Anita Ahuja

Manager for Special Projects at the CA Victim Compensation Program
Director for the Winters Theatre Company

Anita Ahuja currently serves as Manager for Special Projects, Mass Violence Response and Ombudsperson for Crime Victims with the California Victim Compensation Board in Sacramento. She is currently focused on mass violence emergency response planning and assisting with meeting the short and long-term needs of victims of mass violence in California.

Her experience includes managing federal crisis response grants, support groups and victim services for September 11th victims in California. She worked extensively with the California September 11th victims for several years, facilitating support groups in Northern and Southern California. She also prepared and manages a federal grant from the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program in the federal Office for Victims of Crime to assist the victims of the December 2, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Ms. Ahuja is certified in advanced crisis response, critical incident stress management and has served as a Community Chaplain.

Ms. Ahuja's has served in management roles in Public Affairs and Policy and Training at the California Victim Compensation Board. Her background includes working for the United States Senate, the California State Senate and the California Governor's Office.

Anita is currently serving as the Board President for the Winters Theatre Company, a non-profit organization in Winters, California, where she performs in and directs theatrical productions.

Ms. Ahuja's credentials include an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and a B.A. in Political Science and Rhetoric.

Diane Alexander

Ms. Alexander is the Special Initiatives Manager for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC). She currently oversees the mass violence and terrorism training and technical assistance program. She also manages the deployment of OVC consultants to respond to incidents of mass violence and terrorism. She contributed to the development of OVC’s Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery and Resources Toolkit. Ms. Alexander has 39 years of experience in the criminal justice and crime victim assistance fields. She began her work in crisis response while on staff at the National Organization for Victim Assistance in the late 1980s. She participated in the pilot crisis response training and assisted with managing volunteer crisis teams deployed around the country. From 1993 to 2005, she was a founding member, Governing Board Treasurer, President and Past President of the Capital Area Crisis Response Team, an all-volunteer non-profit organization. Ms. Alexander assisted with outreach and team deployment in the Washington Metropolitan area and coordinated the local outreach and response effort to the 9/11 attacks. She also assisted with NOVA’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Alexander served on NOVA’s War Trauma Team, responding to Tuzla, Bosnia in February/March 1996. She received her Bachelor of Science in Corrections/Minor in Psychology degree from Western Oregon University.

Cassidee Carlson

Sergeant Cassidee Carlson started with the Aurora Police Department in 2003. She worked patrol for 2 years before becoming a Field Training Officer. In 2008, she was selected for the Direct Action Response Team (DART), a specialized tactical unit that provides a proactive response to reducing street crime that impacts the quality of life within the community. Sergeant Carlson was promoted to agent in 2010 where she briefly went to a district investigations bureau before being assigned an acting sergeant in June, 2010. She was officially promoted to sergeant in October, 2010. In 2011, she started as a Public Information Officer working in the Chief’s Office. In 2014, Sergeant Carlson was assigned as the sergeant of one of the district DART teams, which later transitioned into a full time SWAT team. In 2017, she was selected to go to the Major Investigations Bureau as the Internet Crimes Against Children Sergeant and 6 months later transitioned to her current assignment, Crimes Against Children Unit. Sergeant Carlson has attended training in media relations, leadership, victim assistance, police tactics, homeland security, peer support, and is a graduate of the nine-month Leadership Aurora Development Program. She completed her Bachelors of Criminal Justice in 2002 from the University of Central Missouri and obtained her Masters of Nonprofit Management at Regis University in Denver, CO in 2015. Cassidee served on the Board of Director’s for Leadership Aurora for 6 years, and currently serves on the Executive Board for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Colorado.

Matthew E. Carmichael

Chief of Police, University of Oregon

Chief Carmichael joined the University of Oregon Police Department in September 2016, after 31 years of experience as a police officer in the State of California. Chief Carmichael has received all California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certifications to include the highest level Executive certificate. Chief Carmichael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice administration and has attended an extensive amount of law enforcement related training throughout his career.

Chief Carmichael has law enforcement experience in both higher education and municipal policing with various assignments including but not limited to the following:

• Chief of Police experience in both California and Oregon
• Police Lieutenant at a major university in California
• Police Sergeant both in patrol and investigations, municipality in California
• Police officer and police detective, municipality in California
• Other law enforcement management/supervisorial experience includes
  • Police Motors
  • Police K9
  • Field Training Program Coordination
  • Property and Evidence
  • Reserve office program coordinator
  • Crisis response team
  • Outreach
  • Hospital security

Chief Carmichael has received various commendations during his career to include but not limited to:

• Special Recognition, The Contra Costa County, California CALID/RAN BOARD
• Police Officer of the Year Award, City of Pinole, California Police Department
• Certificate of Appreciation, United States Marshall’s Service
• Commendation, United States Attorney District of Wyoming
• California Senator Certificate of Recognition
• Award of Merit, California College and University Police Chiefs Association
• Certificate of Appreciation, California State Juvenile Officer’s Association
• Award of Distinction, California Peace Officers Association (CPOA)
• Award of Distinction, California College and University Police Chiefs Association
• Service Excellence Award, Office of Administration University of California, Davis
• Calvin E. Handy Leadership Award
• Letter of Appreciation, United States Secret Service
• David H. Lord Award for Community Service, National Association of College Auxiliary Services
• Disability Awareness Achievement Team Award, California College and University Police Chiefs Association

Chief Carmichael has acted as a leader in the areas of community outreach by demonstrating through his actions his true commitment to community policing. Such examples include one of the first police departments in the United States to have a department policy focusing solely on “preferred names”. This formal policy established procedures that helped to create mutual understanding, prevent discrimination and conflict, and ensure the appropriate police treatment of all community members who choose to use a preferred name.

