CIBHS is organized into Executive and Operations, Advancing Recovery, Evidence-Based Practices, Evaluation, Health Equity, and Workforce. Diverse and accomplished, CIBHS staff have years of experience in providing and promoting excellence in behavioral health. CIBHS is funded through a variety of funding sources, including private funds, charitable foundations, county, state, and federal contracts, grants, fees, and product sales.
Percy Howard, LCSW is the President and CEO of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Over the past five years, Percy has been a key player and leader in California’s drive to implement recovery-oriented and family-directed Evidence-Based Practice. During the course of his 32 year work history, Percy has worked for County Behavioral Health and Child Welfare Systems, Private healthcare providers, Non-Profit CBOs and in Juvenile Justice Settings.
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Victor Kogler is Vice President of CIBHS. Mr. Kogler has worked in the substance use disorder field in California since 1971. He served as Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator of Santa Barbara County for twenty years and is a past president of the County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California. Mr. Kogler had been the Executive Director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Policy Institute (ADPI) for 8 years prior to the merger of that organization with the California Institute for Mental Health which created CIBHS. In addition to his senior management role, Mr.
Hope Alvidrez is a native to the central valley and has lived in Sacramento, CA since 1994. After working for the Lieutenant Governor and the California State Legislature, Hope became an employee of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS formerly CiMH). In 2011, she was promoted to CIBHS’s Human Resources Manager responsible for better staff and management relations, policy and procedure development and payroll. Hope has graduated from the Human Resources Certification Program at California State University, Sacramento.
Samantha has been an employee of CIBHS since February of 2016, and will soon be receiving three AAs in the following: Sign Language and Interpretation, Deaf Studies, and Foreign Language.
I am a proud wife and mother of 3 wonderful boys, twins age 17, and a 5-year-old. I have a BA in Liberal Studies and I have worked in Accounting for over 30 years with several years of post-award contract administration. I enjoy reading and spending time with my family.
Gloria comes to CiBHS with over 30 years of experience in Accounting, Finance, Project and Department Administration. Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. Master Equivalent in Finance – General Electric Financial Management Program
Interesting Fact – My parents are legal immigrants from Mexico, who raised me to honor and respect this great country of many opportunities. My first job as a young girl was picking fruits in San Jose California to Holding a Top Secret US Government Black Program Clearance.
Natasha Jones has been with CIBHS since October of 2013. Natasha was a clerk at the CA Department of Justice (DOJ) before gaining employment at CIBHS. She also worked at AFLAC as the Regional Administrator for 3 years before joining DOJ. Natasha has about 10 years of professional administrative experience. She loves Karaoke, cooking, being outdoors, and the ocean. One really fun fact about Natasha: She tries to make words out of license plates when driving.
Ericka Lett has been the Receptionist of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS) for the past 4 years. Ms. Lett has combined experience in the Federal Employment field with the Defense Investigative Service as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs where she served as an administrative professional for over 30 years. She has developed a great passion for making beaded jewelry, horticulture and taking long country road drives. She is the proud mother of 4 adult children and has six beautiful and spunky grandchildren.
Theresa Ferrini has worked as the CIBHS Conference Planner Department Manager for over 15 years. She is a member of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and was named Planner of the Year in 2014.
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Matthew is an associate for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). He is currently working with behavioral health centers implementing the Strengths Model. Matthew is also a volunteer trainer for Headquarters Counseling Center in Lawrence, KS, which answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Before joining CIBHS, Matthew worked as a Strengths Model consultant and trainer at the University of Kansas Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation.
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Shoshana Zatz, BS, has worked with CIBHS since 2011. She has over twenty years of experience working with nonprofits and vulnerable populations on issues related to affordable housing, homelessness and hunger and mental health. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community Nutrition with a psychological/behavioral focus from UC Davis in 1988.
