Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of more than 140 scientific publications and the books iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood, Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before and The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement (co- authored with W. Keith Campbell). Dr. Twenge frequently gives talks and seminars on teaching and working with today’s young generation based on a dataset of 11 million young people. Her audiences have included college faculty and staff, high school teachers, military personnel, camp directors, and corporate executives. Her research has been covered in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Fox and Friends, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, and National Public Radio. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan

Psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence and Focus, Daniel Goleman has transformed the way the world educates children, relates to family and friends, and conducts business. The Wall Street Journal ranked him as one of the 10 most influential business thinkers. His article “What Makes a Leader?” remains the most requested reprint in the history of Harvard Business Review.
His 2014 bestseller, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, argues that leadership that gets results demands a triple focus: on our ourselves; on others, for our relationships; and on the outer forces that shape organizations and society. Dr. Goleman's "The Focused Leader" won the 2013 HBR McKinsey Award, given each year for the best article in Harvard Business Review.
In his book, A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World, Dr. Goleman — who was personally selected by the Dalai Lama — combines the Dalai Lama’s key teachings, empirical evidence, and true accounts of people putting his lessons into practice, offering readers practical applications for making the world a better place.
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times best sellers list for a year-and-a-half. Named one of the 25 "Most Influential Business Management Books" by TIME, it has been translated into 40 languages. HBR called emotional intelligence (EI) “a revolutionary, paradigm-shattering idea.” His follow-up, Working With Emotional Intelligence, outlined the importance of EI in professional settings.
His work on the brain and behavioral science was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize and recognized with the Washburn Award and Lifetime Career Award from the American Psychological Association. A former science journalist for The New York Times, he was named to the 2011 and 2013 Thinkers50 and a top business guru by Accenture Institute for Strategic Change.

David Gozal, MD, is an international expert in the field of sleep medicine. He is known as a pioneer in the study of childhood sleep problems and the relationships between sleep disorders and neurobehavioral, cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

His research has been funded by multiple National Institutes of Health grants and focuses on translational approaches to pediatric sleep disorders, such as childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sudden infant death syndrome. An accomplished author and speaker, he has published more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, more than 150 book chapters and reviews, edited three books and has extensively lectured at scientific meetings around the world.

Fred R Volkmar, M.D., Irving B. Harris Professor
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
Editor in Chief, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Editor, Encyclopedia of Autism
Fred R. Volkmar, M.D. is Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the Yale University Child Study Center, School of Medicine. A graduate of the University of Illinois where he received in undergraduate degree in psychology in 1972 and of Stanford University where he received his M.D. and a master’s degree in psychology in 1976 Dr. Volkmar was the primary author of the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV autism and pervasive developmental disorders section. He is the author of several hundred scientific papers and chapters as well as a number of books including Asperger’s Syndrome (Guilford Press), Health Care for Children on the Autism Spectrum (Woodbine Publishing), the Handbook of Autism (Wiley Publishing), and A Practical Guide to Autism: What Every Parent, Teacher and Family Members Needs to Know (Wiley Publishing) with another three books in varying stages of production. He has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He currently serves as Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. He has served as co-chairperson of the autism/intellectual disabilities committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In addition to having directed the internationally known autism clinic he also served as director of autism research at Yale before becoming chairperson of the Department. Dr. Volkmar has been the principal investigator of three program project grants including a CPEA (Collaborative Program of Excellent in Autism) grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and a STAART (Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment) Autism Center Grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

B. Heidi Ellis, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also the Director of the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, a partner in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Dr. Ellis' primary focus is on understanding and promoting refugee youth mental health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on understanding how trauma exposure, violence, and social context impact developmental trajectories. Over the past 15 years she has conducted a Community Based Participatory Research program with Somali youth and was Principal Investigator of a multi-site, longitudinal research project examining developmental pathways to and away from violence, including ideological violence, gang involvement, and constructive civic engagement. Dr. Ellis is co-developer of the trauma treatment model Trauma Systems Therapy, and is engaged in capacity building and training related to trauma-informed multidisciplinary approaches to the repatriation and reintegration of children from formerly ISIS-controlled territories. She also directs the Massachusetts Area Prevention Framework, a multidisciplinary team approach to preventing targeted violence and terrorism among adolescents.

