Big issues, bigger heart
Our Team
As a nationally recognized leader in human services. Our team is immensely passionate about helping government be a force for good
For us, public service is a calling and way of life
Public servants by experience and at heart, the C!A® team is comprised of former government employees who have dedicated much of their professional careers to public service. Each team member brings unique and diverse practical experience representing all different levels of government operations, and has a deep understanding of government processes working with state and county agencies, their local offices, and the associated federal agencies.
Our award-winning team of consultants and change agents have big ideas that we use to fundamentally change your culture by changing minds and fixing systems. Our people are accomplished consultants and gifted speakers with an intense focus on relationships and results.
Leadership
Blake Shaw
President
Immensely passionate about helping government be a force for good, Blake has dedicated his professional life to helping human services leaders and their teams challenge assumptions and the status quo and embrace new, innovative approaches to overcome some of the most pressing problems facing society and transform service delivery. His many accomplishments include higher retention rates for staff, recovering lost operational capacity to help staff and agencies help their citizens, cutting wait times in public assistance offices by up to 99%, from three weeks to 15 minutes, and delivering public assistance determinations 70% faster to the most vulnerable families in the community, from 25+ days to eight days.
Sean Toole
Senior Vice President
A proven leader in the human services industry, Sean Toole brings 35+ years of experience with human services delivery, strategy, and account management. With a specialty in implementing children’s welfare programs, Sean’s leadership and expertise have enacted transformative BPRs and groundbreaking systems for local and state government agencies, NGOs, universities, and prominent firms. In addition to directing the implementation of Georgia’s $25 million child welfare case management system, Sean has managed and implemented complex and collaborative human services projects in Kansas and Texas.
Practice Leadership
Bill Bott
Child Welfare Practice Lead & Director of Performance Improvement
Bill’s innovative approach has made him one of the nation’s most sought-after change agents and earned him the title of 2022 Government Thought Leader of the Year by the American Business Awards. Most of his 25+ years of public service experience have been dedicated to leading government improvement initiatives. As the C!A Director of Performance Improvement, he maintains consistency in BPR and supports improvements in capacity, most recently the child welfare improvement teams for Arizona, Utah, South Carolina, Idaho, and Indiana.
Peter Brady
Unemployment Insurance Practice Lead
A public service leader with a wealth of experience in operations management, Peter led the Kansas Department of Labor in implementing new federal unemployment insurance programs during COVID-19 while stabilizing a legacy information technology system and preparing for a systemwide modernization effort. As the Deputy Secretary of Labor, Peter oversaw 400+ staff and a $40M annual budget. As a Division Director for the Kansas Department of Labor, he completed an overhaul of all reporting processes and systems for the public sector safety unit, making systems more efficient and eliminating a 12-month backlog of reports.
Michael Jones
Medicaid, SNAP, and Safety Net Practice Lead
Michael brings 20+ years of experience in the human services industry, overseeing service delivery redesign and oversight efforts for human services and safety-net agencies. As Chief Operating Officer for the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, he oversaw statewide operations for 46 counties and 1,000+ employees for Medicaid managed care and fee for service, annually processing over $7 billion in claims. His extensive experience also includes 10+ years in South Carolina overseeing their eligibility operations and redesigning the business process model for eligibility determinations.
Bill McCracken
Medicaid, SNAP, and Safety Net Practice Lead
Bill utilizes his 28+ years of experience to implement positive change and innovation in social service organizations. His unique expertise comes from holding a wide range of roles at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), including eligibility worker, social worker, tribal manager, supervisor, project manager, and office administrator. One of his most significant achievements is leading the DSHS offices through a transformative BPR in response to an all-time high demand for services and low staffing levels.
Nicole Shields
Medicaid, SNAP, and Safety Net Practice Lead
A human services professional who has dedicated her career to supporting and strengthening the well-being of children, adults, and families, Nicole’s 20+ years of experience includes social services administration and leading teams to support BPR and the implementation of a service delivery model. She has worked in 15 state and county agencies for business process redesign, training, and implementation of Current™, Vimo’s SaaS service delivery platform. She has also conducted comprehensive training assessment, redesign, and curriculum development.
Senior Consultants
Karl Allison
Senior Consultant
An experienced leader in public service management, Karl brings over two decades of expertise in strategic planning, leadership, and government programs. His prior roles as Community Services Office Administrator and Interim Regional Administrator for Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services involved directing operations across multiple regions, managing substantial budgets and staff allocations and implementing key programs such as WorkFirst and Basic Food. Karl’s background includes military service in the U.S. Army and Navy Reserves, underscoring his commitment to strategic planning and leadership.
