“Together we are strengthening families to overcome adversity by building hope and resilience”

Dr. Alyson Reynolds Kohl is a licensed Family Therapist and the Clinical Director at the Children’s Legacy Center, a children’s advocacy center. Alyson’s passion for ACEs was sparked when she realized the most vulnerable populations often have the highest ACE scores. She believes ACE education is the first step to stop the cycle of abuse and prevent future generations from adverse experiences. Alyson works to influence the community to support families and at-risk populations, and to encourage collaborative efforts to build healthy families. She believes that having trauma-informed organizations will improve compassion among employees and towards clients. ACE information is not only for those who work with children and families, it can help anyone. Alyson is a grandma, has a dog, two cats, two chickens, and loves the outdoors.

Amy Diamantine is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and is the Regional Director of Program Development for Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties with Northern Valley Catholic Social Service. She has been with NVCSS since 2015, beginning as a clinician in the counseling department. Amy is passionate about supporting the community in reducing ACE scores. She has a strong connection to the communities within the North State while recognizing the need to address ACEs in rural areas to improve the lives of our individuals and families. In her personal time, she loves enjoying the beautiful outdoors of the North State and spending time with her husband and two daughters. 

As the Program Manager at the Crime Victims Assistance Center with the District Attorney, Angie serves victims of crime through very difficult processes. Her role includes coordinating outreach activities, victims’ rights, and participating on the statewide crime assistance board. With her unique perspective on ACEs, Angie is invested in the development of resilience. She believes that by educating people on ACEs, we start the wheels turning and hopefully prevent future ACEs by creating awareness. She would like to build a stronger community for our children by establishing stronger crime prevention education programs as well as providing restorative resources for families.

Caedy Minoletti joined the Red Cross as Executive Director of the California Gold Country Region’s Northern California Chapter in January 2023. She came to the organization after two years as Executive Director of One SAFE Place, a multi-services agency which provides legal services, safety, and emotional support to intimate partners, children, and seniors affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. Caedy is an avid campter and hiker, is involved in a local search and rescue team and is a meditation instructor at the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, an organization that came to Northern California after the Carr Fire to help families and communities heal.

Diane Hacker is a Family Services Manager with Shasta Head Start and a lifelong resident of Shasta County who is passionate about seeing all members of our community thrive. She works to make families self-sufficient, connects them to resources, and advocates for their children. Diane is interested in changing the mindset of those with ACEs from thinking that something is wrong with them to thinking that something happened to them. She believes this shift will help people understand there is always hope and that they can make positive life changes.

Jackie Durant works as the Executive Director of HOPE City, which specializes in restorative justice. She has a passion for restorative justice because it mitigates the harmful effects of trauma and injustice. Her vision is to see communities healed and reconciled where restorative justice is the natural response to crime or wrongdoing. She believes that working to reduce ACEs in the community will reduce incarceration, addiction, and the number of youth who struggle because of their childhood trauma. Jackie wants to use her experience to help community members better understand the ripple effect ACEs have in our community. 

Jackie Scott is the Grant Coordinator for First 5 Shasta, which funds projects, services, and activities that benefit pregnant women and parents with children ages 0-5. She provides technical assistance to grantees applying for these funds, and manages an external grant focusing on identifying and treating trauma in the community. Jackie wants to find support for early childhood educators and families who are interested in helping children express themselves in a healthy way. She believes that building resiliency helps support parents in our community and helps children develop healthier behaviors.

As a Shasta County HHSA Community Development Coordinator, Jonathon Freeman is an advocate for a multigenerational approach to building people, connection, and culture. As a Native American community member and avid runner, he has seen healing from trauma with his running buddies through connection and community building and looks forward to educating local Native Communities. Jonathan is well versed in the science of ACEs and is eager to educate the community on the impact toxic stress has on the body and mind to bring restoration to the community.