Jelani is a black man married to a white woman and they have a blended family of 6 kids and the topic of race comes up often in life and in conversation with the kids, so Jelani wrote a straight-forward book about it called “A Kids Book About Racism.” That book sparked conversation and interest from all of his adult friends because it gave kids and adults permission to talk about such a difficult topic. What started as a small project is now a series of a dozen books around racism, feminism, body image, cancer, belonging, gratitude, and launching 30 new books every year!

Daphyne Watson is the Executive Director of Mental Health America San Diego. Ms. Watson came to Mental Health America on January, 2012. Daphyne is an experienced professional, leading and developing a vast number of human services. She has been involved in the mental health field for the past 25 years. She has dedicated her career in addressing disparities and needs of communities of color, who often are underserved.
Daphyne has developed child abuse prevention programs, mental health programs, substance abuse programs, community support programs, and developed juvenile justice programs. She has operated programs in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Baltimore Maryland. She has developed unique programs such as Family Finding, and WINGS (gender specific program for girls), Family Support programs, Breaking Down Barriers, Visions Clubhouse, Father2Child, Mental Health First Aid, developed a Boys & Men of color initiative and other mental health services.
Ms. Watson was recently appointed by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to the Leon L. Williams San Diego County Human Relations Board and serves on its’ Ad-hoc Committee by giving voice to the needs, challenges, and importance of addressing discrimination in all of its’ forms. Ms. Watson serves and has served on the Mental Health Older Adult Counsel, San Diego County Community Action Planning Board, State of California Mental Health Planning Council, Child Welfare disproportionality workgroup, California Racial & Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition, and Mental Health America California Executive Committee. She has been an adjunct professor at Springfield College-San Diego, teaching counseling and other innovative services. Daphyne has trained extensively on cultural inclusion and diversity.
Ms. Watson earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work, from SDSU and continues to educate and address the needs of the community. Daphyne is an advocate, an educator, a program developer, a trainer, a visionary and a compassionate leader

Valerie Crabtree, Ph.D. is an Associate Member, Department of Psychology and Chief of Psychosocial Services at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Crabtree received her doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2001. Following graduate school, she completed her internship in clinical child/pediatric psychology and fellowships in pediatric psychology and behavioral sleep medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, after which she became certified in behavioral sleep medicine. In addition to her clinical and administrative work, Dr. Crabtree conducts research on sleep and fatigue in children with cancer. Her work includes a focus on interventions to increase alertness and energy level in children undergoing treatment for cancer and in brain tumor survivors, particularly those who have been treated for craniopharyngioma. In 2015, Dr. Crabtree and her co-author, Dr. Lisa Meltzer, published a book entitled, “Pediatric Sleep Problems: A Clinician’s Guide to Behavioral Interventions.”

Dr. David Inwards-Breland is chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine and co-director of the Center for Gender Affirming Care at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego. He is also a clinical professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Inwards-Breland's research interests include adolescent male health, depression, transgender youth and disenfranchised youth. He currently sits on the American Board of Pediatrics, sub-board on adolescent medicine.Dr. Inwards-Breland was the clinical director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital and later founded and served as the medical director of the Seattle Children's Gender Clinic. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Top Doctors, the Award for Distinguished Service in Promoting Diversity at Seattle Children's Hospital and the Community Leader of the Year from the Greater Seattle Business Association. Along with practicing medicine, Dr. Inwards-Breland enjoys art, spending time with his husband and daughter, and riding his Peloton!

Dr. Altamirano (Dr. A) is a licensed Psychologist who has dedicated his career to public mental health in San Diego County. Over the past 26+ years, Dr. A has worked with all ages in a variety of settings and levels of care including residential treatment, psychiatric hospitals, corrections and rehabilitation, Indian health services, consulting, outpatient private practice and primary care. Currently, he is the Director of Integrated Behavioral Health with True Care. True Care is a Federally Qualified Health Center and Patient Centered Medical Home with 11 state-of-the-art health centers conveniently located across San Diego’s North County and Riverside. Dr. Altamirano and True Care’s focus on Integrated Care and Adverse Childhood Experiences has resulted in the honored invitation to serve on the California Surgeon General’s ACE’s Aware Clinical Implementation Sub- Committee.

