Sara LaCroix is the Director for Strategies TA and the Los Angeles County Child Abuse Prevention Councils (LAC-CAPCs) with the Children’s Bureau of Southern California. She has had the honor of providing technical assistance and support to the LA County CAPCs and other community-based organizations for the last seven years. Prior to working with Strategies TA, Sara was an independent consultant and provided support to the Population Change Learning Community and was also the editor of the published work for the Population Change Institute. Sara has a master’s degree in Social Work & Public Administration from the University of Southern California and enjoys working with networks and others to continue to advance the field for the benefit of children, families and communities. She is passionate about social justice, community empowerment and changing outcomes for marginalized children and families.
Troy Nichols is the Strategies TA Senior Training and Consulting Specialist at The Child Abuse Prevention Center. Troy is a graduate of James Madison University where he received a B.S. in Psychology. He has worked in the child welfare field for over 20 years doing technical assistance, coaching, and training in the areas of organizational sustainability, integrated services, leadership, collaboration, community impact, youth engagement, policy implementation, and adherence, and client focused practices. In Troy’s previous position, he provided foundational education and development to at-risk children, youth, and families, specifically in minority communities and urban settings. Troy is known around the office as “the guy who owes me a snickers”.
Lucy Hernandez is a certified community action professional (CCAP) and a National R.O.M.A. Certified Trainer (NCRT) and has administered multi-million budgets for public and non-profit community action agencies in CA for over 22 years. As a professional in the human services field, she has administered agencies in rural and urban communities, and developed teams of over 250 employees to build strong, effective, and innovative community programs for low-income and vulnerable residents. In 2016, she established Lucy Hernandez Consulting, a consulting & training firm to support Community Action Agencies, local government, social service organizations, non-profits, businesses, academic and healthcare institutions through customized organizational development services, professional staff trainings & technical assistance. She was the recipient of the State “Latina Entrepreneur Award” awarded in 2017 by the State of California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and recipient of a Congressional Award for her community engagement work.
Lydia Marquez is a Strategies TA Training and Consulting Specialist, out of the Children’s Bureau office in Southern California. Lydia has over 20 years of experience in case management, early childhood education, and parent coaching. She has worked as a case manager for children and families at Regional Centers in northern and southern CA. Her training background includes Dr. Brazelton’s Touchpoints Approach and reflective practice. She has skills in curriculum development and in designing child development playbooks. Lydia’s Bachelor’s degree is from the University of Washington, in Seattle. She will receive her Master’s degree in Human Development in May from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena.
Barbara DeGraaf After 30 plus years in a variety of positions in the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Barbara DeGraaf retired from state service and moved to the beautiful mountains of South Lake Tahoe. Barbara brings an extensive knowledge of child protective services, with experience as a manager within a state child welfare program and as a ten-plus-year volunteer advocate for children and families in her role as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in El Dorado County. Barbara has successfully facilitated statewide and regional collaboratives, and possesses a deep understanding of current program models utilized to strengthen families and enhance service coordination.
Serena Chau is the Strategies TA Support Specialist with the Children’s Bureau of Southern California. Prior to joining Strategies TA, she has worked in clinical mental health, education literacy, and homeless shelter agencies supporting children, transitional-aged youth, and families throughout Los Angeles County. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on Social Change and Innovation from the University of Southern California and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). She enjoys traveling, hiking, taking walks with her dog, and trying new food.
Jordan Hosein-Hedmann is the Communications Coordinator for The CAP-Center. He is a Trinidadian-Jamaican that has lived in multiple cities across the United States and found his heart in Sacramento. Prior to joining The CAP- Center, he worked in the profit sector creating events for the LGBTQ+ community throughout Sacramento. He enjoys traveling, hiking and reading self improvement books and is excited to grow Strategies TA’s online presence to help showcase the impact we have across the region.
Brittany Zufelt is one of our new hires to the Strategies team, she is the Strategies TA Program Support. Born and raised in California, Brittany has joined the team to support statewide efforts to strengthen families and communities. Brittany came to us with program administration and excellent communication skills to engage communities and partnerships. Starting out by providing administration and support to California Family Resource Association, she was then promoted to a program support position with the Strategies team.
Brynne Paschal is the Strategies TA Data Specialist at the Child Abuse Prevention Center. Before joining Strategies 2.0, she served nonprofits in both the Sacramento and Orange County regions. Brynne received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Policy from the University of California, Irvine and is committed to community health and early intervention efforts. In her free time, she enjoys crosswords, embroidery, and cooking for her loved ones.
Anvi Dinh is the Strategies TA Events Coordinator and Program Assistant at Children’s Bureau located in Anaheim. In her role, she provides support for training activities, data management, and communications. Additionally, she provides administrative support to the Director and Training and Consulting Specialists. She graduated from high school in Viet Nam and attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. Anvi is also a wedding planner at her church in which she also participates in choir and worship ministry. She loves dogs.
Michael Williams is Policy Director at The Child Abuse Prevention Center. Michael has more than two decades of experience in organizational leadership and service to families, most recently as Deputy Director for Programs at the Children’s Council of San Francisco. He also has worked at Casey Family Programs, Contra Costa Child Care Council, and United Cerebral Palsy of the Golden Gate, and taught a course in human services at College of Alameda. Michael has a Master of Social Work degree from San Francisco State University, with a focus on organizational and community development. Having lived and/or worked in Los Angeles, Tuolumne County, Santa Clara, Napa, San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland, and Alameda, Michael feels a personal investment in communities throughout California. He now lives in Sacramento with his wife, son, and too many pets. He is also a proud parent of an adult son and daughter. In his free time, Michael enjoys running, gardening, reading, and watching his son play basketball.
Stephanie Biegler is Chief Program Officer for Strategies TA at The Child Abuse Prevention Center. For nearly 20 years, Stephanie has developed, managed, and evaluated The CAP Center’s evidence-based home visitation, family resource center, youth development, and child abuse prevention programs. She presents at state and national conferences on Child Death Review Team structure, findings, and recommendations that have decreased preventable child deaths and findings from the Birth & Beyond Home Visitation AmeriCorps impact evaluation. Stephanie has written too many successful grants to count, including local, state, federal, and private grants. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her 3 grown sons, and her dog.
Dr. Ronald Brown joined Children’s Bureau in 2000 where he managed the operations of Children’s Bureau’s foster care, adoption, mental health and child abuse prevention programs until 2018 when he became president and CEO. He is responsible for all aspects of the $53 million nonprofit that operates 13 sites throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He plays a vital role in growing Children’s Bureau’s place-based and community initiatives and advocates publicly with local and state leaders seeking child wellbeing policy reform. Prior to coming to Children’s Bureau, Dr. Brown’s background was in healthcare development and management. He holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University.