Carla and her husband Edward are the parents of seven adopted children and one birth child. Additionally they have been guardian parents to several children and are currently raising their grandson. Growing their family via adoption and guardianship parenting seemed like a natural extension of their separate careers as mental health professionals in the adoption field. Carla and Edward, along with several other adoptive families, founded The Parent Cooperative Community in order to fill the unmet needs of their own and other adoptive families of children from difficult beginnings.

Corinne is a Marriage and Family Therapist and also has the privilege of teaching at William Jessup University as an adjunct professor of Psychology. In her private practice she works with individuals, children, couples, and families who struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, anger issues, and behavior issues. 

Charlotte has been married to her husband Scott for 13 years. They adopted two beautiful children locally through foster-adoption over the course of the last 7 years, and fostered two other children who later reunited with their birth family. Charlotte has been a Marriage and Family Therapist since 2007, and currently specializes in working with families who are raising children who have experienced trauma. Charlotte is a certified TBRI provider and her passion is connecting foster and post-adoptive families with the resources they need.

Dayna is an adoptive mother and parent to 5 amazing children, three who have their own special needs and unique challenges. As a life-long advocate, she has spent years working as a social worker and is currently the Program Director at California Alliance of Caregivers. Dayna is a statewide advocate and trainer through Parents and Caregivers for Wellness.

Debbie is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Founder/Director of West Roseville Counseling Center. She is a Certified Adoption Competent Therapist, Certified Trainer for the Adoption Competency program and has post-graduate training in EMDR, TBRI, and EFT. She is the trainer for Resource Parents at Lilliput Families and for therapists/social workers who are seeking post-graduate certification in Adoption Competence (an 18-month long certification program). Debbie has been married for 25 years and is the parent of three children: two biological and one through international adoption.

Dr. Dene' J. Starks serves as founder of Diversif-I Education Group, Inc, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that exists for the empowerment of adults and children in under-served communities through enrichment, mentoring, and education programs. Through her journey, she has discovered her passion to inspire, equip, and motivate people from all walks of life to follow their dreams. Dene' is a proven author, speaker, educator, and a successful entrepreneur.

Heidi majored in Sociology in college and began her career with Koinonia Family Services where she worked for 4 years as Child Care Counselor in group homes and as a clerk in adoptions. Heidi joined staff at Bayside Church in 2013 as the Women’s Student Life Director of Thrive School. Her passion for foster care and adoptions began when she was 15 years old and currently Heidi is transitioning into a full-time role with Defending the Cause Regional Alliance as the Church Relations Director connecting the heart of the Father with the hearts and homes of the Church.

Jena is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who is passionate about her work with families and children affected by PTSD and Complex Trauma. Starting her career with San Francisco's Juvenile Justice System 10 years ago, Jena has sought after the most long-lasting and effective modalities for healing the whole person after traumatic experiences. She now specializes in working with children of trauma in her Private Practice in Folsom. Jena is also a dance and yoga teacher and is passionate about incorporating those forms of therapy into her work.

Joanna is the founder and CEO of Core Connectivity, a foundation to empower families. She has served the community as a prevention and recovery strategist and as a parenting and family life educator and coach on strengthening the parent-child relationship in a cyber-powered world. She is a former technology executive trained in behavioral science at U.C. Berkeley, a mother of two grown sons, and an author of books for practical guidance on parenting, growing up and family life in the network culture. As a family and technology culture adviser, Joanna has appeared on 103.9FM The Fish, 710AM Keeping Faith in America, 1380AM The Answer, and Examiner.com.

Judy has worked in the child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention arena for over 20 years. She is the founder of PreventionWORKS, an organization dedicated to violence prevention education, is the co-founder of the El Dorado ACEs Collaborative in El Dorado County, was the Director of Education and Training for a local DV/SA agency, and the Executive Director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of El Dorado County. Judy is the creator of many personal safety, bully prevention, healthy relationships and parenting programs and consults with and trains other counties to build capacity.

Mike has been with KidsFirst Counseling and Family Resource Centers for over 6 years. He is a graduate of the Defense School of Public Affairs & has a B.A. in Communication Studies as well as two Professional Life Coaching certifications. A father of 2 adult children, Mike’s background is Marketing & Public Relations, but he found a new passion in social causes - particularly in advocating for child abuse prevention as well as positive father involvement. In addition to his community relations & development duties at KidsFirst, he teaches Mandated Reporting, Child Abuse Signs & Symptoms and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Awareness in California as well as manages his agency’s Forever Fathers dads support groups.

Renee and her family have been fostering children since January 2012.  She is a graduate of Butte Community College with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences.  Renee is the Director of Hope's Anchor, Inc. where she provides direct support services to foster, adoptive, kinship and resource families in Yolo County. She and her husband Gary have six children, four of whom were adopted through the foster care system.

Tanya is the Reproductive Grief Coordinator at Sierra Pregnancy + Health, a non-profit medical clinic in Roseville. For over 13 years Tanya has provided care and support for those experiencing loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth, hysterectomy, infertility and abortion.  Believing all can be an invitation to heal, Tanya became a Certified Instructor for Life Perspectives, equipping individuals nationwide through training and resources so that men and women no longer have to suffer in silence with reproductive loss.

Teri is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has worked with foster and adopted children and their families for over 25 years in various capacities and settings.   Teri specializes in the area of neurodevelopmental trauma and is a clinician, trainer, consultant and expert witness.  Teri is the creator of Healing Difficult Beginnings:  Neurodevelopmental Parenting and is in private practice in El Dorado County. 

Tiffany is the founder and director of Defending the Cause Regional Alliance (DTCRA) in addition to working in the healthcare field as orthopedic physical therapist.  She firmly believes that every child deserves a family who loves them and that collaboration is the only way to see wide-spread impact. Tiffany and her husband Matt led short term mission teams to Haiti for 7 years plus founded a local church-based foster care and adoption ministry where she made connections with agencies and nonprofits all around the Greater Sacramento Area prior to launching DTCRA in 2016. They have 2 amazing kids, James (12) & Laurie (15), who were adopted from Haiti after a miraculous 6 1/2 year international adoption process.

Tiffany and her husband Eric have been married 13 years, have two children, Blake and Paige, who were adopted from Placer County Foster Care and a baby on the way. Together, Eric and Tiffany have a heart for strengthening the family unit. They were children's pastors at Destiny Christian Church for 10 years and now are Directors of Destiny Community Center where they offer resources to strengthen and support families. Trained in Love & Logic and Kimochi Social Therapy, Tiffany teaches West Coast leaders in churches, community centers and public schools and she developed a 3-week Co-Parenting curriculum for separated/divorced/foster/adopt/blended families. With a degree from UC Davis in Psychology emphasizing on Child and Family Development, Tiffany is trained in assessing and implementing family health strategies. Eric and Tiffany's goal is simple, to provide the resources and education necessary to see stability and health in local homes.