Aisha Pope, LCSW, has worked in San Diego County's Children's Behavioral Health System of Care for the last 20 years. Aisha has provided therapeutic services and clinical supervision in a variety of settings including outpatient, inpatient, residential, community/home based, private practice, and now telehealth. She currently works for San Diego Center for Children as a Program Director in the Foster Family Agency Stabilization & Treatment (FFAST) Program, and has a private practice, Roots & Wings Consulting, where she specializes in supporting BIPOC, youth 0-5, couples, and those needing support with parenting. She also currently co-chairs the county's CYFSOC Early Childhood Mental Health Subcommittee. Aisha is proud to be a Rostered Provider in Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and a Certified Positive Discipline Trainer. She is passionate about helping families to grow their connections to each other and community, reach their goals, and improve their resilience.

Shelley is an associate professor and physician at the UCSF Sleep Disorders Center. She is a sleep medicine specialist in New York, NY. She currently practices at Mt Sinai - National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute and is affiliated with UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus. She has spent many years volunteering for JFCS East Bay, particularly through the Holocaust Survivor Services Advisory Committee. She started the East Bay Tikkun Olam Chessed Day, a day of volunteering in the East Bay supported by East Bay Jewish organizations and is a member of Shalom Bayit East Bay Ambassadors. She previously served on the boards of Berkeley-Oakland Midrasha and the Young Israel of New Rochelle in New York. She is a graduate of Harvard College and the UCLA School of Medicine

Dr. Janina Scarlet is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, author, and a full-time geek. A Ukrainian-born refugee, she survived Chernobyl radiation and persecution. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 12, inspired by the X-Men, developed Superhero Therapy to help patients with anxiety and PTSD, for which she later earned the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award by the United Nations Association. She was also portrayed as a comic book character in Gail Simone’s Seven Days graphic novel.

Janelle Chiu is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working as a Supervising Licensed Mental Health Clinician within the San Diego Unified School District’s Mental Health Resource Center. She earned a Masters in Counseling Psychology from National University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Fresno.
Since 2001, Ms. Chiu has worked in a variety of mental health settings including residential treatment, day treatment and outpatient school based programs. Her current role at SDUSD includes overseeing the Mental Health Related Services (MHRS) program. This program provides educationally related mental health services for students as part of their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Primary services include individual and group therapy, parent counseling, and adjunct services such as behavior intervention, case management, crisis management, consultation and collaboration with IEP team members. Ms. Chiu’s other areas of focus include promotion of youth mental health, social-emotional wellness and suicide prevention education and training

Ms. Domonique Hensler is the Senior Director for Care Redesign Planning and Mental Health Integration for Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego and Rady Children’s Health Network. Since joining Rady Children’s in 1998, she has served in various leadership, strategic implementation, and project management roles in healthcare administration. Ms. Hensler’s current role focuses on transforming mental health and emotional well-being to improve the health status of youth and families.
Ms. Hensler obtained her Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota and has over 25 years of experience in the field.

Pradeep Gidwani, MD, MPH, FAAP is a pediatrician and community health leader who works at American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 3, San Diego and Imperial Counties (AAP-CA3) on a team that provides Countywide Coordination and Support for two large scale community initiatives - Healthy Development Services and First Step Home Visiting funded by First 5 San Diego. Over the last 14 years, these communitywide programs reach over 319,000 children and their families. Dr. Gidwani is a Past President of AAP-CA3, a Child Trauma Academy Fellow and a member of the Board Governors at the San Diego Foundation and serves on various community advisor boards. His areas of expertise include child development, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, childhood trauma, parents’ perception of childhood behaviors, and cultural issues in health care

