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PPI TEAM

ROSEMARY TISCH

Director. Mrs. Tisch is lead author for Celebrating Families!™, SCRIPS, the YWAS series, START of California and co-author for Keys to Healthy Living. Rosemary was the founder of Kids Are Special and Family Education Foundation, nonprofits focusing on the prevention of substance abuse in high-risk populations: children of alcoholics/addicts, sexually active teens, and individuals with learning differences and those exposed in utero to alcohol and other drugs. Group models created by KAS and FEF have been successfully replicated throughout the US, Mexico, and Russia, where Rosemary was the lead trainer.

Rosemary has vast experience in non-profit organizations and the development of programs to address substance abuse problems. She was the chair of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic Development Committee and the Co-Chair of the Santa Clara County Community Learning Assessment Task Force. She has been a member of the March of Dimes Health & Policy Committee, past President of the National Prevention Task Force, served on the Vestry and Community Ministries Board for St. Andrews' Episcopal Church and was a member of the Alcohol & Drug Master Plan Review committee for Santa Clara County, serving as chair of the Perinatal Focus Group.

Honors include: 2008 selection as one of NACoA’s 25 individuals who “save, protect and guide children of alcoholics”, 2007 Crystal Bowl Winner, Outstanding Community Volunteer by Junior League of San Jose, 2001 selection as one of three Women Who Care by South Bay Accent; nominated as Woman of the Year, Santa Clara County; the Penny Golden Rule Award; and listing in Who's Who Among Human Services Professionals. Ms. Tisch holds Master Degrees in Counseling Psychology from Stanford University and in Piano Performance from College of Notre Dame. She is married with two grown daughters.

MARY GARDNER

Project Director & Trainer. Currently Ms. Gardner assists the Director in the administration of Celebrating Families!, particularly those participating in the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health grant in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, CA. Retiring after eleven years as Superintendent of Saratoga Union School District (Saratoga, CA), Ms. Gardner currently consults with non-profit organizations and school districts. Mary Gardner was a school teacher and administrator for 42 years. After one year at Harvard's Graduate School of Education as an instructor and a visiting practitioner, she taught courses in educational leadership at California State University at Hayward. CA. She has provided keynote speeches and workshops on women's ways of leading, co-authored two books on leadership, and a book for parents to help children with homework. Her passions continue to be building communities of learners and leaders ensuring that all families and children have the environment and support to be successful. She has completed doctoral courses at the University of California at Berkeley and has an MA in Education Administration from the University of Redlands.

LINDA SIBLEY

Co-Author, Fidelity Coordinator, and Trainer. Ms. Sibley is the co-author of Celebrating Families! and the team leader/co-author of Keys for Healthy Living, a prevention program currently being used throughout Russian speaking countries. Linda is the author and founder of Confident Kids Support Groups, an organization which has provided resources and training for children's support group ministries throughout the United States and other parts of the world for more than 25 years. In addition to the Confident Kids curriculum, she authored the Guides for Growing a Healthy Family Book Series (Baker Book House), contributed to Sunday School curriculum projects for Standard Publishing and David C. Cook Publishers, and has contributed to Christian Parenting Today and STEPS magazines.

PAT HELLER

Fidelity Coordinator. Ms Heller provides technical assistance and model fidelity oversight for Celebrating Families! in Santa Clara County, CA, and for DEC sponsored sites in Kentucky. Ms. Heller's educational background includes a BFA from University of Southern California and a Masters of Social Work from San Jose State University. As an LCSW she continued academic studies in a doctoral program at the California Graduate School of Family and Marital Therapy in San Rafael, Ca. Her professional work includes junior high school teacher in the LA Unified School District, Psychiatric Social Worker at Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose, Ca), staff therapist (Outpatient Mental Health, Santa Clara County, Ca.) and private practice as a LCSW, Program Manager for Family Education Foundation, Writer for Silicon Valley Business Ink, and substitute teacher for San Jose and Los Gatos Unified School Districts. Her community work includes (1) sustaining advisor for the Junior League of San Jose: Georgia Travis Shelter for Women and Children and for East Valley Mental Health; (2) Board of Directors and Charity Review Chair for Valle Monte League (San Jose, CA.), (3) President of Santa Clara County Medical Association Alliance, (4) Co-chair for the Medical Alliance "Violence in the Media" conference for Santa Clara County Medical Physicians (5) Consultant for the California Medical Association Alliance for the ADD/LD Health Program, (6) President Family education Foundation Board of Directors, (7) Chair of the Advisory Board for the START Program (FEF, San Jose, CA.)

