About Us
NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FRIENDS has established a National Advisory Committee to provide useful overall program direction and guidance to the activities of the Resource Center. Committee members share their experience and expertise in child abuse prevention and family strengthening through their active participation in FRIENDS workgroups and the annual Grantee’s meeting, development/review of FRIENDS written materials, and by providing resource center staff with consultation and advice.
Nilofer Ahsan, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Sandra Alexander, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jason Bohn, Children's Bureau
Deborah Daro, Chapin Hall Center for Children
Art Hernandez, Parent Leader
Kim Pawley Helfgott, American Institutes for Research
Kim Musheno, Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Mary Jo Pankoke, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
Donna Pincavage, New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect
Gretchen Test, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Francine Zimmerman, Doris Duke Foundation
Nilofer Ahsan has been involved with policy and practice in children and family issues for over 15 years. As the co-director of the FRIENDS National Resource Center she supported states’ implementation of child abuse and neglect prevention legislation and worked with family support initiatives in over 20 states to improve program practice and develop evaluation/assessment strategies. She has authored many handbooks and tools for family support practitioners. Currently a Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, she is working to develop innovative practice models in: early care and education, child abuse and neglect prevention, parent/resident leadership and social networks. She has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Nilofer can be reached at Nilofer.Ahsan@cssp.org.
Sandra Alexander has over 37 years experience in child abuse prevention including hands on CPS casework and supervision, prevention programming and advocacy and 18 years non profit management in child abuse prevention organizations. Currently, she is an Expert Consultant in Child Maltreatment in the Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sandra is the former Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and was a founding board member and Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse South Carolina. She has also been a consultant for the College of Health and Human Sciences, National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren at Georgia State University. She is a past board president and former board member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and former chair and current prevention advocate for the Fulton County (Atlanta) Child Fatality Review Committee. She has developed numerous prevention programs, provided training on prevention nationally and internationally, and served as a prevention voice for local and national media. Sandra authored the chapter on “Prevention” in Child Maltreatment – A Comprehensive Photographic Reference Identifying Potential Child Abuse published by G.W. Medical Publishing in 2005 and “Preventing Future Deaths Through Effective Prevention Recommendations and Actions”, in Child Fatality Review, published by G.W. Medical Publishing in 2007. Sandra can be reached at spalexander@cdc.gov or by phone at (770)488-1344.
Jason Bohn has nearly 20 years of working with children, youth and families in a variety of settings and is currently a Child Welfare Program Specialist at the Children's Bureau in the ACF Regional Office in Kansas City, Missouri and oversees the Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers and the Child Welfare System. He has ten years of youth ministry experience transforming stagnant programs into vital, relevant ministries. He has an MS in Clinical Psychology and provided intensive in-home services to individuals and families struggling with mental health, neurobiological, developmental, and/or behavioral challenges (i.e. persons with complex needs) and to families with children at risk for removal while coordinating wrap-a-round services with Dept. of Family Services, physicians, schools, and other treatment partners building the teams necessary to support the families. Most recently he has completed a two year leadership development opportunity, the Emerging Leaders Program, with the Department of Health and Human Services doing rotations with the ACF Region VII Office focused on internal controls; the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) focused on the intersection of fatherhood, marriage and incarceration issues; and the ACF Office of Family Assistance helping to distribute $150 million in fatherhood and marriage grants. He is working with Walden University toward a doctorate in Applied Management and Decision Sciences emphasizing leadership and nonprofit administration. He can be reached at jason.bohn@acf.hhs.gov or by phone at (816) 426-2260.
Deborah Daro, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Chapin Hall in January 1999, Dr. Daro served as the Director of the National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research, a program of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, where she contributed to the development of Health Families America (HFA), a strategy for developing a universal system of support for all newborns and their parents. With over 20 years of experience in evaluating child abuse treatment and prevention programs and child welfare reform efforts, she has directed some of the largest multi-site program evaluations completed in the field. All of her program assessments have included a unique blend of quantitative and qualitative components, resulting in findings which have both statistical and program relevance. Most recently, Dr. Daro’s research and written work has focused on developing reform strategies that embed individualized, targeted prevention efforts within more universal efforts to alter normative standards and community context. She also is examining strategies to create more effective partnerships among public child welfare agencies, community-based prevention efforts and informal support systems. Dr. Daro has published and lectured widely. Her commentaries and findings are frequently cited in the rationale for numerous child abuse prevention and treatment reforms. She has served as President of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and is currently serving on the Executive Council of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Daro holds a Ph.D. in Social Welfare and a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. She can be reached at dtuggle@uchicago.edu or by phone at (773) 256-5127.
Art Hernandez would be proud to be part of the FRIENDS National Advisory Committee. Child Abuse Prevention and Family Strengthening are a passion of his. Art serves on the California Parent Leadership Team and on the National Parent Leadership Team both sponsored by Parents Anonymous. He is also a board member of Prevent Child Abuse Riverside County. The work he does for these organizations is extremely rewarding. Knowing that he is taking an active role as a parent in his community encourages him to engage other parents to do the same. Art has previously presented at the CBCAP grantee’s conference. He can be reached at ahernandezplease@aol.com or by phone at (951)303-4311.
