POLICY ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR
BEST PRACTICES CO-LEAD

Prior to joining LABBN, she worked as a coordinator in several acute units at California Hospital Medical Center. As a firm believer that the mission of LABBN is incredibly important for the future of Los Angeles County and for the state of California, she feels fortunate to be part of a team with so much dedication to help the community. She is passionate about improving the quality of care and quality of life for the underserved population of Los Angeles County. She is a southern California native who received her BA in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton.

POLICY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
PARENT VOICE CO-LEAD

Anna earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in Health Services and Policy. In her graduate work, Anna has focused on improving access to healthcare services for underserved populations in Los Angeles County through policy and advocacy. Anna is passionate about decreasing rates of adverse childhood experiences among children in Los Angeles County.

POLICY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Lynnette has a BA in Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside. Prior to LABBN, she worked as a Health Program Analyst at the LA County DPH and a Health Educator at a nonprofit. She wants to continue to help advance public health outcomes, particularly for underserved and vulnerable communities in LA.

ADVOCACY WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

ADVOCACY WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Kathryn serves as a part of the Training and Technical Assistance team supporting the Family Strengthening Oversight Entity leadership as they serve and train home visitors. She got her degree in History and dove into advocacy work as the Executive Assistant at a Postpartum Depression Foundation in Chicago. She managed a grant for the Family and Child Health Department in Pittsburgh, coordinating and supporting local strategic efforts to reduce racial inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes. She became a Certified Postpartum Doula and loves finding ways to make new parents feel supported and cared for as they navigate their new role! She is passionate about helping people and believes that parenting was never intended to be a solo sport.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HOME VISITING ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Laura Hoyos Kainsinger, MPH is a Program Officer on the Family Supports Team where she manages a portfolio of home visiting programs and leads program optimization efforts focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Laura received her Bachelors in Physiological Science and earned a Master of Public Health in Community Health Sciences from the University of California Los Angeles. Before joining First 5 LA, she was a Program Manager for Prevention and Aftercare, a comprehensive, strength-based program providing resources and activities to vulnerable children and families in Los Angeles County. Prior to this work, Laura was the Director of Community Outreach for Growing Great, where she built and maintained positive collaborative relationships with community partners and was responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of school-based nutrition programs. Her professional experience also includes working in the fields of parenting education, health access, and academic event planning. Laura has extensive experience working with community-based programs that provide services to culturally diverse and at-risk families.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HOME VISITING ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Ashley Skiffer-Thompson is the Program Coordinator for the AAIMM Doula Program and is committed to giving back to her community. She has spent majority of her career in the non-profit sector within the home visitation field, gaining experiences in breastfeeding, bonding/attachment, and other maternal and child health topics. As a full spectrum doula, she believes there is empowerment through advocacy and education. By providing empathetic support and encouraging medical advocacy, her hope is that families feel empowered, grounded and valued throughout their birth journey. Driven by one of her favorite quotes, “Let the beauty we love, be what we do”, Ashley SkifferThompson aims to be the change she hopes to see.

BEST PRACTICES WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Diana Careaga, MPH, MA is Director of the Families Support Team at First 5 LA. Diana has over twenty-five years’ experience in program planning, implementation, and public health. She received her bachelor’s in Sociology from University of California Davis and earned her Master of Public Health at University of California Los Angeles. Her work has focused in the field of maternal and child health and ranged from access to services, program design and implementation to improving family-serving systems for families. Diana helped lead the coordination and expansion of the Welcome Baby program and evidence-based home visiting program models at First 5 LA and in partnership with the Department of Public Health. Her work includes ongoing oversight of team operations, design and enhancement of strategies, and efforts to support a universal home visiting system in LA County and further integration of home visiting with family-serving systems.

DATA WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

DATA WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Sharlene earned her Master of Public Health in Health Education and Promotion at the University of Southern California; she continued her education to earn her Doctorate in Public Health at Loma Linda University. Her professional background includes working in the field of maternal and child health, home visiting, trauma-informed care, healing-centered engagement, and maternal mental health. Sharlene has a strong background in program planning, data analysis and evaluation, technical assistance, continuous quality improvement and training, and public speaking. Additionally, she has experience focused on healthy food access and the built environment issues in Los Angeles County, creating healthy communities, youth empowerment and advocacy, corner store conversions, program planning and evaluation and teaching. Her volunteer experience includes working in Tanzania, Brazil, and Armenia, addressing prevention, health education, and maternal and child health issues. Sharlene’s passion for public health addresses the needs of underserved and vulnerable populations.

FATHER ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Fallynne Usher is an Outreach Specialist for the Welcome Baby program at SHIELDS for Families. She has over 12 years of experience working in the community, empowering, educating, and advocating for children, youth, and families. In most recent years she has focused her work on doing her part in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates for black/African American families by providing doula services through the CFCI AAIMM Doula program. As a recent graduate of California Baptist University's master’s in counseling psychology program, she will continue her life’s aim of building healthy communities by extending her reach to provide services for individuals who have experiences with, grief and loss, trauma, anxiety, and depression.

FATHER ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

FATHER ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Richard Cohen, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist who has spent decades teaching and advocating for young children, their families and those who support them. He is co-founder of Love, Dad, an organization focused on helping the field expand from a maternal-child to a family-child model by including fathers. He is currently President of the California Association for Infant Mental Health.

REFERRALS WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Marlene Cole has worked in the field of maternal child health for over 25 years and has been a Program Officer on the Family Supports Team at First 5 LA for seven years, where she oversees home visiting grants and works on systems change and sustainability efforts. Marlene was born and raised in Los Angeles. When she isn’t working, Marlene likes to watch her son play basketball, read and Wordle in her garden, hike, and ride her Peloton to nowhere.

REFERRALS WORKGROUP CO-LEAD