Marla Kingkade, President - Law Enforcement and Community Liaison, CRF/ PERT San Diego. Marla Kingkade has worked within the law enforcement and mental health communities in San Diego County for thirty-two years. Marla developed several programs for law enforcement jurisdictions involving mental health issues, including juvenile diversion programs for the El Cajon Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department and the San Diego Police Department. In addition, Marla implemented the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) for San Diego County law enforcement agencies. Marla, with the help and support of many community partners, implemented the PERT program in 1996 for the San Diego Police Department. In 1998, the PERT program became county-wide involving several law enforcement jurisdictions, including the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and eleven additional law enforcement agencies.

In addition, Marla was part of a team that incorporated the PERT program into a non-profit company, PERT, Inc. In 2001, Marla went to La Mesa Police Department as the Public Relations Officer but continued to support and to advise the PERT program on an as needed basis. In 2007, Marla was asked to return to the PERT full time to help coordinate the expansion of the PERT program. Currently, CRF/PERT contracts with thirteen law enforcement jurisdictions within San Diego County and assigns clinicians at twenty-three separate law enforcement locations. Marla also coordinates the development and distribution of training materials for law enforcement personnel and clinicians. In 2012, Marla joined the Board of Directors of Survivors of Suicide Loss (SOSL). She works with San Diego County law enforcement to distribute information and resources about the SOSL program.

Georgina Yoshioka, DSW, LCSW, MBA, Vice President - Deputy Director, 24-hour & Emergency Services, County of San Bernardino. With 21 years of experience working the field of social work, Dr. Georgina Yoshioka, DSW, LCSW, MBA specializes in the delivery of behavioral health services to diverse populations including criminal justice, behavioral health, and child welfare systems. She has held a variety of clinical and managerial positions throughout her career. Her vast experience as a pre-and-post licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) consists of providing individual and group psychotherapy and case management to adults diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder and/or chronic medical condition, children, and couples in outpatient and residential behavioral health treatment settings. As the Deputy Director of 24-Hour & Emergency Services for the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), Dr. Yoshioka oversees an array of centralized specialty County behavioral health programs including Community Crisis Services, Diversion Services, Centralized Hospital Aftercare Services, the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program and manages DBH’s Crisis Stabilization Units, Crisis Residential Treatment facilities and Crisis Walk-In Centers.

In her prior position as DBH’s Adult Forensic Services Program Manager II, Dr. Yoshioka addressed the needs of the adult forensic population by effectively managing specialized outpatient treatment programs through partnerships with key members of the criminal justice system including San Bernardino County Sheriff, Probation, Public Defender District Attorney, and local law enforcement, mental health courts, hospitals, parole and state prisons. In addition, since 2008, Dr. Yoshioka has worked in collaboration with the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department as part of the CIT Committee, facilitating a robust behavioral health training program accessible to all law enforcement personnel throughout the County. The guidance of the committee provides law enforcement personnel with techniques to effectively address the multi-layered needs of individuals who may be experiencing a mental health crisis by diverting these individuals to supportive community resources rather than local hospitals or jails. Through these programs, facilities and partnerships, Dr. Yoshioka is an key contributor to DBH’s mission of providing individuals, families, and communities’ with access to services that promote prevention, intervention, wellness, recovery, and resiliency.

Captain Daniel Lamm (Ret.), Secretary - California Highway Patrol. With 35 years of public safety experience with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Captain (Ret.) Danny Lamm was assigned as the Commander of the Capitol Protection Section. His responsibilities included the management of the CHP Capitol Police, Special Weapons and Tactical Mounted Patrol, Bicycle Patrol, Hazardous Device Detail, and Criminal Investigations. Well versed in public safety, Captain Lamm was a California Peace Officer Standards and Training Master Instructor who had designed and implemented training courses for over 10,000 Highway Patrol employees statewide. He was tasked with the development and implementation of the CHP Mental Illness Response Program, including new training curriculum for all CHP employees depending on their level of public exposure and job functions.

