The 2023 OPEN MINDS Home-Based Services Summit

Don Taylor is the regional executive director of the Bay Area for Pacific Clinics. In this capacity, he oversees the clinical programs in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Alameda Counties, plus neighboring counties, through our foster care and adoptions program. Having nearly 30 years of experience in mental health, Taylor has served in various clinical roles with progressive levels of responsibility, including director, clinical manager, clinician and family specialist, as well as led the regional quality assurance and improvement team. Prior to joining Pacific Clinics, he worked at nonprofits in Rhode Island and Chicago. Taylor is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and received his master’s in social work from San Jose State University.

Don is speaking during Innovative Program Approaches To Home-Based Services For Children.

Anna Fernandez is the Director of Mental Health for Hope Services. Since 1952, Hope Services has delivered a range of services to thousands of people with developmental disabilities. In this capacity, she oversees the clinical programs in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz plus neighboring counties, through Hope’s Mental Health Services. Having nearly 25 years of experience in mental health, Anna Fernandez has served in various clinical roles with progressive levels of responsibility, including Director, Clinical manager, Coordinator and Clinician. Anna Fernandez is also serving as the vice-president of the Behavioral Health Contract Association of Santa Clara County. Anna Fernandez is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and received his master’s in marriage and family therapy from Santa Clara University.

Anna is speaking during Innovative Program Approaches To Home-Based Services For Children.

Tara Beckman, LCSW is the Chief Program Officer (CPO) at Hope Services. In this role, she has oversight of all programs and is responsible for driving the exploration of new programmatic opportunities. With more than 20 years of experience in human services, Tara has dedicated her career to advocacy, directing programs that provide a wide range of services to diverse populations, increasing access to supportive services, and improving service delivery.

Previously, Tara held various administrative roles including Regional Executive Director at Caminar in San Mateo County, Director of Services at Caminar in Solano County and Deputy Director at Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program (ACCASA). Tara is a graduate of the University of Memphis and earned her Master of Social Work, with an emphasis in Community Mental Health, from California State University, East Bay. She also holds a Mediation certification from Steven Rosenberg Mediation Center.

Tara is speaking during Innovative Program Approaches To Home-Based Services For Children.

Dee DeWitt has extensive experience as a consultant and corporate leader in the healthcare field. Mr. DeWitt brings over 28 years of experience in healthcare finance and operations, M&A, use of technology, strategic planning, and change management in healthcare organizations to OPEN MINDS as a Senior Associate.

Previously, Mr. DeWitt was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Momentum for Health, a CARF-accredited non-profit behavioral health organization providing services to individuals with a diagnosed serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance abuse disorder, in San Jose, California. During his tenure, Mr. DeWitt increased outpatient productivity by 25% and contributed to growing revenues from $55 million to a projected $71+ million for the fiscal year of 2023. Mr. DeWitt also oversaw Momentum ‘s pilot with Santa Clara County’s transition to Netsmart Provider Connect and led a successful grant award and implementation of a multi-year paid intern program in partnership with Santa Clara University, San Jose University, and Palo Alto University.

Mr. DeWitt was also the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Veridian Financial Group, a strategic consulting firm specializing in performing long-term, on-site C-level and Director roles, evaluating and implementing financial strategies, strategic operational planning, and development strategies for companies that are poised for significant growth, change, or require turnaround attention, in San Jose, California. During his time at Veridian Financial Group, Mr. DeWitt focused primarily on healthcare, finance, technology, and private equity and coordinated licensing, compliance, and external audits for 42 state licenses, including managed care organizations, managed care plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and service provider organizations.

In addition, Mr. DeWitt served as Chief Financial Officer and a Consultant in Strategic Planning and Finance for Home Recovery – Home Aid, Inc., a private equity-backed, for-profit company that provides personal care and skilled care in 35 locations and in-home care throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. During his time there, Mr. DeWitt was a member of the company’s executive management team, audit team, and License & Compliance team. Mr. DeWitt also served as Chief Financial Officer of Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., a for-profit holding company comprised of 5 home health companies, 4 hospice companies, and 2 private duty/personal care companies. Mr. DeWitt has also been the Chief Financial and Technology Officer for The Filson, a nationally renowned non-profit archive and research institute, and Director of Strategic Development for Signature Healthcare, LLC, a national private equity-backed for-profit, long-term care company operating over 180 facilities, with 18,000 employees, and over $1 billion in revenues.