Chief Carmichael implemented a police cadet academy to address the absolute lack of diversity in the candidate pool for the position of police officer. Through the solid commitment of his peer Officer Ray Holguin this program continues today and is responsible for providing highly educated and diverse candidates for the position of police officer throughout the State of California. https://youtu.be/1p5s0mJi4WA Chief Carmichael also replaced the traditional police officer interview panel with an all community based interview panel ensuring that prospective police officer candidates were interviewed through the lens of the community entrusting their service. Who better to select our next police officers than our own communities?

Chief Carmichael has been credited with implementing one of the first true police community oversight programs in campus policing. This unique program provides for independent police oversight by the community and ensures a transparent process demystifying the police complaint process. This program is still in use today and serves as the example for other campus law enforcement agencies.

Chief Carmichael is married to his wife Angelica and they have four children two of which are University of Oregon Students making University of Oregon Police Chief Carmichael a "Double Duck”.

Kevin C. Dinnin

Vita for Emergency Management Introduction

President and Chief Executive Officer of the BCFS System, a Texas based health and human services organization with locations throughout the US and services in all 50 states, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Under his 30-year tenure, the BCFS System has grown from a 30-person organization into an international organization with six subsidiary corporations and some 4,000+ personnel serving those affected by crisis with an array of professional services in the health and human services and emergency management and response fields.

Emergency Management Highlights:

• Dinnin has response experience as incident commander of numerous NIMS Type 1 and Type 2 incidents, as well as many Type 3 incidents.
• In 2008, Dinnin was tapped by the Texas Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Management to serve as incident commander of the west Texas unified command when more than 1,000 responders engaged in the FLDS incident in San Angelo, Texas.
• Later that year he was tasked by the State of Texas as the commander of the Health and Medical Branch of Texas Task Force Ike following the devastating hurricane.
• Dinnin also led an incident management team response to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake where he implemented incident command in one of the largest Haitian hospitals.
• He authored the mass migration shelter response plan for the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
• He has been credited with developing the most comprehensive training manual for sheltering persons with medical needs known to be in existence and for establishing and maintaining the largest medical shelter capacity in the US outside of the Department of Defense.
• Dinnin served as project director for development of the FEMA National Guidance for Sheltering Persons with Functional Needs.
• He supported and provided guidance to the Tenet Health system during the US Ebola incident in 2014.
• Last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Dinnin was tasked to lead the unified command of federal and state health and medical response assets in Harris County and Southeast Texas Shelter operations.
• In November of 2017 Dinnin served as the incident commander of the incident management team assigned to support First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and Wilson County following the mass shooting incident.
• Additionally, under Dinnin’s leadership, the partnership established by the BCFS System Emergency Management Division was recently awarded the FEMA catastrophic response contract (IASC) for all states west of the Mississippi River.

Katie Etringer

Katie Etringer Quinney is the Victim Assistance Coordinator for the 81st Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Texas. She has held this position since January 2017, when she left her profession of over 10 years in medical marketing to pursue her passion as a victim advocate.

Katie’s family was touched by trauma in 2006 when a member of her family became a victim of a crime. Upon completion of prosecution of that case, Katie began her pursuit to make a difference by sitting on victim impact panels and eventually volunteered to sit as an acting Board Member for the Children’s Alliance of South Texas, A Child Advocacy Center. Katie has been an active member of the Board of Directors of CAST since 2012.

Since beginning her career as an advocate, Katie has helped numerous victims of felony crimes across the five counties of the district including the victims of the recent tragedy in the community of Sutherland Springs.

Mary Beth Fisk

Mary Beth Fisk has more than 30 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector as a visionary, executive, clinical research scientist, and community builder. Today, she serves as the CEO and Executive Director of The Ecumenical Center and The Center for Hope and Healing of South Texas. As the former president and chief operating officer of South Texas’ largest blood, tissue, and cellular therapy center, Mary Beth initiated and implemented meaningful programs that still stand today, including Gencure (a cellular therapy & tissue engineering program involving umbilical-cord). Over the years, Mary Beth founded and directed a nonprofit foundation, developed an international tissue donor bank, and was an active instrument in shepherding new legislation for medical needs at both the state and national level, as well as authored numerous scientific and peer-reviewed journal articles. She has twice been named a Health Care Hero in the areas of innovation and administrative excellence by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Mary Beth Fisk is an experienced grief counsellor and has facilitated the counseling in SS from Nov 5th until today. She was on scene within hours of the incident and supplied immediate counselors and support in those first few weeks and the next few months. The new Counseling Center for Healing and Hope in Sutherland Springs/La Vernia was initiated and established by her as one of 18 satellite centers of the ecumenical center.

