Roberta Chambers

Roberta has over twenty years working in the public behavioral health system as a direct service provider, nonprofit executive, and consultant.  As a provider, Roberta has worked across outpatient, residential, and inpatient environments focused on those most impacted by behavioral health and intellectual disabilities.  Since 2011, Roberta has worked as a consultant to the public mental health systems across California.  This includes serving as the Principal Investigator for a number of research projects testing new interventions aimed at interrupting the cycle of crisis, hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness for adults with the most serious needs as well as working with a number of counties to develop actionable plans to address these issues systemically and structurally. She is currently focusing on a number of technical assistance projects that aim to reduce the over-representation of people with mental health issues in the criminal justice system. She has also advised a number of participatory action research projects with youth research partners across the state and worked with Stanford University to develop the cross-site evaluation of allcove, a new youth mental health model funded by the MHSOAC. Roberta holds a doctorate in psychology from John F, Kennedy University, and her dissertation research was on the function of drugs and alcohol in people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.  Clinically, her experience is based in the public sector with a focus on people with serious mental illness, substance use, forensic involvement, and/or an intellectual disability. She has presented nationally on promising practices in participatory planning and evaluation as well as issues related to deinstitutionalization.  In addition, she is also a foster and adoptive mom and has been blessed with two amazing children, ages 9 and 11.    

Roberta has had the pleasure of working with numerous public and nonprofit agencies.  Below are examples of agencies she has worked with:

Kira Gunther

Kira brings 20 years of experience supporting public and non-profit organizations with grant writing, planning, implementation, and evaluation of efforts to improve services to vulnerable populations. Kira serves as a subject matter expert in the areas of behavioral health, developmental disabilities, child welfare, early childhood education and the intersection of these domains.   She began her career as a social worker - receiving a Master’s in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley - where she specialized in services to children, youth, and families. After several years as a social worker in several schools and as a case manager for a Bay Area Foster Family Agency, Kira turned her efforts toward supporting agencies in system change efforts to support those who are often underserved. She has extensive experience across an array of consultation areas, and she most enjoys when she is able to leverage her experiences and knowledge to support clients. Kira loves managing and executing projects, collaborating with clients to help them realize their vision, and facilitating meaningful stakeholder participation efforts.  She also enjoys supporting service providers to bring in needed services through grant writing and evaluating the success of an existing endeavor. Prior to working independently, Kira was a Senior Program Associate and Senior Project Manager at Resource Development Associates. She has directed projects across subject areas with a specialization in Behavioral Health. In this capacity, Kira worked across the State on planning and evaluation efforts through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA); conducted Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) fidelity assessments in California and Nevada; led numerous planning and evaluation efforts in behavioral health and on cross disciplinary efforts; and was a quality improvement lead on Alameda County’s Whole Person Care effort. Prior to RDA she was a Senior Analyst at Mission Analytics Group, where she managed a number of social services projects and was a technical assistance lead to the California Department of Developmental Services providing direct support to all 21 Regional Centers for almost ten years. 

Kira has had the pleasure of working with numerous state and local agencies.  Below are examples of agencies she has worked with in her consulting career:

Ardavan Davaran

Ardavan Davaran is a trained sociologist and mixed-methods researcher with a background in criminal justice and behavioral health policy research. Serving as a consultant since 2015, Ardavan has led several large scale evaluation and planning processes to support systems change efforts such as AB 109 Realignment, AB 1421 establishing Laura’s Law, Proposition 47 the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, AB 1810 Mental Health Diversion, and most recently, Senate Bill 129 which diverts more pretrial defendants to community supervision as they await trial. Ardavan’s consulting work has allowed him the opportunity to work closely with county agencies, both large and small, across California to examine their system capacities at the intersection of justice and behavioral health, and to facilitate data-driven stakeholder meetings and engage with community members to support a range of evaluation, planning, and system change efforts. Across his work, Ardavan utilizes a data-driven approach emphasizing coordination and collaboration between county partners, service providers, and community members to effectively address complex community issues. As an independent consultant working with the Indigo Project, Ardavan enjoys partnering with a wide range of clients to help them achieve their goals, valuing the opportunity to work with an array of partners with a range of expertise in doing so. 

Prior to working as a consultant, Ardavan earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University. During his time at Washington State University, he completed work under a federally funded NIH/NIAAA grant that explored how 0.08% BAC law change affected DUI enforcement patterns and impacted women and men disparately. Ardavan’s dissertation examined how police organizational arrangements and practices systematically produce uneven drug law enforcement across space and by race. 

Ardavan has had the pleasure of working with numerous public and nonprofit agencies.  Below are examples of agencies he has worked with:

Sharene Kacyra

Sharene Kacyra, MA is a seasoned project manager with a demonstrated history in the behavioral healthcare field. Ms. Kacyra has extensive experience overseeing the start-up of behavioral health programs to serve adults and children experiencing mental health challenges, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and homelessness. She specializes in facilitating and implementing cross-functional initiatives that provide the structure and support to launch health and human service projects, and include all aspects of start-up, ranging from facility site planning and design through program development and licensure and/or certification.

After receiving a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from Argosy University, Ms. Kacyra worked at a non-profit behavioral health company, progressing from Project Manager to VP of Project Management. In her role she oversaw the successful opening of more than 40 programs in three states, serving approximately 5,500 individuals each year. Program types include community treatment facilities, short and long-term residential facilities, and outpatient day programs. Ms. Kacyra has experience working with State and local licensing agencies, County behavioral health divisions, California regional centers, supportive housing developers, and behavioral health organizations. 

Hallmarks of her leadership include the start-up of California’s first Community Crisis Home for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are also experiencing a severe mental health challenges, overseeing the development of specialized homes to serve individuals coming out of locked facilities during the California Developmental Center closures, and the start-up of a residential treatment program for children and adolescents struggling with eating disorders, which included the continuation of educational services in addition to therapeutic programming. 

She is currently consulting on projects for behavioral health organizations, regional centers, and non-profit housing developers throughout California to develop residential and outpatient services providing community-based alternatives to institutionalization. In addition, Ms. Kacyra serves on the board of directors for the Kacyra Family Foundation.  

Ms. Kacyra has had the pleasure of working with numerous state and local agencies.  Below are examples of agencies she has worked with in her career: