The work of Healthy Teen Network is made possible by a dedicated core of our Board of Directors and professional staff members, who possess a wide range of professional and academic experiences.
Chair
Rhoda Smith, PhD
Assistant Professor, Springfield College
Rhoda Smith received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton. After a short hiatus from school, she worked for Orange County General Services Agency, CAST while pursuing her MSW at the University of Southern California. She returned to school to pursue the MSW at the University of Southern California, during which time she worked in Juvenile Probation. Having chosen a Mental Health concentration while in graduate school, she was hired by Patton State Hospital and worked on the interdisciplinary treatment team on the Admissions Unit there. Her interests turned to Child Welfare and she began working in Children’s Services for Riverside County. She has served as a supervisor, recruiter, and trainer for Child Protective Services Social Workers.
During her tenure as a doctoral student, she has taught social work courses at the Master’s and Baccalaureate levels. Additionally, she was selected as a Minority Fellow through a SAMHSA grant which provided additional training and opportunities for three consecutive years. She served as the Site Director for the Riverside Training Center for the San Diego State University Research Foundation at the Public Child Welfare Training Academy. She has served as the inaugural Program Coordinator for the University Consortium for Children and Families (UCCF) in Los Angeles. She has also served as a Title IV-E Field Faculty at California State University, San Bernardino, supervising MSW interns in field placement. In 2016, she was awarded the Bertha Capen Reynolds Fellowship at Smith College, a residential fellowship that culminated with her teaching in the MSW program. She received her PhD from Loma Linda University in June 2017 and is currently an Assistant Professor at Springfield College. Her research interests include pregnant and parenting foster youth, socialization, and reproductive health issues for foster youth and quality of life issues for transitioning foster youth.
Vice Chair
Shannon Rauh, MEd, AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator
Senior Consultant, JSI Research and Training Institute
Shannon Rauh has over 20 years of experience working domestically and internationally as a public health educator, a Master Trainer in evidence-based interventions, a program director, and a direct service provider. Currently, Shannon serves as a Senior Consultant to the Title X Family Planning National Training Center, a program that provides training to federally-funded family planning agencies and clinics on assessing and improving their clinical operations and performance, and compliance with federal regulations and legislative mandates. Recently, she co-authored “Taking Charge: Youth Peer Educator Guide for Reproductive Health” for Ugandan youth. In addition, in partnership with Aflatoun International, Shannon adapted their current evidence-based curriculum by combining social and financial education for adolescents with an extended focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights (Aflateen – Youth in Charge). This global curriculum connects Aflateen’s learner-centered social and financial education with a gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health intervention to enhance the capacity of young people to empower themselves to make positive decisions about their well-being.
Shannon has worked across several countries to strengthen program implementation and evaluation of evidence-based interventions to prevent adolescent pregnancy and HIV/STIs. In her field of expertise, she is sought after as an international consultant and trainer. Her expertise covers the areas of comprehensive sexuality education, positive youth development, reproductive justice, suicide prevention, substance use disorders, HIV/STI prevention, and program development and management. Shannon has a Master’s in Health Education from the University of North Texas. In addition, she has been an adjunct faculty member and taught Human Sexuality courses at the University of Texas at Austin and Bastyr University; and she is a certified Sexuality Educator by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.
Treasurer
Anthony Vela
Project Manager, US Department of Labor
Anthony Vela joined Healthy Teen Network in his first board term in 2010. His experience as a Program Manager in the Department of Labor funded Job Corps program for the western United States in the San Francisco region has proven helpful in dealing with the similar age group served by the programs associated with the Healthy Teen Network. Tony earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a minor in Women’s Studies from Arizona State University. His career with the Department of Labor has spanned thirty years, twenty-two with the Job Corps.
Secretary
Brina Bolden, JD
Contracting Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs
Brina Bolden is an attorney, Army veteran, basketball enthusiast, and avid photography hobbyist. Her passions run the gamut from sneaker collections to world travel, but the endeavors that she engages in the most involve advocacy for human rights and increasing the ways in which people positively engage with each other. A graduate of Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Brina spent a portion of her law school career working as a member of Loyola’s Poverty Law Clinic assisting clients within the Orleans and Jefferson Parish court systems. She currently mentors young men and women on the legal process, world events, job preparation, basic business practices, and goal achievement. Brina also pursues other endeavors within her community including increasing voter turnout, expanding LGBT rights, and acquiring better resources for other disenfranchised segments of society. Brina currently works as a Contract Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and she holds an active bar membership for the State of Alabama. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and is currently a member of the Rho Xi Omega chapter in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Bolden was also recently named to the Baltimore City Women’s Commission, where she serves as a co-chair for the Employment and Economic Opportunity Committee.
Ex Officio
Nadine Finigan-Carr, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, School of Social Work
Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, PhD, is a prevention research scientist focused on the application of behavioral and social science perspectives to research on contemporary health problems, especially those which disproportionately affect people of color. Currently, Nadine is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland: School of Social Work. In this position, she is the Principal Investigator of research projects at both the state and federal levels designed to intervene with system-involved youth—those in foster care or the juvenile justice system, for example. She was recently awarded a grant from the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime to improve statewide coordination and multi-disciplinary collaboration in responding to human trafficking involving children and youth.
Members-at-Large
Monica Faulkner, PhD, LMSW
Director, Research Associate Professor, Foster Care Liaison
Monica Faulkner, PhD, is a research associate professor and the director of the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She oversees multiple projects relating to foster care, child care and teen pregnancy prevention funded by state agencies, private foundations, and the federal government. Her primary research interest is teen pregnancy prevention for foster youth and the welfare of teen parents in foster care. She teaches policy, human behavior in the social environment and child welfare-related electives. In terms of professional experience, she has worked in both direct practice and clinical settings. She has worked as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault at the Houston Area Women’s Center and as a case manager for children in foster care at the Austin Children’s Shelter. Faulkner also worked as a legislative aide for State Representative Garnet Coleman and served as chief of staff for State Representative Jessica Farrar. Faulkner has served on several boards including Latinas on the Rise in Houston and Adoption Knowledge Affiliates in Austin. She received a doctorate in social work from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010. She received a master’s degree in social work from The University of Houston, and a bachelor of liberal arts in government with a minor in Spanish and a bachelor of social work from The University of Texas at Austin.
Valerie J. Parker, MA, LMFT, LCSW
Executive Director, Young Families of Indiana Network, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County
Valerie Parker, MA, LMFT, LCSW, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed clinical social worker who has over 30 years of experience working with youth, teens, and adults in the criminal justice system and/or social services, and via her service in the community. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling Psychology and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Interpersonal Relations. Currently, she is the Executive Director for Young Families of Indiana Network. The signature programs within this agency are Future Promises, D.A.D.S Program (Dad’s Affirming Dads) and the Post-Grad Program, Parenting Geared Role Models Achieving Dreams.
In her capacity as Executive Director Valerie manages the budget, programming, a staff of case managers, the program’s program manager, and special event planning. The mission of Young Families of Indiana Network is to improve the life course of pregnant and parenting teens through school-based health education and comprehensive case management services. Valerie’s primary focus is to continuously develop programming methods to ensure quality of life for the teen families served by Young Families of Indiana Network, as well as foster improvement and progression of the programs she governs. Valerie works diligently to assure the program’s effectiveness, mission, and services are consistently presented in a strong positive image to relevant stakeholders, and beneficial to the population the program serves.
