Meet the Team
CARE Act Training & Technical Assistance Team
Implementation of the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act will ensure a person-centered and responsive set of services and supports for participants. This implementation is a collaboration between California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the Judicial Council of California (JC), and the counties, cities, and communities who will implement the CARE Act.
Partnerships are essential for the success of the CARE Act, and engagement will include representatives from a wide variety of networks. DHCS has contracted with Health Management Associates (HMA) to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) and data collection and reporting support.
Health Management Associates (HMA)
HMA is a leading independent national research and consulting firm that provides technical assistance and training, facilitation and strategic planning, research and evaluation, policy development and recommendations, and analytical services with a focus on improving the administration and delivery of public health, healthcare, and social services programs. HMA also engages with specialty subcontractors to supplement our internal teams for specific purposes. These subcontractors are seamlessly integrated in the HMA project teams alongside HMA colleagues.
HMA CARE Act leadership team:
Laura Collins, MSW, LICSW, Project Director / Laura is a Managing Principal with more than 25 years of experience in clinical, supervisory, management, and administrative roles in psychiatry and behavioral health, with expertise in civil commitment law and related regulatory requirements; knowledge and teaching of best practices for civil commitment models; and local and current experience with California LPS and AOT oversight. Additional bio here.
Amanda Ternan, PMP, Project Manager / Amanda is a Principal with more than 20 years of experience consulting and project management, with expertise in project initiation and monitoring, stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, and training. Additional bio here.
Serene Olin, PhD, Data Lead / Serene is a Principal with more than 20 years of translational research and leadership experience, and a subject matter expert in behavioral health and health equity, implementation science, and the use of quality metrics to drive equitable healthcare access and outcomes. Additional bio here.
Deborah Rose, PsyD, Assistant Director / Deborah is an Associate Principal and licensed clinical psychologist with a history of designing and scaling new initiatives in behavioral health. Dr. Rose has extensive experience and leadership working with the unhoused and justice-involved populations, and in outpatient civil commitment, specifically Kendra’s Law, an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program in NYC. Additional bio here.
Patricia Doxey, MA, Training & Technical Assistance Lead / Patricia is an Associate Principal with experience leading corporate training programs, implementing a skills-based, context-driven methodology focused on developing key competencies. Additional bio here.
Merila Thorne-Thomsen, Liaison Coordinator / Merila is a Consultant with expertise in research oversight, human protection programs, public policy, health information technology, and community relations. Additional bio here.
Workstream leads:
Rachel Johnson-Yates, MA, LMHC, LAC, Behavioral Health Lead / Rachel is an Associate Principal and is a licensed mental health and addiction counselor with extensive experience in outpatient behavioral health, state government, criminal justice, inpatient psychiatric care, and substance use disorder treatment. Additional bio here.
Anthony Federico, MPA, Housing & Community Supports Co-Lead / Anthony is a Senior Consultant with 12 years of experience as a housing and homelessness specialist and expertise in designing and delivering innovative programs and managing health system partnerships. Additional bio here.
Dari Pogach, JD, Behavioral Health Law Lead / Dari is a Senior Consultant and subject matter expert in mental health law, including civil commitment, adult guardianship, and less restrictive decision-making supports. Dari has extensive experience advocating for people with psychiatric disabilities to practice self-determination and make their own decisions. Additional bio here.
Additional support:
Shannon Robinson, MD, Behavioral Health Subject Matter Expert / Shannon is a Physician Principal who is board certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Robinson has decades of experience in providing care and training/technical assistance for substance use disorder evaluation and treatment, mental health, primary care, and behavioral health specialty care integration. Additional bio here.
Leela Kapur, JD, Mental Health Legal Subject Matter Expert / Leela is a subcontractor with more than 30 years of public service as an attorney representing Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles and experience as counsel for the County’s Departments of Health and Mental Health.
Merritt+Grace, Communications Support / Merritt+Grace is a full-service communications agency serving clients in the behavioral health, governmental, and arts and culture spaces. Merritt+Grace was founded in 2014 by Allison Hastey and Frances Tourtelot, and is certified as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA). Additional bio here.
The HMA TTA leadership team is supported by many internal subject matter experts in project coordination, data analysis, training and technical support, mental health law, behavioral health, and training content development and review. Additionally, a variety of external SMEs also provide support and content development related to families, peer support, system partners, county BH, and housing.
The CARE Act TTA model includes liaison support to all 58 county BH agencies. Liaisons provide overall implementation support, guidance, and TA in addition to triaging questions and requests and supporting connections and coordination activities. A full list of the HMA liaisons is found here.
Our Partners
HMA has subcontracted with several partners to support the development and review of training and technical assistance (TTA) efforts by providing real-life experiences and practical applications.
Painted Brain / Painted Brain is a mental health organization based in Los Angeles that provides peer-based services and practice training in technology and clinical mental health. Its peer staff are subject matter experts who specialize in providing population-centered training, programming, and events. Additional bio here.
Rayshell Chambers, Peer Role Subject Matter Expert / Rayshell is the co-executive director and COO, and has dedicated over 20 years of her personal and professional pursuits to designing and advocating for comprehensive health and human service programs that enhance the human condition of the most vulnerable populations.
Dave Leon, LCSW, Peer Role Subject Matter Expert / Dave is the co-executive director with more than 20 years of front-line experience as a social worker in Los Angeles, as well as extensive experience within the public mental health system.
Linda L. Mimms, MA, Serious Mental Illness Advocate and Family Support Subject Matter Expert / Linda is an experienced communications professional and serious mental illness advocate, with expertise working with federal, state, and local government officials and agencies, nonprofits, diverse community groups, and educational institutions. Linda has lived experience supporting family members with serious mental illness.
Shanta Franco-Clausen, Serious Mental Illness Advocate and Family Support Subject Matter Expert / Shay is a skilled consultant with expertise in public relations and management for political campaigns and issue-based initiatives, as well as representing and advocating for consumers of the behavioral health/substance use disorder court-involved system. Shay has lived experience supporting family members with serious mental illness.
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