Management Team
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(808) 739-1992 · rkim@tcgoc.com
Dr. Kim is the President and founder of The Catalyst Group, LLC. The company was formed in 2002 but Dr. Kim has been involved with consulting work, particularly in the areas of program evaluation, applied research, and assisting organizations to improve their healthcare and social service systems for the past 20 years in Hawaii and number of other states. The types of projects involved areas of mental health, substance abuse prevention and treatment, HIV prevention, housing and homelessness, teen pregnancy prevention, crime and violence prevention, health promotion, cultural issues, immigrant services, school-based programs, and organizational development. Some of these were large scale, multi-site projects. He has also helped many agencies to secure funding by assisting them with proposal development.
Dr. Kim conducted numerous trainings and presentations on topics such as culturally competent mental health services, overview of program evaluation, basic program self-assessment, utilizing logic models, culturally appropriate program evaluation, risk and protective factors in substance use, culturally relevant prevention programming, data management and analysis, and occupational stress. He also has years of experience in community mental health, private practice, youth therapeutic residential program, and psychiatric hospital settings where he provided direct clinical services, psychological testing, developmental and disability assessments, forensic evaluations, program development, quality assurance, staff and intern training and supervision, and a number of other management duties.
Dr. Kim obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaii and Masters and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology - Los Angeles (CSPP-LA). CSPP-LA is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. His training and experiences emphasized multicultural and community psychology. His professional memberships include the American Evaluators Association (AEA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA). He was the past Vice-President of AAPA.
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(808) 225-1305 · eesmeralda@tcgoc.com
Elmer Esmeralda is The Catalyst Group’s (TCG) Program Manager for Government Contract Services. He was initially hired by TCG as a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) consultant for the U.S. Pacific Air Force (PACAF) Command Surgeons Office on Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and oversaw the HIPAA Privacy and Security program of nine PACAF Medical Treatment Facilities. In his current role, he assists the President and CEO in overseeing government contracts and on business development matters. Mr. Esmeralda is a retired U.S. Navy Veteran with more than 24 years of experience in managing assets and resources for medical and dental operations. While on active duty he successfully completed two Command Master Chief assignments as a Senior Chief; was instrumental in the research, development and implementation of both the Navy’s Officer Fleet Marine Force (FMF) Qualification program and the Enlisted FMF Warfare Specialist program; and he led regional focus groups which enhanced the Navy’s Women at Sea Program. He has taught countless continuing education/in-service courses as a qualified Navy Instructor and is a trained facilitator for the Stephen Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the Total Quality Management/Leadership courses. Mr. Esmeralda graduated from the Naval Reserve Senior Enlisted Academy and completed the Navy’s Human Resource Management Program. Mr. Esmeralda completed military assignments in California, Virginia, North Carolina, Japan, Bahrain, Cuba and Iraq.
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(808) 739-1992 · aahedo@tcgoc.com
Angelina Ahedo oversees all research and program evaluation projects for The Catalyst Group, LLC. Angelina has a bachelor’s degree from University of California Berkeley in Ethnic Studies and Mass Communications, and a master’s degree in Public Health with a focus in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Hawaii Manoa. Angelina has a broad range of experiences in social services, evaluation, and research, working in the areas of prenatal and postpartum care, homeless and domestic violence shelters, residential programs, rural health, physical activity and nutrition, and program evaluation. Her professional interests also includes maternal and child health and research. In the past, Angelina also worked as a Research Assistant for the Healthy Hawaii Initiative as a graduate student. Her publications include: Factors Affecting the Consumption of Away-from-Home Foods in Hawaii Residents, Assessment of Disaster Training Needs for Physicians and Other Health Professionals, and Quentin Burdick Program: Working in Rural Communities in Hawaii. She presented her research projects at the Global Public Health Conference in Honolulu, HI, the American Public Health Association Conference in Washington, D.C., and at the Asia Pacific Consortium on Public Health in Tokyo, Japan. She is currently a member of the American Public Health Association and the Hawaii Public Health Association. She is dedicated to social justice and improving the health of all communities in Hawaii, the Pacific and Asia.
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(808) 655-0596 · Deidra.saina@us.army.mil
Deidra Saina is the Senior Prevention Specialist for the Army Hawaii Family Advocacy Program. She obtained her B.A. in Sociology and American Ethnic Studies from Kansas State University in 2003. While pursuing her B.A. Deidra had the fortunate opportunity to conduct two research projects that were later published: Breaking the Chains and the Silence: Perceptions of the Juvenile Justice System and Cultural Competency in the Child Welfare System. She entered the Masters of Social Work Program at the University of Kansas where she received her MSW in 2005. Shortly after graduating, Deidra started her career as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) where she worked as a Masters level therapist in an adolescent treatment facility. There, she utilized therapeutic interventions to work with adolescents suffering from conduct disorder, substance abuse and sexual victimization. Later, Deidra furthered her career where she worked in the arena of domestic violence, sexual assault and child welfare case management. She recently became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is currently stationed at Schofield Barracks, HI with her husband, Michael, who is a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Army. Together they have two wonderful sons; Makai and Isaiah.
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(808) 739-1992 · info@tcgoc.com
Dr. Scott Ray is one of the most experienced evaluators of large-scale federally-funded projects in both Louisiana and Hawaii. He has authored numerous research publications and netted over $50 million with Federal funding proposals. Dr. Ray is thoroughly familiar with contract bid procedures from both sides of the negotiation table, having conducted scores of RFP processes and grant reviews.
Dr. Ray has consulted on hundreds of projects, primarily in public health, human services and criminal justice as well as marketing, cost analyses and econometric forecasting for numerous businesses, federal and state agencies, non-profit service providers and community coalitions. He has provided consulting on strategic planning, continuous quality improvement and other management issues for a wide variety of both private and public concerns.
Dr. Ray's public health research and projects include, for example, design, development and evaluation of large-scale system interventions, multi-site outreach/research projects, performance data reporting systems, and many multi-site and individual program outcome studies. He has provided consulting for mental health and drug courts, prosecutorial diversion and intensive supervision and probation programs, HIV prevention and treatment projects, residential substance abuse treatment programs for adolescents, adults and pregnant and post-partum women, community prevention coalitions, and interventions in program areas ranging from homelessness to teen pregnancy.
Dr. Ray has written marketing plans and completed numerous baseline marketing and feasibility studies, including assessments of image and positioning, media pre-testing, and consumer preference and satisfaction surveys. His experience includes market segmentation, service planning and conjoint pricing analyses as well as developing managed care databases. His clients include marketing and advertising agencies, hospitality, health care, finance, public transit, entertainment, gaming, special events and retail.
Dr. Ray holds a Ph.D. in Social Science Research. In addition to 30 years of consulting, Dr. Ray served seven years as Special Executive Assistant to the Director of Human Services for the State of Hawaii, five years as the Research Director of NIDA’s New Orleans AIDS Demonstration Research Project (NADR) and seven years as the Director of Quality Assurance, MIS and Evaluation of the CSAT New Orleans Target Cities Project.