Veronica Bossack
Senior Consultant
Veronica’s wide-ranging experience includes holding every position in the human services field, from clerk typist to director. In her 34+ years at the Arizona Department of Economic Security, she managed the state’s public benefits and medical eligibility systems and was selected to lead the state’s child welfare program, which led to significant process improvements and being honored as a Champion for Children in Arizona by the Arizona Children’s Action Alliance. Her leadership and innovative ideas were also recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture for enhancing food and nutrition service beyond Arizona.
Sonja Dearmore
Senior Consultant
Sonja brings 31+ years of experience from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), where her roles ranged from customer service in a busy public assistance lobby, to eligibility worker, supervisor, office administrator, training and development manager, operations administrator, and the Chief of Field Operations. At DSHS, she provided operational leadership for 52 public assistance offices, oversaw the implementation of a statewide call center, and led the redesign of service delivery. At C!A, Sonja has led BPR projects in California, Colorado, and Oregon, and she leads consulting for the Hawaii Department of Human Services, focusing on process optimization and technology integration.
Carissa Gainey, MSW
Senior Consultant
A dedicated child welfare professional, Carissa’s master’s degree in social work focused on health and mental health. She brings 11+ years of experience with child welfare and government administration, including as the Director of the Office of Safety Management for South Carolina’s Department of Social Services, where she trained staff in best practices for investigations and intake and focused on family preservation. Her wide range of skills includes training, program management, and project management.
Lawrence Mirabal
Senior Consultant
With 25+ years of experience leading high-performing teams across diverse sectors, Lawrence excels in driving performance and innovation. In the past decade, he has focused on helping leaders in human services reconnect with the core values of public service and invigorating organizations to achieve successful outcomes. His leadership development expertise has made him a sought-after speaker and educator at academic institutions and human services conferences, and from 2019 to 2023, he served on the Executive Advisory Committee for the National Staff Development and Training Association.
Suzi Stott
Senior Consultant
A dedicated professional with 30+ years of successful public sector leadership and management experience, Suzi is passionate about the individuals and families supported by public welfare and unemployment agencies as well as the employees who assist them. As the Chief of Field Operations for Alaska’s Division of Public Assistance, Suzi planned, coordinated, and directed all statewide public assistance programs and activities in field and system operations and led the first Division of Public Assistance (DPA) BPR initiative, where she decreased application determination times from 22–23 days to an average of 5.
Lorrie Walker
Senior Consultant
With 30+ years in human service delivery, Lorrie’s deep understanding of workers’ needs stems from her experience at Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services, where she held roles that ranged from financial clerk to operational analyst and consultant. In her work with C!A, she has led the implementation of service delivery redesign projects across 50 community service offices, providing training and support and acting as a headquarters liaison for field offices.
Brian Wann
Senior Consultant
With 20+ years of public sector leadership, Brian began his career processing eligibility for TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and child care assistance for low-income families. He later applied his problem-solving skills as a supervisor to implement processes that significantly reduced inbound call wait times, showcasing his ability to enhance efficiency. At the Change & Innovation Agency, Brian has worked across ten states to redesign service delivery and enhance process management. As the consulting lead for Missouri’s Family Support Division, he reduced customer wait times, improved access to FSD resource centers, and implemented Insights Engine to streamline application and recertification processes.
Theresa “Terri” Werth
Senior Consultant
Terri is a visionary leader with over 30 years in state government and is known for driving organizational turnaround and change management. As the Workforce Management Director with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, she played a pivotal role in designing and implementing the first nationwide inbound call center, enabling customers to complete assistance interviews over the phone. During the Public Health Emergency, she leveraged call center staff to process 400,000+ benefit applications in three months and managed an automated system that handled 15,000 application tasks each day. At C!A, Terri continues her dedication to business improvement by working with 13 state and county agencies to redesign business processes and implement Current™.
Andi West
Senior Consultant
Andi’s 10+ years in the Idaho Child Welfare System include roles ranging from social worker to Child Welfare Chief and facilitating large-scale practice implementation and process improvements in safety assessment, ongoing case management, foster care licensing, and permanency. Her dedication to serving children impacted by trauma extended to her role as Mental Health Coordinator for the Coeur d’Alene School District and as co-founder of the North Idaho Trauma Care Collaborative. At C!A, Andi leads radical process redesign initiatives with child welfare agencies nationwide, transforming systems to empower staff and enhance capacity.
