CalSWEC Program Staff
Rose Chahla, M.A.
Assistant Director, Title IV-E Program
Ms. Chahla has been employed at CalSWEC since March 2016. As Assistant Director of the Title IV-E Program, she oversees statewide program and curricular coordination efforts, including CalSWEC Title IV-E Summit, the CalSWEC Student Information System (CSIS) database design and implementation, data compliance, and the CalSWEC Curriculum Competencies development. She also provides evaluation and research support. Prior to joining CalSWEC, Ms. Chahla was Manager of Employment Services and Interim Program Director of Upwardly Global, a national nonprofit focused on the workforce development and integration of immigrant and refugees.
Ms. Chahla earned her M.A. in educational psychology & counseling at the University of Minnesota and B.A. in psychology & education at Carleton College.
Hawkin Chan
Digital Communications Specialist
Mr. Chan joined CalSWEC in April 2021. He is a multi-disciplinary designer and communicator, with expertise in interactive design, social media and digital marketing. He has worked the gamut of clients, ranging from software companies, nonprofits to financial and technology firms. At CalSWEC, he collaborates with the Leadership Team to design and produce a variety of digital communication projects to promote the department's work and products for various projects and events.
Hawkin enjoys working in multicultural environments, and finds inspiration from traveling the world and immersing in local cultures.
XI CHEN, M.S., PH.D.
Training and Evaluation Specialist, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Ms. Chen joined CalSWEC in August 2020. Her current position is Training and Evaluation Specialist with the Child Welfare In-Service Training Program (IST), where she assists with evaluation efforts and training development and improvement. Her responsibilities include engaging in evaluation, research, and dissemination of best practice in social work, and analyzing, preparing and summarizing the collection of information and data from the five training academies across California. Before moving to IST, Xi worked with the IBH unit as Applied Research and Evaluation Specialist, where she was involved in evaluation and research projects for MHSA, APS, LCOEBH programs.
Prior to joining CalSWEC, Xi worked at the Center for Community-Engaged Learning and the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement at Mississippi State University, collaborating with faculty members, community agencies and student leaders from a wide range of disciplines to develop, implement and assess community-engaged learning programs and courses. She earned her doctorate in educational psychology from Mississippi State University, and her M.S. from University of Bridgeport.
Xi enjoys hiking, swimming, cooking, and playing with her two children.
Colleen Clark, M.S.W
Research Data Analyst, Efforts To Outcomes
Ms. Clark has been the Efforts To Outcomes (ETO) project manager since October 2016. She provides support to all aspects of the ETO database, including database development, database maintenance, training/technical assistance, data analysis, and customer support. Prior to joining CalSWEC, Ms. Clark was a child welfare instructor, statewide training specialist, program analyst, and county child welfare social worker.
Ms. Clark received her M.S.W. from Sacramento State University and B.A. in psychology from San Diego State University.
Carrie Cuy, M.A.
Distance Education Specialist, Technology and Instructional Design
Ms. Cuy joined CalSWEC in July 2020. She provides instructional design, course development and revision, LMS, and website support to the Child Welfare In-Service Training Program (IST).
Ms. Cuy previously worked at the Harvard University Division of Continuing Education where she specialized in distance education, accessibility services, and compliance and operations management. She earned her M.A. in International Economic Relations from American University. In her free time she enjoys running, open water swimming, and exploring parks and beaches in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Marjorie Delgadillo
Project Manager, Title IV-E Program
Ms. Delgadillo joined CalSWEC in October 2022. As Project Manager of the Title IV-E Program, she builds relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, including university and public child welfare agency partners, to coordinate and implement statewide social work education and child welfare workforce development efforts. She also regularly reviews and updates program policy while providing technical guidance on program implementation.
Prior to joining CalSWEC, Ms. Delgadillo has dedicated her professional career to authentically uplifting the often marginalized lived experience of undocumented and foster youth. She has spent the last few years consulting, providing cross-sector connections, contributing talent and passion to local nonprofits as well as philanthropists urging us all to make an investment for a more equitable community.
Ms. Delgadillo earned her B.A. as first generation scholar from Dominican University of California in Humanities and Latin American studies. She is a member of the SF Foundation Koshland Civic Unity Fellows, Marin’s Boards and Commission Leadership Institute as well as United Way’s Leaders for Equitable Opportunities.
Athena Georganas
Senior Database Coordinator
Ms. Georganas joined CalSWEC in February 2019. She manages and maintains CalSWEC databases for both the Title IV-E Program and MHSA Stipend Program. Using these databases, she provides data reports and analyses to support program operation and evaluation efforts.
