi

Assistant Director

Kings County Department of Public Health

Everardo “Lalo” Legaspi was recently promoted to an Assistant Director at the Kings County Department of Public Health where he started as a Program Manager in December 2019. Prior to working at the Health Department he was the Grants Manager at a non-profit in Visalia providing various social services, primarily focusing on survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. Prior to that he was a legal advocate for domestic violence survivors for over 8 years and was at one point the Operations Manager for startup biotech company in the Bay Area. Lalo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Administration from Fresno State.

Learn more aboutAlicia Lieberman, Ph.D

Alicia Lieberman, Ph.D

Director

UCSF Child Trauma Research Center

Dr. Lieberman is the Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Child Trauma Research Program. She is a clinical consultant with the San Francisco Human Services Agency. She is active in major national organizations involved with mental health in infancy and early childhood. She is past-president of the board of directors of Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, and on the Professional Advisory Board of the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute. She has served on peer review panels of the National Institute of Mental Health, is on the Board of Trustees of the Irving Harris Foundation, and consults with the Miriam and Peter Haas Foundation on early childhood education for Palestinian-Israeli children. Born and raised in Paraguay, she received her BA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. This background informs her work on behalf of children and families from diverse ethnic and cultural origins, with primary emphasis on the experiences of Latinos in the United States. Dr. Lieberman is currently the director of the Early Trauma Treatment Network (ETTN), a collaborative of four university sites that include the UCSF/SFGH Child Trauma Research Program, Boston Medical Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center, and Tulane University. ETTN is funded by the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a 40-site national initiative that has the mission of increasing the access and quality of services for children exposed to trauma in the United States. Her major interests include infant mental health, disorders of attachment, early trauma treatment outcome research, and mental health service disparities for underserved and minority children and families. Her current research involves treatment outcome evaluation of the efficacy of child-parent psychotherapy with trauma-exposed children aged birth to six and with pregnant women involved in domestic violence. As a trilingual, tricultural Jewish Latina, she has a special interest in cultural issues involving child development, child rearing, and child mental health. She lectures extensively on these topics nationally and internationally.

Learn more aboutMike Lombardo MA

Mike Lombardo MA

Executive Director, Prevention Supports and Services

Placer County Office of Education

Michael Lombardo is an Executive Director with the Placer County Office of Education and Coordinates the California Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Coalition. His primary areas of interest focus on creating environments where our children can achieve their very best, feel engaged, safe and supported. In these roles he works locally and nationally as a leader in early prevention, student wellness, social-emotional skills development, breaking down barriers to learning, and family/youth engagement. Michael is a member of the California Department of Education School Attendance Review Board and Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup as well as the Placer County Child Abuse Prevention Council. He has presented at numerous local, state and national conferences and professional meetings. While directing several grant projects integrating mental health in schools, systems development, suicide prevention, and school climate, Michael has brought innovation to school mental health. He has extensive experience in the implementation and scaling up of evidence-based practices, multi-tier systems schools, juvenile justice, and human services environments. His diverse professional background includes leadership positions in Education, Juvenile Justice, Health and Human Services, Mental Health and System of Care. He feels his most significant accomplishment is being a father of two children who are now embarking on their own journey as adults impacting the world around them.

Learn more aboutDaisy Lopez

Daisy Lopez

Senior Director of Program Services

California Health Collaborative

Daisy Lopez is a Senior Director of Program Services at the statewide non-profit organization, California Health Collaborative. She has dedicated the last 15 years of her career to working on policy, systems and environmental change efforts designed to improve health and wellness in underserved and underrepresented communities and elevating youth and community voices to advocate for health equity. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Restorative Justice, a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and a Master of Arts in School Counseling with a Pupil Personnel Services credential. She currently leads various community health projects throughout the Central Valley, on topics including substance use disorder prevention, adverse childhood experience training, youth development, tobacco control and policy change, and adolescent sexual health. She is passionate about health justice and building communities where all systems work to better serve our communities and our local organizations and residents foster resiliency through service to one another. Daisy recently worked collaboratively with various partners in Kings County on the statewide ACEs Aware Project, helping to create shared leadership and accountability around improving ACE screening, supporting access to buffering resources and supports and establishing the Kings County ACEs Network of Care.

