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Staff

Profile

Chris Negri
Associate Director of Public Policy Strategies

headshot of Chrischris@cpedv.org | Chris Negri (he/him) is the Associate Director of Public Policy Strategies at the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

Profile

Christine Smith
Policy Analyst

christine@cpedv.org | Christine Smith (she/her) is an enrolled member of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. Since 2016, on the Partnership’s Policy Team she’s worked to advocate for the needs of domestic violence programs and survivors through state and federal legislation, training and technical assistance and systems change work. She received her Masters in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco with a concentration in health care.

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Cibonay Jimenez
Community-Based Strategic Engagement and Impact (SEI) Project Manager

cibonay@cpedv.org | Cibonay Jimenez (formerly Cordova) has over 20 years of professional experience in the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Sex Trafficking, Mental Health, Social Services, Health Care, and Substance Abuse fields. Cibonay’s passion for this work derives from her rich history and experience as a DV/SA survivor and Native (Cazan Guamares/Yaqui)/Chicana woman.

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Crystal Wishart
Associate Director of Culture and Trust Strategies and Practice

headshot of Crystalcrystal@cpedv.org | After 15 years in the Commercial Real Estate Industry, Crystal Wishart (she/her) went back to school to obtain her MA in Professional Communications from California State University, Fullerton to make a career pivot and work in the non-profit sector.

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Jasmeen Kairam
Community-Based Strategic Engagement and Impact (SEI) Project Manager

jasmeen@cpedv.org | Jasmeen Kairam is the Capacity Building Coordinator at the Partnership. Jasmeen was introduced to the world of social injustices, specifically human trafficking, while attending California State University, Chico in 2012. She spent her undergrad years raising awareness about human trafficking and its prevalence to her peers, professors and community members.

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Jennifer Willover
Housing Policy Analyst

Headshot of Jennifer Hartejenniferh@cpedv.org | Jennifer Willover has worked in the intersection of victim services and homeless services for the past 7 years through advocacy work, program management, and collaborative efforts. She received her Masters in Public Administration from Sonoma State University with a concentration on Nonprofit Management.

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Jennifer M. Khalifa, MSW CHES
Senior Director of Prevention Strategies

Jennifer@cpedv.org | Jennifer M. Khalifa, MSW CHES, obtained her Master of Social Work from Boston University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. For the last 15 years, Jennifer has developed, led, and implemented local and national IPV prevention programming. She is passionate about social welfare, systems change, and providing education and resources to disadvantaged communities and victims of violence.

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Jessica Merrill
Associate Director of Strategic Communications

jessica@cpedv.org | Jessica Merrill is the Communications Manager at the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (the Partnership). Her goal is to create a rich, engaging dialogue across California to increase knowledge of domestic violence as a public health crisis–and to promote equitable solutions that prevent trauma and support survivors. By providing communications tools to the Partnership’s member programs and all Californians, she works to shift social norms that contribute to domestic violence through social and traditional media advocacy.

Profile

Kimmie Remis, MSW
Prevention Specialist

This is a headshot of Kimmie Remus.kimmie@cpedv.org | Kimmie (she/her) began her work in sexual violence prevention in college, while doing her social work field placement at Planned Parenthood Mohawk-Hudson. She started her post-collegiate career at Boston Medical Center, New England’s largest safety-net hospital, in the OBGYN & Adolescent Center as a research coordinator. In 2018, Kimmie went to Boston College to complete her master’s in social work.

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Krista Colón
Senior Director of Public Policy Strategies

This is an image of Krista Niemczyk.krista@cpedv.org | As the Senior Director of Public Policy for the Partnership, Krista oversees the organization’s legislative, budget, and systems change advocacy. In her nearly twelve years with the Partnership she has successfully advocated for over $100 million in new funding for domestic violence victim services and prevention and secured the passage of legislation to addressing the wide range of issues impacting survivors.