Kathryn Floyd

Kathryn H. Floyd, Ph.D., is the Mass Violence & Terrorism Visiting Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. Having studied mass violence for over fifteen years, Floyd focuses on helping emergency managers to prepare for and respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism, to include sharing best practices prior to an incident occurring. As part of the fellowship, she is gathering information on federal, state, local, and other plans that address mass violence, terrorism, and/or victims. Floyd was the corresponding author for an article on victim best practices published by the peer-reviewed International Public Safety Association Journal and deeply involved in the drafting of NFPA 3000™ (PS): Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program. She received her Ph.D. in Strategic Studies (focusing on pre-radicalization) from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) where she worked with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR). She holds an M.A. in War Studies from King’s College London and a B.A. in Government from William & Mary.

Chance Freeman

Chance A. Freeman is the Director of the Hurricane Harvey Crisis Counseling Program at the Health and Human Services Commission where he provides direction for the state’s crisis counseling and training program. As the former Associate Director of School Safety Education at the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University, he worked with a team that serve as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of safety and security information through research, training, and technical assistance for K-12 schools and junior colleges throughout the state of Texas. Prior to joining the Texas School Safety Center, he served as the former Branch Manager for Disaster Behavioral Health Services within the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division. He began working in the field of Disaster Mental Health in 1998 as an outreach/crisis counselor. Since that time, Chance has responded to over 24 federally declared disasters and a variety of emergency events such as the Space Shuttle Columbia Recovery project, the West Fertilizer Plant Explosion, Church Shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX, School shooting in Santa Fe, Tx, and local criminal events. As a result of his extensive experience with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Crisis Counseling Program (CCP), Mr. Freeman has provided technical assistance and training on CCP grant development and management to a variety of states and federal agencies. Through his experience, Mr. Freeman has also provided training at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland and is a member of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Cadre of Consults. Mr. Freeman serves the Chair of Texas’ Disaster Behavioral Health Consortium. He assisted as a field reviewer for SAMHSA’s Disaster Planning Handbook for Behavioral Health Treatment Programs, TAP 34. Most recently, Mr. Freeman contributed to the book “Integrating Emergency Management and Disaster Behavioral Health – One Picture Through Two Lenses” by Brian W. Flynn & Ronald Sherman.

Samantha Fuentes

Survivor, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting, Parkland, Florida

Only eighteen years old, Sam Fuentes’ story stretches far beyond when she gained national attention for getting shot and surviving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Her remarkable strength and resilience originate from three generations of strong Cuban women survivors who overcame domestic violence, sexual abuse and gender/ethnic discrimination. Their fight for survival, justice and safety inspired Sam to fight for those who are silenced. Sam Fuentes, along with her family, was hardened by cruelties of the world. Sam was severely bullied growing up, lived in a toxic and unforgiving household, and abused verbally and physically by intimate partners in her early teens. This ultimately led to her suicide attempt at age fifteen, changing her forever. Then, three years later, her life was challenged again when a shower of bullets entered her classroom. Being toe to toe with death has taught Sam the importance of uplifting the voices of the silenced, oppressed, and marginalized, because they have first hand accounts on what errors occur within a tragedy. Alongside uplifting voices, Sam encourages action through individual activism, which includes, but is not limited to voting. Sam has been featured on a number of media platforms such as March For Our Lives, the New York Times, Inside Edition, Telemundo, CNN, the L.A Times, and CBS. Sam’s story and passion have driven her to dedicate all her time motivating and educating the masses on how they can make a difference in the nation’s safety and future.

Carol Gross

Carol began volunteering for the American Red Cross Disaster Services in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then, she has been to over 40 national disaster responses. Her first experience with mass casualties began when asked to respond to the Boston Marathon bombing where she spent three weeks assigned to the Boston Public Health Authority providing emotional support to the surviving victims of the bombings and to the families of those who died in the incident. Since then, she has responded to multiple school shootings, the Oso and Montecito Mudslides, the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College, the West Virginia and Northern California wildfires. Currently, Carol volunteers as the Disaster Mental Health Lead for the American Red Cross Cascade Region covering Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Allison Haley

Allison Haley is the first woman to serve as District Attorney in Napa County. She was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2016 at the occasion of the retirement of her predecessor and ran unopposed for her first term in 2018. A 2001 graduate of UC Davis Law School, Ms. Haley holds a law degree, a master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Statistics and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Social Science. Ms. Haley came to the Napa County DA’s Office in 2005 having served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert W Alberts in the Central District of California and as an Assistant Chief Counsel in the US Department of Homeland Security in the Los Angeles office. Ms. Haley has earned recognition specifically in her handling of complex child molestation and domestic violence matters. Ms. Haley has a passion for trauma exposed children, issues surrounding safety in the home and community intervention for all our vulnerable family members including children and the elderly.

Ms. Haley serves her community as a board member of If Given a Chance, a nonprofit organization designed to give financial awards to Napa County youth who have overcome hardship and are seeking a post-secondary education. Ms. Haley is an advocate for establishing a Napa County Family Justice Center to better serve crime survivors, regularly teaches at UC Davis and is a member of both the California District Attorneys Association and the National District Attorneys Association.