Mr. DeWitt also held the positions of Deputy Director of Behavioral Health at the County of Ventura, CA Behavioral Health Services Department, and Director of Finance and Management Services of the Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services (SEABHS), a joint commissioned accredited non-profit.

Mr. DeWitt graduated from the University of Louisville, Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and a Master’s in Political Science with a concentration in Economics and Public Policy.Edit Speaker 

April Rhodes, MBA, LAMFT is President and Chief Executive Officer for Spectrum Healthcare Group. Through statewide community solutions, and focused care, April and her team are meeting the whole health needs of Arizona’s populations.

April has served at the forefront of healthcare and human services management for nearly two decades. Her unique brand of leadership has successfully launched whole healthcare delivery into new heights of innovation, defragmentation, integration, and cohesion.

April has a Master of Advanced Study in Marriage and Family Therapy from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Arizona. April is a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist.

April Rhodes currently serves on the Board of Directors for Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, Yavapai County Board of Health, and Yavapai College Foundation Board. Additionally, she serves on the Contexture Board, the health information exchange for Arizona and Colorado. April is considered a subject matter expert on topics relating to leadership, whole-person healthcare, value-based purchasing, access to care, and criminal justice and mental health related community-based services.

April is speaking during Developing Home Care Programs For Consumers With Behavioral Health Needs: A Case Study Presentation and Leveraging Technology To Improve Productivity & Consumer Engagement In Home-Based Programs.

Frank has worked in healthcare IT departments since 2002 where he got his start at Siemen’s International, supporting branches of the Tenet Healthcare hospitals in Southern California. He studied programming in college from machine code to C++, where he discovered that he actually liked working and interacting with people instead of computer screens. With a base understanding of computer science, Frank has primarily been self-taught in modern programming languages, servers, systems, networks and business solutions for healthcare IT. For over eight years, he managed and supported the Northern Arizona region of LabCorp sites. He designed and wrote several custom programs for LabCorp, some of which are still in use today. He has also provided IT consulting services for various physicians and group practices in Arizona. He currently works as the VP of Information Technology at Spectrum Healthcare, where he can regularly be found providing services to patients or filling in wherever the need is greatest at the agency.

Frank is speaking during Developing Home Care Programs For Consumers With Behavioral Health Needs: A Case Study Presentation and Leveraging Technology To Improve Productivity & Consumer Engagement In Home-Based Programs.

Dee DeWitt has extensive experience as a consultant and corporate leader in the healthcare field. Mr. DeWitt brings over 28 years of experience in healthcare finance and operations, M&A, use of technology, strategic planning, and change management in healthcare organizations to OPEN MINDS as a Senior Associate.

Previously, Mr. DeWitt was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Momentum for Health, a CARF-accredited non-profit behavioral health organization providing services to individuals with a diagnosed serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance abuse disorder, in San Jose, California. During his tenure, Mr. DeWitt increased outpatient productivity by 25% and contributed to growing revenues from $55 million to a projected $71+ million for the fiscal year of 2023. Mr. DeWitt also oversaw Momentum ‘s pilot with Santa Clara County’s transition to Netsmart Provider Connect and led a successful grant award and implementation of a multi-year paid intern program in partnership with Santa Clara University, San Jose University, and Palo Alto University.

Mr. DeWitt was also the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Veridian Financial Group, a strategic consulting firm specializing in performing long-term, on-site C-level and Director roles, evaluating and implementing financial strategies, strategic operational planning, and development strategies for companies that are poised for significant growth, change, or require turnaround attention, in San Jose, California. During his time at Veridian Financial Group, Mr. DeWitt focused primarily on healthcare, finance, technology, and private equity and coordinated licensing, compliance, and external audits for 42 state licenses, including managed care organizations, managed care plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and service provider organizations.