Ms. Georganas earned a B.A. in studio art at Humboldt State University, where she was an administrative support coordinator in the Department of Social Work. She loves hiking and landscape photography.
Phyllis Jeroslow, Ph.D., LMFT
Training and Curriculum Specialist, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Since joining CalSWEC in January 2004, Dr. Jeroslow has coordinated the development of the first statewide Common Core Curricula for Child Welfare Workers and Supervisors and produced 11 Symposia on Fairness & Equity Issues in Child Welfare Training & Education, using workforce development to advance social justice and well-being for children, youth, and families. She seeks to further interdisciplinary practice by spearheading the implementation of California's Integrated Training Guide, which endorses child and family teaming and joint trainings among child-serving systems. Before working at CalSWEC, Dr. Jeroslow exhibited her documentary films at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, at the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and in the Los Angeles International Film Exposition. Additionally, she was a family conferencing specialist, supervisor, and reunification worker for San Francisco County's Children and Family Services.
Dr. Jeroslow earned a doctorate in social welfare at the UC Berkeley, an M.F.A. in documentary film making at UCLA, an M.S. in educational psychology at California State University, Northridge, and a B.A. in psychology and anthropology at the University of Michigan.
Christina Lacey
Events Coordinator
Ms. Lacey joined CalSWEC in August 2022 as Events Coordinator to plan and organize a variety of events to further CalSWEC's mission and reach. Christina first entered the world of social welfare by providing direct services to refugees and migrants in the Southwest. In her previous position, she worked as a Program Manager for a nonprofit that supports social justice organizations from around the world.
Ms. Lacey enjoys making art and exploring all the delicious cuisines of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Allison Lowery, M.P.A.
Program Evaluation Specialist
Ms. Lowery joined CalSWEC in November 2022 as the Program Evaluation Specialist for the Title IV-E Program. She has seven years of evaluation and research experience working with public and non-profit organizations in the fields of behavioral health, human services, education, early childhood development, and health programs. Ms. Lowery started her career working with youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in 2004. She has content expertise in childhood trauma and trauma-informed care gained through working as a Program Coordinator and Evaluator for a trauma assessment program for children. Ms. Lowery has experience in both quantitative and qualitative data collection methodologies as well as experience with designing and implementing data collection tools. She is experienced in evaluation planning as well as implementing both internal and external evaluations. She also has experience managing research studies at the university level.
Ms. Lowery received her Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Program Evaluation as well as a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University.
SYDNEY MATLOCK-PETTUS, M.S.W.
Training and Curriculum Specialist, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Born in the Bay Area, raised in Los Angeles and currently residing in the Central Valley, Ms. Matlock-Pettus is a proud California girl. She joined CalSWEC in January 2022 as the project lead for the Common Core 3.5 curriculum and the Resource Family Approval (RFA) project. A Title IV-E graduate with over 10 years of experience in child welfare services, she has worked a gamut of programs for the Kern County Child Protective Services bureau, including Emergency Response, Family Reunification, Family Maintenance, Wraparound, Child and Family Team Meeting (CFTM) facilitation, Adoptions, and Staff Development.
Ms. Matlock-Pettus is passionate about crafting child welfare training that supplies social workers with tools to partner with families while providing insights to overcome systemic barriers and generational trauma. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Southern California and a Masters of Social Work from California State University, Bakersfield.
Outside of social work, she unwinds by watching documentary films, taking brisk walks, and savoring dark chocolate.
Shay O'Brien, M.S.W
Training and Curriculum Specialist, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
With CalSWEC since November 2015, Ms. O’Brien collaborates with experts and stakeholders to develop statewide child welfare services training curriculum materials and keep those materials up-to-date. She also supports the Quality Parenting Initiative work throughout the state. She brings 15 years of research experience in education, public policy, and program evaluation, and social justice and community development work with homeless women and children, survivors of sexual and domestic violence, transition-age foster youth, and the LGBTQIA community.
Ms. O’Brien obtained an M.S.W. at the University of Kansas and a B.A.in English and creative writing from Emporia State University. Outside of work, she loves to take her dog, Fig, to the beach and on long hikes in the woods.
Suhel Pathan
Sr. Salesforce Platform Solutions Engineer
Since September 2018, Mr. Pathan has been involved in the ongoing build and maintenance of the CSIS (CalSWEC Student Information System) Salesforce platform. This includes management of the current system's architecture and processes, implementing operational guidelines for data management, and ensuring overall data integrity and security moving forward.
