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Amy is a pediatric occupational therapist with many years of experience in out-patient clinics and school based settings. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and received training from the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy. Amy also earned her Certification in Sensory Integration (AKA “SIPT-certified”), holds training in Handwriting without Tears and completed Level I and level II hippotherapy training from the American Hippotherapy Association. Whether working in a therapy room or a horse arena, Amy is passionate about helping children improve their fine motor, gross motor and sensory processing skills to achieve their highest potential.

Dr. Ashley Cross established the first girls’ home in Tulsa, OK and raised awareness in the city about the issues concerning girls in foster care. Dr. Cross lives to help vulnerable children build hope that the future will be better and help them see that they have a part to play in it. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Generation Two in Rochester, NY, runs the Monroe County CarePortal through the Hub585, Inc., and Pastor’s alongside her husband at Glory House International. Dr. Cross has her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master’s in Not-for-Profit Management, and Doctor of Educational Leadership, all from Oral Roberts University.

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.

Dr. Cindy Petersen is the Superintendent/CEO of Gateway Community Charters, a group of nine charters serving approximately 4,700 K-12 students in the greater Sacramento region. Dr. Petersen is a life-long learner and a committed educator, having served in education in a wide array of roles and settings.  She is passionate about meeting the unique and diverse needs of students in our community.  Dr. Petersen has received many honors including the 2019 Exemplary Woman In Education Award and she is highly involved in advancing character and leadership development in elementary schools. 

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Leanne Liddicoat completed her undergraduate studies at UC Davis in Economics. Motivated by her own vision issues, she chose a career in optometry out of a desire to help others see and function better.  She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry in 1998, receiving awards for both her theses work on vision related learning disorders and emergency eye care.  Dr. Liddicoat's passion for pediatric eye care leads her to coordinate school vision screenings, publish articles, and give presentations on vision therapy to other colleagues, pediatricians, school teachers, administrators, and parents.  She and her family reside in the Loomis/Newcastle area, and she's been practicing optometry in the Roseville, Rocklin & Granite Bay area for almost 20 years.

Mark has been a career Law Enforcement and Public Safety Chaplain for over 38 years. He holds a Masters of Ministry Degree in Public Safety from Trinity Biblical University and attained Master Chaplain Certification with the International Conference of Police Chaplains. Chaplain O’Sullivan has served as the Senior Law Enforcement Chaplain in Placer and Sacramento Counties, as a Senior Chaplain with the F.B.I. and Past President of the International Conference of Police Chaplains. He is a “Certified Expert” in the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and an educational provider in the field of Critical Incident Stress Management, Crisis Response and Traumatics. He is currently the President and Executive Director of Educational Ministries, Inc. and President of O’Sullivan Consulting. Chaplain O’Sullivan and his wife Patti have three grown children, Daniel, Michael and Erin. 

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.

Nicole is a Social Worker and African American Cultural Specialist with Sacramento County where she assists families in reunification. Nicole is passionate about giving back to her community and helping individuals over come mental, physical, and emotional blocks in their lives. She also has a heart for racial reconciliation and in 2017, Nicole founded "Wisdom and Worth Ministries", an organization to help educate and empower people. Nicole holds degrees in Christian Education and Human Services with a concentration in Child and Family Services and is currently working on her Master’s degree in Social Work. i

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 (13) & Laurie (18), 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.