Ms. Haley and her husband Mark Haley live in Napa County and have a brand new (but only marginally excited about it) first grader.

Zena Hooper

Zena Hooper, Psy.D is currently the Director of Victim Services for the Office of the Governor – Texas. The Governor’s Office serves as the state administrating agency for the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and Office on Violence against Women (OVW) funding. Dr. Hooper’s background spans the fields of military mental health, correctional mental health, emergency medicine, law enforcement, training/education, and public administration. Dr. Hooper has broadbased experience in crisis response (medical and mental health), emergency management, critical incident stress debriefing, coordinated community collaboration, grant administration and program development. Drawing on this broad range of experience has bolstered her work within the field of victim services and critical incident response.

Her current obsession (as need dictates) is in advancing an evidence-based approach in the development of statewide crisis response teams for the state of Texas. This is an effort to both mitigate the effect of mass violence but also an effort to show policy makers that the need for this type of program is an integral part of any mass violence incident command. Dr. Hooper’s role in the incidences across the state has progressively evolved. From the Dallas Police Ambush, to the Sutherland Springs Church Shooting to the more recent Santa Fe High School Shooting, a concentrated effort has been made to utilize OVC’s Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources toolkit to (1) develop a robust, victim-centered response to mass violence that focuses on resiliency, (2) provide strategic, needs-based funding and (3) to ensure that there is a coordinated community response to avoid duplication of services and overlooked victims.

Debra Howard-Burton

Debra Howard-Burton has more than 30 years’ experience in crime victimization, advocacy, training, and program development. Currently, Debra is a Victim Advocate with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she has worked for the past 34 years. Debra is founder and visionary for S.O.A.R. Professional Services, Inc., a company that provides workshops, training, technical assistance and leadership development. She is a consultant for the Office of Victims of Crime, Training and Technical Assistance Center. Debra has a Bachelor's degree in social work from Union University, a certification as a Victim Services Practitioner from the Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute of the Attorney General's Office; a certificate in Human Diversity Training from Broward Community College; and a certificate as a faculty trainer in the National Hate Crimes Curricula from the U.S. Department of Justice. She has a Doctoral degree in Theology from Midwest University. Debra has facilitated workshops on crime victimization, hate crimes, leadership, diversity and cultural competency for local, state, civic, and national organizations across the United States. Debra is past president and a founding member of the Broward Victim Rights Coalition, a member of the Broward Domestic Violence Council and has served on various boards of victim service organizations. She has received numerous commendations related to her efforts to assist crime victims and their families. Debra was an adjunct faculty member for the National Victim’s Assistance Academy, at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, from 1999-2002 and she was a contributor to the National Victim Assistance Academy Manual Chapter entitled “Cultural and Spiritual Competence”. Debra is a member of the Florida Crisis Response Team and has responded to national and local tragedies, including the World Trade Center Attack, Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting, and The Stoneman Douglass Shooting.

Tara S Hughes

LCSW-R

Tara received her BA in Psychology from Boston College in 1988 and Masters of Social Work degree and Family Therapy Certification from Boston University in 1992. She has worked in the mental health field with families and children in crisis in many different capacities since 1988. She is currently the Coordinator for Human Trafficking Programs at the International Institute of Buffalo, a program that provides intensive case management services for US and foreign-born survivors of Human Trafficking. She is a long standing Adjunct Faculty member at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, as well as the UB School of Social Work Continuing Education Department. She has worked in private practice, as well as in agency settings concentrating on crisis/trauma response and family interventions. She has had extensive experience in dealing with families and in communities where violence is the norm, and has responded to a variety of community-wide traumatic events.

Tara is the Northeast Division Disaster Mental Health (DMH) Advisor for the American Red Cross, covering New England, New York and New Jersey. Tara is a DMH Chief, an Assistance Director for Operations, and a Family Assistance Center Lead in the national deployment system for the American Red Cross. She has responded to many disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, a deadly tornado in Enterprise, AL, the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, the Haitian earthquake, the Newtown CT school shooting, Slave Lake (Alberta, Canada) wildfires in 2012, Hurricane Irene, Super Storm Sandy, the Boston Marathon Bombings, the DC Navy Yard shooting, the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, and the October 1, 2017 shooting in Las Vegas. She has also consulted for the Asiana Airline crash, the Oso, WA mudslides, and multiple school shootings around the country. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Mass Casualty incidents, as well as working with children and schools after disasters.

Tara is a partner in Invicta Crisis Solutions, a consulting business to assist communities with Strategic Readiness, Organized Response and Resilient Recovery when they are preparing for and facing mass casualty incidents.

Emily Hyde

Program Supervisor
Multnomah County District Attorney's Office
Victim Assistance Program

Emily Hyde is the Program Supervisor for the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office Victim Assistance Program. She oversees a team of 19, which includes advocates, restitution clerks and victim assistance specialists. She is dedicated to running a program that provides the most up-to-date and informed services to victims of crime.

Over 18 years ago Emily began working in the field of victim advocacy in both system-based and community-based programs. This gives her a broad understanding and deep appreciation for the many roles advocates play in supporting victims and the benefits of working collaboratively.