Learn more aboutJohn Lynch

John Lynch

Community Schools Specialist

Los Angeles County Office of Education

John A. Lynch (he/him) is a long time public school educator (teacher and school leader) committed to racial justice and currently works as a Community Schools Specialist at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. In addition, he trains the next generation of Community School leaders as adjunct faculty at Pacific Oaks College. John is also a public school parent and champion for educational justice as a parent leader in his district’s African American Parent Council. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Southern Connecticut State University, a Master’s degree in Teaching from Brooklyn College and a Master’s degree in School Leadership from UCLA.

Learn more aboutKatrina Maestri

Katrina Maestri

Board Chair

Chartwell School

Katrina Maestri spent 15 years in an international corporate career with General Motors and has a wide range of Marketing, Strategy, and New Business Development experience. Her primary focus was start-up operations including entering new geographic markets and launching technology ventures. Once it was apparent that the international schools available to her children could not provide the support her son needed to thrive with his dyslexia, her family moved to the US to attend a school specializing in learning and attention differences. Since then, Katrina has devoted her time and expertise to advocating for more equitable access to high-quality education for all learners - regardless of why they struggle. She is currently the board chair for Chartwell School, whose mission emphasizes leveraging neuroscience to teach complicated learners and sharing that experience with public school teachers through their Teachers Training Institute. Katrina is also a member of the advisory board of the UCSF Dyslexia Center and the advisory board of the Global Science of Learning.

Learn more aboutBruce Miller, MD

Bruce Miller, MD

A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor in Neurology; Director, Memory and Aging Center; Co-Director, Global Brain Health Institute

Bruce L. Miller, MD, holds the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professorship in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, directs the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and is a director of the Global Brain Health Institute. He is the principal investigator of the NIH-sponsored UCSF Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and program project grant on frontotemporal dementia. In addition, he helps lead the Tau Consortium and The Bluefield Foundation, precision medicine collaborations focused on developing treatments for tauopathies and progranulin-mediated forms of frontotemporal dementia. Miller is a behavioral neurologist who studies the underlying mechanisms of neurocognitive disorders and is a world-renowned expert in the diagnosis and management of dementia. Until recently, most cases of dementia were classified as Alzheimer’s disease with little awareness of the importance of non-Alzheimer dementias. Miller’s description of changes in behavior, language and emotion in the setting of aging have improved the separation of various neurodegenerative diseases from one another, in particular Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia. To support people after diagnosis, Miller has pioneered groundbreaking changes in the provision of care coordination for patients with dementia and their caregivers. His ongoing work includes overseeing a healthy aging program and an artist in residence program, both of which emphasize positive aspects of aging. Miller has been featured in Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, 60 Minutes and the PBS Newshour. He has authored more than 1000 publications and written The Human Frontal Lobes, The Behavioral Neurology of Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia and Finding the Right Words, a book on Alzheimer’s disease from the perspective of a daughter written with Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health Cynthia Weinstein, PhD. He has received many awards including the Potamkin Award from the American Academy of Neurology, the Elliot Royer Award from the San Francisco Neurological community, the Robert A. Fishman Award and Lecture, and the UCSF Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. Learn more about Bruce at https://memory.ucsf.edu/people/bruce-miller-md

Learn more aboutSusmita Mishra, MD

Susmita Mishra, MD

Medical Director

Sacramento County Health Center, Primary Health Division

Susmita Mishra, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Sacramento County Health Center and satellite clinics. She did the unthinkable of leaving a thriving Internal Medicine practice in Chicago for many years to pursue a Women’s Health Fellowship at UC Davis. Upon completion of the fellowship, she joined the County Health Center and expanded the services available to the clinic enrolled MediCal members including Obstetrics, Gynecology, Chronic Disease Management, Complex Care Management, services to children in the Foster Care system and School Based Mental Health. Under her leadership, those with restricted MediCal due to immigration status have full access to subspecialty care and the Loaves and Fishes Clinic ( Care for the unsheltered) was reopened. Most recently,The Refugee Health Clinic welcomed the surge of families from Afghanistan and has broadened the scope to offer immunizations, transportation, and trauma informed care.

Learn more aboutDr. Nicola Parr

Dr. Nicola Parr

Senior Director, Student Services and Educational Options

Solano County Office of Education

Dr. Nicola Parr serves as Senior Director, Student Services and Educational Options for the Solano County Office of Education. Nicola has over 20 years of experience working in educational systems as a teacher, principal, and director. She has focused on building multi-tiered systems of support to address the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of students. Nicola is an experienced Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) coach and trainer. She has facilitated the implementation of a PBIS countywide initiative that trained 70% of schools within Solano County. In 2019, Nicola worked collaboratively with community partners to establish a countywide initiative to open 45 school-based wellness centers that provide a welcoming place for students to de-stress and practice coping strategies that improve school performance. In 2021, Nicola led the implementation of the Solano County School-Based Mobile Crisis Response Program, which provides additional services to school-aged youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis at school. Nicola is committed to increasing collaboration with community partners and agencies to improve academic and health outcomes for all students.

