PACT Staff
You can reach CFPIC staff by clicking on their profile below and then clicking their email address.
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Melissa Gomez
PACT Program Director
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Kelly Amend
PACT Regional Coordinator
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Josie Feemster
PACT Regional Coordinator
Melissa Gomez
PACT Program Director
She/Her
Melissa Gomez is the Program Director for Preventing and Addressing Child Trafficking (PACT) at CFPIC, facilitating a statewide model of cross-coordination to strengthen child welfare programs who serve young people at risk of or experiencing human trafficking. She has contributed 20 years of service to the anti-trafficking movement and her international and local leadership has been instrumental in establishing multi-disciplinary coalitions and coordinating comprehensive care to survivors of both labor and sex trafficking in Europe and California. As the former Chair of the Central Valley Freedom Coalition and Program Manager of Fresno’s Central Valley Against Human Trafficking, she served as regional liaison to facilitate 24-7 trauma response in partnership with Polaris’ National Human Trafficking Hotline. Melissa is dedicated to the advancement and integration of diverse voices to pioneer systemic change and co-create pathways of empowerment. Melissa resides in the ancestral land of the Miwok and Yokuts (the Central San Joaquin Valley – Ripon, CA). Melissa and her family enjoy culinary experiences, traveling to new places and on time off you’ll find her at the beach or hiking in the forest.
Kelly Amend
PACT Regional Coordinator
She/Her
Kelly Amend has been an advocate, trainer, and cheerleader for education on human trafficking since 2012. Kelly has served as Tulare County’s Human Trafficking Task Force Coordinator under the Office for Victims of Crime Enhanced Collaborative Model Anti-Trafficking award where she directed a task force of thirteen agencies across both Law Enforcement and Service Provision fields in local and federal level organizations along with a community coalition of individuals working together to address human trafficking.
She has conducted numerous workshops, strategic partner training, and awareness events to engage in effective responses to labor and sex trafficking across the United States. She recently rediscovered her love of puzzles which is now her favorite way to decompress, second only to spending time with her pets and family. She can also be found supporting her husband’s coffee shop, by drinking lots of fairly sourced cups of coffee and thinking about ways to improve our global supply chains.
Josie Feemster
PACT Regional Coordinator
She/Her
Josie serves as the PACT Regional Coordinator for the Bay Area and Southern CA, where she facilitates communication and collaboration between county coordinators, provides them with the necessary resources and support, and ensures our programs are effectively implemented across the region. Josie is passionate about connecting with diverse communities and witnessing the direct impact of our initiatives.She loves collaborating with passionate individuals who are dedicated to creating positive change.
Prior to CFPIC, Josie worked as an Associate Governmental Program Analyst at the California Department of Social Services where she analyzed federal and state legislation related to child welfare, facilitated workgroups and advisory committees, and provided technical assistance to county Child Welfare Departments.
PACT Consultants
PACT is intentional about promoting diverse perspectives!
PACT Consultants participate in leadership roles and offer customized coaching, training and case consultations through the lens of lived expertise. Our team has a wide range of experience and subject matter knowledge; and is geographically representative of California counties.
Learn more about our PACT Consultant Network!
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Diana Cisneros
Consultant
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Ummra Hang
Consultant
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Aja Houle
Consultant
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Julie Kadis, MSW
Consultant
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Jimmy Lopez
Consultant
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Suleman Masood
Consultant
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Jess Torres
Consultant
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Russell Glenn Wilson
Consultant
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Angelica Zuniga
Consultant
Diana Cisneros
Consultant
Human Trafficking Trainer and Advocate
Kern County
She/her/hers
Diana has provided human trafficking trainings across the state of California and beyond for a variety of agencies including child welfare, mental health professionals, hospitals and medical staff, as well as schools. She created specialty trainings and curriculum for both school districts and foster youth. Diana has provided direct services for survivors of all ages, led survivors groups, and pioneered multiple anti-trafficking efforts in her county.
Diana has been a guest speaker at many engagements including the National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. She has been a consultant for the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board and the Child and Family Policy Institute of California. Diana dedicated many years of work to the Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking in its founding years, and filled many roles including co-director.
