President/CEO
Associates
Clarissa Cervantes obtained her Doctoral of Physical Therapy in 2000. Mrs. Cervantes has extensive experience in health care and mental health research as well as data entry, data management and statical analyses. Clarissa works closely with the data manager and lead evaluator as a resource person for technical assistance, research, and reporting; she also assists with the implementation of formal evaluations and data analysis. Mrs. Cervantes is responsible for identifying suitable software for conducting statistical analysis; assists with financial reports, accounting, and CFO duties as necessary as well as monitoring project performances. Clarissa recently served on projects such as the Targeted Capacity Expansion (TCE) - HIV, Project Corazon, Bienvenidos Children’s & Family Center Research Evaluation, Spiritt Family Services Technical Assistance, Project Cabezon, Project Safe, Project Heal, Youth Adelante, Stop Short of Addiction, The Southwestern Regional Behavioral Health Conference Evaluation, Pima Community College AP3 SAMHSA Project, USC Spanish Language Survey for Cervical Cancer Prevention Study, CSAT Project, Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI-A & HSI-2), Mental Health Comes To Hollywood, Pasadena Public Health Department Study and National Hispanic Latino ATTC & PTTC. Clarissa works as marketing specialist for Familia Adelante, a program developed specifically to address cultural barriers and stress related to family and youth development. Mrs. Cervantes is fluent Portuguese-English-Spanish languages. Clarissa Cervantes, DPT Ms. Camacaro is a member of BAI’s research, data management team and manages projects for BAI. She provides assistance to lead evaluator through providing logistics for meetings and research for reports. Ms. Camacaro maintains Familia Adelante program training schedules, manages invoicing for specific projects, assists in project management, and trains incoming employees and clients in data entry, data collection, and data analysis. She is bi-lingual in English and Spanish and has a keen interest in the physical and emotional growth of child development. Donna Camacaro, AA Dr. Cervantes received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Cervantes is Research Director at Behavioral Assessment, Inc. and is Senior Research fellow at the California State University, Long Beach Center for Behavioral Research and Services Department of Psychology. He served as Research Psychologist at the UCLA Spanish Speaking Mental Health Research Center (1984-89) and held a full-time faculty appointment in the USC School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences (1990-1995). He has served as Principal Investigator on numerous NIH and Foundation funded studies and has published extensively over a 20-year career span. Dr. Cervantes has served or currently serves on a number of national level advisory groups and committees, including CSAP’s Technical Expert Group for the National Cross-Site Evaluation of Substance Abuse Prevention Grants for Minority AIDS Initiative, SAMHSA’s State Incentive Grant Evaluation Guidance Committee, and numerous other expert panels. Dr. Cervantes served as a science consultant for the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP). He has published well over two dozen scientific journal articles as well over a dozen book chapters relevant to Hispanic/Latino youth, family, mental health, and health issues. He is the developer of the Hispanic Stress Inventory and Familia Adelante, a family focused behavioral health promotion program. Dr. Cervantes has over 20 years of experience in the conduct of community-based research and evaluation and is familiar with necessary multi-dimensional evaluation methodologies needed in community and applied settings. Finally, Dr. Cervantes has served as an expert witness to the courts on issues related to Hispanic families, drug and alcohol abuse, cultural risk factors including immigration/acculturation stress, and juvenile gangs. He has served as an expert on over twenty death penalty cases, both in the trial/penalty phase, as well as in the appeals process. Richard C. Cervantes, Ph.D. Cindy serves as a Sr. Research Associate II, proposal development specialist and Co evaluator for BAI. She assists with grant writing, proposal development, and grant submissions, research and reporting, training and technical assistance, and survey development. As part of the BAI evaluation team, Cindy assists with the development of project evaluation plans, data collection activities, development of data tools, training materials and all forms of reporting. She has assisted with large multi-site evaluations, including substance abuse and prevention, working with youth, and workforce development projects funded by NIH, HRSA and SAMHSA, among others. She recently served as part of the evaluation team for the SAMHSA funded National Hispanic & Latino Prevention and Addiction Technology Transfer Centers that served to improve the delivery of substance abuse prevention and addiction interventions for Hispanics and Latinos, and to provide training and technical assistance to the Hispanic/Latino serving workforce. She most recently served two California Tobacco Control Program evaluations, that worked to promote smoke free policy among Immigrant African American faith-based organizations, and promoting smoke free multi-unit housing, and flavored tobacco ban among retailers in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange counties. Cindy has an associate degree in technical writing from Oklahoma State University, a bachelor’s degree in liberal sciences from University of Oklahoma (2003), and a master’s degree in teaching, Leadership and Learning /Adult Education and Vocation from Oklahoma State University (2005). Cindy Keig, MS
Professional Consultants