Learn more aboutMarisa Perez-Martin

Marisa Perez-Martin

Vice President of School-Based Mental Health and Early Education Services

Sycamores

Marisa Perez-Martin is the Vice President of School-Based Mental Health and Early Education Services at Sycamores. For 21 years, she has worked on school campuses’ starting off as a school-based therapist and now supporting the implementation of school based services in various schools districts and SELPA’s. In addition to implementation of school-based best practices, she provides clinical training and supervision as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Ms. Perez-Martin supports the implementation of evidenced-based practices as a Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior (TF-CBT) supervisor and Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP) supervisor and agency trainer. At Sycamores she is currently the site director for a research study which is focused on determining if treatment sequence for anxiety impacts progress. In addition to working at Sycamores, Ms. Perez-Martin also has a private practice working with children, adolescents and families in the community of Rancho Cucamonga.

Learn more aboutChrista Watson Pereira

Christa Watson Pereira

Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology

University of California, San Francisco

Christa Watson Pereira is an Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a licensed clinical neuropsychologist. She specializes in the neuropsychology of learning disorders and splits her time between the UCSF Dyslexia Center and the UCSF-UCB Schwab Dyslexia and Cognitive Diversity Center. Prior to UCSF, she graduated from the PGSP-Stanford PsyD program and worked in a neurodevelopmental research lab at Stanford University. Her research focuses on cognitive strengths and unique cognitive approaches in dyslexia. Her mission is to make all of her research relevant for practical applications for students in the classroom. To this end, she highly values collaborations with schools and educators, and is passionate about educational intervention studies.

Learn more aboutRyan Quist, Ph.D.

Ryan Quist, Ph.D.

Behavioral Health Director

County of Sacramento, Department of Health Services, Behavioral Health Services

Ryan Quist, Ph.D., is the Behavioral Health Director in Sacramento County. His work in Behavioral Health started in Riverside County Behavioral Health where he worked in various roles. He remains very active in Statewide advocacy on Behavioral Health topics and was elected by other Behavioral Health Directors as Vice President for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA). He co-chairs the CBHDA Medi-Cal Policy Committee. In Sacramento County, his focus is on mental health and substance abuse services for the homeless population, criminal justice population, and bolstering the crisis continuum of care to prevent psychiatric hospitalizations. For children’s services, he is dedicated to promoting field-based and school-based services and collaborating to support the foster youth and probation populations.

Learn more aboutShannon San Pedro

Shannon San Pedro

Clinical Director of School Based Services

Sycamores

Shannon San Pedro is an LMFT and has worked for Sycamores for 16 years. Currently, she is the Clinical Director of School Based Services, leading a team of clinicians, behavior specialists, and managers who provide direct services to children ranging from ages 0-18. She is several certifications in birth-5 and is also certified in several evidence-based practices, including MAP, TF-CBT, DTQI, CPP, Incredible Years-Parent/Dina and serves as the Incredible Years lead at Sycamores. Shannon’s goal is for all students to have access to school based care.

Learn more aboutJudge David M. Sanders

Judge David M. Sanders

Judge

Calaveras County Superior Court

David M. Sanders of Pioneer, CA, was appointed to a judgeship in the Calaveras County Superior Court in June of 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown. He is also a Civil Court Representative on the Children’s Justice Act (CJA) Task Force. Prior to his appointment, Judge Sanders served as a commissioner at the Calaveras County Superior Court from 2015 to 2018. He spent the first 12 years of his career as an associate attorney at various Sacramento-area law firms, except from 1993-1996 when he was a solo practitioner in the Elk Grove area. From 1999-2002, he was a partner at Pagliero and Sanders, and then served as a supervising attorney in Farmers Insurance’s Sacramento branch legal office until he assumed the judgeship in Calaveras County. Judge Sanders earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Learn more aboutKeneisha Sinclair-McBride, Ph.D.

Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry

Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, PhD is an Attending Psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sinclair-McBride is a graduate of Yale University and Vanderbilt University. She completed her internship and fellowship training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Dr. Sinclair-McBride provides evidence-based therapy to children, adolescents, and families in the Boston Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center and the Outpatient Psychiatry Service. She trains the next generation of pediatric psychologists as one of the Associate Training Director of the Psychology Predoctoral Internship Program. Dr. Sinclair-McBride is a member of the Digital Wellness Lab, helping children, adolescents, and families to be knowledgeable and empowered citizens of the digital age. Dr. Sinclair-McBride currently focuses her research efforts on the assessment and treatment of common behavioral health concerns in integrated care settings serving BIPOC youth. She is the author of numerous academic articles, book chapters, and self-help materials for patients and families. She volunteers with organizations devoted to increasing the number of BIPOC youth working towards healthcare careers. She also runs a boutique private therapy practice, focusing on therapy for children, adolescents, and young adults as well as consulting to organizations on behavioral healthcare topics.

Learn more aboutJaspreet Sodhi

Jaspreet Sodhi

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Macman Management Healthcare Services

Jaspreet Sodhi is the CEO and Founder of Macman Management Healthcare Servies (MMHCS). Jaspreet is a renowned and recognized healthcare authority in all facets of the healthcare industry not only in California but also in the East Coast. Her proficiency and insight working with Community Health Centers (CHCs) throughout the years has allowed her to emerge as a strong leader with the ambition to help and grow community health centers in the most tactful and strategic ways. Over the years, Jaspreet has worked with many state and local primary care associations. This experience gave her valuable insight on the gaps and challenges faced by Community Health Centers (CHCs) and the underserved populations they served. Based on this realization, Jaspreet founded MMHCS in 2010 with the aim to support the needs and visions of our health centers by delivering cost effective, culturally sensitive, reliable, and high-quality healthcare solutions of strategic value. In her many years of experience in the healthcare realm, Jaspreet has helped many health centers throughout California plan, create and implement sustainable health care delivery models. Jaspreet’s unequivocal talent working with and understanding FQHCs has afforded her the opportunity to serve unimaginable strategic partnerships. This opportunity allowed her to acquire an excellent handle on federal and state requirements. Jaspreet’s multi-talented skillset allows her to navigate all different avenues of running a successful company, providing unparalleled technical assistance and helping health centers throughout California achieve their vision and goals.

Learn more aboutChris Stoner-Mertz, LCSW

Chris Stoner-Mertz, LCSW

Chief Executive Officer

The California Alliance of Child and Family Services

Christine Stoner-Mertz, CEO, leads the Alliance and the Catalyst Center and with the Board of Directors, drives the mission and vision for the organization. A licensed clinical social worker, Chris came to the Alliance in 2019 after being president and CEO of Lincoln Child Center in Oakland, a California Alliance member agency delivering behavioral health and family strengthening services in the San Francisco Bay area. Since 2005, she led the organization through a transformational period, moving from a residentially-based services focus to designing an array of culturally responsive community and school-based services for children and youth ages 0-21. Her deep commitment to equity is reflected in the transformation of services at Lincoln. A licensed clinical social worker in California, Chris received her MSW from the University of Michigan and began her career in California in 1985, as co-founder of Seneca Center, now the Seneca Family of Agencies, where she was instrumental in the development of programs and oversight of operations for 15 years. In 1999, she founded inFocus Consulting and Development, LLC providing consultation to over 50 private behavioral healthcare providers as well as the California State Department of Mental Health, various county departments of mental health and social services, and to school districts. As a sought after expert on MediCal EPSDT program design and implementation, Chris developed the Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services Manual. She has served on the boards of directors of the California Alliance, the California Council of Behavioral Health Agencies, the National Council of Behavioral Health Organizations, and has been the recipient of numerous service and leadership awards during her career, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service.

Learn more aboutDavid Swanson Hollinger

David Swanson Hollinger

Senior Program Manager

Ventura County Human Services Agency, Department of Children’s Services

David Swanson Hollinger is currently a senior program manager with the Ventura County Human Services Agency, Department of Children’s Services. He currently oversees strategic planning and initiatives focused on improving the system of care to better support and empower children and families. Possessing master’s degrees in social welfare and public health, he has worked for more than 30 years in the health and human services fields in direct practice, administration and leadership. His diverse work history has included public child welfare, public mental health, non-profit social and health services serving children and families and Medi-Cal managed care. Throughout his career, he has been committed to cross system, integrated approaches to a full services continuum that support and empower those served and that promote a system of child and family wellness.