Kim Pawley Helfgott currently serves as the Child Welfare Resource Specialist for the Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health. She serves as a liaison with System of Care grantee communities funded by the Center for Mental Health Services where she shares strategies and resources for partnering with the child welfare and supporting and strengthening families at risk or involved in the child welfare system. Prior to her current position, she served as Deputy Director/Senior Program Manager for the Child Welfare Information Gateway, an information clearinghouse supported by the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families. She coordinated the development of web and print resources for improving child welfare practice and addressing Federal mandates for safety, permanence and wellbeing. There she also coordinated a national child abuse prevention initiative to promote family resiliency in partnership with nearly 30 national youth serving organizations. Kim has had extensive experience coordinating many national initiatives to strengthen services and service delivery for children, youth and families at Volunteers of America, the National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations, and the Child Welfare League of America. Prior to her work at the national level, she worked with children, youth and families in residential treatment, community-based mental health, psychiatric, and special education organizations. She can be reached at khelfgott@air.org or (202) 403-5879.
Kim Musheno is the Director of Legislative Affairs at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in political science and has been working in the national disability policy arena for over ten years. Prior to joining AUCD in 2001, she worked on governmental affairs communications at The Arc of the United States and the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities. Kim specializes in the areas of federal budget and appropriations, long term services and supports, education, and child abuse prevention. She provides national leadership in these areas by co-chairing the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Fiscal Policy, DD, and Long Term Services and Supports Task Forces and participates on the Education, Child Abuse and Health Task Forces. Kim Co-Chaired the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities from 2001-2005 during which time she advocated for the passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 2003. Kim also advocates for a family member with developmental disabilities. She can be reached at kmusheno@aucd.org or by phone at (301)588-8252.
Mary Jo Pankoke’s entire professional career has been devoted to activities aimed at strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect. Mary Jo spent the first 24 years of her career with the Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services in various direct services, supervisory and administrative positions. The last ten years of her tenure at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Mary Jo served as the statewide Administrator for Child Protective Services. She led the planning for implementation of the Family Preservation and Support Act in Nebraska and assumed responsibility for that program when funds were received to implement the state’s five-year plan to improve outcomes for children and families. Mary Jo also provided staff support to the Child Abuse Prevention Fund Board. Since 1999 Mary Jo has served as Executive Director of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF). NCFF awards grants to communities to support children and families and also provides technical assistance, training, and education. Child Abuse Prevention and Home Visitation for New Parents are two of the priority areas for NCFF’s grant making. Mary Jo’s volunteer activities include serving on the Governor’s Commission for the Protection of Children, Nebraska Child Death Review Team, Child and Family Services Review Advisory Committee, and the Nebraska Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts. In the fall of 2003, Mary Jo co-chaired a Task Force appointed by Governor Johanns to investigate a number of child-abuse related deaths that had occurred and to develop recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths. She can be reached at mjpankoke@nebraskachildren.org or by phone at (402) 476-9401.
Donna Pincavage is the Director of the Office of Child Abuse Prevention for the New Jersey Department of Human Services. She is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect since 1985, and Director of the New Jersey Children's Trust Fund since 1992. Ms Pincavage is the Community Based Child Abuse Prevention’s (CBCAP) state lead person for the State of New Jersey. She is a past member of the Advisory Board for the FRIENDS National Resource Center for CBCAP. Ms. Pincavage is Past President of the National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds. She also represented the National Alliance on the National Call To Action, a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to end child abuse in the United States. In 1988 Ms. Pincavage earned her Masters degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University, Graduate School of Public Administration. She also earned her Masters degree in Social Work from Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work in 1979. Ms. Pincavage graduated from Kean University of New Jersey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She can be reached at dpincavag@dhs.state.nj.us or by phone at (609) 633-3992.
Gretchen Test is the Program Associate for Child Welfare System Reform at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in Baltimore, Maryland, where she promotes the Foundation’s Family to Family (Reconstructing Foster Care) Initiative and coordinates technical assistance to 47 Family to Family implementation sites nationwide. She also manages child welfare grants, assists Foundation staff with related child welfare system reform efforts and tracks child welfare policy issues. Prior to coming to the Casey Foundation in early 2003, she served for 5 ½ years as Director of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, housed in the American Public Human Services Association, in Washington, DC. She also brings a variety of experiences developing and administering grassroots community based human service programs in both public and nonprofit settings. Gretchen has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Washington (UW) with a concentration in Community Organizing and Planning, as well as a graduate certificate from UW in Human Services Management. She can be reached at gtest@aecf.org or by phone at (410) 547-3678.
Francie Zimmerman is a consultant who currently serves as the program officer for the Child Abuse Prevention Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Ms. Zimmerman has worked for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and foundations in a variety of capacities – all with a shared goal of improving the lives of children and families. Her direct service experience included working as: an advocate for children in foster care; a special needs adoption caseworker; and as assistant to the executive director of Spofford Juvenile Center, a secure detention facility for children, ten to 15 years old, located in the South Bronx. For the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Ms Zimmerman provided technical assistance to select sites and documented their efforts to build community partnerships and reform their child protective service systems. In philanthropy, Ms. Zimmerman was a program associate at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in the Program for Homeless Families, and she continues to consult with the F. B. Heron Foundation which focuses on community economic development. Ms. Zimmerman holds a master’s degree in social work from Hunter College School of Social Work and a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College, Columbia University. She can be reached at franciez@mindspring.com or by phone at (215) 242-9258.