Dr. Grzywacz is Associate Dean for Research and Faculty at San Jose State University. Previously he served as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and Department Chair at Florida State University, Director of the Center for Family Resilience at Oklahoma State University, and Associate Director for Research with the Center for Worker Health at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Grzywacz is well-equipped to mentor faculty and students in research. His research has been continuously funded by federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health since 2002, and he has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles in diverse clinical, epidemiological, and basic science journals. He has supported dozens of students and professional staff in publishing their first article in a scientific journal, supported nearly 20 researchers in earning their first federally funded grant, and two programs to facilitate interdisciplinary research training and development for new and experienced researchers. Dr. Grzywacz earned his M.S. in Human and Community Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, his Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin, and Postdoctoral training in the Social Ecology of Health at the University of California, Irvine. Joseph Grzywacz, Ph.D. Alan Kumamoto is a founding partner of Kumamoto Associates, a marketing, management, and communications general partnership located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Alan conducts leadership workshops and capacity building seminars for national and international clients. His career spans work in business, government, and nonprofit organizations has been in charge of a human relations training for the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and served as a senior trainer of program planning and proposal writing for The Grantsmanship Center. Alan served as President and Executive Director for the Center for Nonprofit Management, responsible for training and consultation to a variety of nonprofit corporations and he is a certified trainer for the United States Department of Justice Weed and Seed Program. He serves as a training and technical assistant consultant to the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department to build capacity among nonprofit and faith-based agencies. Alan is the KA lead consultant to Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics providing training and technical assistance. Alan most recently developed curriculum for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Executive Leadership Development Program. Allen Kumamoto A founding partner of Kumamoto Associates, a marketing, management, and communications general partnership located in Greater Los Angeles area, provides technical assistance to non-profit organizations on program development and evaluation, project management, and organizational development and training. She specializes in market research, needs assessments, and feasibility studies. Ms. Kumamoto was the project manager for a Transportation Communications Needs Assessment Study, to understand communication channels and information needs for non-English speaking Asian communities. She was the principal evaluation investigator for an entertainment 34 job training program. Prior to forming Kumamoto Associates, Ms. Kumamoto was an appointee in the Los Angeles City Mayor’s Office, Division of Human Resources, where she was responsible for staffing city department task forces and community advisory committees, and establishing a low interest loan, volunteer, and energy conservation projects. After leaving the Mayor’s Office Ms. Kumamoto also consulted as a sole proprietor with business organizations, major arts institutions, and engineering firms. Ms. Kumamoto is a former Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles Housing Authority and Telecommunications Board. Joanne Kumamoto Dr Padilla is currently a Professor of Psychological Studies in Education at Stanford University. His interests include academic resilience and positive school experiences of students from at-risk backgrounds; psychological acculturation and adjustment of immigrants, especially children and adolescents; and simultaneous and successive forms of bilingual development. He publishes widely in his areas of research expertise. He is also interested in quantitative research methods in multicultural contexts. He serves as the principal investigator of the California Foreign Language Project (CFLP), a program that assists California teachers in foreign language instruction by offering year-round professional development programs, including intensive institutes in the summer and follow-up sessions during the school year. Dr. Padilla received his B.A., (Psychology) New Mexico Highlands University; M.S. (Experimental Psychology) Oklahoma State University; Ph.D. (Experimental Psychology) University of New Mexico. Amado Padilla, Ph.D. Daniel Santisteban is Professor Emeritus, School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Miami in 1991 and completed his internship at Bellevue Hospital/NYU. He is a Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years of experience conducting clinical trials, developing, and testing behavioral treatments for under-served families and communities. He is currently the Director of Research and Implementation for Training and Implementation Associates (TIA). He developed the Culturally Informed and Flexible Family Based Treatment for Adolescents (CIFFTA) – an evidence based adaptive adolescent and family behavioral treatment. Dr. Santisteban is the recipient of the American Psychological Association Division 45 Distinguished Career Contributions to Research Award, and the National Hispanic Science Network Award for Excellence in Research to name a few. Daniel Santisteban, Ph.D.
