Kimberle Smith Austin, MBA, QTM, QS, is a business strategist, international speaker, bestselling author and seasoned business professor with more than 25 years of expertise in leadership development, organizational development and sales. Over the course of her career, she has earned a reputation as a go-to professional for solving complex challenges and facilitating transformative changes from the boardroom to the classroom. Recognized as a thought leader, she employs a dynamic engagement style and a strategic consultative approach to empower organizations and take them to their next level.
Tamara Bahlhorn, M.S., is a trainer, educator, public speaker, and a healthcare and behavioral health chaplain. Throughout her nearly 17 years of working in the healthcare and mental health fields, Bahlhorn has provided instruction, education and guidance in an effort to help individuals (ages 5-90+), families, groups, agencies and corporations learn how to build healthier habits and practices into their lives, their work environments and with themselves. She specializes in healthy communication, healthy boundaries, trauma-informed recovery, diversity, equity and inclusion, building optimal healing environments, mental health, grief and navigating life change. She is passionate about helping those she serves learn, grow, heal and adapt to life’s changes.
Kelly Bazzani, M.A., is a certified master life coach specializing in and dedicated to destigmatizing mental health by promoting emotional wellness. Bazzani shares her wisdom worldwide, inspiring change and fostering healing through her unique insight into the human psyche. Her work is dedicated to mentoring and transforming lives through mental health advocacy and resilience, empowering others to find their inner strength and to achieve lasting inner freedom. The Coach Foundation has ranked Bazzani among the top 10 resilience coaches. She was also awarded Best Life Coaching by Style Magazine for four consecutive years. Recently, Bazzani was awarded Top Instructor and Mental Health Advocate of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals.
Nic Bryant is a former director of the Community Services Bureau at the Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Department. He has more than 13years of experience in the public sector, with over nine of those years in a leadership position. He has worked in over five counties where he gained insight and a wide range of experience leading in different county environments. Driven by his passion in leadership, service and development, Bryant takes pride in providing the best personalized experience for professional growth for the new, post COVID-19, professional environment.
Cindy Caruso is a certified life coach specializing in helping others learn to set healthy relationship boundaries and nurture self-confidence. She has served for more than 30 years with the State of California in the departments of Mental Health, Health Services and Alcoholic Beverage Control, and then at Sonoma State University. She later served with the County of Marin, Public Assistance Branch as an eligibility worker, and then as an eligibility trainer and employment development counselor for the County Workforce division and Welfare-to-Work program.
Cris Delosreyes is a passionate advocate for vulnerable populations served by human services. Specializing in the CalWORKs program–with an emphasis on the Temporary Homeless Assistance Program and same day domestic violence/mental health referrals, his work is fueled by his personal mission to ensure every person served is not only heard, but also seen and empowered. He utilizes his roots from within a primarily Latino farmworker community to serve as a liaison with the Spanish speaking undocumented community. Delosreyes has personally experienced the effects of suicide loss, immediate family loss, domestic violence and substance abuse. A fierce advocate for bringing to light the mental health struggles that come with overcoming such adversities on a day-by-day basis, he believes professional empathy amongst shared life experience is a crucial step in ensuring the client’s end goal of empowerment and self-sufficiency.
Sharon Diaz, M.S.W., is the director of the Central California Adult Services Training Academy. Previously, Diaz served as deputy director for Madera County and has more than 16 years of experience working as a social worker with the county. She has an extensive background working with disadvantaged adult populations, including those served through child welfare services, public guardian and adult protective services who have experienced trauma, abuse, addiction, and issues related to mental health and/or developmental and medical issues. Additionally, Diaz has worked with families to overcome employment barriers such as those served in Welfare-to-Work and CalWORKs, as well as various other social services programs.
Jeremy Duvall, M.A., is a workforce development specialist with more than 10 years of experience in academic development and social services program coordination. Duvall is passionate about empowering staff and clients within human services departments to live their best lives. He specializes in Growth Mindset over Fixed Mindset, secondary trauma management, Cal-OAR and staff training methodologies, and he cares deeply about helping those most in need and providing staff with all the tools they need to affect positive change in the lives of those most in need.
Derrin Ford, M.Ed., is a visionary coach and workforce development consultant who serves those in need of clarity and structure for their future professional goals. Inspired and mentored by leaders across several industries, he coaches clients to improve their self-awareness through a technique he calls mastering internal dialogue. With more than 9 years of professional experience (including roles as a career counselor and a workforce development coach & trainer in CWDS), he brings critical thinking and self-awareness strategies into group environments to improve everyone's internal validation and autonomy.