Chief Ray Sweeney, Treasurer - La Mesa PD. Chief Sweeney joined the La Mesa Police Department in 2001, and has held several assignments over the last several years. The assignments include, Patrol, Detective, Narcotic Task Force Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. He also held several collateral assignments that include, Master Officer, Range Master, Defensive Tactics and Less Lethal Instructor, Special Response Team member, Team Leader, and Commander. As a Captain, he oversaw both the Patrol and Services Divisions. Chief Sweeney has served as a Subject Matter Expert for the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) in mental health and law enforcement response.

Chief Sweeney is a veteran of the US Army, serving both on active duty and continuing his career in the California Army National Guard. He retired as a Sergeant Major in 2012, after serving more than 26 years.

Chief Sweeney holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University and a Master of Science degree from the University of San Diego, in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Academy and the US Army Sergeant’s Major Academy.

Sharon Roth, RN. BSN, MA - Santa Clara NAMI. Sharon has been involved with CIT since 1979, and through her efforts Sharon has helped pioneer the CIT program in California.  Her vast experience within the healthcare industry has helped her develop the knowledge and focus to ensure that patients get the best care possible, regardless of where the care is taking place.   Presently, Sharon is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Samuel Merritt University where she has two clinical rotations at three different psychiatric facilities twice a year. Sharon introduces her students to the world of a psychiatric patient from those needing an inpatient acute facility to those in recovery in outpatient sites.

Prior to her recent retirement, Sharon was the Administrative Nursing House Supervisor at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Redwood City.  Sharon was responsible for patient care satisfaction, managed staffing levels to ensure quality patient care, assessed patients for proper level of care, and transferred patients to Kaiser when stabilized for return.  Additionally, Sharon has intricate experience and knowledge gained from her past and ongoing involvement in positions such as being a founding member of CACITA; active member on the NAMI-Board of Directors; involvement with the CIT team planning committee in collaboration with NAMI, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, San Mateo Mental Health Department, and  Argosy University; associate of the Crisis Intervention Team Planning Committee in collaboration with the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, San Jose Police Department, and the  Santa Clara Department of Mental Health CIT program; trained facilitator for support groups, Family to Family instructor; founding member of the CISM Bay Area Team: 1986, and affiliate of the Education Committee and the Disaster Mental Health Services, S.C.V. Chapter, American Red Cross.

Terry Wilcox-Rittgers MS., M.S., M.F.T., Special Projects Coordinator II, County of San Mateo, Behavioral Health & Recovery Services. Terry is a past Secretary and Treasure with CACITA and is a Lifetime Member. He has been employed by San Mateo County since 1987 in various capacities with his last full-time position being Clinical Services Manager II. He retired in 2020 and returned later that year to work part-time to oversee the clinical aspects of a new behavioral health campus being built in Redwood City, California. In addition, he is a licensed psychotherapist and has an active private practice in California.

Armando Sandoval - CIT Team Coordinator, BART PD. Currently serving with the BART Police Department as the CIT Coordinator and Community Outreach Liaison, Armando Sandoval has over 30 years of experience working as a Law Enforcement professional, Forensic Mental Health specialist and clinician, adjunct professor, and community outreach liaison. 15 years of experience as CIT academy instructor. Affiliated with NAMI San Mateo for 30 years, he also sits on his Local and State Board of Directors for NAMI CA.

Armando has been with the BART Police for six years. His first task outside of acclimating to a four county transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area was to develop a CIT multi-disciplinary Forensic Team (MDFT) in Alameda County to support CIT officers in the community with challenging cases that need a collaborative approach and support. In addition, he has worked for the San Mateo County Mobile Mental Health “Mobile Support Team” within the Spanish speaking communities struggling with severe mental illness for three decades. Lived experience with family members, married to his best friend, 3 wonderful sons and an energetic and healing chocolate lab.

