Gabriella Grant is the director of the California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care, overseeing the Center’s research, program and professional development as well as policy analysis activities. Her background includes heading the nation's first community corrections-based victim advocacy program and running a three-year project funded by the California Department of Public Health to increase access to domestic violence shelters by women with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. The domestic violence shelter project showed that it is possible to increase capacity to serve women with co-occurring disorders by understanding trauma and developing programs that respond to people’s need for safety. Gabriella brings to the Center a long history of professional experience developing innovative programs for female offenders, crime victims, and domestic violence survivors. Through this work she has also gained an understanding of how program design, policies and procedures can positively affect the people being served. She earned her undergraduate degree from Amherst College, a Latin teaching certificate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy and a Masters in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. She has taught at the primary, secondary and university levels and has trained professionals, advocates and consumers in a wide variety of settings.

The California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care is operated under the Walnut Avenue Women's Center's board and governance structure. In February 2009, the WAWC board voted to support the development of the California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care, house its office, and function as its fiscal agent for the first three years of operations. For information about the WAWC governance structure, please visit www.wawc.org. The California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care is developing a long-term budgeting plan to be able to provide low- or no-cost training and consulting to California-based nonprofit social service agencies that want to improve services, client outcomes, and staff morale and want to be certified as trauma-informed. To donate to the California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care, please contact Gabriella Grant at 916-267-4367.