Kellie Thon has worked for the Shasta County Probation department since 1994. Her career began as a Juvenile Hall counselor before being promoted to a Deputy Probation Officer. Kellie works to bring wholeness to victims and assist offenders with changing their lives by showing them no matter what they’ve been through and the poor choices they have made, they can change their path and lead a prosperous life. By addressing their ACEs and needs through evidence-based programs, they can reduce trauma in their children’s lives and become healthier people. In her free time, Kellie loves to exercise, garden, sing, and spend time with her family.

Kelly Rizzi has been an educator since 1994 and has taught everything from preschool through eighth grade. She has served as the Director of School and District Support for SCOE since 2013 where she coaches classroom teachers in Social Emotional Learning. Kelly was trained through Dr. Bruce Perry’s Trauma Academy in the Neuro-sequential Model of Education, is an ACE Interface Trainer, and is a Trainer of Trainers for Restorative Practices and Mental Health First Aid. Since 2015 she has shared this science and these practices with more than 4,000 educators throughout Northern California. Kelly believes when like-minded, pure-hearted individuals move forward with the intent to mitigate and heal the effects of childhood trauma, the results are synergistic and incredible miracles are experienced across the community. This is already in motion in Shasta County, and she hopes it will continue to grow as we come together to dream the future of our community. 

Kiera Chambers is a pastor for Branches Faith in Shasta Lake City, works in public schools, and is a mom of two. She centers her life around authentic relationships and works to help people understand the impact of ACEs to give people the power to build resiliency. Kiera applies her knowledge of ACEs to raising her children and educating her local faith community on the importance of healing from your past trauma.

As the Deputy Branch Director for Children’s and Adult Mental Health of Shasta County HHSA and a previous social worker who served foster youth, Laura has seen first-hand how trauma changes brain wiring and is passionate about finding ways that we can repair the trauma. She believes families and children need to be given the tools to skillfully navigate difficult emotions and heal negative wiring. Parents and community members often believe behavior is an adaptation of what they are living in and don’t know what they can do differently to improve opportunities for their children. Laura would like to see a parent engagement program to support them in understanding ACEs and develop healthy coping mechanisms using evidence-based tools.

Laura has lived in Shasta County most of her life. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for thirty plus years and is the mother of two grown boys, Brenden and Darren. Family is an important value her parents instilled in her by the caring and family gatherings they frequently shared and hosted. When Laura is not working, she enjoys traveling to see her children, roaming the trails of Shasta County and spending time with long-time friends.

As a native of Shasta County, Nick grew up attending Shasta County public schools. He has worked with and advocated for students in a variety of programs such as substance abuse prevention, financial aid, student housing, and college access for low-income first-generation students. Nick runs an early college high school completion program on the Shasta College campus for students who are behind on credits and not on track to graduate. Students are concurrently enrolled in high school and college classes to accelerate toward their high school diploma while getting an introduction to college. Nick’s consistent passion has been connecting young people to opportunities for success. He believes education serves a central role in that. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering in the community and exploring the world on bikes with his wife and twin sons.

Susan Wilson is the Executive Director of Youth Options Shasta (previously known as Youth Violence Prevention Council). She is a founding member of the Strengthening Families Collaborative. Locally she works to build strong families by providing training in a variety of curricula, including Strengthening Families: The Five Protective Factors, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, the 40 Developmental Assets, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Resilience. Susan believes strong families raise children with survival skills for today’s world, and resilience is key. For fun, she is a master gardener and coordinates Regrow Shasta, a local project that provides free plants to people landscaping their yards after the Carr Fire destroyed them. 

Wendy Dickens, Executive Director of First 5 Shasta, advocates for young children and their families of Shasta County by utilizing State funding and educating decision-makers around the needs of young children. Wendy also has direct experience working with ACEs and generational issues in her 16 years of work at Children’s Services. She is passionate about stopping the generational cycle of ACEs by building supportive communities. Wendy would like to see workshops that create a safe space for people to learn about ACEs and share their experiences so we can begin sowing seeds of change. Wendy enjoys spending time with her children and is a volunteer firefighter and avid bowler.