Advisory Board

Volunteers Making a difference

Purple Star Veterans and Families has carefully chosen advisory board members according to area of expertise:

Veterans and Families Outreach

Cindy Baldwin, Secretary and Director of Outreach

Cindy Baldwin has made it her mission in life to advocate for those in need. In 2006 her husband died from suicide. Cindy having firsthand experience of the aftermath of such a loss has found meaning and purpose in advocating and educating those in similar circumstances. For the past six years Cindy has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer in which she advocates for foster youth – children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned and are living in out-of-home placements. She acts as the “eyes and ears of the judge and the voice of the child.” She is also a Family Mentor with CASA of Placer County she mentors to parents who have had children removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.

Cindy has been employed with the California State Senate on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for the past fifteen years. Cindy had reached out to Purple Star for assistance with a few veterans that needed help. After working with Purple Star she found herself drawn to get involved as a volunteer.

Cindy is also proud to say her father was a WWII veteran in the Navy. She is a mother of two adult children. When Cindy is not working to help others you will find her on a yoga mat teaching and promoting health and wellness.

John Henry Parker, Co-Founder

John Henry created Purple Star Veterans and Families (PSVF) in 2009 in memory of his son Danny Facto who was killed in an excessive speed related motorcycle accident after completing his military service. Danny was a Purple Heart Recipient and Combat Veteran of two tours in Afghanistan with the Army 10^th Mountain Division. PSVF was also launched on behalf of countless families of struggling Veterans and for the families of Veterans who are not surviving homecoming. John Henry is a former peacetime Marine and his father was a former Marine Korean War Combat Veteran and Air Force Vietnam Reconnaissance photographer.

Mental Health

Frank Ochberg, MD

Frank Ochberg is an acclaimed psychiatrist, a pioneer in trauma science, an educator and the editor of the first text on the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is one of the founding fathers of modern Psychotraumatology and served on the committee that defined PTSD. He is a graduate of Harvard and of Johns Hopkins Medical School.

Dr. Mark C. Russell, PhD, ABPP

Military Parent of two sons serving on active duty in Afghanistan, a U.S. Marine and a Navy Corpsman assigned to a Marine unit.

Dr. Russell is a recently retired U.S. Navy Commander and military clinical psychologist with over 26 years of military service. He is an Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veteran with numerous awards, including the Navy’s Meritorious Service Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf clusters), Navy Achievement Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf clusters), and the 2006 “Distinguished Psychologist Award” from the Washington State Psychological Association for his persistent efforts to improve military mental healthcare.

As a top recognized military expert on war stress injuries, Dr. Russell was called upon to testify before the congressionally-mandated 2007 Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force of Mental Health regarding his efforts to prevent a military mental health crisis, as chronicled by USA Today. His views proved prescient, as evidenced by ongoing news reports of problems encountered by veterans seeking help, and how their unhealed trauma may also be responsible for acts of violence. Dr. Russell was the first EMDR trainer in the Department of Defense (DoD), conducting consultation for DoD practitioners and EMDR therapy trainings, including one for the U.S. Army’s 113th Combat Stress Control Unit deployed to Afghanistan last year.

Dr. Russell’s publications include articles on a variety of therapies and healing modalities with battlefield evacuees at a field hospital for combat-related acute stress disorder and PTSD, and the treatment of military outpatient clients. Outcomes included clinically significant changes of PTSD and depression symptoms after four to eight sessions, even if wounded in action. Dr. Russell currently chairs the PsyD program at Antioch University Seattle, where he is researching war stress injuries and compassion fatigue in collaboration with several military agencies.

Substance Abuse and Addictions

Tom Horvath, PhD

Practical Recovery, La Jolla, Ca

Tom Horvath was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1975, and a Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology at San Diego in 1981. From 1981 to 1984 he served as an active duty Navy Psychologist. In 1984 he entered full time independent practice. In 1985 he founded Practical Recovery, which offers a self-empowering alternative to 12-step and disease-oriented addiction treatment. He became a board certified clinical psychologist of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) in 1990. In 2006 he founded Pyrysys Psychology Group, Inc., which offers a wide range of services, including Practical Recovery, Supporting ME (Moderate Eating), and the Center for Cognitive Therapy La Jolla. The Practical Recovery system of services now includes residential rehab, office-based services (Pyrysys), and sober living home.

Dr. Horvath has been active in professional psychology and behavioral health at the local, state, national and international levels. He is a Past President (1990) and Fellow (1993) of the San Diego Psychological Association and a Past President (1988-1990) of the San Diego Phobia Foundation. In 1992 he was appointed by Speaker Willie Brown to the California Controlled Substances Prescription Advisory Council, which produced recommendations regarding California’s triplicate prescription program for controlled substances. Since 1990 he has been a Volunteer Advisor for SMART Recovery San Diego.

At the national level, he was the Secretary-Treasurer (1995-98) of the American Psychological Association’s Society of Addiction Psychology (Division 50), and served as President from 1999-2000. The Division has over 1200 members and is the world’s largest organization of addictive behavior psychologists.

He is the President of SMART Recovery (1995-2008, 2009 to present), an international, non-profit network of free, self-empowering, science-based support groups, face-to-face or online, for abstaining from any substance or activity addiction.

From 2000-2010 Dr. Horvath was adjunct faculty at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego, where he helped leaders in all fields develop their leadership and executive potential. Since 2010 Dr. Horvath has been adjunct faculty at Alliant International University in San Diego, teaching substance abuse treatment courses. He is the author of Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions (2nd ed.; Impact, 2003).

Dr. Horvath’s publications, media interviews, and presentations to professionals and the public are helping to change how individuals, professionals, and societies understand addictive behavior.

Len Van Nostrand, M.A., LMFT

Full Spectrum Recovery, Santa Barbara, CA

Len Van Nostrand, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2001, is the co- founder and owner of Full Spectrum Recovery and Counseling. A Graduate of Antioch University, he has maintained a thriving practice for over twelve years, motivated by his passion for offering alternative and customized therapy for those seeking help with relationship, trauma and substance abuse concerns.

“I saw people suffering from alcohol or drug issues who were required to fit into a certain mold in order to get help. I believe in a Harm Reduction approach and had a vision to create an environment where the client, in a strong alliance with a therapist, determines what changes they are willing to make and takes steps to change. I am very heartened that we have had such consistent success by empowering and respecting our clients.”

As an effective family crisis Interventionist, Len works with the chemically dependent individual, as well as their family members and loved ones. He is sought after for his direct, honest, and intense approach, based on his intensive training and long term clinical experience working with the powerful forces of addiction. His compassion for every family he works with is evident.

Len’s in- depth and long term work with clients often focuses on their trauma and the impact it has had in their lives.

“I have a gift and a calling to help people work with their trauma, and daily witness the way it can transform their entire life.”

Len’s treatment approach is informed by a somatic perspective. He recently completed an exciting training in TRE (Trauma/Tension Release Exercises) with David Berceli. He is also highly trained and skilled in EMDR, and offers it to appropriate clients as a component of the therapy sessions. (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an integrative approach to therapy which includes elements of cognitive behavioral, experiential, psychodynamic, and body centered therapies.)

Business Advisory Board

Darryl Kauffman, CPA

A Northern California resident since 1965, Darryl Kauffman CPA earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from CSU Chico in 1984. In addition to his extensive experience in public accounting he has 12 years of CFO/Controller experience with several local companies as well as positions with Fortune 500 companies Dole Foods and McDonald’s Corporation, giving him the expertise to advise his clients on multitude of complex issues.