Matthew is an associate for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). He is currently working with behavioral health centers implementing the Strengths Model. Matthew is also a volunteer trainer for Headquarters Counseling Center in Lawrence, KS, which answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Before joining CIBHS, Matthew worked as a Strengths Model consultant and trainer at the University of Kansas Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation.
I have lived in Sacramento all of my life and I travel to Mexico for vacations. I enjoy office work and have six years of experience in administrative positions. I enjoy playing soccer but need more practice time to improve!
Pam Hawkins is employed with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS), Child and Family Services Unit. She is currently a Senior Associate working to help develop the organizational capacity to assist county mental health departments and other local system programs to understand, develop, and implement values-driven Evidence-Based Practices (EBP).
Lori Ford is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist as well as having a PhD in Clinical Psychology and research. Lori is a California Statewide Consultant for Functional Family Therapy and currently supervises teams across California to sustain fidelity to this evidence-based practice.
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento in 1993 with a double major in History and Ethnic Studies, Kelly started an internship with the California State Archives working on the state museum project. She left the State Archives for a year to work on a grant project cataloging the Japanese American Archival Collection at California State University, Sacramento. In 1998, she was one of the first employees at the newly opened Golden State Museum (later known as The California Museum).
Will Rhett-Mariscal, PhD, MS, is the Director for the Health Equity team at CIBHS. Dr. Rhett-Mariscal has developed and implemented practice and system improvement projects impacting California’s public behavioral health system in the areas of health equity, health care integration, prevention and early intervention, and SUD.
Khani Gustafson is a Senior Associate with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). She is a member of the Evidence Based Practices Team and project lead for EBP training and implementation including Moral Reconation Therapy CBT MRT, Trauma Focused CBT and PIER Model Training for identification and intervention of early psychosis.
Gayaneh is an Armenian/Iranian/American clinician who is interested in trauma informed care, evidenced based practices, individual differences and health care equity. Gayaneh has certification in TFCBT and PCIT. Gayaneh lives with her husband Malcolm and dog, Napoleon in Sacramento California.
May Chan has been at CIBHS for 7 years and provides project support to the Health Equity team. She is trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR). She’s passionate about her culture and community and serves as an advocate and liaison. May is also a freelance writer for ethnic media.
Alice Washington is an associate at the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Ms. Washington was awarded a Bachelor’s of Art degree from Stanford University during March of 1988. Her major was Sociology: Social Sciences. In the past few years, Ms. Washington has received a Train-the-Trainer Certificate from California State University, Sacramento. In 2013, Alice completed an A.S. in Graphic Design. She also completed a Diploma in Web Design and Interactive Media in December 2015. Finally, Alice has skills in developing technology-based trainings.
Victor Kogler is Vice President of CIBHS. Mr. Kogler has worked in the substance use disorder field in California since 1971. He served as Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator of Santa Barbara County for twenty years and is a past president of the County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California. Mr. Kogler had been the Executive Director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Policy Institute (ADPI) for 8 years prior to the merger of that organization with the California Institute for Mental Health which created CIBHS. In addition to his senior management role, Mr.
Amy McIlvaine, supervised by Victor Kogler, has nearly 25 years of leadership and management experience. Her primary areas of expertise include innovation design, change management, process improvement, and business operations. She is passionate about mentoring and training behavioral health teams to become innovative change leaders who are resilient, lead effective change teams and implement changes that result in improvements.
Ms. Stanley-Salazar has a distinguished and long career in the SUD field. As a Registered Nurse and Group Home Administrator with a Master’s in Public Health, she began her career in the substance abuse field at Behavioral Health Services in Torrance, California, as the Vice-President of Alcohol Services and Administrator of Redgate Memorial Hospital. She left BHS in 1987 to join the Monterey County Public Health Department as the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator.
Yvonne Frazier works under the supervision of Victor Kogler, CIBHS Vice President, as the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) Training Manager. She is responsible for the coordination of the training and technical assistance project in support of county-implementation of the 1115 waiver. She began working as an independent contractor with CIBHS in March 2016 and became an employee in October 2016. She works with the CIBHS DMC-ODS staff and county SUD and Behavioral Health Staff to coordinate training activities.