As a Salesforce Certified Administrator, Certified Advanced Administrator, and Certified Developer, Mr. Pathan has been working in the Salesforce ecosystem for about eight years, including for such Fortune companies as Salesforce.com, Oracle, T-Mobile, and NetApp. Most recently he was involved in end-to-end implementation of Salesforce CRM and its integration with all the backend systems at a startup in the South Bay.
Mr. Pathan earned a B.S. in business management and psychology at Palo Alto University. A spiritual person for whom his family always comes first, Mr. Pathan also enjoys an active lifestyle. He was a national-level cricket player and was drafted to play Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2001.
Katie Perry, M.S.W.
Project Manager, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Ms. Perry joined CalSWEC in August 2021 as the Project Manager for the Child Welfare In-Service Training Program. In this role, she oversees project deliverables for curriculum development, evaluation, and information technology. Ms. Perry believes that collaboration amongst the state, counties, and statewide training partners is key to ensuring successful workforce development.
Prior to joining CalSWEC, Ms. Perry worked in various roles within the Children and Family Services Division of the California Department of Social Services for seven years. This trajectory has informed a multi-faceted vision and understanding of the implications for both micro and macro social work. She earned her M.S.W. from the California State University, Sacramento, and her B.A. in Sociology from the University of San Francisco.
In her free time, Katie enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her husband and their rescue dog Nala
Esmi Ramirez, M.S.W.
Training and Evaluation Analyst, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Ms. Ramirez has been at CalSWEC since March 2015, assisting with evaluation efforts and curriculum development and revision for the Child Welfare In-Service Training Program. Before joining CalSWEC, she was a research intern and course liaison for the University of Michigan Department of Psychology’s Detroit Initiative program.
Ms. Ramirez holds an M.S.W. from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in community studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In her free time, she loves taking long "wisdom walks," learning about health and nutrition, and spending time with her daughters.
Emma Schifsky
Project Manager, Title IV-E Program
Ms. Schifsky joined CalSWEC in February 2023 as a Project Manager for the CalSWEC Title IV-E Program. In this role, she supports statewide program implementation, evaluation and curriculum coordination efforts. Prior to CalSWEC, Emma was a behavioral neuroscience researcher at Oregon Health & Science University and a social sector consultant at Resource Development Associates.
Emma earned her B.A. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology with a minor in Neuroscience from Lewis & Clark College. In her free time Emma enjoys skiing, camping, puzzles and her weekly book club meetings
SHALVENA SHARMA, B.A.
Project Policy Analyst, Technology and Instructional Design
Ms. Sharma has been with CalSWEC since February of 2021. Having worked closely with the Child Welfare In-Service Training Program, Shalvena is now part of the Technology and Instructional Design team providing accessibility support, LMS technical assistance, and maintaining curriculum materials.
Prior to joining CalSWEC, Shalvena was earning her B.A. in Psychology and Legal Studies with a minor in Linguistics at UC Berkeley.
Daphne Short, M.S.W.
Project Director, Efforts to Outcomes
Since February 2017, Ms. Short has overseen the Efforts to Outcomes software-based solution utilized by counties to track county-specific "gap" data not tracked in the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System and required for the state reporting. She came to CalSWEC with 17 years of direct practice and management experience in public child welfare.
Ms. Short earned her M.S.W. and B.A. in liberal studies from California State University, Stanislaus. Outside of work, she loves reading, crocheting, knitting, and traveling. Any other free time she may have is filled with her son's extracurricular activities.
AISHA SIDDIQUI, M.P.P.
Training and Evaluation Lead, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Ms. Siddiqui joined CalSWEC in January 2020 and currently leads the training evaluation activities on the In-Service Training team. Previously, she was Evaluation and Grants Manager at Girls Inc. of Alameda County where she oversaw the program evaluation cycle for the organization's eight programs and collaborated with program staff to use evaluation data and research to deliver high-quality and high-impact programs. Prior to Girls Inc., Ms. Siddiqui worked at the Stanford University School of Medicine evaluating the effectiveness of the school's faculty development and diversity programs.
Ms. Siddiqui is inspired by the resilience of children and families living in disinvested communities and is dedicated to using data, evaluation, and creativity to support systems that serve marginalized communities. She earned her M.P.P. from the University of Southern California and her B.A.s in Global Economics and Politics from UC Santa Cruz
Michael Sumner, M.A., Ph.D.