CARI SANTIBANES

Fidelity Coordinator & Trainer. Ms Santibanes provides technical assistance and model fidelity oversight for Celebrating Families! in Santa Clara County and Kings Counties, CA. Cari is the Program Director of Friends Outside of Santa Clara County. She holds a Montessori Master's Degree, California licenses as a K-3 teacher and as a Marriage & Family Therapist and a Certificate as a Learning Disability Specialist. She graduated with a B.A. in Humanities from UC Berkeley. She is experienced counselor having worked at Giaretto Institute, Director of Rape Crisis Center at Mid Peninsula YWCA - Palo Alto, Clinical Director of Kids Are Special, Clinical Coordinator at EMQ Family and Children's Services, Juvenile Court Liaison at Family Education Foundation and served on the Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Team at Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA,. In addition to her work for PPI, she is currently Program Director of Friends Outside of Santa Clara County working closely with the Executive Director and Board and. providing supervision of Program Managers and oversight for all of the programs, including Celebrating Families! in Santa Clara County, CA. Previously at Friends Outside she was the Program Manager of Steps Ahead - In Home Visitation program for children birth to five and their families of Friends Outside of Santa Clara County, CA.

MELISSA SANTOS-CARTHEN

Fidelity Coordinator & Trainer. Ms. Santos-Carthen provides technical assistance and model fidelity oversight for Celebrating Families! in Santa Clara County and Sutter/Yuba Counties. Melissa is a graduate of the Rhode Island College School of Social Work where she earned her Bachelor of Social Work degree. She has worked for nearly ten years with families impacted by substance abuse and the dependency system as a home visitor and advocate, including creation of a pilot program at Child Advocates within the Dependency Drug Court, in collaboration with Leslie Kim and Judge Len Edwards. Melissa has facilitated both the parent and preschool groups of the curriculum. She is also the Steps Ahead Program Manager at Friends Outside in Santa Clara County where she also oversees the CF! program.

LOURDES GARCIA

Research Associate. Lourdes is a 2006 graduate from Mills College, Psychology Major. She has facilitated Celebrating Families! parent groups and assists with grant writing, editing and research. Before coming to PPI she served as a hotline counselor for sexually assaulted victims, continuing to advocate for survivors. Her interest in child development led to her participation in a three year research project addressing at risk children and developmental trauma. She is currently applying to doctoral programs in clinical psychology where she will focus on children and families.

DAVID SIBLEY

CEO of Family Resources International (the 501c3 parent company for PPI), David brings experience in sales and marketing with the Coca-Cola Company and Vice-president of Southern California Safe Company. Along with Linda Sibley, he presents seminars and training events promoting the Confident Kids Support Group program for children in the US, and also in Russia, Germany, Finland and Sweden.

SHIRLEY N. SPARKS-GRIEF

Evaluation Consultant. Ms. Sparks, MS, CCC-SLP oversees Celebrating Families! evaluation process. She is associate professor emerita, Western Michigan University, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. Shirley retired recently as adjunct associate professor at Santa Clara University, Early Childhood Special Education, Santa Clara, CA. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and is a member of the original Board of Specialty Recognition in Child Language. During her 15 years at WMU she published and was a frequent speaker on the subjects of genetics, fetal alcohol syndrome, and early intervention. Shirley received a BA degree from the University of Iowa, MS from Tulane University, and while at WMU, undertook Ph.D. studies at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education. She moved to California before completing that degree. As a clinician, she served on the Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Team at Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA, and has been a home visitor for children aged 0-3 for the past 12 years. She presently is a home visitor for early intervention in speech, language, and feeding for HOPE Homestart, San Jose, and is writing a book on home visiting.