Diana’s work in the anti-trafficking field led her to be named 2016 Woman of the year at California’s State Capitol. Diana earned her degree in Crisis Counseling and is passionate about her engagement in the anti-trafficking movement at the individual, community, and policy levels.
Ummra Hang
Consultant
Oakland, CA
She/her/hers
Ummra Hang is a second generation Cambodian American, consultant, advocate, trainer, and speaker born and raised in Oakland, CA. She is dedicated to working with those who have been impacted by child sexual exploitation as well as formerly incarcerated people. Ms. Hang has an M.S.W. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a B.A. in Psychology from San José State University. She focuses on research and education in anti-trafficking, particularly around the importance of trauma, the impact of narratives that are placed on people, and language/label usage. She uses her academic and lived experiences to promote the power of healing from trauma through agency, self-empowerment, and pursuing authentic selves to realize one’s passions and goals for self-sufficiency. Ms. Hang shares her story to uplift the many others who are still silent and continue breaking barriers to help others reach a place of healing and not only survive but thrive.
Aja Houle
Consultant
Sonoma, CA
She/her/hers
Aja Houle is a human trafficking survivor, mother of four, advocate, and author. A Public Affairs candidate, she graduated from the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley.
On her journey, she came to realize the importance of spreading awareness about combating trafficking. She also came to acknowledge how valuable survivor empowerment is and its extraordinary capability to spread throughout communities. Public Affairs has became an area of focus in her life, because trafficking policies do not currently reflect fair & just policy that survivors deserve.
Aja is passionate about working together in communities at city-levels to stand for anti-trafficking policies through sharing her experience as a professional in the anti-trafficking field as well as her lived experience. She has dedicated her life to preventative & reparative efforts for all forms of trafficking.
Julie Kadis, MSW
Consultant
CSEC Coordinator, Program Manager, San Luis Obispo County, Department of Social Services
San Luis Obispo, CA
She/her/hers
Julie Kadis, MSW, is currently a Program Manager with the County of San Luis Obispo. She serves as the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) coordinator, as well as the CWS lead on the Human Trafficking Task Force (HTTF) and Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) collaborative programs, among others. She is a CalSWEC IV-E graduate and has worked in the field of social work for twenty years, providing direct practice prior to transitioning to training and program development on county, state and national programs. Julie’s professional experience, combined with her personal history of aging out of foster care into homelessness and exploitation, solidified her commitment to serving children, families, and the field of social work by bringing awareness to and ultimately ending the exploitation and trafficking of children.
Jimmy Lopez
Consultant
Consultant, Survivor Advocate, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
He/him/his
Jimmy Lopez is a child labor trafficking survivor. He fled Honduras to avoid being recruited by gangs at 14. He was trafficked twice in the US, in a factory and then in a restaurant. He is now a survivor advocate for other children who have had similar experiences. He has spoken at the United Nations, the White House, and US Congress. He has trained judges and service providers on the dynamics of child labor trafficking. He has also traveled internationally and is recognized as a young leader in the Anti-Trafficking movement.
Suleman Masood
Consultant
blessedonesconsulting@gmail.
He/him/his
Suleman Masood, an internationally recognized subject matter expert on labor trafficking and male victimization, has been dedicated to his advocacy work since 2013. His experience has positioned him to work with local, state, and federal government agencies and non-profit organizations, creating culturally responsive services for underserved populations. Mr. Masood has led collaborations with victim service providers and task forces to build trust among survivors and the surrounding community while holding perpetrators accountable. His work emphasizes building partnerships with survivors and ensuring that strategies and implementation influence a survivor-informed approach. Currently serving as a Council Member for the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, a Presidentially appointed position, Mr. Masood previously served as Council Chair from 2021-2023. Through his leadership, the Advisory Council provides recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF).