Training and Evaluation Specialist, Child Welfare In-Service Training Program
Dr. Sumner rejoined CalSWEC in September 2022 as Training & Evaluation Specialist in the In-Service Training Program (IST) working on Common Core and other IST projects. They have worked in many areas of the child welfare system, including multiple evaluation roles at CalSWEC from 2017 to 2019, the Bay Area and Central California Training Academies, and Contra Costa County’s Employment & Human Services Dept. Throughout their career, Dr. Sumner has used data and analysis to shed light on systemic barriers to opportunity and worked with communities to co-create meaningful change.
Dr. Sumner received their doctorate in psychology from New York University and a B.A. in psychology from Rutgers College. Their interests include using a growth mindset to learn new things, creativity, being in nature, and supporting the ability for all people to be safe and have authentic joy.
Mauricio Alexander Wright
Manager, Learning Management Systems, Technology and Instructional Design
Mr. Wright joined CalSWEC in April 2015 as online Learning Management System (LMS) administrator, instructional designer, and developer and deliverer of Common Core 3.0 online training material for all California's regions and counties. He is also a videographer, capturing live events and training materials for In-Service Training and Title IV-E and for the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) to assist with building the library of Just in Time training resources for foster parents in the state.
Mr. Wright previously worked for the Berkeley Resource Center for Online Education (BRCOE), where he was a media production specialist and instructional designer. He earned his B.A. in cinematography from San Francisco State University and is an avid enthusiast of technology, education, and community engagement.
CalSWEC Administrative Staff
Barbara Stewart Anderson
Fiscal Assistant
Ms. Anderson joined CalSWEC in November 2007 and assists with all fiscal matters, including vendor set-up, travel reimbursement, purchase orders, supplies, and reconciliation.
Previously, Ms. Anderson was a bank teller and customer services representative. She loves baking and making crafts.
Ore Carmi, M.S.
Administrative Assistant
Mr. Carmi joined CalSWEC in February 2017 and provides general administrative support and specialized support for the Integrated Behavioral Health program and for evaluation and research staff. For a decade, he worked as an Administrative Assistant at UC Berkeley before taking a break to earn his M.S. in ecology and systematic biology from San Francisco State University.
Mr. Carmi holds a Bachelor of Music in piano from The Juilliard School. When not at work, he enjoys exploring nature and playing the piano.
Shifra Gaman, M.A.
Administrative Assistant
Ms. Gaman has been an Administrative Assistant for CalSWEC since January 2010. Currently, she supports the administrative needs of the Leadership Team. Previously, Ms. Gaman worked for Alameda County’s In Home Supportive Services as an Executive Secretary.
Ms. Gaman obtained an M.A. in Spanish from UC Berkeley and A.A. in secretarial science at Laney College. She loves working for UC Berkeley and being a grandmother.
Sheela Jhaveri, M.I.A.
Research Administrator
Ms. Jhaveri has supported and overseen post-award administration of some of CalSWEC's grants since June 2018. A UC Berkeley veteran of many years, she has also worked at various nonprofits in the Bay Area, most recently Destiny Arts Center as Development Administrator.
Ms. Jhaveri earned a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University and a B.A. in cultural and social anthropology at UC Berkeley. Her creative side finds expression in concocting healing remedies from plant medicine for friends and family, creating jewelry for customers through her Etsy shop, and spending time in her garden.
Yvonne Kabuoro
Research Administrator
Ms. Kabuoro supports and oversees the pre-award and post-award administration of the Title IV-E contracts. She joined CalSWEC in November 2019 with eight years of grant accounting experience working for the Ministry of Health, Kenya and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Atlanta Project. Most recently, she was an Office Coordinator at Telecare Age Wise Program in San Diego for three years.
Ms. Kabuoro has a B.S. in International Business Administration from United States International University Africa in Kenya and a Certified Public Accountant license from Strathmore University School of Accountancy, also in Kenya. She loves to travel, hike, and take nature walks
Raul J Luevano
Research Administrator
Mr. Luevano supports and oversees the pre- and post-award administration of the Adult Protective Services Training Program. He joined CalSWEC in March 2023. Prior to joining CalSWEC, he was a research administrator for UC Berkeley Space and Science Department, a Grants Accountant with Lifelong Medical, and had 12 years of retail management with Target.
Mr. Luevano has a B.S. in Business from the University of Phoenix. On his free time Raul likes to box so if you see him with a swollen eye, don’t worry, a sparring session probably just got a little too exciting.