Emily is dedicated to team building through earning and extending trust in an environment of mutual respect. She has had the opportunity to work with victims of all crime types as well as being a founding member of the Human Trafficking Team. She has been recognized for her work on several national FBI operations targeting traffickers and serving commercially sexually exploited children and adults.

She was instrumental in developing the system-based advocacy program at the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services. This county and city funded program was inspired by the family justice collaborative model and hosts over 17 onsite partner agencies in providing comprehensive walk-in services to domestic violence survivors.

Emily is a member of the Multnomah Co. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, Family Violence Coordinating Council, Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team and co-chairs the Multnomah Co. Sexual Assault Response Team.

Yuka Kamiishi

Yuka Kamiishi, a native of Japan, has served in various positions in the field of crime victim advocacy since 2001. In the last four years, Yuka has overseen the Victim/Witness Assistance Program for Napa County, California, in the Victim Services Division of the Napa County District Attorney’s Office. On March 9, 2018, Yuka led her team in response to the Yountville veterans’ home active shooter incident, and her team continues to respond to the aftermath of the crisis. In addition to her duties in Napa County, Yuka also teaches at the California Victim/Witness Advocate Academy. She actively advocates for the advancement of victim/witness advocacy as a member of the board of directors for the California Crime Victims’ Assistance Association. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology from Sonoma State University.

Ronald Kingbird

Ronald Kingbird is a Tribal Behavioral Health Technician employed on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. His primary work is in the Red Lake Criminal Justice Complex where conducts psycho-educational seminars for inmates. He is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band, a Traditional Elder and Healer, Husband, Father, and a Grandfather. Ronald earned a B.A. in Indian Studies and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Bemidji State University. He has been employed previously as a Victim of Crimes Advocate, Mental Health Provider at the Elementary, Middle School, and High School levels, High School Academic Advisor, Ojibwe Culture Teacher, C.D. Counselor, Transition Coordinator and Certified State Chaplain for the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Ronald is a Certified Trainer in the Three Principles and has been sharing the approach for 18 yrs. He currently resides in Bemidji, Minnesota with his wife Sharon, grandson Tre Shaun, their dog Brutus and a black cat named “Black” and another cat named “Delilah”.

Tammy McCoy-Arballo

Tammy McCoy-Arballo, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical forensic psychologist in California who treats first responders and their families. She works with the emergency negotiation teams of three Southern California police departments. She regularly teaches San Bernardino County Sheriff’s academy classes on the topics of Suicide by Cop and Cop Suicide. She presented at recent NTOA and WSHNA conferences on the topic of hostage negotiator stress.

Dr. McCoy-Arballo also responds to critical incidents for the Counseling Team International. In 2018, she responded to the Pathway Home in Yountville, CA. In 2017, she lead the team of clinicians who responded to the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas. Dr. McCoy-Arballo responded to the North Park Elementary School shooting in 2016. She also responded to the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA. She was subsequently recognized for her work with the San Bernardino County Probation Department.

She is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and is an Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) trained therapist.

Beyond treatment and critical incidents, Dr. McCoy-Arballo does research on preemployment screening of law enforcement candidates. Her research on pre-employment screenings with Dr. Robin Inwald earned them the Bob Davis Award at the 2017 national conference for the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology, of which she is an active member.

When she is not working, Dr. McCoy-Arballo enjoys listening to disco music, rooting for the New York Jets, and traveling to seaside locales with her family.

Julie Nauman

Executive Officer
California Victim Compensation Board

Julie Nauman has served as the Executive Officer of the Victim Compensation Board since 2008.

Prior to joining CalVCB, Ms. Nauman held a number of executive level positions in California State Government. Ms. Nauman served as Chief Deputy Director of the Integrated Waste Management Board and Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as Chief Consultant to the Assembly Local Government Committee. Known for her expertise in public policy and land use planning, she held the position of Principal-In-Charge of a multi-state private consulting firm.

Ms. Nauman received both a Bachelor of Arts in government and a Master of Arts in public administration from California State University, Sacramento.

Elana Newman

Elana Newman, Ph.D. is the McFarlin Chair of Psychology, and Research Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, (www.dartcenter.org) the latter which is a key partner of the new National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center. Newman specializes in understanding and treating trauma-related conditions and training students and professionals from many professions about the skills they need to work effectively with people suffering from trauma-related problems. Newman’s research in the field of traumatic stress has examined a wide range of topics including the physical and psychological effects of trauma exposure upon adults and children, health care costs and trauma, journalism and trauma, occupational health and trauma, research ethics in studying trauma survivors, correctional issues and trauma, and substance abuse and trauma. Newman’s work in journalism and trauma focuses on the occupational health of journalists, psychological safety for journalists, harassment, and the impact of trauma news on consumers. She directs the creation of an online searchable database of articles related to journalism and trauma available at the Dart Center website. She also trains journalists on interviewing survivors, trauma-informed news management, covering traumatic events in local contexts including sexual violence on campus, and general trauma information. She co-directed the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma’s’ first satellite office in NYC after 9-11. As a result of her work with journalists, Newman also works with trauma specialists and disaster responders on how best to collaborate and work with journalists. Newman is a past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Jonathan Raven

Chief Deputy District Attorney
Yolo County District Attorney’s Office
Woodland, CA

Jonathan Raven is the Chief Deputy at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, an office with approximately 40 prosecutors. He received his law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1991 after graduating with honors from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1986. He worked as a civil attorney for four years before being sworn in as a Deputy District Attorney in Yolo County in 1995. As a felony trial deputy, Raven prosecuted all types of cases ranging from DUIs to child molest to murder.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer appointed Raven Director of the Office of Victims’ Services (OVS) in September 2002. OVS advocates on behalf of crime victims, interfaces and works with law enforcement, and works on policy and legislative issues pertaining to crime victims’ issues.

