Chair, Community Member
Andrea Knowlton is the Director of Early Childhood Services at the Napa Office of Education. Her background is in Early Childhood Special Education and Educational Administration. Andrea is involved in the statewide training of new leaders in the field of early childhood and was recently appointed to the Strategic Assessment of the Child Care Nutrition Environment Advisory Group for the 2007 -2008 school year. In her free time Andi enjoys traveling and cycling.
Community Member
Dr. Kristie Brandt is Director of the Parent-Infant & Child Institute in Napa and a teaching Fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas. She is visiting faculty with the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children’s Hospital Boston, and Director of the University of Massachusetts Boston Infant-Parent Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program in Napa. Kristie was the Chief Public Health Manager for Napa County Public Health and retired after nearly 25 years overseeing maternal-child health and general public health services. She provides consultation, teaching, and training around the country.
Community Member
Ida Bruce is the Chief Financial Officer at Elizabeth Spencer Wines in Rutherford. From a young age, she felt a strong desire to help others, particularly children. As a child advocate, Ida has been involved with many organizations in Napa County and has served in several leadership roles. She also has personal experience as a parent of a child with learning disabilities. Ida is a Napa County native currently residing in the City of Napa with her husband and three children.
Community Member
Michele is the Associate Director of Cope Family Center, Napa County’s flagship family resource center in downtown Napa. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in psychology, Michele has dedicated her professional career to the prevention of child abuse and neglect by working directly with families and through her work as an administrator and fund development professional. Prior to joining the Cope team in 2004, Michele worked at Lincoln Child Center in Oakland and Youth Homes Inc. in Contra Costa County. Michele volunteers in the community at her son Tyler’s school and as a Board Member of the Napa Valley DARE and Safe School Foundation.
Napa County Health and Human Services
Laura Keller is the Director of Public Health Nursing at Napa County Health and Human Services. She oversees the Welcome Every Baby; Napa Valley’s Universal Home Visiting Program for all new babies and is a Touchpoints Trainer. Laura is a RN, BSN, a certified Public Health Nurse, and a certified Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner. Laura completed the Infant Parent Mental Health Fellowship Program in 2004 and became a Fellowship mentor in 2006. She also serves on the board of Parenting Project of the Napa Valley.
Community Member
Stephanie Paravicini is a clinical psychologist who has spent ten years working with underserved children and families in nonprofit community health organizations like San Francisco General Hospital, St. Anthony’s Free Clinic, UC Davis Medical Center and Aldea Children and Family Services in Napa. She was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and works with Spanish-speaking clients in her private practice in Napa. Stephanie is currently devoting most of her time to being the mother of a two-year-old son and an infant daughter born in March 2008.
Community Member
Caroline Pietrangelo Owens is the Project Director for the CDE/ECE Faculty Initiative Project with the WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies. She is an experienced early care educator, teacher, and administrator of programs serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Caroline is completing a master’s degree from Pacific Oaks College and is certified in the TouchPoints Faculty Level Training. Caroline was involved in the start-up of the Welcome Every Baby Home Visiting Program in Napa in 2005.
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Brad Wagenknect is a middle school social science teacher as well as a County Supervisor. Brad served on the Napa City Council for several terms before his election to the Board. He is active in a variety of community organizations such as Sunrise Rotary and is well known for his leadership efforts with the Napa County 4-H. He has 3 children, Gretchen, Fritz and Max. Brad has playing on a city basketball league for 33 years and he has scored better than 4,000 points.
Napa County Health and Human Services
Teresa is a Division Manager at Napa County Health and Human Services with responsibility for public assistance programs such as Medi-Cal, County Medical Services Program, Food Stamps, General Assistance and for vocational services such as Welfare-to-work and Workforce Investment Act (WIA). A graduate from University of California, Riverside with a degree in psychology, she has worked for NCHHS for over 20 years. Other activities include being a coach and board member for Napa Valley Girls Fast pitch Association.