Project/Technical Support
Adrian Reyes is the founder and president of Adrian Information Strategies, a full service market research and data processing company in Dallas, Texas. With over thirty years experience in all facets of market research and data processing, he has established and managed local, state, and national accounts, and has conducted hundreds of qualitative and quantitative studies. Mr. Reyes is fully bi-lingual in English and Spanish. Mr. Reyes attended City College of New York and the Computer Programming Institute of New York. He was instrumental in the development of interactive computer programs for survey research tabulation. Currently, Mr. Reyes serves as data manager to BAI and has been responsible for data collection, database management, Web site development and maintenance and online/distance training. He has also been instrumental in questionnaire design, providing both web-based online and offline survey data entry of evaluation instruments. Adrian Reyes, BA Dr. Cristo currently serves as BAI’s IRB institutional chairperson. She specializes in Clinical Psychology, applying a cognitive behavioral approach to resolving psychological problems and integrates individual, family, social, environmental, and cultural factors. She earned a Ph.D. from California School of Professional Psychology, California State University Los Angeles (1987). Martha Cristo, Ph.D.
BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT, INC.
Mr. David Salinas has over 12 years of clinical and social service research experience combined. As a research associate, Mr. Salinas has been the clinical coordinator/data manager for privately and federally funded clinical trials ranging from traumatic orthopedic research to studies focusing on co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders in adolescents. Mr. Salinas is also experienced in implementing health services research like needs assessments for non-profit entities, city, and county departments, and for state agencies. Major assessment areas include evaluation of health services gaps in HIV prevention, treatment, and care; adolescent sexual health education in schools; and mental health and substance abuse needs among adolescents. Mr. Salinas speaks both Spanish and English. Salinas has both a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and in Spanish Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Public Health. David Salinas, M.P.H. Ricardo Lopez is an experienced Social Worker with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. He is highly skilled in data collection, community organizing, community engagement, training, and youth development. He earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) focused on Social Work from California State University-Long Beach. Lopez is currently employed with the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is the program director of the Open Waters Foundation, dedicated to connecting fathers, father-figures, and their child(ren) through the use of deep-sea fishing excursions. He is also the founder of the Tree of Wellness, a non-profit entity based in Greater Los Angeles that provides consulting and capacity building training. RICARDO LOPEZ, MSW As an experienced trainer and capacity builder on violence prevention, community organizing, and domestic and sexual violence. Stephanie has experience mobilizing and training Latinas and social service providers across the country, empowering and motivating women and men to take a stance against violence. Stephanie is passionate about helping organizations understand their stakeholder’s needs and providing culturally responsive programming and services especially in traditionally under-served communities. Stephanie has extensive experience in grant writing, event management, public relations and communications, capacity building and implementation, technical assistance and training, translation and transcription, strategy formation and planning. She specializes in violence against women issues and family services, but skills transfer to a wide range of issues. STEPHANIE MESONES ALVARADO, MPA. Dr. Guererro is the Research Director and faculty at the I-Lead Institute at REHD Corp. Before completing his doctorate, Dr. Guererro was a clinician for 13 years serving hundreds of families affected by child and or partner abuse. Dr. Guererro was the first Mexican National to graduate with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration. Trained as an organizational and implementation Specialist, Professor Guererro has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in the top scientific journals in his field. Professor Guererro has received awards every years since 2009 for his research on Latino disparities in behavioral health services and implementation of culturally responsive and evidence-based practices in health care settings. ERIC GUERERRO, PH.D. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda is Associate Professor at Duke University School of Nursing and Assistant Dean of the Ph.D. Program. Her research describes the intersection of intimate partner violence, substance abuse, HIV and mental health among Latinos in the U.S. and the development of multi-level interventions to address these. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda serves on local and national organizations influencing services and policies addressing violence, abuse, mental health, and health equity for Latinos, including serving as the Chair of the Board of Director of El Futuro, a community based mental service organization serving Spanish speaking and uninsured immigrants in North Carolina, a National Technical Assistance provider for community based organization addressing Latino and immigrant families affected by violence, and a local multisector coalition influencing systems change for Latinx inclusion. She also served as a previous Chair of the Violence Expert Panel of the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda was a member of the National Academies of Medicine committee that produced the landmark Future of Nursing Report (2010) and has led various local and national initiatives to promote health equity research careers for populations systemically excluded fromhealth professions. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda has interdisciplinary training in nursing, public health, and psychology and is a fellow of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration Minority Fellowship Program and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program. ROSA GONZALEZ-GUARDA, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN Dr. McCabe is a licensed psychologist in Alabama, Associate Professor and Director of Practicum Training in Counseling Psychology in the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling at Auburn University. His research and clinical interests include prevention and intervention strategies using an eco-developmental approach, and the interactions between risk and protective processes, specifically connections between mental health, substance use, and social relationships for people in varied life stages. Dr. McCabe leads the Eco-developmental Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation (EPIC) Lab, with recent research projects for immigrants from Latin America and college students. BRIAN E. MCCABE, PHD Rebeca is the founding Executive Director of Alliance of Border Collaboratives (ABC) where she was involved in developing strategies to maximize the capacity of the Hispanic/Latino health workforce including expanding the contributions of community health workers to reach health disparity populations. She is also the founder of Programa Compañeros, the longest-running HIV/Substance Prevention Program in Mexico and continues to volunteer to this day. She helped develop Pasa la Voz: a Model for Using Participant-driven Interventions to Increase Access to and Utilization of Prevention and Testing Services to increase the participation of youth in outreach. In collaboration with Programa Compañeros – Ms. Ramos developed the “PaKeTeCuides ” program, which expands positive knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards a culture of lawfulness among Mexican school-age children who attend elementary school in high-crime areas. She is currently a consultant for The University of Texas at El Paso working at the College of Health Sciences Dean’s Office in partnership with the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to promote vaccination, especially among underserved populations. REBECA RAMOS, MPH Fred has over 34 years professional experience in health and human services. He currently works as the Executive Director of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA). He served as a member of the SAMHSA Health Care Reform Community of Practice advising on effective outreach and enrollment of uninsured Latinos. Fred served on the National Council of La Raza Affiliate Council. He was formerly appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as the Deputy Secretary of Health and Income Support Division Director for the State of New Mexico and was the alternate to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission. He served as First Vice President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Arlington, VA. Fred worked as the Human Service Planning Supervisor for the City of Santa Fe overseeing CDBG and human services programs. Fred met with and participated in President George W. Bush’ announcement of the New Freedom Commission in Albuquerque, NM and served on the National Latino Mental Health Congress during the President Clinton administration. He has served on numerous national, regional and community boards, councils, commissions and committees. He is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant on culturally informed practices. Fred is also a certified trainer for the Familia Adelante Multi Risk Prevention and Intervention Program for Latino Families. FRED SANDOVAL, MPA Jessica is a full-time faculty member at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and is currently working as the Director of Adelante and other first year experiences. She has directed both state and federal grants for ELAC, including teaching English prep courses and GED. She develops curriculum, program design, grant writing, evaluation design, learning communities, and workforce development curriculum. She is also an adjunct English instructor at ELAC. Jessica’s interests and objectives are to develop, implement and evaluate the success of student service programs by collecting and providing meaningful data to support institutional changes that will enhance student success at community colleges. Her focus has been on the persistence, success, and retention of Latino/a students in community college, specifically those in specially funded programs. JESSICA CRISTO, ED.D. Samantha is a bilingual-bicultural Mexican American postdoctoral fellow in the second year of her training in the Department of Population and Public Health at the University of Southern California. She is a mixed methods Latinx health disparities researcher with quantitative expertise in structural equation modeling. Her training in Classical Theory and Item Response Theory to evaluate measures for psychometric properties and validation was supported through an NIMHD-funded Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31MD015683). Her research investigates multilevel factors associated with cancer disparities among Latinx populations, seeking to understand differences by acculturation and nativity