Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Board of Directors

Trevor Umphress – President

Trevor Umphress was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, a city he is proud to call home. A graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in International Business and a minor in Spanish, Trevor began his career in the fast-paced world of construction and restoration. After years of success as a project manager and estimator, he realized his true calling wasn't in building structures — it was in rebuilding lives.

That calling led him to partner with Amberly's Place, a family advocacy center dedicated to supporting victims of abuse. There, he helped secure the organization's financial future, ensuring that hope and healing could continue for years to come.

Fueled by compassion and a drive to create lasting change, Trevor went on to become the Executive Director of the Arizona Child & Family Advocacy Network (ACFAN). Under his leadership, ACFAN has achieved transformative milestones — from passing defining legislation that protects victims' rights to establishing a statewide fund supporting every family advocacy center in Arizona.

For Trevor, this work is deeply personal. Every survivor's story strengthens his belief that protecting children is not just a job, it's a shared responsibility. "Every child deserves to grow up safe, seen, and supported," he says. "When we stand together, we can end abuse and create a world where healing wins."

Hon. Richard Weiss (ret.) – Vice President

Richard Weiss, an Arizona resident for over 50 years, is a graduate of both Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. Now retired, he served as a Superior Court Judge in Mohave County for more than 20 years, much of that time as a Juvenile Court Judge. He was an original member of the Commission on Victims in the Court, serving until 2019. Currently, he devotes time to advocating for social justice in daily life for all people, as well as projects helping young children in the areas of early education and health. Otherwise, most time is spent enjoying the backyard surroundings of the Kaibab National Forest near Williams, Arizona, with his wife, dogs and cats. In addition, many soccer games are watched.

Michael Powell – Treasurer

Michael Powell is a Deputy County Attorney with the Cochise County Attorney’s Office (CCAO).  He has been a prosecutor since 2011 and has spent the past several years handling complex cases at the CCAO involving child abuse, child neglect, child sexual abuse, and homicide.  Michael frequently represents the CCAO at monthly Cochise Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings, and he enjoys working with partner agencies to ensure better outcomes for child victims. Michael is passionate about working to prevent child abuse – too often he sees the result of families being insufficiently connected with prevention resources.

Michael has a young son with his wife, who is a social worker in the child welfare field. The experiences Michael and his wife share while working on the front lines of combating child abuse drive his desire to serve with Prevent Child Abuse Arizona.

When he is not working, Michael enjoys playing with his son and four dogs, as well as taking his family on off-road adventures in his Jeep.

Stephanie Chavez – Board Secretary

Stephanie Chavez, a native Tucsonan, loves working with CASA volunteers who represent and advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children during a dependency case. She is interim executive director of Court Children Family Services with Pima County Court.

Stephanie received her Master of Arts in organizational management from the University of Phoenix and her Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in communications from the University of Arizona. She serves on Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona as well as Father's Day Council Tucson.

Ashely Dickerson – Board Member

Ashely Dickerson is Executive Director of City Year in Phoenix, which is affiliated with AmeriCorps and partners with public schools in high-need communities to create positive, supportive and welcoming learning environments where students can reach their full potential. Improving educational outcomes, civic engagement and advocacy are at the core of Ashely's efforts. She is passionate about creating an equitable and just education system in Arizona, which has led her to serve four terms with AmeriCorps as a Public Ally, and as a City Year Corps member, a VISTA, and a national service member.

Ashely is a proud Wildcat alumna of the University of Arizona, where she earned a degree in Social, Behavioral & Human Understanding with an emphasis on Adolescents, Community Development, and Education Policy. She is committed to helping children and teens, and has extensive experience serving as an elementary school teacher, mentor, coach, community leader, and change agent. She has a deep commitment to her community, all students, and their families.

Sarai Perez – Board Member

Sarai Perez is a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist for Healthy Families America, Prevent Child Abuse America’s signature home visiting program. After serving for 12 years at Southwest Human Development’s Healthy Families Maricopa County site, Sarai joined the HFA National Office in 2023, where she now supports HFA sites across the country in implementing the Healthy Families America model.

Sarai holds an undergraduate degree in Family and Child Sciences from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. She is deeply passionate about supporting the work of strengthening families and ensuring that all children grow up in safe, nurturing, and supportive environments.

Erica Quintana – Board Member

Erica Quintana is a Senior Research Analyst with Morrison Institute for Public Policy, an Arizona State University resource for objective policy analysis and expertise. Morrison Institute researches public policy issues, informs policymakers and residents, and advises leaders on choices and actions.

"My driving force is to improve people's lives," Erica says. "I try to accomplish this through my research, analysis, and consulting work. Some examples of projects that I am proud of are my research on child neglect in Arizona, the cost of childhood trauma in Arizona Medicaid dollars, helping state agencies with home visiting needs assessments across Arizona, and my consulting contributions to community college strategic plans."

Erica holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Science in Family and Human Development with a minor in Psychology from Arizona State University.

Lizzy Rasmussen, PhD – Board Member

Dr. Elizabeth (“Lizzy”) Rasmussen is a researcher, consultant, and educator whose work bridges science and practice to promote resilience and health across the lifespan. She earned her PhD in Clinical Translational Science and completed a National Institutes of Health (NIH) NRSA F31 fellowship at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where her research focused on the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), intergenerational trauma, stress, and sleep on cardiometabolic health outcomes in Hispanic adults of Mexican descent at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Dr. Rasmussen is the founder of ThrivePsy Collective, LLC, where she provides consulting, training, and speaking engagements for nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and community partners. She also serves as Vice President of Clinical Operations at NeuroThrive Health, where she helps advance evidence-based brain health and longevity programs for adults. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona ACEs Consortium and teaches as a Faculty Associate in Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions. Her expertise includes sleep health, childhood and adolescent health, stress, ACEs, intergenerational trauma, cardiometabolic health, and longevity.

Dorene Washington – Board Member

Dorene Washington, an Arizona native, is the coordinator of the Flagstaff Medical Center oncology department. Previously, she was senior program coordinator for Northern Arizona University’s School of Nursing, and the associate director of transfer initiatives at Columbia College, Chicago.

Dorene is currently in the process of securing her LLC to serve the homeless communities in Flagstaff. She is a certified first responder and is working on her CPR teaching certification. Dorene’s passion is to help the underserved, abused, and the forgotten in society. Dorene has seen first-hand the devastating results of child abuse and is determined to educate the high-risk populations to end the vicious cycle.

Dorene also has a podcast on which she reads bedtime stories for toddlers, and also volunteers with Sun Sound radio, providing audio access to print information to people who cannot read or hold print material due to a disability.