Sarah Winter
Senior Consultant
Sarah is a dynamic leader in curriculum development and delivery for health and human services agencies, with expertise in coaching and staff development. She began her career as an eligibility worker in New Mexico and quickly moved into leadership, where she trained staff during the implementation of a new eligibility system and developed change management concepts. At C!A, Sarah enhances agency capacity by developing and conducting eligibility training academies, playing a key role in BPR and providing oversight for multiple states, and leading supervisor academies for Current™.
Reginald “Reggie” Wright
Senior Consultant
A seasoned professional with a strong background in financial management and contract administration, Reginald’s experience includes working for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) for 14 years as a financial service specialist, program manager, lead worker, and administrator. As the EBT/EFT and Contracts Administrator for the DSHS Community Service Division, he managed and provided oversight for a $75 million annual contract for the EBT program and over $204 million in personal and client service contracts.
Eric Younger
Senior Consultant
Eric is a seasoned leader in child welfare, recognized for his expertise in guiding circuit managers and regional unit supervisors in Missouri’s Southwest Region. His leadership spans fiscal management, project and personnel management, operations oversight, collaboration, and service provision. Eric’s hands-on experience in managing case work, child abuse and neglect hotlines, reporting, operations, and budgeting has been crucial in implementing strategies that enhance foster care licensing and improve hotline response. His strategic approach ensures that systems are efficient and responsive, ultimately benefiting children and families in need.
Current™
Alisa Henson
Director of Application Development
A dynamic IT professional with 25+ years of experience, Alisa is distinguished by her passion for leveraging technology to enhance people’s lives. Her multifaceted career includes various domains within IT, from application development, system administration, business intelligence, integration, ETL, and data warehousing to change management, vendor selection, and contract negotiations. As the Director of Systems Development at Sonic Drive-In, she led the conversion of their traditional waterfall development process to Agile methodologies and implemented business intelligence analytics, which empowered operational partners and franchise managers with actionable insights to elevate operations and lower food costs. As C!A’s Director of Systems Development, she has been at the forefront of leading the Current™ engineering team and playing a pivotal role in the conceptualization and development of the groundbreaking Current™ software product.
Rochelle Brazier
Senior Product Manager
In addition to a master’s in social work, Rochelle brings 29+ years of expertise in public assistance, child welfare, and juvenile justice. At the New Mexico Department of Human Services, she piloted the state’s BPR effort and despite challenges such as a long-term hiring freeze, a 20% vacancy rate, lack of technology, and caseload increases, her team implemented same-day service, increased the percentage of families receiving benefits at initial interaction with the department (from 50 to 70%), improved timeliness, and improved the SNAP payment accuracy rate. In her work with C!A, Rochelle has helped the development team redesign user interactions with Current™ and has collaborated with leadership, worked with consulting leads to prioritize enhancements for existing customers, supported new client onboarding and all existing client interactions with Current™, and assisted with the development of training and user guides.
Client Success
Kim Bazan
Director of Client Success
Mission driven and passionate about human services, Kim has dedicated her career to enhancing programs that support children and families in need. Her 29+ years of experience in nonprofit and state government sectors includes 14 years at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), where she held strategic roles in government relations, access and eligibility, and Medicaid and CHIP. In addition to her Bachelor of Science in Social Work, she brings a comprehensive understanding of human services, health care, and child welfare programs that ensures our customers’ voices guide the delivery of high-quality and impactful services across all C!A teams.
Training
Cardra Burns
Director of Workforce Transformation
Dedicated to transforming workforce strategies and driving organizational excellence, Cardra is a visionary leader with a proven track record in aligning strategic goals with high-impact solutions. Her 20+ years in public administration and strategic operations includes serving as Chief Transformation Officer at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), where she led initiatives that boosted program efficiency by 15% and advanced projects in Medicaid expansion and IT modernization. As Deputy Secretary, she oversaw a $28B budget that impacted 18,000 staff members in North Carolina’s largest state department and delivered a significant 10% improvement in operational efficiency across the department in one year. Cardra’s commitment to workforce development is evident in her successful launch of six cohorts of the Leadership Development Coaching Program, which benefited 140 employees through one-on-one coaching, which reduced turnover rates and supported NCDHHS leaders and aspiring leaders in achieving their development goals.
