About the Commission

The California Children and Families First Act of 1998 provides for the creation of a county Commission charged with promoting, supporting and improving the early development of children from the prenatal stage through five years of age. The Sonoma County Children and Families Commission was established by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in December 1998.

The County Commission has three ex-officio members:

• Board of Supervisors Representative
• Director, Sonoma County Department of Health Services
• Director, Sonoma County Human Services Department

Four other members are appointed from the following categories:

• Recipients of the project services included in the county strategic plan
• Educators specializing in early childhood development
• Representatives of a local childhood case resource or referral agency or a local childhood care coordinating group
• Representatives of a local organization for prevention or early intervention for families at risk
• Representatives of community-based organizations that have the goal of promoting nurturing and early childhood development
• Representatives of local school districts
• Representatives of local medical, pediatric, or obstetric associations or societies

1. Board of Supervisors representative;
Health and Human Services liaison member of the Board of Supervisors, Valerie Brown.

Born in Kansas City Missouri, Valerie Brown was appointed Supervisor by Governor on August 5, 2002, elected November 5, 2002, and re-elected March 2, 2004. She began her current term January, 2005 representing District 1. Supervisor Brown’s assigned Functional Group of County Departments for the year 2008 is Health and Human Services. Special Assignments include the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Board of Directors, Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC), the Sonoma County Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee, Sonoma County Transportation Authority, the Sonoma/Marin Area Rail Transit II Board of Directors and the Sonoma County Methamphetamine Prevention Task Force. Supervisor Brown is assigned as an alternate member of both the North Coast Supervisors Association and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). Supervisor Brown was elected as 2nd Vice President to the National Association of Counties (NACo) in August 2006, and is responsible for serving on the Executive Committee, Financial Services Corporation, the Advisory Board for the National Center for Counties, and is liaison to the Membership Committee, Audit Committee and Member Services and Programs. In July 2009, she will be sworn in as President on NACo of Nashville, TN.

Supervisor Brown received a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and English at the University of Missouri. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Lindenwood College and was licensed as a marriage, family, and child counselor. Supervisor brown has served on the Sonoma City Council from 1990-1992 as mayor and vice-mayor and also served in the State Assembly representing District 7 from 1992-1998 where she was the Chair of Governmental Organization, and Chair of the Budget Sub-committee #2, (Health and Human Services).

"Focusing on children from 0-5 years of age is worthy of all our efforts. Giving a child a positive, healthy beginning will enhance learning and skill sets. I'm fortunate to be part of First Five."

Top of Page

2. Director of the Sonoma County Department of Health Services (ex-officio): Rita Scardaci.

Rita Scardaci was appointed by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to the position of Director of the Department of Health Services, beginning January 2005, filling the position vacated by Mark Kostielney upon his retirement. Rita Scardaci comes to Sonoma County from Plumas County where she was the Director of the Plumas County Public Health Agency.

Prior to her position in Plumas County, Ms. Scardaci has held various leadership positions in public health and health administration in Santa Cruz County. In addition to a R.N. degree, Ms. Scardaci holds a BSN/PHN degree, certification as a Health Education Specialist, and a Masters of Public Health.

Ms. Scardaci is currently a member of the board of The California Endowment, and California Telemedicine and eHealth Center, and has held various leadership positions in numerous other state and local organizations.

Top of Page

3. Director of the Sonoma County Human Services Department (ex-officio): Jo Weber .

Appointed Director of Sonoma County Human Services effective September, 2006, Jo oversees one of the largest departments in county government.  The Department provides services to one in nine county residents from eight locations, with approximately 600 staff and a budget of over $130 million.  Human Services programs provide cash aid, medical assistance and food stamps to needy individuals and families, employment and training services, and services to assist the elderly and disabled and United States veterans in maintaining their quality of life.  In addition, the Department is responsible for Child Protective Services, providing a full array of child welfare services including a 24-hour emergency response, an emergency shelter at the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home for child victims of abuse, and managing the Redwood Children’s Center, which provides a safe, supportive environment for child victims of sexual abuse.

