Organizational Effectiveness – Meet the Team

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APHSA Organizational Effectiveness
1300 17th Street North, Suite 340
Arlington, VA 22209

Email: [email protected]
General Phone Line: (202) 682-0100

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Take a look at the overarching lens and guiding principles used in our OE practice.

OE Team Members

The Organizational Effectiveness (OE) staff of APHSA is here to help you! Find out more about each of our staff members that make up our OE team!

If you are not sure of whom to contact, please feel free to contact us and your e-mail will be forwarded to the correct staff member.

Jen Kerr

Director, Organizational Effectiveness – [email protected]

Jen Kerr is the Director of Organizational Effectiveness (OE) for the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). Jen brings over 18 years of Organizational Effectiveness Consulting, Curriculum Development and Training System Design, and Continuous Quality Improvement experience in supporting health and human service agencies across the country. As part of APHSA’s OE team, Jen has assisted with the facilitation of over 120 improvement projects in 30 states including many localities. Jen also co-leads APHSA’s workforce well-being and health strategy through its development as a component of OE technical assistance.

Prior to coming to APHSA, Jen began her career at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and spent 12+ years with the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work’s Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center. Since joining APHSA, Jen has been the liaison to the National Staff Development and Training Association, an affinity group of APHSA. When not working, Jen spends most of her time at her daughters’ basketball, soccer and lacrosse games and supporting her local community through numerous volunteer efforts.

Alexander Figueroa

Assistant Director of Learning and Development (OE) – [email protected]

Alex brings over thirteen years of experience in training facilitation in child support, leadership, and professional development to the APHSA OE team. He’s experienced in delivering comprehensive training and specialized workshops at various state, regional, and national conferences. Prior to joining APHSA, Alex was the Manager of Human Services Initiatives at the Institute for Families (IFF), Rutgers School of Social Work. In that capacity, he managed the staff at the New Jersey Child Support Institute (NJCSI).

Kimberly James

Assistant Director of Technical Assistance (OE) – [email protected]

Kimberly James is an Organizational Effectiveness (OE) Consultant with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). Kimberly has 25 years of experience within the health and human services field with a concentration in child welfare. Kimberly has served in leadership roles in both the public and private provider sectors, serving as the Director of a foster care and adoption agency as well as the Director of a children and youth agency. Kimberly has years of positive experience facilitating change management and other organizational development activities for health and human services agencies utilizing APHSA’s DAPIM™ model. Kimberly has also participated at every level in the federal Child and Family Services Review and other formalized Quality Assurance (QA) processes. Kimberly has both Bachelor and Master of Social Work (BSW) degrees and is a licensed social worker (LSW) in the state of Pennsylvania.

Tina Wright-Ervin

Consultant, Organizational Effectiveness – [email protected]

Tina Wright-Ervin has over 20 years of organizational development, management, supervision, and training experience in retail, corporate, and human services settings. Prior to joining APHSA, Tina worked for San Bernardino County serving in various capacities in Human Services, starting as a Social Service Practitioner for Children and Family Services and most recently serving as the Training & Development Manager for the County’s Performance, Education and Resource Center providing OE and Leadership Training Development (LTD) for the largest geographic county in the nation. Tina is a dedicated champion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and applies an EDI lens in her work with organizations to ensure that they are effective in their efforts. Tina is also a proud former Disney “cast member” where she began her OE and LTD journey.

Dr. Trinka Landry-Bourne, DPA

OE Consultant, Leadership Development – [email protected]

Trinka has three decades of experience in health and human services, including project management, budgetary monitoring, organizational development, training, facilitation, and leadership. Prior to coming to APHSA, Trinka oversaw the development of training and leadership projects for the largest geographical County in the United States. As instructor/professor, she has taught numerous Human Services, Diversity and Inclusion, and Cultural Leadership classes. Trinka served on the NSDTA Executive Advisory Council as Chair and President of the San Bernardino County Association of African American Employees with regular opportunities to present locally/nationally. Trinka is earning a Doctorate in Public Administration from CBU with zealous passion in organizational development, promoting excellence throughout the Nation.

