RSC's Philosophy

We have adopted and live by the following: Five Principles of Technical Assistance

RSC provides expertise not just information. We go beyond providing facts and figures. We help you strategize, plan, and shape programs that will fulfill the agency mission.
RSC empowers clients for success. For us it is critical that all our work is oriented to the empowerment of our client agencies and the ultimate client - the consumer.
RSC focuses on the deliverable not just the process. We look beyond the process to insure that a product is delivered or that a technical assistance goal is achieved.
RSC teaches the art of long distance running and strategic planning. This means that we are not just concerned about today's needs but also on the immediate and distant future.
RSC creates relationships instead of just performing a service. We foster long term relationships that are built on mutual trust and respect, allowing continual exchanges between the firm and our clients.

The RSC Team

	Principals and Officers		Staff and Associate Consultants
	President & CEO José A. Rivera, J.D. Vice President & CFO Lizzette Sierra Note: As a 8(a) Minority Business Enterprise, Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. is wholly owned by the President and Vice-President and has no relationship to any other corporation or legal entity.		*Senior Consultant* Victoria M. Foote, M.S. *Research Associate* Manuel Sanchez *Associate Consultants* Maryann H. Barry, Ph.D. John T. Bird, M.Ed. Kelly Boyer Elena Flores, Ph.D. James A. Goodman, M.S.W., Ph.D. Diane Black Green, M.S.W. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, M.S.W, Ph.D. Juana Mora, Ph.D. Mary R. Nakashian Ophelia M. Smith, Ph.D.

José A. Rivera, J.D., President & CEO

José A. Rivera, J.D., is the founder, president and CEO of Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. Mr. Rivera is a former professor of law at Rutgers University School of Law, a former professor of business at City University of New York, the former senior partner of his own law firm, the former vice-chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a founding attorney of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund and trainer/consultant to government and private industry. Mr. Rivera has served as a consultant, lecturer, trainer, moderator and facilitator in each area of the firm's endeavors.
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Lizzette Sierra, Vice President

Lizzette Sierra is the co-founder, vice-president and CFO of Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. Ms. Sierra is co-owner of the firm and is responsible for financial administration. In addition, Ms. Sierra is responsible for providing technical assistance in the following areas: the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program and the Resident Opportunities and Supportive Services Program; at-risk youth development programs; senior empowerment programs and recovery community organizational development.
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Victoria M. Foote, M.S.

Victoria Foote is a Senior Consultant with principal responsibilities for technical assistance to substance abuse treatment provider agencies. Ms. Foote has over twenty years experience in administration of treatment programs including program startup for federal, state and local grants. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Foote was the founding director of the Fairbanks Native Association's Women & Children's Program and supervisor of the Assocation's adolescent treatment and prevention programs.
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Manuel Sanchez

Manuel Sanchez is a lawyer who specializes in treatment and prevention issues in the substance abuse field. Mr. Sanchez is a full time staff member of the firm with primary responsibility for evaluating promising practices and developing strategies. His portfolio also includes advocacy by and with the recovery community.
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Maryann J. Barry, Ph.D. Candidate

Maryann Barry has over 16 years experience as a human services professional. Most recently, Ms. Barry has served as project director and clinical coordinator for the CSAT-funded Safe Port Drug and Alcohol Residential Treatment Center in Key West, FL. providing gender-specific treatment for women in public housing. Ms. Barry has also served in various human service capacities within the Florida Department of Children and Families.
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John T. Bird, M.Ed.

John T. Bird is an enrolled member of the Blackfoot Nation of Montana and a professional consultant specializing in TA related to organizational change, cultural diversity, team building and program evaluation. He has worked with: Texaco Diversity Learning Experience, NASA's Multicultural Education Program, Kentucky's Training the Trainers program and regularly teaches courses for the National Multicultural Institute. He is a founding member of the National Association for Native American Children of Alcoholics.
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Kelly Boyer Ms. Boyer is a consultant devoting fifty percent of her time to the firm and its activities. Her specialty derives from her over ten (10) years of experience as a manager for workforce development boards and private industry councils. Ms. Boyer will lead the firm's efforts in providing technical assistance and support to the workforce development and workforce investment system.
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Elena Flores, Ph.D.

Dr. Elena Flores is a clinical psychologist with a twenty year history of research and consulting in areas relating to women, violence, adolescent at-risk behavior, and drop-out prevention. She has served as a consultant to CSAT providing diagnostic assessments of Women and Children's treatment programs and to CSAP on female adolescents. Dr. Flores is a recognized expert in cross cultural issues affecting Latinas and female adolescents..
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James A. Goodman, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Dr. James Goodman is a professional consultant in the area of managed care, human services, mental health and social work. Dr. Goodman serves as CEO of Managed Healthcare Systems, Inc. and for 12 years served as President of the Morehouse School of Medicine. He has served in executive positions at the Agency for International Development, the University of Minnesota (Dean, School of Social Work), the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health, the University of Washington (Provost) and has served as a consultant to numerous federal, state and local agencies.
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Diane Black Green, M.S.W.

Diane Black Green is a professional consultant whose twenty years of experience includes 15 years with the NYC Human Resources Administration and the Administration for Children's Services. She specializes in the human services delivery needs of African-American and Latino populations. She has managed a broad range of educational enrichment programs for low-income children and their parents, coordinated educational opportunity programs for foster care children and conducted research to identify trends and develop more effective human services delivery models. She has provided TA in areas of non-profit development, grant writing, diversity training and staff development. Ms. Greene is an MSW and is a Ph.D. candidate in Psychology.
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Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, M.S.W., Ph.D. Dr. Yellow Horse Brave Heart is a licensed psychotherapist and a specialist in addressing the substance abuse treatment needs of indigenous populations. Her portfolio includes addressing issues of traditional and alternative therapeutic modalities, historical trauma, domestic violence and abuse.
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Juana Mora, Ph.D.

Dr. Juana Mora is a Professor of Chicana Studies at California State University with a doctorate from Stanford University (1984). Dr. Mora has a long history as a recognized researcher and program evaluator in the area of alcohol and substance abuse. She has served as evaluator for the Abandoned Infants Assistance Program in East LA, an evaluator for the Tobacco Education and Prevention Project in Oxnard, CA, a co-principal investigator for NIAAA involving alcohol use among Mexican American women, among others. On behalf of CSAT's Women & Children's Program, Dr. Mora has served as lead evaluator conducting diagnostic assessments of grantees and has served as national cross-site evaluator for the PPW and Infants Project.
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Mary R. Nakashian

Mary R. Nakashian, from 1994-1998, served as Executive Director of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, a 16 million dollar project designed to demonstrate effective treatment models that succeed in producing permanently employed and drug-free individuals. She is a recognized expert in developing effective programs with solid outcome evaluation methodologies, documentation studies and cost-benefit analyses so that they can become models for replication. She has also served as the Executive Deputy Commission for Family Support of the New York City Human Resources Administration responsible for programs that include TANF, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Child Support Enforcement, Day Care and Head Start.
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Ophelia M. Smith, Ph.D. Ophelia Smith is a licensed clinical psychologist with over twenty years experience in mental health and substance abuse. Most recently, Dr. Smith has served as vice-president for evaluation and client services at Women in Need, Inc., a women and children's treatment program in NY. Dr. Smith has administrative experience in substance abuse treatment and has supervised as many as 150 employees. In the mental health field, Dr. Smith has served as clinician, program administrator and agency executive. She is a specialist in addressing gender-specific treatment and co-occurring disorders.
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