Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami is the Founder and Executive Director of the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic ARTS Center (OCCTAC), a nonprofit (501c3) organization located in the City of Santa Ana. She is also an Adjunct Faculty at Chapman University. During the past 30 years, she has dedicated her life to helping communities at-risk and families with special needs students. Prior to founding the OC Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center, she taught at California State University (Los Angeles), Loyola Marymount University, and the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Jimenez-Hami holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California, and a Masters’ Degree in Psychology and Music Therapy from the Florida State University.

Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami has been recognized continuously in the community for her contributions in the fields of Arts and Culture, Education and Social Services. Some of her awards include the following: the 2013 OC Register Hero of the Year award; an Outstanding Contributions to Education Award by the Orange County Department of Education (2012), the National Hispanic Business Women Association Award for Organizational Entrepreneurship (May, 2007); a National Award for Creativity in Special Education by the Heart Spring Foundation (July, 2007); a Faculty Award from Chapman University (June, 2007); a (2006) Community Building award by the City of Santa Ana; a 2004 Human Relations award from the Orange County Human Relations Commission (2004) for promoting equality, human rights and social justice, and a Community Building award in the fields of Arts & Culture by the National Organization of MANA (2003).

Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami is committed to bringing artistic access to low-income families, therapeutic arts programming for children and youth with special needs, and inspiring the Latino community through education and leadership development. Her passion is to inspire future leaders in the community; as well as researching educational methods that help the Latino community succeed in the academic world and reach for higher educational goals.

Dr. Sayyedi is the founder and executive director of Omid Multicultural Institute for Development (O.M.I.D.). She is also an adjunct faculty in the Department of Counseling at California State University Fullerton. She obtained her doctorate from Washington State University in clinical psychology with emphases on Child Development and Neuropsychology. She has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with diverse populations of children and their families. She has authored chapters, and presented on issues related to providing culturally responsive mental health care to Iranian-American and Middle Eastern immigrant populations in the U.S.

Don Barnes is the Sheriff for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (California). As Sheriff, Don is the Chief Operating Officer overseeing all operations of the nation’s sixth largest sheriff’s department. Sheriff Barnes is a 27 year veteran, with experiences in Field (Patrol) Operations, Investigations, Jail Operations, and Administration. Sheriff Barnes has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Masters of Public Administration, where he was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate Student for the Department of Public Policy. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, serves as Board Chair of Orange County Crime Stoppers, teaches for California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) at California State University, Long Beach, and is an instructor at the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy.

Hannah Nguyen is an assistant professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Human Services. Prior to joining CSUDH, Dr. Nguyen led projects in collaboration with Orange County school districts, community organizations and families to assess mental health needs and implement school-based interventions for adolescents at risk of developing depression. She also coordinated the federally-funded Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Health (REACH) project, providing health outreach and education to older adults in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. The primary focus of her teaching is in community practice and culturally responsive service delivery to diverse populations. Her research expertise highlights the experiences of consumers and communities to inform culturally relevant mental health services for immigrant families. Dr. Nguyen holds a B.A. in Sociology and Public and Community Service from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Vattana Peong, MPH, is the Executive Director of The Cambodian Family Community Center (TCF), a non-profit community-based organization providing preventive health, mental health, youth and resident leadership and education, civic engagement, immigration, and cultural preservation programs to low-income children and families in Orange County. Under Vattana’s leadership, TCF has doubled its budget and has tripled its staff members and clients in a span of two years. He has raised approximately $2 million in grant and contract funding for the past three years to support his organization’s programs and services for the community. Vattana has had over 15 years of experience working with non-profit organizations both in the United States and abroad and has been a strong advocate for health equity. He has been working for more than 7 years to bring culturally and linguistically appropriate services to immigrant and refugee families in Orange County. Previously, He served the United Nations Population Fund in New York as a Special Youth Fellow and Japan International Cooperation Agency in Cambodia as a Health and Training Program Assistant. He currently serves on two County committees as the Co-Chairs of the Cultural Competency Committee for Behavioral Health Services and Orange County’s Healthier Together (Health Improvement Partnership). He is also a board member of Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA) and Khmer Parent Association (KPA). Vattana’s community and volunteer work has gained him several awards, including Asian Pacific Islanders Outstanding Graduate Student Award and Kathryn T. McCarty Scholarship for Scholastic Achievement Award from Cal State Fullerton, and many certificates of recognition from local and state elected officials. Vattana is bilingual and bicultural in English and Khmer (Cambodian) and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from California State University, Fullerton. Vattana has recently been awarded the 2018 Emerging Leader Award by the Orange County Grantmakers for his emerging leadership and continuing service to the community.

Dr. Reza Karkia is Emeritus Executive Director of Academic Affairs, California State University, DH. He has more than 30 years of experience in education, senior management, and leadership. He is an involved and participating community member of Orange County at large in all areas of education, businesses, and constructive politics. Dr. Karkia has served the State of California under four recent Governors as Commissioner of “California Council on Criminal Justice (CCCJ). He also served as Commissioner of California Health Policy and Data Advisory for two terms. While at The California State University, he has had budget responsibility of $1.8 billion for CSU system’s Capital Outlay projects, and has had managed over $280 million annual operating budgets. Currently, he is the chairman of advisory board of School of Management and Public Policy at California State University, DH, and the Orange County Sheriff Department’s, Advisory Council. Presently he is also serving on the Advisory Council of 211Orange County, a nonprofit organization serving 34 cities of Orange County.

Gloria Reyes was born in Mexico and immigrated to Southern California with her family in 1962 at the age of nine. Gloria is the President and Chief Executive Officer of ABRAZAR, Inc. an organization that addresses the needs of individuals residing in Orange County. ABRAZAR manages two community centers that provide services to more than 15,000 unduplicated households annually. She has been at ABRAZAR since November of 1976 as the Executive Director and has held this position for 38 years. Gloria was named “Woman of the Year” by the California State Legislature and “Westminster Citizen of the Year” by the Westminster Chamber of Commerce and “Woman of the Year” by Soroptimist of Westminster. Gloria is the recipient of Orange County’s United Way Hispanic Influential award and has received two Clara Barton Spectrum Awards in the Education and Health Services fields. Gloria received a life-time achievement award by Cal State Fullerton, Gerontology Department.