Dr. Liu is a board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). She is the Section Head of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) and the Medical Director of the UCSD DBP Clinic where she cares for children with complex developmental, learning, and mental health needs. At the San Diego Regional Center, Dr. Liu evaluates children and adults with developmental delays and disabilities and collaborates with psychologists and social workers to determine eligibility for early intervention and developmental disability services. Dr. Liu holds leadership positions in the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP) and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Kathleen (KatySue) Tillman, PhD specializes in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families. Dr. Tillman completed her pre-doctoral internship in child-clinical and pediatric psychology at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children through the Medical College of Virginia before earning her PhD in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Child Development from the University of North Dakota. Dr. Tillman has been providing assessment and counseling services to children, adolescents, and their families since 2001.
Dr. Tillman enjoys working with children and adolescents and has a counseling room specifically designed to meet their needs. She uses play therapy to work with children and early adolescents experiencing a variety of psychological difficulties and she uses art, journaling, music, and other creative approaches in her work with teens. Dr. Tillman has additional expertise in working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, who have been given multiple clinical diagnoses, and who may be resistant to coming to counseling. Dr. Tillman utilizes a collaborative, team-based, approach to treatment. She aims to help children and teens while also supporting the entire family.

John Lee Evans is a clinical psychologist in private practice who works with children, adolescents and adults for over 20 years. He is Past President and served as a Trustee on the San Diego Unified Board of Education for twelve years. Prior to this he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, taught community college courses and has worked as a political activist.

Hilary M. Bowers, MD, FAAP, is a Board-Certified Pediatrician. She is a primary care physician, Director of Behavioral and Mental Health Services, and an Assistant Vice President of the Board of Children’s Primary Care Medical Group (CPCMG) in San Diego, California. CPCMG has 22 offices in San Diego and Southern Riverside Counties. Dr. Bowers has a passion for improving access to pediatric and adolescent mental health care within the primary care setting. She is working to transform the way these services are provided to deliver a more seamless and meaningful experience for patients and providers. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MD from the University of Washington, has practiced primary care pediatrics for almost 20 years, and is the mother of five beautiful children

Shawn Singh Sidhu is currently an Associate Professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine where he serves as Program Director for the UCSD Medical Center Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program. He is also an outpatient attending psychiatrist at Rady Children's Hospital. Dr. Sidhu is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Distinguished Fellow of the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has dedicated the majority of his clinical career to working with underserved and under-resourced communities in the Southwest, including Native American tribes and border immigrant communities.

Linda Wong Kerberg is currently the Director of Programs for Mental Health America of San Diego. She currently oversees the Personal Therapy Connections and Visions Clubhouse programs. Linda is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has done extensive teaching at the university level, consulting, and clinical supervision. She has designed and directed multicultural clinical treatment programs in both Northern and Southern California. She has also been involved in numerous efforts which address race relations and cross-cultural understanding and communication.

Gwendolyn Shelton is a Quality Assurance Supervisor with the San Diego Center for Children where she oversees program adherence to regulatory and accrediting entity requirements. She strives for excellence and is passionate about educating and coaching others in the agency to perform their clinical duties with excellence and integrity, especially as it relates to providing compassionate clinical care to the families that are served by the program. She has over ten years of experience working as a clinician in the nonprofit sector in San Diego focusing on mental health services primarily children of color and other populations, including Child Welfare Services families and juvenile justice system involved youth. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, eating, and watching movies & documentaries.

Dr. Anoop Karippot is the Immediate Past-Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, CA. He is also the Medical Director of Snoring and Sleep Center at AKANE Institute of Allergy Asthma & Sleep Medicine (www.akaneinstitute.com ) with special interest to the care of children and adults with sleep disorders. He is Board Certified in General Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Karippot is one of the few physicians certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and is also a Polysomnographer (RPSGT). Most recently, Dr. Karippot has held faculty appointments in Sleep Medicine, Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Penn State University Hershey Medical Center and University of Louisville School of Medicine. He also teaches residents and fellows at University of California – San Diego and Scripps Mercy Hospital. Dr. Karippot is a Distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (DFAACAP) and a fellow of American Academy of Sleep Medicine(FAASM). He has been an active member of Standards of Practice Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine with contributions to several practice parameters in sleep medicine.

Kristine Cramer-Oliver is a school psychologist in the San Diego Unified School District. She earned her Ph.D. Degree in School Psychology from the University of California, Riverside, and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Cramer-Oliver’s research has focused on adolescent mental health help-seeking and the use of culturally-adapted social-emotional learning interventions. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate-level coursework in psychology and education. As a school psychologist, Dr. Cramer-Oliver is dedicated to ensuring that all students develop the social-emotional and academic skills needed for both positive school outcomes and for success beyond the classroom.

