POLICY SPECIALST
BEST PRACTICES CO-LEAD

Prior to joining LABBN, she worked as a coordinator in several acute units at California Hospital Medical Center. As a firm believer that the mission of LABBN is incredibly important for the future of Los Angeles County and for the state of California, she feels fortunate to be part of a team with so much dedication to help the community. She is passionate about improving the quality of care and quality of life for the underserved population of Los Angeles County. She is a southern California native who received her BA in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton.

SENIOR POLICY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
PARENT VOICE CO-LEAD

Anna earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in Health Services and Policy. In her graduate work, Anna has focused on improving access to healthcare services for underserved populations in Los Angeles County through policy and advocacy. Anna is passionate about decreasing rates of adverse childhood experiences among children in Los Angeles County.

POLICY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Lynnette has a BA in Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside. Prior to LABBN, she worked as a Health Program Analyst at the LA County DPH and a Health Educator at a nonprofit. She wants to continue to help advance public health outcomes, particularly for underserved and vulnerable communities in LA.

ADVOCACY WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Kathryn serves as a part of the Training and Technical Assistance team supporting the Family Strengthening Oversight Entity leadership as they serve and train home visitors. She got her degree in History and dove into advocacy work as the Executive Assistant at a Postpartum Depression Foundation in Chicago. She managed a grant for the Family and Child Health Department in Pittsburgh, coordinating and supporting local strategic efforts to reduce racial inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes. She became a Certified Postpartum Doula and loves finding ways to make new parents feel supported and cared for as they navigate their new role! She is passionate about helping people and believes that parenting was never intended to be a solo sport.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HOME VISITING ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Laura Hoyos Kainsinger, MPH is a Program Officer on the Family Supports Team where she manages a portfolio of home visiting programs and leads program optimization efforts focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Laura received her Bachelors in Physiological Science and earned a Master of Public Health in Community Health Sciences from the University of California Los Angeles. Before joining First 5 LA, she was a Program Manager for Prevention and Aftercare, a comprehensive, strength-based program providing resources and activities to vulnerable children and families in Los Angeles County. Prior to this work, Laura was the Director of Community Outreach for Growing Great, where she built and maintained positive collaborative relationships with community partners and was responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of school-based nutrition programs. Her professional experience also includes working in the fields of parenting education, health access, and academic event planning. Laura has extensive experience working with community-based programs that provide services to culturally diverse and at-risk families.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HOME VISITING ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Ashley Skiffer-Thompson is the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Director of Home Visiting Systems and committed to giving back to her community. She has spent majority of her career in the non-profit sector within the home visitation field, gaining experiences in breastfeeding, bonding/attachment, and other maternal and child health topics. In addition to her Home Visiting leadership, Ashley Skiffer-Thompson is invested in the advancement of Black Maternal Health. As a full spectrum doula and Black maternal health advocate, she believes there is empowerment through advocacy and education. By providing empathetic support and encouraging medical advocacy, her hope is that families feel empowered, grounded, and valued throughout their birth journey. Driven by one of her favorite quotes, “Let the beauty we love, be what we do”, Ashley Skiffer-Thompson aims to be the change she hopes to see.

DATA WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

DATA WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Sharlene earned her Master of Public Health in Health Education and Promotion at the University of Southern California; she continued her education to earn her Doctorate in Public Health at Loma Linda University. Her professional background includes working in the field of maternal and child health, home visiting, trauma-informed care, healing-centered engagement, and maternal mental health. Sharlene has a strong background in program planning, data analysis and evaluation, technical assistance, continuous quality improvement and training, and public speaking. Additionally, she has experience focused on healthy food access and the built environment issues in Los Angeles County, creating healthy communities, youth empowerment and advocacy, corner store conversions, program planning and evaluation and teaching. Her volunteer experience includes working in Tanzania, Brazil, and Armenia, addressing prevention, health education, and maternal and child health issues. Sharlene’s passion for public health addresses the needs of underserved and vulnerable populations.

FATHER ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Reginald Van Appelen has more than 25 years increased experience and influence surrounding advocacy, comprehensive integration of service delivery, and policy change. Inclusive of this is 21 years’ experience with a nonprofit agency developing comprehensive program services; coordination, management and leadership enhancements; and program design, development and implementation for supportive services.

