Foster & Kinship Care Education Program
For information on education and training, call:
Kelly Mendonca
CR Foster & Kinship Care Program Coordinator
Humboldt County
707-445-6727
For info on becoming a Foster/Kinship provider, call:
Peggy Hobbs
Humboldt County
707-441-5013
Daphane Williams
Del Norte County
707-464-3191 ext. 274
FKCE Staff
Kelly Mendonca - Director
Janet Robinson - Administrative Assistant
Amber Wooten - Budget Specialist / Web Support
TRAINERS AND FACILITATORS
Ronda Evans and her husband Bill have five children, ages 5, 11, 14, 15 and 17; three boys and two girls; some birth and some adopted through foster care. They moved to Ferndale from Chico in 2007, and love living on the North Coast! After graduating from Chico State and receiving her teaching credential, Ronda taught second through sixth grades for Chico Unified for 12 years. She has taught at the college level for the past 11 years at Butte College in Chico and now at CR, where she teaches parenting classes. She is also self-employed as an in-home parent educator for children and their families and does contract work for private agencies. Ronda has a strong commitment to helping families navigate life through ongoing education and support. She is continually amazed by the resiliency of the human spirit and is grateful for the opportunity to work with the families she has met along the way.
Peggy Hobbs is an adoptive parent and was a foster parent for many years. She is the liaison between Child Welfare Service and foster parents.
Virginia Howard-Mullan has two children and teaches 6th, 7th and 8th grades at Bridgeville Elementary School, as well as leading 4-H. She facilitates the Lifebooking classes in Bridgeville, which often includes other crafts and is a vital support group for those who attend.
Kelly Mendonca is an adoptive parent of two grandsons and a former foster parent, herself a foster child. She is the program director for the Foster, Adoption and Kinship Caregivers’ Education Program.
Jessica Miguel is a former foster parent, current guardianship parent and parent of 3. She holds a Masters Degree in Psychology and works in the social services and mental health fields. A self-described “fun-loving kid in an adult body,” Jessica believes that we must care for the whole child: body, mind, heart, soul and spirit, and incorporates fun, culture, spirituality and self-care in all her trainings.
Michelle Moore and husband Tom started fostering in 2002. They have 3 biological kids and 1 adopted. Michelle enjoys teaching Lifebooking and is also the foster parent mentor for Del Norte County. They have had almost 50 children in and out of their home in the last 10 years. Their motto is "Once our kids, Always our kids". Their goal is always to keep families together. They maintain a positive and healthy relationship with the biological parents and enjoy helping them succeed to be productive parents.
Lea Nagy is an early education instructor at College of the Redwoods and a founding member and current board member of NAMI Humboldt. She has been trained by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to teach the basics program.
Roger Pryor is a certified Positive Discipline parent educator who began using Positive Discipline with his children over 25 years ago. He is also a trainer and life coach. As a kinesthetic and visual learner himself, he believes that education is most effective when it is fun, interactive and experiential. “Check it out, try it out, see how it feels, play with it, practice it, get it in your body and make it yours.”
Tom Rector is a staunch advocate for all children, and is a national speaker and workshop presenter on biosocial cognition. Tom is an adoptive parent and has been a foster parent, a CASA volunteer advocate, and is currently a trainer and mentor for the College of the Redwoods’ Foster and Kinship Care education program. He has been married for 40 years, has 5 children, 6 grandchildren and is a longtime resident of Humboldt County.
Janet Robinson is a parent educator specializing in "spirited children" on Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's work. She is a mom of three grown sons, two that were spirited, and one was a boundary pusher. Janet is a Pride trainer and leads the Kinship trainings in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
Marian Ziemer was licensed for foster care in 1988. Working primarily with medically fragile infants, she stopped counting after 50 babies had been placed with her. She has 7 children, birth, step and adopted.