The Institute Team
Meet our team of experts — social justice advocates, researchers and community leaders — working to transform lives and communities by leading and innovating trauma-informed care.
Marissa La Brecque
Vice President
Marissa leads the Hanna Institute at Hanna Center, overseeing programs that address trauma through research, training, and community partnerships.
Previously, she served as president of Sonoma Direct, promoting ethical sourcing and sustainability, and co-founded The Butcher’s Guild, a national trade organization. Marissa is also an accomplished author and journalist, with works featured in The New York Times and Bon Appétit. She has helped many organizations thrive with her expertise in brand strategy and marketing. As a fifth-generation Sonoma County resident, she is deeply invested in the long-term sustainability and diversity of our community.
Marissa holds a BA in English from Seattle University.
In her free time, she enjoys cooking complicated meals while jazz is playing and exploring the incredible beauty of northern California with her family.
Rayna Friendly, Ph.D.
Training & Consulting Manager
Dr. Rayna Friendly has over 15 years of experience designing, implementing and evaluating professional teaching-&-learning programs, specializing in psychology, child development, and adult learning. Prior to joining Hanna in 2022, she taught developmental and cognitive psychology courses at San José State University, in the Child and Adolescent Development Department, where she promoted Students-As-Partners and professional development initiatives amongst her colleagues.
While completing her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology (McMaster University), Rayna conducted multiple research studies examining the influence of people and culture on the development of brain and behavior across childhood. She then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Teaching & Professional Development (McMaster University), managing the creation and evaluation of inter-institutional virtual and in-person adult learning certificate programs. Rayna develops innovative training initiatives that utilize active learning strategies and teaching technologies to enhance the experience of learners from diverse backgrounds. Her focus is on promoting trauma-informed diversity, equity and inclusion practices, while building community and enhancing culture within and across organizations.
Ty Moore
Digital Learning Manager
Ty Moore serves as Hanna Institute’s Digital Learning Manager, responsible for managing all aspects of Hanna Institute’s virtual training and asynchronous learning library. Ty is your point of contact for any questions relating to virtual event registration, attendance, or certification. Ty is passionate about learning & design, collaborating, and helping others reach their goals. Ty attended San Francisco State University and majored in Communication with a minor in Africana Studies.
Jila Malek-Salehi, Ed.D
Training Specialist
Dr. Jila Malek-Salehi joins Hanna Institute with over 15 years of teaching and curriculum design experience. Her career in education began teaching K-8 and coaching volleyball at the middle, high school, and college levels. She holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management and has been working with adult learners teaching Child and Adolescent Development at De Anza College and San Jose State University (SJSU). Jila’s work at SJSU involves teaching in their 100% online bachelor’s degree completion program in Interdisciplinary Studies. She also teaches in the Multiple and Single Subject Teacher Credential Program and the Master of Arts in Teaching.
Jila specializes in the art of teaching. She believes in preparing teachers for the field of education through evidence-based approaches to learning. She utilizes Universal Design for Learning and active learning strategies to enhance anything she can teach and share with others. Beyond the classroom, Jila has a strong passion for experiential learning, focusing on equity, diversity, and social justice.
Institute Partners
The Hanna Institute partners with community members, advocates and organizations to design programs that address the root causes of trauma and mitigate its impacts and effects. Our approach is expansive: we bring together evidence-based frameworks with place-based community practices to create innovative and equity-centered interventions to build healing, shift power, and break cycles of trauma and oppression.
Dr. Daniela Domínguez
Dr. Daniela Domínguez is an Assistant Professor at the University of San Francisco and the Chief Executive Officer at On the Margins, LLC. She is a licensed psychologist and professional clinical counselor with a special interest in liberation psychology, anti-racism, migrant justice, and gender and sexuality matters. She works with Hanna Institute as a consultant.
Her program of research has focused on understanding how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cope with stress and use specific strategies to draw upon resiliencies to achieve positive health. In 2020, the Society of Counseling Psychologists honored her with the “Early Career Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Counseling Psychology.” In 2021, the Society of Counseling Psychologists honored her with the “Social Justice Award” for her demonstrated evidence of achieving community change that supports disenfranchised or oppressed groups.
Nick Dalton
Nick Dalton helped launch the Hanna Institute in 2016 as the Assistant Director, and became Co-Director in 2018 and is now currently one of our trainers. Mostly recognized as the face of DirecTV bills in the mid 2000s, Nick was a part of the Broadway community for 15 years while teaching and training human serving humans around the globe. They are a talented interdisciplinary artist, teacher, and facilitator with a background in SEL through Arts Integration, Restorative Practices, and Community Development. Their specialty is collaborating with English Language Learners as well as Immigrant and Refugee communities.
With two young children, Nick is passionate about Early Childhood Education, Parental Mental Health, how to decolonize public health and education, and dissecting why adult clothes just aren’t as fun as those for littles.
Thanks to Our Community Partners
If you are interested in partnering with us on a program, please contact Marissa La Brecque at [email protected]