The LGBTQ TA Center is led by the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS) and supported by Change Matrix LLC and Evaluation, Management, Training Associates, Inc. (EMT). CARS, Change Matrix, and EMT form a strong team of coaches, evaluators, and cultural competence experts to support the CRDP LGBTQ TA Center grantees throughout the life of the initiative. The LGBTQ TA Center Team will also provide creative and intersectional supports to the other population-specific CRDP grantees.
- CARS is a California-based, small, 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was incorporated in 2001 to provide comprehensive training and technical assistance (TTA) services. CARS leads TA Centers for state and national initiatives in mental health, substance abuse, cultural competence, mentoring, and violence prevention. CARS’ mission is to foster safe, healthy, and engaged individuals and communities by promoting evidence-based practice. The CARS team is dedicated to building organizational and field capacity through high-quality TTA services that bridge the gap between research and practice.
http://cars-rp.org - Change Matrix LLC is a women-owned, minority-owned, small business. Working to motivate, manage and measure change for systems that improve lives, Change Matrix partners are trained facilitators, mediators, coaches and content experts who take a public health approach to mental health disparities. Change Matrix has proven experience in working with agencies, organizations, individuals and communities across human services systems to ensure that all individuals have access to quality and appropriate support and services to achieve optimal health. Change Matrix infuses cultural and linguistic competence, youth and family engagement, and program evaluation into all of its work.
http://changematrix.org - EMT is a California Small Business Enterprise (SBE) specializing in evaluation, policy research, and TTA service provision. For over 30 years, EMT has been providing high-quality consulting services to public sector organizations in the fields of health, human services, and education. EMT has completed over 300 federal, state, and local evaluation, TA, and training contracts across more than 20 states. EMT staff are adept at evaluating behavioral health programs and systems of care, supporting data coordination and quality improvement efforts, and identifying and meeting the challenges of behavioral health program evaluation.
http://emt.org
LGBTQ TA Center Team
Ken Einhaus, Project Co-Director and TA Liaison, has dedicated his career to promoting the mental and behavioral health of LGBTQ populations. He has more than 18 years’ experience in evaluation, survey research, LGBTQ cultural competency TTA, and resource development on projects addressing the mental and behavioral health of historically marginalized populations, including at-risk youth and racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities. He managed LGBTQ cultural competency TTA at LGBT-TRISTAR for five years, where he managed consultants for over 75 LGBTQ trainings; directly facilitated more than 25 cultural competency trainings; and provided TA and needs assessments on working with and evaluating services for LGBTQ individuals and families in diverse behavioral healthcare settings, including the Veterans Administration’s premier national residential treatment facility for homeless veterans as it accepted its first transgender client. At CARS, he managed TTA and resource development for the Community Alliance for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CA-CLAS), the Community Prevention Initiative, and the California Community Colleges Student Mental Health Program (CCC SMHP). He wrote cultural competency issue briefs for CCC SMHP including “Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students,” which was downloaded over 1,600 times; authored the curriculum Responding to Difficult or Distressed Online Students: Online Assessment and Referrals; and edited many publications on cultural competence and mental health. He is the Senior Evaluator for CCC SMHP Phase II. He is the local evaluator for several alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) prevention projects for youth in Sonoma and Orange Counties, as well as for a Butte County substance use disorder prevention model pursuing NREPP designation.
Alex Filippelli (they/he), MSW, Project Co-Director and TA Liaison, is a queer and trans white settler and documented foreign worker who has dedicated their career to promoting health equity, racial, and gender justice. They bring deep knowledge of qualitative research and evaluation, including specific focus on transgender health needs and barriers. As a practitioner, Alex has developed and provided training and education on community needs assessments, program evaluations, harm reduction, trauma-informed, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice frameworks.
Prior to joining CARS, Alex was part-time faculty with CSU Sacramento’s Division of Social Work. They also have extensive experience in non-profit management, program evaluation, and direct service, including having spent several years overseeing Gender Health Center, Sacramento’s Trans and LGBQ-affirming behavioral workforce development program as part of the California Reducing Disparities Project. Prior to immigrating to the US, Alex worked as a participatory action researcher using arts-based methods in the gender-based violence prevention field. Alex has also supported white people to unlearn racism and promote mutual aid initiatives as part of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ).
Community of Practice Team Coaches
Liz Waetzig, JD, Facilitation and Organizational Development Coach, specializes in organizational behavior with an emphasis on collaboration in complex systems. She will serve as primary facilitator of the Community of Practice, as well as provide expertise on facilitation, collaboration, and outreach and engagement. She has been managing conflict as a lawyer, mediator, facilitator, and trainer for over 18 years. Ms. Waetzig focuses her efforts in the areas of health care, mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and other human services. She brings broad experience in all phases of program design and implementation including: planning with small, large, and diverse stakeholder groups; conflict resolution among individuals and teams; coaching; and training in all levels of interaction, from individual negotiation to large group facilitation.
Suganya Sockalingam, PhD, Systems Change Coach, has 20 years of experience addressing issues related to cultural and linguistic competence, health inequities and disparities, cross-cultural communication, conflict management, and leadership solutions. Dr. Sockalingam will provide expertise to this project on systems change, cultural competence, and CLAS. She has worked with several state health agencies and has consulted with a variety of public health and mental health organizations to address systems change at the local, state, and national level. She has co-developed several curricula to guide systems transformation. Dr. Sockalingam assists agencies to develop capacity to address workforce diversity and institutionalize culturally and linguistically competent services. She has served as a convener for a variety of Learning Communities, such as the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED) Faith-based and Trauma-informed Practice Learning Clusters.
Rachele C. Espiritu, PhD, Evaluation Planning Coach, has over 15 years’ experience in children’s behavioral health, behavioral health disparities, workforce development, program evaluation, CLAS, public health approaches to mental health, change management, and systems collaboration. She has led national cross-site evaluations and local program evaluations using participatory and culturally-informed approaches. She will provide capacity building TTA as the grantees develop and revise Evaluation Plans. Dr. Espiritu is the lead evaluator for several programs, including an Office of Minority Health grant project and a joint mental health project of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association and the National Asian Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. Dr. Espiritu built states’ and communities’ evaluation capacity as Director of Evaluation at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development.
Tori Stuart-Cassel, MPPA, Advanced Evaluation Coach, has 20 years’ program and policy evaluation experience with expertise in evaluating behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services and systems. Areas of expertise include program evaluation; community and statewide needs assessments of mental health and substance abuse prevention systems; quantitative and qualitative analyses; TTA for evaluation capacity building; data quality and management; survey research and measurement; legislative and policy analysis; and report writing and product development. Her role will be to support the grantees in advanced evaluation areas. Relevant work includes national cross-site evaluations for two SAMHSA behavioral health initiatives; subcontracting on the evaluation of the California Mental Health Services Act; statewide evaluation of California’s Access to Recovery grant addressing treatment needs within American Indian/Alaskan Native populations; and local Safe Schools/Healthy Students and school-based mental health grant programs.