SPI is grateful for the skill, heart, and dedication brought by our team of Associates. The following are individuals with a variety of demonstrated gifts, proven competencies, and well-earned lessons learned. Each has demonstrated success in their own right and has made their time available to SPI on an “as needed” basis, as most are working professionals in their field.
Kate Cordell, PhD
Social and Behavioral Health Data Scientist
Dr. Kate Cordell is a Social and Behavioral Health Data Scientist and Researcher. Dr. Cordell works to identify how individuals and families improve during care. She is especially interested in what works for whom. Every person and family have a story, often complex but also sewn with common thread. Dr. Cordell uses longitudinal analysis methods to model the changing patterns in these complex tapestries, hoping to identify the common elements of design.
Dr. Cordell integrates data systems to support a whole-person, success-focused approach to care, building solutions to put the person at the center. She converts information into visualizations to track progress for a person and their care team in ways that are meaningful at the point of care. She empowers real-time outcomes monitoring for programs and populations, identifying who is being served well and for whom additional services and supports are indicated. And, she unifies person-centered information across community agencies and provider networks to support joint care planning across a system of care. Dr. Cordell holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, an M.P.H. in Biometry from the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University and a Ph.D. from the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley.
Margo Fudge, MSW
SPI Associate
Margo Fudge has spent over 25 years in the field of social work, most recently as the Deputy Director for Policy and Program Support at the County of San Diego Child and Family Well Being. She has held a number of roles within the child welfare space, from conducting investigations and providing direct service in both child welfare and clinical settings, program manager for county adoptions and residential treatment programs, as well as the program director for youth engagement. Margo is a champion of family centered, outcome-driven system improvements, anchored in best practices. She also has a passion for sibling relationships and ensuring that children in the child welfare system remain connected to their brothers and sisters, as well as addressing disproportionality for families of color across the system.
Margo is a proud alum of both the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) and San Diego State University and enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, traveling and watching her children compete in sporting events.
Richard Knecht, M.S.
Integrated Human Services Group
Richard Knecht has delivered program operations, leadership, strategic planning and training services to public and private healthcare and human service systems for nearly thirty years. He presently serves as a consultant to CDSS and its partners, providing guidance and cross-system statewide technical assistance toward shared management and service delivery processes for children and families. Richard is the former Chief Operating Officer at Olympus View Hospital. He served in Placer County for nearly a decade, directing its highly regarded children’s system. He is past Chair of the Board of Directors at Ifoster.org, and presently sits on the advisory board at the California Children’s Trust and OPEEKA, a unique software development company.
Judi Sherman
Principal, Judi Sherman & Associates
Through facilitation, strategy building, and partnership development, Judi supports groups and organizations to advance their mission, enhance programs, develop policy, engage constituents, and build strong neighborhoods and communities. Her role with SPI involves contributing to research and publications, and curriculum design and development. Master’s Degree in Education; Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology.
Rochelle Trochtenberg
Youth Leadership Advocate
Rochelle is a passionate advocate for social justice and has 15 years of experience engaging system-involved youth in policy setting and decision-making tables at local, state, and national venues. Rochelle is committed to working alongside marginalized people and communities to resist oppression and to create hopeful and creative ways of responding to hardship and suffering. Rochelle most recently served as the first former foster youth to be appointed as the California Foster Care Ombudsperson. In her free time, she enjoys kayaking, camping, and reading.
For more about Rochelle, read more in this article.
Lianne A. Urada
Applied Research and Evaluation Specialist
Lianne A. Urada, PhD, MSW, LCSW is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at San Diego State University and of Global Public Health at UC San Diego. She is core faculty for the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use. Dr. Urada has been a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several federally and privately funded grants and has over 35 peer reviewed publications.
Mark Varela
Retired (2023) Chief Probation Officer, Ventura County
Mark Varela began his career in public service in Ventura County, California, in 1988 as a Deputy Probation Officer. He rose through the ranks of the Probation Agency becoming Chief Probation Officer in 2010. During his tenure as the agency’s leader, Chief Varela was instrumental in launching many successful juvenile justice and adult criminal justice initiatives and community rehabilitative programs. Chief Varela served as Chair of Ventura County’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, Community Corrections Partnership, and the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Steering Committee. He served as President of the Chief Probation Officers of California in 2015, and he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Board of State and Community Corrections.
Chief Varela retired from public service in January 2023 after 34 years of serving his community – the last 13 as Chief Probation Officer.
Judy Webber
Child Welfare Systems Pioneer
Judy Webber is a licensed clinical social worker and served as Deputy Director for the Human Services Agency in Ventura County, overseeing the department of Children & Family Services for 19 years. Judy’s career spans over 35 years in both the public and private sectors of social services and health care. She has played a central role in the transformation of Children’s Services in California. She was a pioneer in the use of geo-mapping for SIP planning and strategic interventions, effectively used Lean Six Sigma process improvement strategies, and assured the rightful role of prevention in the spectrum of child and family services. She has been active within CWDA and across the state leading many committees and change efforts, promoting structures and practices that will best insure positive outcomes for children and families. Notable was her involvement in the creation and development of the core practice model and her commitment to its implementation and use. Under her leadership, Ventura County solidified its position in bringing capacity to the field as an early adopter of significant child welfare reforms, including decreased use of congregate care prior to Continuum of Care Reform and a dramatic decrease in entries into care through prevention and family preservation efforts. Most notable was her ability to realize effective cross-system partnerships through AB 2083. She is the recipient of the CWDA Executive Leadership Award and most recently will be receiving the NASW Pioneer Award. Judy is passionate about bringing hope, help, and opportunity to children, families and marginalized communities.