Kenneth McGuire, Board Chair

Chief Executive Officer – Horizon West HealthCare, Inc.

As Chief Executive Officer for the Horizon West HealthCare, McGuire brings a wealth of financial knowledge and business experience to Child Advocates. At Horizon West Ken manages the company which owns and operates 27 Skilled Nursing Facilities located in California and Utah. He is also involved with little league and cub scouts in the Auburn area.

Janice Gage, Board Vice-Chair

Retired - Senior Management Analyst, Placer County Executive Office

Janice Gage is a native Californian residing in Placer County for the past 29 years, where she spent 17 years working as a Senior Management Analyst in the Placer County Executive Office – primarily in the area of Land Use, Public Safety, Criminal Justice and Health and Human Services. Janice joined the 83-year old Auburn Rotary Club in 1997 and was elected to serve as the first woman president in 2003. She was Assistant Governor from 2005-2007, has been nominated District 5190 Governor for 2009-2010, and received the Four Avenues of Service Award in 2006 and District 5190 Foundation Service Award in 2007. Janice is well known for her volunteer service to the community of Auburn, involvement as a Placer County Juvenile Justice Commissioner, and Chairman and long-term member of the Sierra College Accounting Advisory Committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Mercy Retreat Center in Auburn as well as Child Advocates of Placer County. 

David Skitarelic, Treasurer

AVP/Business Relationship Manager

Mr. Skitarelic manages banking relationships for 6 non-profits at Wells Fargo with budgets ranging from $750,000 to over $10 million. He works closely with the Finance Directors and boards to understand their financial needs and assist them in achieving their financial goals, and he looks forward to putting this experience to good use at Child Advocates. He also has considerable experience as a corporate officer for several organizations in the past, particularly social and athletic organizations.

Michael Nickey, Secretary

Retired - Senior Manger, HP 

Mr. Nickey retired from Hewlett Packard after holding many positions as senior manager in computer manufacturing during his 32-year career with the company. Nickey is a Viet Nam veteran who has been active in the community serving for several years as chairman of the United Way Citizen Review Committee. He has also served on the Placer County Community Services Commission with 2 terms as chairman of that commission. Nickey is also active in the Auburn Elks lodge and the local branch of Sons In Retirement (SIR).

Patricia Burgess

General Counsel, US HealthWorks, Inc. (retired)

Ms. Burgess has practiced law for over 30 years. Her most recent positions included General Counsel of U.S. HealthWorks, a provider of occupational medicine services, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Knight Vinke Asset Management, an investment management firm, and Assistant Chief Counsel for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Ms. Burgess has significant experience in corporate governance, health care and advising boards of directors of public, private and non-profit corporations on a variety of issues.

Scott Cunningham

Sales Manager, Apple, Inc.

At Apple Scott is responsible for managing a team of sales professionals who work with mid-size businesses across the US and Latin America on integrating Apple products into their environment. Scott brings his strong business background to Child Advocates and is enthusiastic about helping the organization grow. As a previous board member for Generation Fate, Scott followed his "little" brother Nick to Child Advocates. Along with Nick and Josh Thompson, Scott is eager to support the inclusion of Generation Fate into the Child Advocate umbrella and expand the programs "New Friends for Life" and "Simple Heroes". 

Roxanna Prelo Friedrich

Director of Client Advisory Services  - Merrill Corporation

Ms. Friedrich is a member of the American Bar Association, and an inactive member of New Mexico State Bar Association, the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Hispanic Bar Association. She is a CASA for Child Advocates of Placer County where she assisted the Dependency Court Judge with guardianship cases. She has also been a CASA in Jefferson County, CO, and a Guardian Ad Litem in Albuquerque, NM. She is a former prosecutor of child abuse crimes and was a member of the Albuquerque Police Department Task Force on Domestic Violence, and Chairperson of the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute Labor Relations Board. She has been a member of numerous non-profit boards and committees, including the Komen for the Cure Policy Committee, the Girl Scouts of America, Chaparral Council, and the Storehouse of Albuquerque. She brings a passion for advocating for women and children, and enjoys hiking, yoga, cooking and traveling.