Jo has spent 30 years in social services in California, working for Riverside County and also at the State level for the majority of her career.  Prior to becoming Sonoma County’s HSD Director, Jo served as Assistant Director for Sonoma and Riverside County Departments of Human Services for four and a half years.  For 26 years, Jo served in various positions with the California Department of Social Services, providing support to county human services operations through the development of research, budget analysis, policy development and oversight, and legislative advocacy.

Jo holds a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy.  She has extensive experience in budgeting, research, statistical analysis, and program administration.  She has four sons.  She and her husband reside in the city of Santa Rosa.

Top of Page

4. Parent Representative: Tamah Hulett

Tamah Hulett is a mother of four young children. Raised in Cotati and Rohnert Park and now living in Windsor, Tamah has seen Sonoma County grow first hand. She attended UC Berkeley where she studied linguistics, psychology and education to create an Independent Studies major in Language Acquisition. While at Cal she studied American Sign Language and Deaf Culture at Berkeley City College earning herself an ASL Certificate. Also during her time in Berkeley she was a member of the University of California Marching Band, a tutor through a local elementary school program called Break the Cycle, a swim instructor and therapist’s aid for Special Needs Aquatics Program (SNAP), a peer advisor for the campus Career Center and a lifeguard, swim instructor and pool manager for the City of Berkeley.

She and her husband moved back to Sonoma County before the birth of their second daughter in 2000. Tamah ran her own business teaching developmentally based Signing Smart™ infant and toddler playclasses which help parents and babies learn ASL vocabulary for early communication, cognitive development and bonding. Her three oldest children attend Cali Calmécac, a Spanish/English Two-Way Immersion Charter School in Windsor, where Tamah is active in their PTA. She is a pre-kindergarten parent group coordinator and has created activities for parents and their children to help them get to know each other and the school before the first day. Her youngest son attends Windsor Head Start. Being involved with that gave Tamah the idea to do presentations at Head Start parent meetings throughout the county on what First 5 is and how parents can get involved.

She is currently Chair of the Parent Perspective Committee (PPC), a committee created to advise the Commission on what families need most. This committee meets the third Thursday of the month and is open to anyone with a child 0-5. Tamah is also the current Chair of the Commission.

She’s enjoying being a Commissioner for First 5 Sonoma and hopes that by reaching out to the community she will be able to be a strong voice for our County’s parents and children.

Top of Page

5. Representative from the local school districts: Jane Escobedo

Jane Escobedo is currently the director of English Language Learners — Project TREN at Sonoma County Office of Education. She has been involved in education for the past 20 years. She has served as a teacher, project manager for categorical programs, and a principal while serving on various committees at both the district and state level. Jane earned a B.A. in Human Growth and Development from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles and her M.A. in Curriculum Development from Sonoma State University. Jane is the founding director of both the Even Start and Healthy Start programs in Santa Rosa City Schools.

Jane lives in Santa Rosa with her husband and teenage son.

Top of Page

6. Representative of local medical, pediatric or obstetric associations: Katherine Foster, MD, FAAP

Katherine Foster is a pediatrician, educated at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, and now practicing hospital-based pediatrics at Kaiser Santa Rosa. She has been a pediatrician in Sonoma County since 1982, doing primary care at Kaiser until 1999, then combining part-time work at Kaiser with teaching at the Family Practice residency program, eligibility evaluations at North Bay Regional Center, and serving as a commissioner with First Five Sonoma County.

She has three grown sons, six grandchildren, and lives with her husband, Gary Boehmer, a retired social worker, in Sebastopol.

Top of Page

7. Educator specializing in early childhood development: Joel Gordon

Joel Gordon is the Director of Early Childhood Education at the Santa Rosa Junior College. He has 27 years experience in early care and education as a consumer, teacher and administrator.

Educated at UC Santa Barbara and Pacific Oaks College, he has been a member of many child care councils and is a Certified Trainer in current research and practice for group care of infants and toddlers.

Joel has lived in Sonoma County for 10 years and currently resides in Santa Rosa with his family.

Top of Page