Addressing Trauma in School-Aged Children

Anthony Barrueta
Tony Barrueta is senior vice president of government relations for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. in Oakland, California. He oversees development of Kaiser Permanente’s public policy positions, in collaboration with senior leadership throughout the organization, to ensure that Kaiser Permanente maintains a common voice in support of the interests of the organization, its members, and the communities it serves.

Barrueta holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston College and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Tonier Cain-Muldrow
Tonier Cain-Muldrow is a trauma survivor and internationally recognized trauma informed care expert. Her work has focused on heightening awareness of the characteristics and effects of trauma and improving the performance of service providers, businesses, government agencies and others who interact with trauma victims and survivors.

Imelda Dacones, MD
Dr. Imelda Dacones is the CEO and President of Northwest Permanente, leading more than 1,700 physicians, clinicians and administrators to provide care to over 600,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Oregon and Southwest Washington. In 2011, after five years as West Service Area’s lead hospitalist, she became the physician leader for Kaiser Permanente’s new Westside Medical Center. She later became Westside’s Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Dacones received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago, where she also completed her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

Cecilia Echeverría, MPH, MPP
Cecilia Echeverría is the executive director for Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Health Policy where she identifies emerging health policy topics, leads strategy and operations, and guides the Institute’s portfolio of work. Her areas of expertise include access to health care for underserved populations as well as behavioral health, school-based health, and early childhood issues. She joined Kaiser Permanente in 2013 as the Director of Safety Net Partnerships for the National Community Benefit program.

Echeverría holds master’s degrees in public policy and public health from the University of California, Berkeley and is an alumnus of the Presidential Management Fellows program.

Sharon Hoover, PhD
Sharon Hoover is a licensed clinical psychologist and an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In 2010, she became the principal investigator and co-director of the national Center for School Mental Health. Trauma-responsive schools and trauma exposure among youth and families has been a major emphasis of her research and clinical work, and she has trained school and community behavioral health staff and educators across the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Hoover received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Jennifer Kubista, EdD
Jennifer Kubista is the superintendent at Central School District 13J in Independence, Oregon. Her educational philosophy is focused on the learning and achievement of students, effective teaching and learning by staff, and the opportunities to partner with families and community for the best interest of every student, every day. She was recognized as an emerging leader (2014) and influence leader (2016-2017) through the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Dr. Kubista holds a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut, and a doctoral degree from Seattle University.

Don Mordecai, MD
Dr. Don Mordecai is the national leader for mental health and wellness at Kaiser Permanente, and director of mental health and chemical dependency services for the Permanente Medical Group in Northern California. He is also an adjunct clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School.

Dr. Mordecai holds a doctoral degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and is board certified in psychiatry with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Vivek Murthy, MD
Dr. Vivek Murthy served as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States. As The Nation’s Doctor, he brought both passion and innovation to the challenges of leading America’s national healthcare initiatives.

He emphasizes emotional wellbeing as the unexpected key to a healthier and stronger America. He talks about the science behind emotional well-being and its implications for the addiction crisis in America, chronic disease, community violence, education, creativity, workplace productivity, and educational outcomes.

Before serving as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy practiced and taught internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He also has an MBA from Yale University.

Douglas Newton, MD, MPH
Dr. Doug Newton serves as the national clinical lead for pediatric behavioral health at Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute and the national physician lead for mental health and wellness with Thriving Schools for Kaiser Permanente’s Community Health. He also served as Regional Specialty Chief of Integrated Behavioral Health and Chief for Child Psychiatry for Kaiser Permanente’s Colorado region.

Dr. Newton holds a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s in public health from Yale University, and completed psychiatry training at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Ellen Pais
Ellen Pais is the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Education Partnership. With more than 25 years’ experience in community building, community relations and the law, she was the driving force behind LAEP’s expansion and development of community collaboratives and community-school partnerships and its holistic school transformation model.

Ms. Pais holds a law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Chelsea Prax, MPH
Chelsea Prax directs children’s health and well-being programs at the American Federation of Teachers. She supports affiliates with research, advocacy, strategic partnership and more to address union members’ priorities: mental health, access to healthcare and food security.

Ms. Prax earned a teaching license with Washington, D.C.’s Center for Inspired Teaching and holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Maryland.

Kiersten Stewart
Kiersten Stewart is the director of public policy and advocacy for Futures Without Violence (FUTURES), a U.S.-based non-profit that works to end violence against women and children in the U.S. and around the world. In her more than 17 years at FUTURES, she has helped guide the creation, implementation and funding of several major pieces of legislation addressing violence against women and children and has been a frequent spokesperson and trainer on issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, children’s exposure to violence, and gender-based violence globally.

Ms. Stewart holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

Shaun-Toy Trotter, LMFT
Saun-Toy Trotter is an activist, healer and the program director of school-based behavioral health programs at the University of California, San Francisco’s Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland. She brings over 20 years of experience providing services to adolescents and families, including practice at school health centers, residential treatment, in-patient psychiatric units and youth development programs.

Tonette Walker
Tonette Walker, born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the First Lady of Wisconsin. She currently works in the development department for the American Lung Association.

She uses her role as First Lady to help improve the lives of the people of Wisconsin, working with foundations and nonprofits to better recognize, understand, and address the effects of trauma on the lives of children and families through her Fostering Futures initiative.

Sandra Wilkniss