In addition, Mr. DeWitt served as Chief Financial Officer and a Consultant in Strategic Planning and Finance for Home Recovery – Home Aid, Inc., a private equity-backed, for-profit company that provides personal care and skilled care in 35 locations and in-home care throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. During his time there, Mr. DeWitt was a member of the company’s executive management team, audit team, and License & Compliance team. Mr. DeWitt also served as Chief Financial Officer of Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., a for-profit holding company comprised of 5 home health companies, 4 hospice companies, and 2 private duty/personal care companies. Mr. DeWitt has also been the Chief Financial and Technology Officer for The Filson, a nationally renowned non-profit archive and research institute, and Director of Strategic Development for Signature Healthcare, LLC, a national private equity-backed for-profit, long-term care company operating over 180 facilities, with 18,000 employees, and over $1 billion in revenues.

Mr. DeWitt also held the positions of Deputy Director of Behavioral Health at the County of Ventura, CA Behavioral Health Services Department, and Director of Finance and Management Services of the Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services (SEABHS), a joint commissioned accredited non-profit.

Mr. DeWitt graduated from the University of Louisville, Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and a Master’s in Political Science with a concentration in Economics and Public Policy.Edit Speaker 

Dr. Paula Pompa-Craven brings over 25 years of experience in non-profit leadership positions to OPEN MINDS as an Advisory Board Member.

In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS, Dr. Pompa-Craven is the Chief Clinical Officer and a Licensed Psychologist at Easterseals Southern California. In this role, Dr. Pompa-Craven leads the autism service line throughout an eight-county region in Southern California, including operations, clinical, project, and program management. She is responsible for the clinical and operational oversight including service provision to 12,000 individuals with autism and their families and 1400 staff throughout Southern California. Dr. Pompa- Craven also oversees the clinical case consultation for multi-diagnoses and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) clinical teams in this role. Dr. Pompa-Craven oversees a research lab focused on client outcomes, satisfaction, advocacy and staff retention. Dr. Pompa-Craven has several recent publications in peer reviewed journals.

In her long tenure at Easterseals Southern California, Dr. Pompa-Craven has held multiple positions. Prior to becoming Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Pompa-Craven was Regional Vice President of Easterseals Southern California. In this position, she led the start-up and development of a Residential Service line resulting in the development of 15 homes in the community for a number of people who had previously spent most of their lives in instinctual settings. Dr. Pompa-Craven also supervised The Directors of Residential Services and Support Living Services in this role. Dr. Pompa-Craven was also the Director of Foundations and Grants at Easterseals Southern California. In this position, she led and collaborated with the foundation’s team to develop appropriate funding targets and maintain grants and the foundation database. She researched, wrote, and provided consultation to Easterseals programs for federal, state, and community grants and foundation requests. Additionally, Dr. Pompa-Craven held the position of Northern and Western Los Angeles County Regional Director for Easterseals Southern California, where she led the operations of infant, child, and adult social service programs in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and West Los Angeles areas.

After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Pompa-Craven was a Registered Psychology Assistant for Rene Folse, Inc., J.D., Ph.D. In this role, Dr. Pompa-Craven conducted psychological assessments on children and adults for regional center eligibility, social security benefits, requests for conservatorship, and individual educational planning. She also provided behavioral planning for individuals residing in a group home and provided training and monitoring of written behavioral plans.

Dr. Pompa-Craven was also a Consultant for the Kern Regional Center in California, where she provided and managed the person-center assessment, evaluation, and planning with individuals moving from State Development Center and provided technical assistance and training to the Inyo and Mono County Self-Determination Initiative. Dr. Pompa-Craven also participated in state-wide committees and conference presentations for both projects.

Dr. Pompa-Craven graduated with a Doctorate in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 2000. Dr. Pompa-Craven also holds a Master’s in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 1995. In 991, Dr. Pompa-Craven graduated from the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Pompa-Craven is also a member of numerous boards and committees including the American Psychological Association, the Association for Behavior Analysis, the California Psychological Association, the Conejo Valley Parent Teacher Student Association, the Kaiser Permanent Autism Service Steering Committee, the Autism Society of America, California Associate for Behavior Analysis, Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, Easterseals Autism Spokesperson Network, and National Charity League Vista Robles Chapter.