Adrian Saldana

Consultant, Organizational Effectiveness – [email protected]

Adrian has over 19 years of experience in human services, seeking to help individuals, families and communities thrive. His functions have encompassed frontline service delivery, learning and development, training evaluation, and change management. Prior to joining APHSA, Adrian worked at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) for six years. There he supported continuous quality improvement and participatory leadership initiatives at the ACS Workforce Institute as well as implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) in the Division of Family Permanency Services. He has also supported transformational reform efforts at the United Nations, the National Harm Reduction Coalition, Safe Horizon and Henry Street Settlement. Adrian received his Master of Public Administration from the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Allegra Henry

Consultant, Organizational Effectiveness – [email protected]

Allegra Henry has over 10 years of experience working in various roles throughout child welfare and human services. Prior to coming to APHSA, Allegra transformed an intake training program into an agency-wide coaching, professional development, and training program in the most populated county in Colorado. Through this cross-functional program she provided one-to-one coaching for leadership and staff, team building, resilience work, courageous conversations, and created strategies to retain staff through increased job satisfaction in human services. She was an active member of the Quality Assurance team, where she brought continuous improvement to policies and practices. Through the Colorado Child Welfare Training System, she completed the Co-Active Coaches Program, the Dare to Lead Leadership Program, and collaborated with coaches across the state through The Kempe Center. In addition, she held roles working in residential treatment, human trafficking, child protective services casework, and child advocacy. She started her journey receiving her Bachelor’s in Social Work from Evangel University with honors.

Brandy Whisman

Consultant, Organizational Effectiveness – [email protected]

Brandy brings over ten years of project management, facilitation, training, and human services experience to the OE team. Prior to joining APHSA, Brandy worked at the Council of State Governments as a Policy Analyst managing the Medicaid Policy Academy, serving as a staff liaison for the Healthy States National Task Force and Future of Work National Task Force, and first chairing the Shared State Legislation Committee.

Brandy earned a J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law and a B.A. from Berea College. She is also a Project Management Professional (PMP®) certified through the Project Management Institute.

Julia Mueller

Community Engagement Specialist – [email protected]

Julia Mueller is the Community Engagement Specialist at APHSA. In this role, Julia is a part of the Organizational Effectiveness Team where she provides a lived experience lens to various projects within APHSA. Julia has lived experience in the child welfare system since birth. Through this experience, she has utilized her voice to advocate for youth in the child welfare system since 2020. Prior to joining APHSA, Julia has experience working in a leadership position on the Pennsylvania Youth Advisory Board, Young Adult Consultant for the Capacity Building Center for States, & as a Standardized Client for the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work.

Through these leadership roles, she has developed and fine-tuned her public speaking, tailored services administration, meeting facilitation, strategic sharing, advocacy, sustainability, capacity building, and child welfare knowledge skills.

Francesca Sena

Organizational Effectiveness Instructional Designer – [email protected]

As an instructional designer, Francesca is responsible for creating training curricula and eLearning projects for in-class, online, and blended learning solutions. Francesca’s experience includes conducting Performance Gap Analysis and Training Needs Assessments in collaboration with Subject Matter Experts and project stakeholders to achieve positive project outcomes through the creation of effective learning material. Francesca is a graduate of Towson University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies and Mass Communications, with a focus in Public Relations, as well as a University of Maryland Baltimore County graduate with a Master of Arts in Learning and Performance Technology.

Lofaine Bradford

Organizational Effectiveness Learning Coordinator – [email protected]

Lofaine Bradford is the Learning Coordinator at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). In her role, Lofaine supports the Director of Organizational Effectiveness along with other team members through the training and technical assistance development life cycle. Lofaine initially came to APHSA as a Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator serving as the primary support to the APHSA team in the collection, dissemination, and mobilization of knowledge across APHSA’s platforms. Prior to joining APHSA, Lofaine served as a Research Associate at the Advisory Board (Optum) where she conducted secondary research to create strategic briefs for health care executives. Lofaine is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences from the University of Michigan. Lofaine is a graduate of American University where she holds a BA in Psychology.