The past 7 years, his focus has centered around whole family care with an emphasis on fatherhood engagement and inclusion. Advocacy includes Eliminating Racial Disparity and Disproportionality (ERDD) at Vermont and Compton Carson DCFS offices to ensure fathers are included in the reunification process; Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism (EDIA) committee membership with LA County DHS, and participation with the African American Infant Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) initiative.

Reginald is a certified facilitator in multiple curriculums including but not limited to 24/7 Dad, Nurturing Fathers, Project Fatherhood, Domestic Violence, Anger Management, Effective Black Parenting, and Intentional Peer Support. He has also conducted multiple trainings, was featured on Welcome to Fatherhood podcast, and served as a quest speaker for multiple fatherhood events.

Although he achieved a master’s degree in psychology, he takes pride in his PhD or Personal History Degree. His combination of education and life experience has created a foundation of strength to overflow with opportunities to Reach, Teach, Mend, and Send.

FATHER ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Richard Cohen, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist who has spent decades teaching and advocating for young children, their families and those who support them. He is co-founder of Love, Dad, an organization focused on helping the field expand from a maternal-child to a family-child model by including fathers. He is also the past President of the California Association for Infant Mental Health.

REFERRALS WORKGROUP CO-LEAD

Marlene Cole has worked in the field of maternal child health for over 25 years and has been a Program Officer on the Family Supports Team at First 5 LA for seven years, where she oversees home visiting grants and works on systems change and sustainability efforts. Marlene was born and raised in Los Angeles. When she isn’t working, Marlene likes to watch her son play basketball, read and Wordle in her garden, hike, and ride her Peloton to nowhere.

Leticia Casillas-Sanchez is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in maternal/child health and early childhood programming in Southern California. Collectively, Mrs. Casillas-Sanchez has worked in the direct service field and philanthropic space to design and implement early childhood programs related to workforce development, countywide implementation of best practices models for Home Visiting, and evidence-based practice models across Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Subsequently, family engagement has shaped and informed robust opportunities to interact with families based on their needs and identify ways to address inequities in the early childhood field.

As part of the Early Childhood team, Leticia supports Children Now’s early childhood efforts.

Before joining Children Now, Mrs. Casillas-Sanchez held a leadership role managing a 35-million-dollar programmatic budget funded by tobacco tax revenues and led a diverse portfolio with investments in prenatal-to-three, early childhood mental health, family engagement, early learning, and homeless prevention/intervention.

Leticia has two bachelor’s degrees in Health Science (Community Health/School Health) from California State University Long Beach and a Master of Public Health from Loma Linda University.

Anna Raguindin joined Good+ Foundation as the LA Program Director in June 2024, leading efforts to strengthen and expand a high-impact partner network in Los Angeles. She directs our LA-based program engagement and operations, while also supporting national strategic efforts. With experience at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and the Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management, Anna has managed community initiatives, including coordinating a pandemic emergency response across 60+ LAUSD school sites and facilitating leaders within the LA County Economic Resiliency Task Force. Skilled at building cross-sector partnerships, she holds a BA in Communication Studies from CSU Northridge and an MBA from CSU Long Beach. Currently living in Long Beach, CA, she enjoys indoor cycling, curating playlists, and exploring Southern California's nature, restaurants, and cafes.

Description goes hereJoselyn Gaitan, MS, CLE, is a Program Manager for the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program within the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division. She earned her Master’s degree in Childhood Studies from Walden University, with an emphasis in Management and Leadership, and completed the DMH+ UCLA Early Childhood Fellowship in 2022.

Joselyn has over a decade of experience in home visiting and early childhood systems, with a strong foundation in both direct service and program leadership. Her work spans multiple evidence-based models and funding streams, including Welcome Baby, California Home Visiting Program CHVP, and the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program, utilizing both the Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Healthy Families America (HFA) models.

She plays a key role as the lead for the DPH Home Visiting Program’s Centralized Referrals Team, supporting and strengthening the home visiting referral process across programs and partners. Her work focuses on balancing model fidelity with real-world implementation challenges, particularly in the areas of outreach, engagement, and retention.

Prior to her work in home visiting, Joselyn served at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she supported children and families in coping with hospitalization, illness, and disability—an experience that continues to shape her trauma-informed, family-centered approach.

Joselyn is deeply committed to advancing maternal and child health through trauma-informed care, equity-focused practices, and systems-level collaboration. She is passionate about supporting programs that promote family stability, strengthen parent-child relationships, and reduce health disparities across communities.