Paula is speaking during Home-Based Service Models For Consumers With Cognitive & Physical Health Challenges.

Angela Yen is a dedicated behavior analyst with over 15 years of experience working with complex, underserved populations. After receiving her master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in autism spectrum disorders, she pursued her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Since then, she has worked in a variety of settings, including schools, residential facilities, and community organizations, helping individuals with developmental disabilities, mental health disorders and other unique needs. 

Angela has demonstrated a commitment to delivering innovative and effective individualized interventions for her clients. She has also provided training and consultation to other professionals and organizations, helping to expand the use of evidence-based practices in the field.   

At Easterseals Southern California, Angela oversees both the Consultation Services and the Crisis Support Services Departments. She believes in collaborative approach that emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with individuals and their systems of support to create linkages and build capacity. 

Angela is interested in research topics related to trauma informed care and organizational behavior management. She is passionate about what she does and looks forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of those she serves.

Angela is speaking during Home-Based Service Models For Consumers With Cognitive & Physical Health Challenges.

Rick Gutierrez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist in California. He has a Doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology as well as a Masters in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. He has over 25 years of applied experience working in the clinical, community, and school settings. He has provided numerous workshops on Applied Behavior Analysis across Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. Further, he has provided international consultation to clinics serving individuals diagnosed with a developmental disability around the globe.  

Currently, Dr. Gutierrez is the Vice President of Operations and Clinical Strategy for Easterseals Southern California Autism Services. He is responsible for the oversight of the intake, contracting, new development, and network provider services provided by Easterseals Southern California. Dr. Gutierrez has extensive experience in staff training, employee retention, employee engagement, as well  as the treatment of individuals diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities. He is an emotional intelligence trainer. He has published research in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. His research interests are in social skills, verbal behavior, problem behavior, and organizational behavior management.

Rick is speaking during Home-Based Service Models For Consumers With Cognitive & Physical Health Challenges.

Deanne Cornette, MHA, GPC, brings over 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field.  Ms.Cornette currently serves as a Senior Associate for OPEN MINDS and brings to the OPEN MINDS team noted expertise in strategic planning, grant writing and revenue development.

Previously, Ms. Cornette was the Vice President of Strategic Development for Tampa Family Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center. In this role, she managed grants, contracts, front desk operations, training, quality assurance special assignments (risk assessments and responses to complaints), credentialing and billing functions.  In a very short time period, she successfully procured funding to integrate behavioral health services, brought a system of processes to track health indicators and improve value-based care payment and service and became proficient in utilizing HRSA’s reporting portals.

As Counsel for Strategic Development at Agency for Community Treatment Services, Inc. (ACTS) and Vice President of Business Development for Gracepoint (merger), Ms. Cornette directed strategic development, contract negotiations, revenue development, marketing and grants.  In this capacity, she targeted funding sources and built a lucrative cash flow that provided needed services to vulnerable populations in need of behavioral health treatment.

Some of her most successful negotiations created best practice services for veteran’s programs, women’s services, as well those involved with the criminal justice system. Her portfolio includes a wide array of awards from a multitude of agencies including, but not limited to: SAMHSA, HUD, Centers for Medicaid, and the Department of Transportation and collaborations with private, non-profit and government entities.  Most recently, she worked with Gracepoint to develop Hillsborough’s Centralized Receiving Facility, one of the first funded in the State of Florida.  From a system of care for jail diversion to evidence based practices for individuals who are homeless with behavioral health needs, her awards have netted over $80 million dollars to our community.

In addition, Ms. Cornette served as the Vice President for the National Contract Management Association Suncoast Chapter, Vice President of ACTS Affordable Housing Board of Directors, Vice President of ACTS Foundation Board of Directors, and was a member of Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board.​ She is the recipient of University of South Florida’s 2018 Florida Outstanding Women of the Year in Public Health. Her Centralized Receiving Facility collaborative won a 2018 WEDU PBS Be Brilliant / Innovation Award.  Her concept of Housing, Engagement and Retention Tenancy (HEART) program won the 2018 Heart for Homeless award through the Housing and Education Alliance.

Ms. Cornette received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and her Masters Degree in Health Administration from the University of South Florida.