Yvonne Freeman has more than 23 years of experience in human services, including 15 years of experience in eligibility and employment services and 10 years as a curriculum developer, trainer and facilitator. Having served as a caseworker, supervisor, trainer, and analyst, her background includes completing quality assurance case reviews, administering the Disaster CalFresh Program, fair hearings administration, facilitating employment services workgroups and CalSAWS administration at the county level. Passionate about staff development and dedicated to training and supporting career growth, she currently participates in several statewide committees and workgroups and serves as a CWDA County Advisory Team co-chair.
Nora Gerber is an instructor for CalWORKs, WIA, adult education, independent living and foster parent programs. She is the creator of "Welcome to TANF Town." The recipient of an Outstanding Service Award for Teaching from UC Davis Extension, Nora also received the first Distinguished Service in Training Award from the National Staff Development and Training Association, an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association."
Karalee Joseph teaches courses in diverse, culturally based case management practices. Her research addresses equitable and inclusive teaching in leadership, management, supervision and wellness. She has worked and collaborated with Tribal governments, programs and businesses to improve programming and services within Tribal TANF. Joseph has traveled and presented widely throughout the U.S. and internationally, both as an industry professional and cultural ambassador representing her alma mater and Native people. She has been described as “a quietly strong and confident indigenous woman who truly understands the worth of every soul and the power of a single action to change the lives of others.”
Misty Kerrigan, M.S., is a renowned industrial/organizational psychologist, author and international consultant. Specializing in leadership coaching, she is dedicated to empowering leaders to make impactful changes. She creates programs that support the most vulnerable populations in the mental health field, including foster and at-risk youth and economically disadvantaged families. With more than a decade of experience as an instructor and consultant for UC Davis and the State of California, she helps individuals and organizations unlock their full potential by focusing on the psychological aspects that impact performance, productivity and overall well-being.
Antonio Lopez has over 20 years of experience as a presenter and/or trainer on a variety of topics, including employment workshops, loss and change, suicide prevention, mental health, ACEs, stress and burnout and resiliency. He also has specialized knowledge and experience in county, state and federal policies and procedures, working for 10 years in human services (cash aid and employment and training), 10years in mental health and suicide prevention and two years in public health. Lopez has been a certified trainer for multiple evidence-based curricula ranging from parenting, skill building, mindfulness and mental health first aid.
John Sanfilippo, M.S.W., joined the California Department of Social Services’ Children & Family Services Division (CFSD) in 1999. As a bureau chief, his knowledge and experience in federal, state, and local child welfare financing included policy development and implementation to support child welfare programs that improve the well-being of children, families, and Tribes. Among his many roles in CFSD: he led projects on braided funding; developed new policies and methods that maximize federal funding sources under Title IV-E, IV-B, and TANF; led federal foster care compliance audits; and designed and implemented new rate methodologies to serve children and youth in the Foster Care, Guardianship, and Adoption programs. He is an accomplished trainer for foster care and KinGAP eligibility. He also possesses fiscal knowledge and experience with state/federal financial reporting requirements, allocations, claiming, and funding programs at the local level. Prior to joining the CDSS team, Sanfilippo served overseas in the U.S. Air Force.
Tamara Trejos, LMFT,is the program coordinator for the Wraparound programs at Oak Grove Center and is responsible for overseeing the Wraparound teams and contracts to deliver services to the patients of Kaiser Permanente in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the special education students of the school districts of Riverside County, and adopted youth placed in Riverside County from surrounding areas. She believes her highest qualifications comes from her lived experience as a mother of two children with special needs.
Tamera C. Trotter, M.S., has worked with children and families for nearly three decades, which included 19 years as a social services supervisor, where she supported high-performing teams and was well respected by her colleagues and community partners. In 2019, Trotter became a staff development officer, where she supervised the induction of new social workers. A certified Gallup coach and an expert in strengths-based leadership through Clifton Strengths, her top Clifton Strength, Maximizer, fuels her focus on excellence. She utilizes her high emotional intelligence and unique ability to connect with others to build strong relationships and understand other perspectives more deeply.
Dom Waltower is a motivational speaker and a violence prevention advocate. His more than 25 years of experience in the field of Human Services includes roles in the domains of child welfare, probation, substance use treatment and education. A public speaker for nearly a decade, he has presented on a variety of topics including sexual assault and harassment, domestic abuse, offender engagement, father engagement, child abuse, anger and stress management, and motivation to change.
Dan Witherell has more than 20 years of experience working in human services. Formerly an eligibility worker, supervisor and trainer for the Siskiyou County Department of Human Services, he has trained staff on CalWORKs, CalFresh food stamps, Medi-Cal, CMSP and general assistance, as well as automated eligibility systems, including ISAWS. An instructor for UC Davis' Human Services Programs since 1992, Witherell is the recipient of an Outstanding Service Award for Teaching.