In February 2007, newly elected Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig appointed Raven his Assistant Chief Deputy. In November 2010, Reisig appointed Raven to the Chief Deputy position, the number two position in the office. Raven manages a number of divisions (including Mental Health and Addiction Intervention Courts, Neighborhood Court, Victim Services, Intake/Charging, the Lifer Unit, Consumer Fraud and Environmental Protection and the Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center).

Raven started the Greater Davis Sexual Assault Committee where representatives from law enforcement (Yolo County DA, CA Department of Justice, Davis and UC Davis Police Departments) and UC Davis (Title IX Office, Campus Counsel and Student Judicial Affairs) meet bi-monthly to discuss emerging issues and coordinate actions in non-stranger rape cases involving UC Davis students. This is the first such committee in California. In September, 2016 Raven, along with the Title IX Officer and Senior Campus Counsel at UCD, presented to 400 prosecutors, SART nurses, victim advocates and police officers at the statewide SART Summit in SD, CA on “Sexual Assaults on Campuses: Key Collaborations.”

Raven is an adjunct professor at UC Davis King Hall School of Law teaching trial advocacy since 2005. He is also an instructor at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles where he trains officers on the POST-mandated racial profiling course. He also teaches a segment on the “Criminalization of the Mentally Ill” for the regional Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). Finally, he has co-presented to managers at UC Davis and the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento on Hate Crimes. From 2003 until 2012 he was a board member of the Yolo County Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center and was board president for three years. On April 12, 2016, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services honored Raven for his “exemplary work promoting victims’ rights.”

In November, 2015 Raven was invited to sit as a panelist at the 10th Anniversary National Prosecution Summit held in Washington, DA. In December 2015, Raven sat as a panelist on the Community Engagement session for the Courts, Community Engagement and Innovative Practices in Changing Landscape that was held in Anaheim, CA in December, 2015. The subject of both of these conferences was the Yolo County District Attorney’s Neighborhood Court program. In May, 2016 Raven presented to Title IX officers and their staff at a UC system wide conference at UC Davis on prosecuting sexual assault cases and the importance of collaboration between the DA’s office and UC campuses. In November, 2017, Raven along with Nancy Appel of the Anti-Defamation League (San Francisco office) trained UCD PD officers on the subject of hate crimes, hate incidents and freedom of speech.

In January, 2013 The California Hazardous Materials Investigators Association honored Raven for his Significant Contribution to Environmental Training and Enforcement and for his Dedication and Services to the Association. In May, 2013 Mother’s Against Driving (MADD) honored Raven with their Statewide Prosecutor of the Year award.

Raven enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. He coaches AYSO soccer, enjoys traveling and has run 13 marathons, including the NY Marathon.

Dorothy Salmon

Dorothy is a civic and business leader in Napa County known affectionately as “Auntie Dorothy”. Dorothy was a key fundraiser for Measure A, which brought about a renaissance in Napa County and in particular the City of Napa.

Dorothy was the first woman President of the Napa Rotary Club, and a proactive leader during the crucial organizational and developmental phases of The Napa Valley Opera House, the Napa Chamber of Commerce, The Napa Valley Community Foundation, The Napa Valley Expo, If Given A Chance Foundation, The Napa Land Trust, Friends of the River, COPIA, Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation, Napa County Workforce Investment Board, NapaLearns, and currently, President of the Board of The Pathway Home Inc.

Dorothy and her husband John host a 150 plus member Napa Valley Leadership Council Informative Lunch Group consisting of a cross-section of Napa Valley business and community leaders. For 22 years, The Council Lunch group has met monthly with the goal of informing and creating common ground regarding major social and economic challenges facing Napa County.

Dorothy hosts a weekly KVON Monday morning radio show, writes Napa County restaurant reviews with her husband John for the Napa Valley Marketplace Magazine and makes sure she stays involved in the lives of her ten grandchildren. Dorothy believes in partnerships and community building, bringing people together to create what might seem impossible, possible. Dorothy is dedicated to ensuring that our returning veterans to California are truly welcomed home by their communities and The Pathway Home becomes Napa County’s gift and model for how robust partnerships can make that happen with a template for how to do it step by step.