Kim Waterman joined CIBHS in May 2016 as Project Coordinator of the statewide Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) training project. She reports to Victor Kogler and Yvonne Frazier. At the DMC-ODS project’s inception, she was responsible for creating the infrastructure to organize the project, including establishing the event management database and communications plan to manage 94 trainings in the final two quarters of 2016. She works extensively with training contractors and county contacts across the state to coordinate and support DMC-ODS trainings.
Paige D’Angelo joined CIBHS and the DMC-ODS Waiver project in January 2017. As a Project Coordinator, Paige works closely with Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, Project Manager on the Blue Shield of California Foundation grant, and Amy McIlvaine, Project Manager on Los Angeles County’s Substance Use Disorder Organized Delivery System project.
Kimberly Mayer, MSSW, is Director of Workforce Development for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). During the past several years at CIBHS, Kimberly has led several workforce development projects promoting collaboration between public mental health, education, and providers, including peers. For the past 20 years, Kimberly has worked in a variety of human services leadership positions, including county government, a private consulting firm, and nonprofit management settings.
Kristin Dempsey is a new Senior Associate at CIBHS and is the new project manager for the Greater Bay Area Mental Health and Education Workforce Collaborative. Kristin is a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and most recently worked as Director of Workforce Development at San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS). She started at BHRS in 2001 as a clinician specializing in the treatment of dual diagnosis (mental health and substance issues) and later oversaw quality improvement efforts to integrate mental health and substance abuse services.
Pam Hawkins is employed with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS), Child and Family Services Unit. She is currently a Senior Associate working to help develop the organizational capacity to assist county mental health departments and other local system programs to understand, develop, and implement values-driven Evidence-Based Practices (EBP).
Lori Ford is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist as well as having a PhD in Clinical Psychology and research. Lori is a California Statewide Consultant for Functional Family Therapy and currently supervises teams across California to sustain fidelity to this evidence-based practice.
Shoshana Zatz, BS, has worked with CIBHS since 2011. She has over twenty years of experience working with nonprofits and vulnerable populations on issues related to affordable housing, homelessness and hunger and mental health. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community Nutrition with a psychological/behavioral focus from UC Davis in 1988.
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento in 1993 with a double major in History and Ethnic Studies, Kelly started an internship with the California State Archives working on the state museum project. She left the State Archives for a year to work on a grant project cataloging the Japanese American Archival Collection at California State University, Sacramento. In 1998, she was one of the first employees at the newly opened Golden State Museum (later known as The California Museum).
Gerilyn Walcott joined CIBHS in 2016 as the Assistant to the Conference Planning Department. She was offered the position as a Project Coordinator with the Workforce Development Team in February 2018. Her career focus has always been on improving Customer Relations and looks forward to implementing this practice in her new position.
Executive Management
Executive Management
Percy Howard, III, LCSW
President and CEO
Percy Howard, LCSW is the President and CEO of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Over the past five years, Percy has been a key player and leader in California’s drive to implement recovery-oriented and family-directed Evidence-Based Practice. During the course of his 32 year work history, Percy has worked for County Behavioral Health and Child Welfare Systems, Private healthcare providers, Non-Profit CBOs and in Juvenile Justice Settings.
Rick Goscha, PhD
Sr. Vice President
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Victor Kogler
Vice President, Substance Use Disorders
Victor Kogler is Vice President of CIBHS. Mr. Kogler has worked in the substance use disorder field in California since 1971. He served as Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator of Santa Barbara County for twenty years and is a past president of the County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California. Mr. Kogler had been the Executive Director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Policy Institute (ADPI) for 8 years prior to the merger of that organization with the California Institute for Mental Health which created CIBHS. In addition to his senior management role, Mr.