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Lisa Sica, PhD, SHRM-SCP
Director of Culture and Trust

This is a headshot of Lisa Sica.lisa@cpedv.org | Strategic partner, galvanizer, thought leader and continuous learner in the field of inclusion, diversity and equity, Lisa has over 20 years of professional experience in managing human resource and financial functions in the nonprofit industry, specifically in nonprofits working in the fields of violence against women and public interest law.

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Megan Tanahashi
Strategic Communications Analyst

This is a headshot of Megan Tanahashi.megan@cpedv.org | Megan Tanahashi (she/her) is the Strategic Communications Analyst at the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. She brings to the Partnership not only her talent for visual communication and digital content, but her passion for using creative problem-solving to produce solutions that amplify marginalized voices.

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Melodie Kruspodin
Prevention Specialist

This is a headshot of Melodie Kruspodin.melodie@cpedv.org | Melodie is a passionate violence preventionist with over 10 years of experience in the sexual assault and domestic violence fields. As the daughter of immigrants, she is inspired to drive social change by the activism that runs in her family. She is driven to promote gender equity and social justice for all people.

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Michelle Huey
Strategic Communications Project Manager

This is a headshot of Michelle Huey.michelle@cpedv.org | As a yonsei and 3rd generation Chinese American woman, her advocacy was sparked by her family’s stories of incarceration camp. She became involved in social justice and sexual violence activism in 2011 through the Cross Cultural Center at UC Davis and Japanese American Citizen’s League.

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Michelle Morales
Community-Based Strategic Engagement and Impact (SEI) Project Manager

This is a headshot of Michelle Morales.michellem@cpedv.org | Michelle Morales has over 20 years of professional experience in the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Sex Trafficking, Mental Health, and Social Services fields. She has held a variety of roles and responsibilities within that time.

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Miranda Stiers
Associate Director of Prevention Strategies

Headshot of Mirandamiranda@cpedv.org | Miranda began working in the movement to stop domestic violence and sexual assault in 2003. During this time they have provided services for survivors, worked in collaboratives with county organizations, managed programs and provided domestic violence, sexual assault and LGBTQI inclusion trainings.

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Natalie Diaz Mondragon
Manager of People & Membership

NatalieM@cpedv.org | Natalie is a graduate of Sacramento State where she attained a B.A. in government with a concentration in international relations. She has professional experience in state government, non-profit, and campaign finance fields.  Her diverse background and experiences have led her to be an advocate for women and immigrant rights as she seeks to bring an equitable perspective into her work.

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Natasha Nicholson
Operations Manager

Headshot of Natasha Nicholsonnatasha@cpedv.org | Natasha Nicholson is the Operations Manager. In this role she, analyzes and implements financial methodologies and procedures. She has a professional background in behavioral and trauma studies with a special interest in mental health education. As a gun violence victim advocate, she is actively pursuing ways to dismantle oppression and encourage diversity, equity, and equality for all.

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Paul Castro, JD
Interim Executive Director

headshot of paulpaul@cpedv.org | Paul S. Castro serves as senior consultant with Applied Strategy Associates, specializing in interim executive services, executive coaching, and organizational development. In 2018, Paul retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS), a multi‑service social service organization serving more than 100,000 individuals and families annually throughout Los Angeles.

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Rocci Jackson
Gun Violence Restraining Order Community Analyst

This is an image of Krista Niemczyk.rocci@cpedv.org | With 15 years of experience in the field of social services and corrections, Rocci Jackson has consistently been a leader in providing training and education to others. Rocci earned her MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of the Pacific in 2012.  Between 2006 and 2016, Rocci worked providing programs to people who harm at the California Youth Authority and running programming to the victims of violence.

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Valarie Smith
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director

This is a headshot of Valarie Smith.Valarie@cpedv.org | Valarie is the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, with 10+ years of experience in providing direct support to senior level management in the nonprofit and private sectors.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology as well as a certificate in holistic health and nutrition. She is an advocate for women and children’s rights.