Honors
Tulare CountyWoman of the Year, California State Senate – 1988
Past President, Napa Rotary Club
Napa Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, 2005
Napa Chamber of Commerce North Bay Business Journal’s 2006 Woman of the Year for Economic Development
Queen of the Valley Hospital’s 2011 President’s Award for Excellence

Kevin Schiller

Assistant County Manager
Clark County Nevada

Kevin Schiller is the Assistant County Manager, responsible for the departments of Family Services, Social Service, the Public Guardian, Coroner/Medical Examiner and the Clark County Shooting Complex. He is also the County Manager's representative to the elected officials who serve as County Clerk and Public Administrator. Schiller, whose appointment was ratified by the County Commission on May 16, 2017, served as Assistant County Manager for Reno's Washoe County from January 2014 through 2017. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Washoe County's Department of Social Services, which he was with for more than 17 years, leading integration of human services and creating innovative programming to serve vulnerable children, adults and families. He began his career as a social worker and juvenile probation officer for the State of Wyoming.

Schiller holds a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Rita Shimmin

Executive Director
Glide Foundation

Prior to her role as Executive Director, Ms. Shimmin served as GLIDE’s Vice President of Organizational Integration (VPOI). As VPOI, Rita led GLIDE in the creation of its Core Values and Community Cultural Agreements, the foundational philosophies from which every branch of GLIDE functions. Rita also heads the development of staff trainings in the areas of cultural competence, personal transformation, and leadership development. Prior to her tenure as VPOI, Rita served as Associate Executive Director, in charge of all Foundation programs including Health Services; Family, Youth and Childcare Services; Training and Education Services; the Free Meals Program; and Urgent Care Services.

In addition to her management profession, Rita has been a trainer and coach for more than 35 years. She has worked within educational institutions at all levels – with kindergarteners and university management teams – and with business entities, including community-based non-profits and national investment firms. She also served as co-director of the Bay Area Black Women’s Health project and was a member of the San Francisco Community Justice Center’s Advisory Board.

Rana Singh Sodhi

Rana Singh Sodhi is a well-known community activist and Sikh leader. Following the death of his brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi, America's first post 9/11 hate crime victim, Mr. Sodhi made it his mission to prevent further hate related crimes in the community. Balbir Singh Sodhi was gunned down in Mesa, Arizona based solely on his appearance as a Sikh American. His death motivated Mr. Sodhi to take an active role in eradicating ignorance and he has shared his story in an effort to prevent further violence rooted from stereotypes.

In 2007, Rana Sodhi was featured in a documentary on PBS called “A Dream in Doubt”. This film showcased the daily horrors Rana and the Sikh community experience as misunderstood Americans. In November 2009, Mr. Sodhi was invited to attend the First State Dinner with President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. He was invited back to the White House in 2014 to speak at the 5th Anniversary of the Shepard Byrd Hate Crime Bill.

Rana Singh Sodhi takes on many leadership roles in his local and national community. He is the Arizona director of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE). SCORE is based in Washington D.C. and has represented Sikhs on many national and international platforms. He is the Arizona directory for the National Sikh Campaign (NSC) as well as an active member of the Arizona based Global Sikh Alliance. He is an ambassador for The Revolutionary Love Project that encourages a nation of peace and diversity. Presently, Mr. Sodhi is a member of the Sikh Advisory Council for the Phoenix Police Department as well as a key diversity speaker for the Department of Justice.

Mr. Sodhi has been recognized for his community work with multiple awards and achievements. In 2010, he received the Anti-Defamation League Shelly K. Award in Washington D.C. and the Anti-Defamation League Al Brook Leadership Award in Phoenix. In 2013, he received the honorable Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream Award presented in Phoenix. In the Spring of 2015, Rana Sodhi received the Arizona Interfaith Movement, Arizona Peace Award. In addition, he has received the SALDEF Community Empowerment Award (2011), the Indo-American Foundation Special Appreciation Award in Phoenix (2011), and the Asian Pacific Activity in Action Award (2012).

Most recently, Rana Sodhi spoke at the 15th year commensuration of Balbir Singh Sodhi. This event was covered on the radio station, KJZZ, as well as other local news channels. Shortly after, Mr. Sodhi had a full conversation with Frank Roque, who committed the first known hate-driven murder after 9/11. This powerful conversation was shown across the globe through the Public Radio International (PRI).

Currently, Mr. Sodhi resides in Gilbert, Arizona with his wife and three children. He is an entrepreneur and the owner of an Indian restaurant called Guru Palace Cuisine of India.

Marian Sokol

Executive Director, Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas

Marian Sokol is Executive Director of the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, whose mission is to foster healing for grieving children, their families and the community. She joined the staff in 2013 and programs for children have expanded tremendously since that time. The Center serves more than 2000 children and their caregivers annually in a beautiful homelike setting, offering counseling, support groups, camps and therapy focusing on expressive arts. In 2016 the Center was awarded grant funding to create Children’s Bereavement Center of the Rio Grande Valley, located in Harlingen. In 2017 the Center partnered to create Wonders & Worries at the Start Cancer Clinic in the medical center area of San Antonio. This program is dedicated to supporting children whose parents have a life- threatening illness. In 2018 Marian lead efforts to establish a rural Texas expansion after the Sutherland Springs tragedy which took 26 lives, creating a counseling and support Center named Paloma Place, in a partnership arrangement with the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Department of Counseling.