Hope Alvidrez
Human Resources Manager
Hope Alvidrez is a native to the central valley and has lived in Sacramento, CA since 1994. After working for the Lieutenant Governor and the California State Legislature, Hope became an employee of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS formerly CiMH). In 2011, she was promoted to CIBHS’s Human Resources Manager responsible for better staff and management relations, policy and procedure development and payroll. Hope has graduated from the Human Resources Certification Program at California State University, Sacramento.
Operations
Operations
Samantha Karis
Accounting Assistant
Samantha has been an employee of CIBHS since February of 2016, and will soon be receiving three AAs in the following: Sign Language and Interpretation, Deaf Studies, and Foreign Language.
Antoniette (Tina) Leon
Accounting Payable
I am a proud wife and mother of 3 wonderful boys, twins age 17, and a 5-year-old. I have a BA in Liberal Studies and I have worked in Accounting for over 30 years with several years of post-award contract administration. I enjoy reading and spending time with my family.
Gloria Hurd
Contract Analyst
Gloria comes to CiBHS with over 30 years of experience in Accounting, Finance, Project and Department Administration. Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. Master Equivalent in Finance – General Electric Financial Management Program
Interesting Fact – My parents are legal immigrants from Mexico, who raised me to honor and respect this great country of many opportunities. My first job as a young girl was picking fruits in San Jose California to Holding a Top Secret US Government Black Program Clearance.
Natasha Jones
Office Coordinator
Natasha Jones has been with CIBHS since October of 2013. Natasha was a clerk at the CA Department of Justice (DOJ) before gaining employment at CIBHS. She also worked at AFLAC as the Regional Administrator for 3 years before joining DOJ. Natasha has about 10 years of professional administrative experience. She loves Karaoke, cooking, being outdoors, and the ocean. One really fun fact about Natasha: She tries to make words out of license plates when driving.
Ericka Lett
Receptionist
Ericka Lett has been the Receptionist of the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS) for the past 4 years. Ms. Lett has combined experience in the Federal Employment field with the Defense Investigative Service as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs where she served as an administrative professional for over 30 years. She has developed a great passion for making beaded jewelry, horticulture and taking long country road drives. She is the proud mother of 4 adult children and has six beautiful and spunky grandchildren.
Conference Planning
Conference Planning Team
Theresa Ferrini, CGMP
Conference Planner Department Manager
Theresa Ferrini has worked as the CIBHS Conference Planner Department Manager for over 15 years. She is a member of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and was named Planner of the Year in 2014.
Advancing Recovery
Advancing Recovery
Rick Goscha, PhD
Sr. Vice President
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Matthew Blankers, MSW
Associate
Matthew is an associate for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). He is currently working with behavioral health centers implementing the Strengths Model. Matthew is also a volunteer trainer for Headquarters Counseling Center in Lawrence, KS, which answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Before joining CIBHS, Matthew worked as a Strengths Model consultant and trainer at the University of Kansas Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation.
Evaluation
Evaluation
Rick Goscha, PhD
Sr. Vice President
Dr. Rick Goscha is Sr. Vice President for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Dr. Goscha has 30 years of experience in behavioral health including the provision of clinical services, supervision and program management, agency executive leadership, research and evaluation, and policy development. Dr.
Shoshana Zatz
Associate
Shoshana Zatz, BS, has worked with CIBHS since 2011. She has over twenty years of experience working with nonprofits and vulnerable populations on issues related to affordable housing, homelessness and hunger and mental health. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community Nutrition with a psychological/behavioral focus from UC Davis in 1988.
Matthew Blankers, MSW
Associate
Matthew is an associate for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). He is currently working with behavioral health centers implementing the Strengths Model. Matthew is also a volunteer trainer for Headquarters Counseling Center in Lawrence, KS, which answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Before joining CIBHS, Matthew worked as a Strengths Model consultant and trainer at the University of Kansas Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation.
Robin Texeira
Project Coordinator
Robin has been at CIBHS two years. She is the Program Coordinator for the Evidence Based Practice and Evaluation teams.
