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.
https://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 (he/him), Project Co-Director and TA Liaison, has dedicated his career to evaluating and promoting the mental and behavioral health of LGBTQ+ people, youth, and others experiencing disparities in health and well-being. Ken has over 25 years of experience collecting and analyzing health disparities prevention and policy change data, evaluating program services, and providing training and technical assistance (TTA) in diversity, inclusion, cultural humility, and health equity to CBOs, California County Departments of Health, the California Department of Health Care Services, and the Veterans Administration’s largest treatment facility for homeless veterans. Ken has been providing organizational development TTA to LGBTQ grantees as Co-Director of the LGBTQ TA Center for the California Reducing Disparities Project for over 7 years. As Senior Research Associate at the Center for Applied Research Solutions, he partners with the San Mateo County Health Department and Latinx, African American, and Tongan CBOs to analyze data on community wellness and alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use prevention. He also evaluates three California Tobacco Control Program policy change efforts in San Mateo and Orange Counties, a vape prevention program for youth in Orange County, an Emerging Leaders for Civic Engagement program for youth in Orange County, and a Brighter Futures for Children of Prisoners program in Orange County.
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 (she/her), 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.
Tori Stuart-Cassel (she/her), 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.
Angel Villalobos (he/him/él), Change Consultant, is a learner, connector and problem solver. He currently serves as Co-Director of Expanding the Bench and supports national, federal, and philanthropic initiatives, including work with the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED), learning and evaluation with Mathematica®, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Healthy Food for Denver Kids Initiative. Previously, Angel worked at the University of Colorado and The Colorado Health Foundation where he successfully led statewide strategic efforts in the advancement and promotion of equitable grant making and evaluation practices; survey and focus group development and facilitation; participant recruitment and community building; and multi-generation and community-led intervention programming. Inspired by his upbringing and fueled by a passion for improving the health of his family and others, he actively seeks creative and innovative ways to shift influence, power, and resources to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income communities.
London M. Losey (she/her), MS, Change Consultant, brings strong values of relationship-building, social justice, and equity. Her work regularly includes 1:1 and group coaching, facilitation of group learning environments. London provides coaching and TA support to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Transforming Academia for Equity grantees; co-leads the programmatic deliverables of the Home Visiting Technical Assistance Resource Center, which includes 1:1 and Universal TA to federal grantees of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; and serves as an adaptive leadership trainer and coach across multiple projects. London is the former Project Director of Expanding the Bench’s (ETB) Advancing Culturally-responsive and Equitable Evaluation Network and continues to support ETB’s mission and vision in various capacities. She is trained in continuous quality improvement, active implementation, and emergent learning. Her work is grounded in evidence-based practices and geared toward supporting personal and professional development, implementation, and evaluation goals.
Mylonne Sullivan (she/her), MSW, LICDC, LISW, Change Coach, Technical Assistance Specialist- Equity & Systems Trainer, is dually licensed as a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency counselor. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Arizona Global Campus. Throughout her career, Ms. Sullivan has demonstrated expertise in various facets of behavioral health, from counseling, to consulting and program management to cultivating equitable and trauma-informed organizational cultures. With a background centered in the nonprofit sector in Cleveland, OH, she specializes in working with reentry and behavioral health organizations and leaders, as well as advocating and analyzing policy on local bail reform campaigns. Now, Ms. Sullivan’s multifaceted skill set, experience, and commitment to advocacy continues to make a profound impact in the behavioral health field and beyond by focusing on technical assistance, evaluation, leadership, and organizational development.