Diana Nyman

Senior Packaging Engineer, The Gillette Company (retired)

 
Kim Tucker

Nonprofit Development Director, 3Fold Communications

Kim is 3Fold’s resident expert on all things related to nonprofit funding and management. With Kim, our nonprofit clients get help with diversifying revenue, strengthening board and staff efforts, and increasing their program effectiveness. It’s all about long-term sustainability and mission-driven work.Kim has worked in nonprofit organizations in Alaska, Washington and California. She’s got stories to tell about working in public radio (and the biology of spawning salmon); being a court-appointed guardian and advocate for children and seniors; and serving the interests of California’s diverse small businesses.

Steven Weiler

Vice President, Kaiser Permanente

Mr. Weiler brings a solid background in leading and accelerating business growth and streamling organizations to better meet the needs of thier markets and customers. In recent years he has been a senior leader in Healthcare Industry filling senior leadership roles with Blue Shield of California where he was responsible for running thier Internet Services business and leading the transformation of thier core business systems and processes.  Prior to joining Kaiser, Steve served as Associate Vice President with the TriZetto Group responsible for Integrated Healthcare Management Services working with health plans nation-wide to ready thier operations for Healthcare reform. Over the years Steve has worked with a broad set of Industry leaders including Ernst & Young LLP, Sutter Health, Accel Partners and others filling business and technology leadership roles. Steve resides in Placer County, California with his wife Karri and thier two kids.  He enjoys spending time with family, friends, and working to make a difference in our local community by being an active CASA Supporter.

Don Kleinfelder, Executive Director

Mr. Kleinfelder has worked in the non-profit sector for over 17 years, including 13 years as Executive Director. He holds a MS in Hydrology/Hydrogeology from the University of Nevada-Reno, and prior to entering the non-profit sector, spent worked in the private sector as a hydrogeologist, focusing on groundwater remediation. With Child Advocates he has implemented numerous fiscal and fundraising changes, and has worked with the board to update and implement Child Advocates’ Strategic Plan which focuses on growing and sustaining the organization and enhancing alliances with the Judicial Council, National CASA, and various community/service organizations. He is a member of the California CASA Board of Directors, Chair of the Placer County Community Services Commission, and an active CASA volunteer. Mr. Kleinfelder assumed the Executive Director position in November 2006.

Kathryn Hart, Program Director

As the CASA Program Director, Ms. Hart oversees the day-to-day activities of the CASA program. Prior to joining Child Advocates, Ms. Hart spent 15 years with high tech companies, where she progressed from Customer Service in Sales to Director of Global Operations. As such, she brings a wealth of experience in sales, marketing and operations. Kathryn attended University of Phoenix focusing on completing her BA in Global Business Management. She has also been a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Ombudsman and Adoption support services and is a past Santa Clara County CASA volunteer. Her personal knowledge as a CASA and her leadership skills is great benefit to our team.

Laurie Tyrrell, Case Supervisor

As the Foster Parent Liaison between Placer County Children’s System of Care and Placer Kids since 1999, Laurie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding foster youth issues. In this role she successfully facilitated support groups for foster/adoptive and kinship families, implemented Tweens and Teens support groups, and worked at Sierra College as the Foster Parent Trainer. She brings excellent presentation, group facilitation and community outreach skills, along with her in-depth knowledge of the child welfare system. Above all else, she has a care and passion for the children of Placer County. 

Nick Cunningham, Case Supervisor

Nick Cunningham brings three years experience as the director and founder of Generation Fate, Inc. a volunteer based non profit organization that provides enrichment and recreational activities to Placer County foster youth.  His experiences include program development, fundraising, community relations and effective volunteer recruitment.  He is well versed in Placer County’s systems of care and has established important relationships throughout the area to increase collaboration and community awareness.  Before working with Generation Fate he worked as the CFO of Focus Equity, Inc. for three years an Orange County based Real Estate and Loan Corporation.  He volunteers with countless organizations and has been a big brother through the Big Brother Big Sister program for five years.

Lori Nichols, Fund Development Director

Lori Nichols holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Behavior with a concentration in Marketing from Fresno Pacific University. Over the past 20 years she has designed and managed fundraisers for several non-profit entities. Lori has a passion for bringing people and resources together towards a common goal, and as a CASA she now turns her energies toward something near and dear to her heart..  She has recently implemented the Freinds of CASA advidsory council (contact her for more information) and is responsible for donor cultivation, outreach, marketing and special events.