Alejandra Ramos
Administrative Assistant
I have lived in Sacramento all of my life and I travel to Mexico for vacations. I enjoy office work and have six years of experience in administrative positions. I enjoy playing soccer but need more practice time to improve!
Evidence Based Practices
Evidence Based Practices
Pam Hawkins
Senior Associate
Pam Hawkins is employed with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS), Child and Family Services Unit. She is currently a Senior Associate working to help develop the organizational capacity to assist county mental health departments and other local system programs to understand, develop, and implement values-driven Evidence-Based Practices (EBP).
Lori Ford, MFT, PhD
Associate
Lori Ford is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist as well as having a PhD in Clinical Psychology and research. Lori is a California Statewide Consultant for Functional Family Therapy and currently supervises teams across California to sustain fidelity to this evidence-based practice.
Kelly Bitz
Project Coordinator
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento in 1993 with a double major in History and Ethnic Studies, Kelly started an internship with the California State Archives working on the state museum project. She left the State Archives for a year to work on a grant project cataloging the Japanese American Archival Collection at California State University, Sacramento. In 1998, she was one of the first employees at the newly opened Golden State Museum (later known as The California Museum).
Health Equity
Health Equity
Will Rhett-Mariscal, PhD
Director
Will Rhett-Mariscal, PhD, MS, is the Director for the Health Equity team at CIBHS. Dr. Rhett-Mariscal has developed and implemented practice and system improvement projects impacting California’s public behavioral health system in the areas of health equity, health care integration, prevention and early intervention, and SUD.
Khani Gustafson, MSW
Senior Associate
Khani Gustafson is a Senior Associate with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). She is a member of the Evidence Based Practices Team and project lead for EBP training and implementation including Moral Reconation Therapy CBT MRT, Trauma Focused CBT and PIER Model Training for identification and intervention of early psychosis.
Gayaneh Karapetian, LMFT
Associate
Gayaneh is an Armenian/Iranian/American clinician who is interested in trauma informed care, evidenced based practices, individual differences and health care equity. Gayaneh has certification in TFCBT and PCIT. Gayaneh lives with her husband Malcolm and dog, Napoleon in Sacramento California.
May Chan
Project Coordinator
May Chan has been at CIBHS for 7 years and provides project support to the Health Equity team. She is trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR). She’s passionate about her culture and community and serves as an advocate and liaison. May is also a freelance writer for ethnic media.
Special Projects
Special Projects
Alice Washington
Associate
Alice Washington is an associate at the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Ms. Washington was awarded a Bachelor’s of Art degree from Stanford University during March of 1988. Her major was Sociology: Social Sciences. In the past few years, Ms. Washington has received a Train-the-Trainer Certificate from California State University, Sacramento. In 2013, Alice completed an A.S. in Graphic Design. She also completed a Diploma in Web Design and Interactive Media in December 2015. Finally, Alice has skills in developing technology-based trainings.
Substance Use Disorders
Substance Use Disorders
Victor Kogler
Vice President, Substance Use Disorders
Victor Kogler is Vice President of CIBHS. Mr. Kogler has worked in the substance use disorder field in California since 1971. He served as Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator of Santa Barbara County for twenty years and is a past president of the County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California. Mr. Kogler had been the Executive Director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Policy Institute (ADPI) for 8 years prior to the merger of that organization with the California Institute for Mental Health which created CIBHS. In addition to his senior management role, Mr.
Amy McIlvaine
Associate Director
Amy McIlvaine, supervised by Victor Kogler, has nearly 25 years of leadership and management experience. Her primary areas of expertise include innovation design, change management, process improvement, and business operations. She is passionate about mentoring and training behavioral health teams to become innovative change leaders who are resilient, lead effective change teams and implement changes that result in improvements.
Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, MPH
Project Manager
Ms. Stanley-Salazar has a distinguished and long career in the SUD field. As a Registered Nurse and Group Home Administrator with a Master’s in Public Health, she began her career in the substance abuse field at Behavioral Health Services in Torrance, California, as the Vice-President of Alcohol Services and Administrator of Redgate Memorial Hospital. She left BHS in 1987 to join the Monterey County Public Health Department as the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrator.
Yvonne Frazier
Project Manager
Yvonne Frazier works under the supervision of Victor Kogler, CIBHS Vice President, as the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) Training Manager. She is responsible for the coordination of the training and technical assistance project in support of county-implementation of the 1115 waiver. She began working as an independent contractor with CIBHS in March 2016 and became an employee in October 2016. She works with the CIBHS DMC-ODS staff and county SUD and Behavioral Health Staff to coordinate training activities.
Kim Waterman
Project Coordinator
Kim Waterman joined CIBHS in May 2016 as Project Coordinator of the statewide Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) training project. She reports to Victor Kogler and Yvonne Frazier. At the DMC-ODS project’s inception, she was responsible for creating the infrastructure to organize the project, including establishing the event management database and communications plan to manage 94 trainings in the final two quarters of 2016. She works extensively with training contractors and county contacts across the state to coordinate and support DMC-ODS trainings.
Paige D’Angelo
Project Coordinator
Paige D’Angelo joined CIBHS and the DMC-ODS Waiver project in January 2017. As a Project Coordinator, Paige works closely with Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, Project Manager on the Blue Shield of California Foundation grant, and Amy McIlvaine, Project Manager on Los Angeles County’s Substance Use Disorder Organized Delivery System project.
Workforce Development
Workforce Development
Kimberly Mayer, MSSW
Director
Kimberly Mayer, MSSW, is Director of Workforce Development for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). During the past several years at CIBHS, Kimberly has led several workforce development projects promoting collaboration between public mental health, education, and providers, including peers. For the past 20 years, Kimberly has worked in a variety of human services leadership positions, including county government, a private consulting firm, and nonprofit management settings.
Kristin Dempsey, LMFT, LPCC
Senior Associate
Kristin Dempsey is a new Senior Associate at CIBHS and is the new project manager for the Greater Bay Area Mental Health and Education Workforce Collaborative. Kristin is a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and most recently worked as Director of Workforce Development at San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS). She started at BHRS in 2001 as a clinician specializing in the treatment of dual diagnosis (mental health and substance issues) and later oversaw quality improvement efforts to integrate mental health and substance abuse services.
Pam Hawkins
Senior Associate
Pam Hawkins is employed with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS), Child and Family Services Unit. She is currently a Senior Associate working to help develop the organizational capacity to assist county mental health departments and other local system programs to understand, develop, and implement values-driven Evidence-Based Practices (EBP).
Lori Ford, MFT, PhD
Associate
Lori Ford is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist as well as having a PhD in Clinical Psychology and research. Lori is a California Statewide Consultant for Functional Family Therapy and currently supervises teams across California to sustain fidelity to this evidence-based practice.
Shoshana Zatz
Associate
Shoshana Zatz, BS, has worked with CIBHS since 2011. She has over twenty years of experience working with nonprofits and vulnerable populations on issues related to affordable housing, homelessness and hunger and mental health. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community Nutrition with a psychological/behavioral focus from UC Davis in 1988.
Kelly Bitz
Project Coordinator
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento in 1993 with a double major in History and Ethnic Studies, Kelly started an internship with the California State Archives working on the state museum project. She left the State Archives for a year to work on a grant project cataloging the Japanese American Archival Collection at California State University, Sacramento. In 1998, she was one of the first employees at the newly opened Golden State Museum (later known as The California Museum).
Gerilyn Walcott
Project Coordinator
Gerilyn Walcott joined CIBHS in 2016 as the Assistant to the Conference Planning Department. She was offered the position as a Project Coordinator with the Workforce Development Team in February 2018. Her career focus has always been on improving Customer Relations and looks forward to implementing this practice in her new position.