Learn more aboutCamden Webb

Camden Webb

Clinical Services Director

Solano County Office of Education

Camden Webb is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Clinical Services Director with Solano County Office of Education. He brings over twenty years of experience in the field of youth mental health, with specific specializations in treating youth with who have experienced complex trauma and attachment disruptions. Additionally, he has a strong Quality Improvement background, monitoring mental health programs to ensure best practice is met in regards to service delivery. In his current role, he has led SCOE’s Mental Health Clinical team in supporting school communities with an array of services that align with all Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Tiers, to include a School Based Mobile Crisis team, a Wellness Center Initiative, and other counseling and social emotional activities.

Learn more aboutChristopher Williams

Christopher Williams

Director, School-Based Mental Health and Wellness

Sacramento County Office of Education

Dr. Christopher Williams is the Director of School-Based Mental Health and Wellness at the Sacramento County Office of Education. He leads a team intent on bringing the health and education systems together as partners to create a continuum of care for mental health and wellness throughout Sacramento County. The team’s mission is to intervene as early as possible to: eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline, reduce the number of ‘system- involved’ adults and adolescents, and mitigate the onset and impact of mental health disorders in Sacramento County. Before relocating to the west coast, Chris was a founder and Executive Director of P2L: Pathways to Leadership as well as the Vice President of Social Emotional Learning for The Leadership Program, both in New York City. Chris’ work there centered on students who were at risk of dropping out, focusing on altering the trajectory of their lives. For close to 20 years, Chris has been involved in education and youth development. He served on the Supervisory Roundtable for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Task Force on Chronic Absenteeism, Truancy and School Engagement, and he currently sits on the Sacramento County Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee, California State Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup, and the California State Student Attendance Review Board (SARB). He is a co-author of the RISE Program for Dropout Prevention and Attendance Improvement, and the SOAR approach to classroom management. Chris has taught at Columbia University, NYU, and Harvard where he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching distinction. He has been a featured speaker at national and international conferences on education and social work, including the International Conference on Biopsychosocial Interventions in Educational Contexts, in Chile. He holds a master’s degree in Social Work from New York University and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in Roseville, with his wife, 2 boys, and Lexie: a 75 lb. rescue shepherd-mutt whose goal in life is to be a lap dog.

Learn more aboutJason Willis

Jason Willis

Area Director, Strategic Resource Planning & Implementation

WestEd

As the Area Director for Strategic Resource Planning & Implementation at WestEd, Jason Willis oversees and guides the agency’s school finance, governance, and accountability efforts. His team supports state, regional, and local education agencies to align their education policies, strategies, and accountability practices in order to achieve more equitable outcomes for students. Willis and colleagues provide this support through capacity-building, facilitation of professional learning networks, policy implementation strategies, and analysis of financial data, including data on the effective use of resources. Previously, Willis was the Assistant Superintendent of Community Engagement and Accountability for the San Jose Unified School District, where he managed the implementation of a five-year strategic plan. Prior to being in that role, Willis was the Chief Financial Officer for Stockton Unified School District and was Budget Director for Oakland Unified School District. Willis has advised states, national education organizations, and commissions on the formation of funding and accountability systems. He has worked with nearly two dozen states, the Data Quality Campaign, the National Governor’s Association, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, and the National Equity and Excellence Commission. Willis sat on the Technical Working Group advising the first national study on the impact of weighted student funding systems. Willis received a master’s degree in education policy and finance from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Willis is also a graduate of The Broad Residency in Urban Education.

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FROM I TO WE: CONNECTING COMMUNITY, SCHOOLS, AND SYSTEM OF CARE

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Breaking Barriers California

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Goldie Hawn

Founder & CEO

MindUP

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Founder & CEO

MindUP

Melissa Stafford Jones

Director for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative

California Health and Human Services Agency

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Director for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative

California Health and Human Services Agency

Elizabeth Estes

Founder

Breaking Barriers California

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Breaking Barriers California

Lupita Alcalá

Director of Education Policy & Outcomes

WestEd

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Director of Education Policy & Outcomes

WestEd

Jodi Amaditz

Director of Lower and Middle School

Chartwell School

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Director of Lower and Middle School

Chartwell School

Maureen Burness

Retired Assistant Superintendent

, SELPA/Special Education Consultant

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Retired Assistant Superintendent

, SELPA/Special Education Consultant

Sriya Chilla

Chair

California Coalition for Youth (CCY) Youth Advisory Board

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Chair

California Coalition for Youth (CCY) Youth Advisory Board

Lara Choulakian, LCSW

Manager

THRIVE: School Mental Health at PUSD

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THRIVE: School Mental Health at PUSD

Tina Christie

Wasserman Dean

UCLA School of Education and Information Studies

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