Christina Valdez-Roup - Executive Director, NAMI Fresno. Christina is the Executive Director of NAMI Fresno. Living in California’s central valley for over 20 years, she comes to the mental health community with lived experience as a family member and a personal journey. As the lead for NAMI Fresno’s efforts supporting the law enforcement community, CHP and other local agencies with mental health training support, she also supports American Ambulance’s efforts in delivering CIT training to their Behavioral Health Support Team. This is a specialized team of paramedics that was developed to respond to mental health crisis calls in the Fresno community. Christina has recently received recognition from CHP as a recipient of the Fresno and Madera Police Chiefs Association Citizens Award for her support in providing mental health training to law enforcement professionals in the central valley. In addition to her work, she is a member of the local steering committee to developing a CIT team for the Fresno area.

Commander Mark Stadler (Ret.) - CIT Program Administrator, Ventura Sheriff’s Office. After retiring as a Commander from the Ventura Police Department with over 28 years of service, Mark Stadler became the Ventura County Law Enforcement CIT Program Administrator in 2015. He was a founding member of this CIT program in 2001. Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and a Master’s degree in Organizational Management from the University of La Verne. He is a graduate of the California Peace Officer Standards and Training Supervisory Leadership Institute and Command College. Mr. Stadler is an instructor at the Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center and an Senior Adjunct Professor for the University of La Verne.

Mark W. Marvin, Ph.D. (CA Licensed Psychologist) is a Vice President of Community Research Foundation (CRF) overseeing the operations of the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT). CRF is a not-for-profit company that provides behavioral health care via many programs throughout San Diego County. PERT pairs a licensed behavioral health clinician with a peace officer or community paramedic who ride together their entire shift. They compassionately and safely assist persons in serious crisis who come to the attention of first responders.PERT Clinicians take the lead by providing behavioral health assessments and community resource referrals. Outside of PERT, Dr. Marvin has extensive experience providing clinical services to persons living with serious mental illness, as well as family and other supports. Dr. Marvin has over 30-years’ experience providing psychological services to personnel of public safety agencies (federal and municipal law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical, dispatch). Dr. Marvin has been recognized as a subject matter expert on De-escalation by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and has assisted with their mental health training videos, mental health handbook, and de-escalation taskforce.

Christine Davies, LMFT - Assistant Director, CRF/PERT San Diego.Christine is a licensed MFT and the Assistant Director of the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team, better known as PERT. In 1993, she began her career in emergency response work in Los Angeles work for the Department of Children and Family Services within the Emergency Response Unit. Christine moved to San Diego in 1997 and became a PERT Clinician in 1998.

Christine’s role as a PERT clinician placed her in a patrol car alongside a uniformed officer for 10-hour shifts. She took an interest in understanding and clarifying the misconceptions between community organizations, members, and law enforcement around mental health related incidents that could create barriers to providing services. Christine’s workday included collaborating with agencies calling upon law enforcement for assistance with a mental health crisis. In 2014, Christine became a training instructor for the San Diego Regional Public Safety Institute on responding to emergencies involving individuals with special needs. In 2015 she became the Assistant Program Director for PERT and continues to serve the community through her work with CRF/PERT.

Michael Krelstein, M.D. - Medical Director, San Diego County Behavioral Health Services. A practicing clinical and administrative psychiatrist with nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Krelstein currently serves as Clinical Director for Behavioral Health Services for San Diego County.  Dr. Krelstein’s broad clinical and managerial background includes urgent/emergent care and hospital based behavioral health services along with the more recent addition of integrative care services for diverse clinical populations.  Dr. Krelstein is particularly proud of his forensic background and close collaboration with law enforcement, which has earned him several Congressional recognitions.  Dr. Krelstein continues to practice locally, as well as in Las Vegas.

Pietro “Piero” D’Ingillo PsyD - Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Psychological Services Bureau. Pietro is a licensed clinical psychologist and is a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Psychological Services Bureau. In 2016 he assisted with the development of the LASD Crisis Intervention Training where he functions as one of the full time instructors to patrol personnel. Dr. D’Ingillo attained community based experience while working for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health from the year 2004 until 2016 at which time his primary duty was responding to and managing psychiatric crises. For a period of ten years he responded with sworn officers to community based psychiatric emergencies and was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department-Mental Evaluation Unit and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department-Mental Evaluation Team.