Mr. Masood’s partnerships with service providers and first responders include serving as a senior program manager on behalf of the Office for Victims of Crime. In 2017, Mr. Masood was credited with coining the phrase “survivor-informed,” adopted and published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The term “survivor-informed” is now integrated throughout the anti-trafficking field. In 2021, Mr. Masood wrote, produced, and narrated a one-of-a-kind visual PSA on labor trafficking with the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Mr. Masood now serves as an attorney with the internationally renowned law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where he aspires to create meaningful change within ESG compliance and antitrust law to better support trafficking survivors. Mr. Masood lives by the mantra, “success is the best revenge.”
Jess Torres
Consultant
Los Angeles, CA
They/them
Jess is the Survivor Leadership Program Coordinator at The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). Co-organizing a Los Angeles based survivor group called Resilient Voices and the National Survivor Network. A 2019 Women’s Policy Institute Fellow successfully passing their human trafficking prevention / foster care training bill (AB 865) in the State of California and their Title IV amendment (SB 493) in 2020. In addition to policy and leadership development work, Jess has served as a guest lecturer in academic spaces, a keynote speaker, trainer and presenter for various anti-trafficking efforts throughout LA County and the state of California. They were recognized by the City of LA with a ‘Change Maker’ Award and a Certificate of Recognition from the CA Senate in honor of “Outstanding Community Service” for their work as trainer with the CA Dept. of Social Service. Jess is also an independent consultant, collaborating with various Federal agencies (FBI, DOS-JTIP, DHS, HUD, HHS, DOT) and participating in a variety of national conferences and symposiums. They are currently a Master’s candidate in Community Development: Policy and Practice from the University of New Hampshire.
Russell Glenn Wilson
Consultant
Anti-Trafficking Expert, Researcher
Oakland, CA
He/him/his
Russell graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology and South & Southeast Asian Studies. As a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Russell completed a research project in Cambodia looking at the factors of resiliency for male survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.
Russell recently worked with the National Human Trafficking Training and Assistance Center as a Human Trafficking Leadership Academy Fellow (HTLA).
Russell has also spent extensive time living and traveling throughout South and Southeast Asia, providing him with a deep understanding of the cultures as well as knowledge of the systemic mechanisms of human trafficking in those countries. As a CSEC survivor and former foster child, Russell has a unique and insightful perspective on the issues that male trafficking victims and survivors face in their daily lives. It is through these experiences that Russell brings authenticity and passion to his research and his life.
Angelica Zuniga
Consultant
Bakersfield, CA
She/her/hers
Angelica Zuniga has been a consultant with PACT since 2020. She is a Survivor Leader who is contracted through the Department of Human Services to provide supportive services to high-risk and adjudicated youth throughout Kern County. She also currently sits on the advisory board with the National Center for Youth Law, is a member of the steering committee of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Kern County where she also co-facilitates awareness training with Common Spirit Dignity Health. In 2023, she became the Executive Director of ENOUGH HT. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of Redeemed Home; a safe haven for women over the age of 18 in Bakersfield, Ca. Her mission is to give those individuals still lost in the sex industry hope and to show restoration and redemption is possible. You can learn more at www.Redeemhome.net. Angelica believes in recovery; with the collaboration of other organizations, victims can turn into victors. She has collaborated with various organizations, safe houses, and recovery programs since 2013. Starting in 2013, Angelica oversaw Twilight Treasures, whose focus is to reach individuals still active in the commercial sex industry. When not busy with anti-trafficking related work, Angelica loves to spend time with her husband and take drives to the mountains where she recharges.
Participating Child Welfare Agencies
PACT’s Statewide Network is divided into four unique geographic regions. Cohorts meet virtually on a bi-monthly basis & exist as a forum for key staff to strengthen local child trafficking response programs through peer learning. Members gain valuable support, increase cross-county collaboration and share in the challenges and successes of their work. PACT also hosts an annual statewide PACT in-person convening to gather the network each year.
Our Funding Partners
We work closely with our partners and funders at the CDSS Child Trafficking Response Team (CTRT) and the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA). The CTRT administers the voluntary Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Program and provides support to Child Welfare and Probation agencies in California to meet federal and state requirements to screen and assess the needs of children at-risk or victims of commercial exploitation.