status. She has extensive experience working with Latinx populations, investigating health disparities, and methodological skills in evaluate measures for psychometric properties and validation. SAMANTHA GARCIA, PH.D., MPH After successfully implementing the Familia Adelante multi-risk prevention program in Colorado statewide. Cindy’s work with the Latino community led her to becoming a trainer for the Familia Adelante multi-risk prevention program where she continues to train others to become facilitators and offers her advice in best practices. While implementing the program, she along with her team were able to assist over 300 individuals both in person and online during the pandemic complete the curriculum and offer follow up resources after completion. Cindy is currently an applicant support specialist for Aidkit where she is able to provide direct cash assistance across the country using the technology the social impact company provides. She is currently assisting in delivering and pioneering such aid for a variety of populations, including low income families, workers without documentation, unhoused individuals, refugees and low income childcare providers. Her passion for helping those who have been marginalized began after she graduated from Regis University in Denver, CO with a bachelor’s in business administration. Cindy joined Servicios de La Raza and was the program manager for Statewide Services. She assisted in implementing programs to the community that focused on health equity, family, prevention intervention, and tackling economic disparities. CINDY MARROQUIN, BA As of March 2021, Ricardo became the Latino program manager at the Center for Prevention Services, and in 2022 he became a part of the Familia Adelante Training Team. At the 2020 NNED Learn conference Ricardo lead a group of 4 facilitators to be trained In New Mexico. Ricardo was formerly recruited to work at the Chemical Dependency Center now named Anuvia Prevention and Recovery Center, as a bilingual substance abuse prevention specialist. For the next eight years, he developed two programs with one winning the 4H National Program of the Year Award and a great presenter and educator. In 2011, he accepted a new and more challenging position at Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, as a case manager for the Gang of One program which won a state award for program of the year. From 2014 up until May 2016, Ricardo went back to school to complete his bachelor’s degree in human services at Pfeiffer University and graduated in August 2015. While in school, he was contracted with the Behavioral Health Intervention Center as a Spanish Language Program Director and Facilitator, and at Community Services Association, GAP (Gang Alternative Principles) program as a Facilitator for youth and parents. In March 2016 he started working at Cardinal Innovations Healthcare as a Bilingual Member Engagement Specialist and was a volunteer with an organization called Alianza, a Latino drug-free coalition where he served as vice chair and chair for five years. While volunteering with the executive leadership team they received the Chairman’s Award in 2018 from CADCA. RICARDO TORRES, BA Adriana serves as the Sr. Program Manager for the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA) in Houston, TX. She has been with AAMA now for 17 years. She has been working in the HIV and Communicable Diseases field for over 28 years. Adriana is responsible for the oversight of the Minorities Action Programs (MAP), which has several projects that align with Healthy People 2030 and focuses on prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery support of communicable diseases, substance use disorders, and mental health. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations and supervision of program staff and oversees the efforts of others in the delivery of specific program services to clients. In 2019, Adriana became a train-the-trainer for Familia Adelante and has implemented this evidence base intervention under the award of SAMSHA CSAP SPF grant. She has been a co-trainer alongside Dr. Richard Cervantes in for the NNED Learn in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Her commitment to the importance of prevention education and her passion to be an exceptional leader who maintains a productive climate and confidently motivates, mobilizes, and coaches employees and community to meet high performance standards in life. ADRIANA AVILA-DIBELLO Dr. Nagy a clinician-scientist whose program of research addresses mental health inequities among socially disadvantaged and excluded groups, primarily immigrant and refugee communities. She also spent a lot of time thinking about how to help health care professionals deliver care that takes into account diverse cultural contexts and identities to better meet the needs of their patients. She has dedicated her professional life to serving the lives of historically minoritized communities as a health equity researcher, educator, and clinician. The daughter of immigrants DR. Nagy was born in the U.S. yet migrated during her early childhood to her parents’ home country of Venezuela. In the 1990s, she migrated back to the U.S. fleeing political instability and a repressive regime, as nearly 6 million Venezuelans have done over the last 2+ decades. Her immigrant experience was punctuated with many hardships – enduring separation of family, first learning Spanish and then relearning English, financial strain, and discrimination. Despite many cultural strengths and great pride in being Latin American, the process of acculturation was one of constant struggle where she experienced pressure to adapt and assimilate into “American life” and at the same time to maintain major components of her Venezuelan heritage. GABRIELA NAGY, PH.D.