Marian’s career has always focused on infants and children facing adverse situations. She has served for decades as an Executive Consultant on Maternal and Child Health issues, with a lead role in planning the 2012 International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Infant Survival. From 2003 to 2011 Dr. Sokol served as President of First Candle/SIDS Alliance, a national not-for-profit organization promoting safe pregnancies and the survival of infants through the first years of life. For the previous two decades, Marian Sokol was Founding Executive Director of Any Baby Can, Inc. of Texas, a model support center for children who are chronically ill or disabled. The organization was nationally recognized by President George H. W. Bush as a Presidential Point of Light.

Dr. Sokol is a Phi Beta Kappa, with a doctorate from the University of Texas and a postgraduate Masters in Public Health from UT Health Science Center at Houston. She has received numerous state and national awards including that of being a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International and designation by the Texas Governor as a Yellow Rose of Texas.

John C. Steinbeck

John C. Steinbeck was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief on Feb. 1, 2014. He has been with the Clark County Fire Department since 1990. He moved to Clark County from Southern California in 1980 and has been proud to be a resident ever since.

Prior to being promoted to Deputy, Chief Steinbeck held the rank of battalion chief, captain, fire engineer and firefighter. For a large portion of his career, he specialized in technical rescue including; high angle, confined space, swift water, trench, vehicle and machinery extrication, and structural collapse. Chief Steinbeck has also been with Southern Nevada’s FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team since 1993. His deployments for search and rescue missions included New York City shortly after 9-11 and New Orleans for the aftermath caused by Hurricane Katrina. He also is a Structural Collapse Technician Instructor for FEMA.

Currently, Chief Steinbeck serves as the Emergency Manager for Clark County and is in charge of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. In addition, he serves as the chair for the Las Vegas Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Working Group and Co-Chair of the Nevada Homeland Security Working Group. Following the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on October 1st, 2017, Chief Steinbeck served as the incident commander for the Family Assistance Center, coordinates efforts at the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center, and continues to serve as the recovery officer for the incident.

Chief Steinbeck is an active board member of Nevada Child Seekers, which is an organization dedicated to protecting children in Nevada.

Tasia Wiggins

Tasia Wiggins began working with victims of crime 29 years ago as a volunteer domestic violence counselor at the Center Against Domestic Violence in Flagstaff Arizona. She earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Clinical Psychology in 1993 and continued to gain experience working with victims of crime through internships that included working with ritual abuse survivors in Lakewood Colorado and victims of domestic violence in California. Tasia Wiggins began working as a victim advocate with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in 1996 and provided support and advocacy services to victims of all types of crime. Tasia Wiggins was promoted to the Advocate Supervisor position in 2004 which allowed her to maintain a small caseload while also supervising the victim advocate staff. Tasia implemented an emergency assistance protocol which included collaborating with law enforcement and community agencies to respond quickly and efficiently to the variety of needs presented by families of homicide victims. Tasia Wiggins also participated at multidisciplinary case review meetings and Program Committee meetings for the County Child interviewing Center focusing on child sexual assault.

Tasia Wiggins was promoted as the Director of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office Victim/Witness Assistance Division in 2014 and is responsible for managing the Victim/Witness, Human Trafficking Advocacy and Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse grant programs. Tasia is responsible for overseeing a staff of 36 which includes 23 victim advocates, and 9 California Victim Compensation Board trained claims specialists and administrative staff. The Victim/Witness Assistance Division annually provides services to approximately 11,000 individuals impacted by all types of crime.

Tasia Wiggins serves as the Chair of the Legislation Committee for the California Crime Victims Assistance Association (CCVAA) and participates as a trainer for the Statewide CCVAA Crisis Response Training.

Tasia Wiggins responded with a Victim/Witness team of victim advocates and claims specialists to the victims and families of Oakland Warehouse fire in December 2016. The Victim/Witness team collaborated with law enforcement and other first responding agencies at the designated family assistance center to provide support, and financial assistance for the immediate needs of victims and families while also assessing and providing assistance and resources for longer term needs.

Rob Young

Survivor of the Cleveland School Shooting and Patrol Sergeant, Stockton Unified School District Police Department

Rob Young currently serves as a Patrol Sergeant with the Stockton Unified School District Police Department, which is a 24/7 police agency that protects approximately 50,000 students and staff on a daily basis.

Rob survived the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School Shooting that happened in Stockton, California. That day, a gunman walked onto his campus armed with an AK-47 and opened fire on students as they played at recess. 29 students, as well as 1 teacher were shot during the incident, and 5 students were killed. Rob, a first grader at the time, was shot twice.

After putting himself through the police academy at the age of 21, Rob was hired as a police officer with the Stockton Unified School District Police Department, serving the very District in which Cleveland School is located.

Rob left the department a few years later, and joined the ranks with the Union City Police Department, located in the Bay Area. During his time with the department, Rob served as a patrol officer, school resource officer, hostage and crisis negotiator, crime scene investigator, and active shooter response instructor.

In 2013, Rob was 1 of 6 officers who was forced to open fire on a crazed gunman who went on a rampage in a residential neighborhood, ultimately killing the suspect. After 9 years of service with UCPD, Rob returned to his roots, and was hired back at Stockton Unified Police Department as a patrol sergeant in 2016.

Rob utilizes his experience as a victim, and as a police officer to assist in training first responders and school officials during multi-agency response active shooter scenarios in his hometown.