Anne Bird, M.D. is an Associate Clinical Professor and a board-certified Pediatrician, Child Psychiatrist and Adult Psychiatrist, having completed her Triple Board Residency training at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
After graduation, Dr. Bird remained on faculty at Mount Sinai as the Unit Chief of the child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit. To expand her interest in quality improvement and systems of care, she transitioned to a role as the Associate Medical Director of Ambulatory Services, which included developing and co-directing a new collaborative care program.
Since 2016, Dr. Bird has served as the Medical Director of the UC San Diego Health Outpatient Psychiatry Services, where she helped grow and develop these vital programs, with a focus on access to care and clinician wellness. She also conceptualized and built a new UC San Diego Health Child and Teen Program, in an attempt to tackle the local unmet need. In 2019, Dr. Bird graduated from the California Health Care Foundation leadership fellowship – a program aimed to help mold future healthcare leaders across California. Throughout these various experiences, Dr. Bird has been committed to education and training the future mental health workforce, as well as collaborating and supporting her medical and pediatric colleagues.
In January 2021, Dr. Bird joined Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego as the new Medical Program Director of Behavioral Health Integration, part of the Rady Children’s Transforming Mental Health initiative. She is committed to helping build an integrated network of mental health services, focused on early identification, education, decreasing stigma and increasing access to care for our families and beyond.

Dr. Rowe is a clinician, educator, former administrator, and chair of multiple community committees and conference planning groups. He provides assessments and treatment to children, adolescents, and adults. He provides Court Ordered assessments to the Juvenile Court and Child Welfare Services and has expertise in multiple clinical, forensic, and administrative areas.

Why I'm a specialist; What strengths:
Over the course of the last several years I have participated in the professional development and training of over 100 staff at the San Diego Center for Children (SDCC). I have embraced the topic of Social Justice in many forms including facilitating trainings in house and at a National Conference, initiating clinical discussions with Sr. leadership of the impacts of white supremacy on mental health, institutionalized racism, and explored professional advocacy with marginalized populationswithin oppressive systems like education, housing, juvenile justice and child welfare. I have had the honor of co-foundingand co-facilitating a Black Staff Support Group and a Social Justice Process Group for the organization. I remain an active and inaugural member of the Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity in Action committee at SDCC where one of the chief goals is to establish a more inclusionary and egalitarian culture within the organization.

What have I been doing with my life:
I originated from Jamaican, immigrant parents and was born and raised in Southern California. Connecting with loved ones, cycling and keeping an assortment of plants alive help me to stay grounded. I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and my primary focus is to support the improvement in relationship with self and others for members of the BIPOC and LGBTQ + communities. Simultaneously, I function as the Assistant Director of the Wraparound program at the San Diego Center for Children. There my aim is to support the success of the program while paying particular attention to the clinicaldevelopment and professional growth of the highly qualified team.

Yuka Sakamoto is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker working as a Supervising Licensed Mental Health Clinician within the San Diego Unified School District’s Mental Health Resource Center. She earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and in Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
In her role at the District, Ms. Sakamoto oversees the delivery of educationally related mental health services within specialized school settings for students with significant mental health needs and requiring an alternative educational placement. These school sites offer an integrated academic and intensive therapeutic environment to address social – emotional needs, while utilizing a trauma informed, culturally responsive, strengths based and client centered approach to services. She works in close partnership with the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services in the provision of mental health services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries attending these school sites. Ms. Sakamoto also partners with the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services to bring SchooLink mental health services to comprehensive school campuses across the District. SchooLink services promotes student access to services, connects students and families who may otherwise not engage in formal supports, and supports student social-emotional functioning and well-being at home, school, and in the community.

Jason trained in adult psychiatry at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency
Training Program, and completed his fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry
at UCSD. His interests include integrated mental health, community psychiatry, school mental health and acute psychiatric emergencies. He currently works at Rady Hospital in the Transforming Mental Health Initiative and with Vista Hill Foundation.

Yasmin Williams, LMFT Clinical Lead for SDCC-STRTP 15 years' experience working in the mental health field; serving youth and family in a variety of settings from school-based therapy, homebased therapy, and residential treatment settings.