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About the Authors
Kari Bower, MA, MSW.
Ms. Bower currently develops and delivers cultural competency training courses for employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District. She spent the past two decades working simultaneously as an adolescent therapist in a school based clinic for the Culver City Unified School District, as well as a provider of cultural diversity and mental health training curricula for a variety of non-profit social service agencies in Los Angeles, as a consultant for both the Prototypes Training Division and Tarzana Treatment Center.
La Fonda Riggins, MA.
Ms. Riggins is a community liaison for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. She arranges educational events and community forums in order to connect the local community with their fire department. Before this, she spent fifteen years developing and delivering training curricula for employees of many Los Angeles county agencies. serving clients in treatment for substance abuse and mental health dual diagnoses. The educational modules were developed and delivered as part of the "Prototypes" umbrella of services including in-patient, outpatient and outreach programs throughout Southern California. She holds a Master's Degree in Organization Management from Antioch University.
Ms. Bower and Ms. Riggins contracted as a team with the Department of Health and Human Services to create and deliver an innovative program for parents of infants and toddlers. Raising Successful Children in a Cultural Context, which incorporates ones culture of origin into American style school readiness requirements.