Meet Our Team
Suzanne Starling, M.D., Executive Director/Project Director
Suzanne Starling is the Executive Director of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. She was the Medical Director of the Child Abuse Program at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk VA for 17 years before relocating to San Diego in 2017. Dr. Starling is a board certified Child Abuse Pediatrician and has spent her career collaborating with investigators and attorneys to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse, regularly providing expert medical testimony in child abuse cases. Dr. Starling also lectures nationally and internationally for medical, investigative, and legal audiences. Dr. Starling has served as a leader in Child Abuse Pediatrics for many years. She helped shape the direction of the field as a past chair of the American Board of Pediatrics’ subboard on Child Abuse Pediatrics. Dr. Starling has authored more than 40 journal articles and book chapters in the field, as well as edited the well-respected textbook Medical Response to Child Sexual Abuse. She is a charter member of the Helfer Society, an honorary society for physician specialists in child abuse.
Vicky Gwiasda, Program Manager
Vicky Gwiasda has over twenty years of executive leadership experience in public and not-for-profit organizations at the national, state and local levels, with a focus on building safe, healthy and equitable homes and communities. Most recently, Vicky served as the Executive Director of CALICO, the accredited child advocacy center of Alameda County, California, and previously she worked as the Director of Knowledge Enhancement at the Institute for Community Peace based in Washington DC and as Deputy Director of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority in Chicago, Illinois.
Salli Kerr, State Liaison
Salli Kerr has over five years of experience as an Executive Director and CEO in the non-profit sector and was instrumental in the formation and accreditation of the state chapter of children’s advocacy centers in Nevada. As Executive Director, Salli led a multi-service center that housed the Nye County Children’s Advocacy Center, the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Nevada and other service organizations for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and other crimes. Salli’s background of providing direct services, including foster-parenting, provides her with a unique perspective on the impact of trauma in the lives of victims and the positive influence that a coordinated response has on victims’ recovery and wellness.
Patty Terzian, State Liaison
Patty Terzian has over fifteen years of experience in the non-profit sector developing and directing programs, providing outreach and trainings, and managing grants. In her previous role, Patty served for nine years as the Executive Director/Statewide Coordinator of the Oregon Network of Child Abuse Intervention Centers, the accredited state chapter of children’s advocacy centers. She led the chapter through considerable growth and development and collaborated with professionals across the state to improve services for Oregon’s children when there were concerns of abuse. Patty’s skills in project coordination, communications and training were honed through her early-career work in both the non-profit and corporate sectors.
Dana Sawyer, Project Coordinator
Dana Sawyer has over twenty-five years of experience in behavioral health and human service state and federal government work promoting wellness in children and their families. Her work is based on a foundation of child welfare services and has involved managing a variety of complex system improvements in behavioral health settings. In a previous role, Dana served as Chief of Operations at Delaware’s Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services where she was instrumental in shepherding innovative school and community-based services focused on trauma-informed care, as well as health promotion in the field of prevention and early intervention. Dana is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has provided assessment and therapeutic services in a multitude of settings including schools, communities and acute care medical facilities.
Madison Stark, Training & Communications Coordinator
Madison Stark served two years with AmeriCorps after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill in 2017, implementing programs targeted towards youth who have experienced adversity. A passion for trauma-informed practices and public health led her to the Chadwick Center in 2019, where she serves as the Training & Communications Coordinator on the WRCAC team. Madison brings her experience in grants and non-profit communications to this role to facilitate behind-the-scenes logistics for WRCAC’s trainings and webinars, as well as manage WRCAC’s communications.
Al Killen-Harvey
Al Killen-Harvey is the co founder of The Harvey Institute, a training and consultation company whose mission is improving health care outcomes through integrating sexual health. For the past 24 years he has worked at the Chadwick Center where he has served in a variety of clinical and training positions. Al is a frequent presenter, nationally and internationally, on a wide variety of topics related to children and adolescents as well as sexual identity and gender identity. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Children’s Advocacy Centers of California and is a past board member of CAPSAC (California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children).
Charles Wilson, MSSW
Charles Wilson served as Director of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families for 20 years, retiring in 2020. He previously served as the Executive Director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Board Member for the Alabama Network of CACs, Project Director for the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, and ex officio member of the Board of Directors of NCA. Charles is also the former President of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and former member of the Board of Directors of the California Network of CACs.
Michelle Hogan, MBA, Director – Behavioral Health Administration
Michelle Hogan has over two decades of experience in financial/grants management and business operations, and currently has fiscal oversight of Chadwick Center’s $29 million behavioral health division.
Andrea Hazen, Ph.D., Research Scientist
Andrea’s current work primarily focuses on mental health screening, assessment and treatment for children and families involved with child welfare services. She has expertise in child maltreatment and intimate partner violence research and program evaluation, and has published extensively on those topics. Dr. Hazen oversees the treatment outcome program for the Trauma Counseling Program and for the KidSTART Mental Health Clinic and serves as the evaluation lead for WRCAC and other projects focused on the delivery of trauma informed services in child welfare systems and on the implementation of screening, assessment, and evidence-based treatment to address the mental health needs of children involved with child welfare services.
Christopher Perkins, Project Analyst
Christopher Perkins has more than fifteen years of experience with data and website management and administration and served as the project manager for the web-based California Mandated Reporter training portal. Chris manages WRCAC’s electronic learning and communication systems.