Aimee Hendle serves as the Drug Demand Reduction Coordinator for the San Diego and Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (SDI HIDTA). Mrs. Hendle works to promote and increase public knowledge of the emerging drug, alcohol and Human Trafficking issues facing our communities today. She facilitates trainings as well as provides support and resources as they are requested throughout the state and along the US/Mexico border. Mrs. Hendle also works on a variety of initiatives ensuring that the programs are run within the required guidelines and with greatest desired outcomes and organizes numerous media releases and events at the local, state, national, and international level.

Miriam Clark is a Program Manager I with San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) Program for Law Enforcement and Community Partners. Ms. Clark has over sixteen years of human services experience with San Bernardino County working in various departments including the Department of Aging and Adult Services – In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, Public Health and Children and Family Services. In her current role as the CIT Program Manager I, Miriam works to uphold the goals of the CIT program by ensuring that first responders and community partners are well-prepared to successfully support and respond to community residents experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Through Miriam's leadership, the program collaborates with law enforcement entities and other county community partners, such as Probation and Fire, to educate their personnel on ways to recognize a behavioral health crisis, communicate appropriately, de-escalate, and most importantly, connect community residents and their families to appropriate resources. Miriam holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from the University of California, Riverside, and a Master of Public Administration Degree from The University of La Verne. Miriam is a certified San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Academy Instructor, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, GAINS Center’s How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses trainer, and a certified CIT Coordinator through CIT International.

Acting Deputy Director, San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health Julie Hale, is Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Acting Deputy Director of 24-Hour and Emergency Services for San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). Ms. Hale has over 21 years of experience providing leadership and oversight to government programs within DBH and as part of the contract agency network. She joined DBH in 2014 as Clinic Supervisor and has since held a variety of leadership roles. In her current role as Acting Deputy Director, Ms. Hale oversees the crisis continuum of care at DBH, to include Centralized Hospital Aftercare Services (CHAS); Community Crisis Services including the Community Crisis Response Team (CCRT) program; Diversion Services including the Triage, Engagement, and Support Team (TEST) program and Therapeutic Alliance Program (TAP) ; Crisis Intervention Training (CIT); and the Crisis Stabilization Continuum of Care (CSCC). Most recently, Julie served as Senior Program Manager for the 24-Hour and Emergency Services division, where she provided contract oversight for five (5) Crisis Residential Treatment facilities, two (2) Crisis Stabilization Units, and two (2) Crisis Walk-In Center programs. Ms. Hale also serves as liaison to San Bernardino County’s contracted Fee-For-Service Hospitals and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, who provide inpatient psychiatric services to San Bernardino County Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured residents. Ms. Hale has been responsible of coordinating disaster responses and spearheading training and deployment of Critical Incident Stress Debrief teams following critical incidents throughout the communities of San Bernardino County. Ms. Hale has a proven history of collaboration, strong relationship-building and fostering relationships that are key in providing seamless interagency care coordination for the consumers of DBH services.

Tamica has over 20 years’ experience in working with the community in public service and disability organizations, which includes state service as a Regional Manager for the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD), Deputy Probation Officer for Riverside County, Health Care Compliance Analyst at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) monitoring compliance for inmates with disability under the Armstrong Remedial Act, Volunteer Advocacy Services (VAS) Coordinator at Canyon Springs Developmental Center under SCDD to support advocacy and transition of people with developmental disabilities in state facilities into the community and working with disability organizations on systemic issues. Tamica has been an IITC/Level II instructor for POST since 2018, certified CIT Coordinator, certified sexuality trainer specific to addressing the needs of people with developmental disabilities, functional assessment service team member (FAST), citizens emergency response team (CERT) member, certified domestic violence advocate, batterers intervention facilitator, certified human trafficking advocate and access and functional needs (AFN) trainer and consultant. She is an active member of several emergency service boards and serves as a subject matter expert and trainer on disability awareness. Tamica’s work in the field of disability education, access and functional needs and emergency services, resulted in her being awarded the California Emergency Services Association “Gold Award” in 2017.