Training and Consulting

Blair Kiser, Ph.D., joined Social Current in 2022 after working in health policy on Capitol Hill, the nonprofit sector, and as a biomedical researcher. Most recently, Blair served as director of government relations & advocacy for NephCure Kidney International.

During her time in public service, she served as a professional staff member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. She led a corporate investigation regarding insider trading and financial improprieties, conflicts of interest associated with Operation Warp Speed’s leadership, and scientific information politicization. Prior to joining the Select Subcommittee, she worked for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), where she served as a health policy fellow. In Senator Brown’s office, she led a range of legislative and oversight efforts involving public health and health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked with several community hospice advocacy organizations and a Republican office to help craft the bipartisan COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020.

Prior to public service, Blair spent several years as a medical research scientist on several industry and NIH-funded projects. Her work focused on developing research projects and clinical trials to improve the lives of African Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. She earned a doctorate in Biomedical Science from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2017 and a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Kentucky in 2011.

Romero Davis is a senior director of practice excellence at Social Current. A mentor for professional development and community justice champion, Davis has worked nationally with agencies in areas such as poly-victimization; trauma in families; equity, diversity, and inclusion; juvenile justice; and domestic violence.

Karen Johnson brings knowledge of the advancing science around resilience, brain development, adversity, toxic stress, equity, and trauma-informed approaches to the complex challenges we face. This expertise, coupled with her 27 years of experience in child welfare, behavioral health, and community services, enables her to successfully partner with leaders, staff, community members, and participants across numerous settings to promote individual and organizational resilience.

Johnson leads the development of the Social Current Change in Mind Institute, leveraging the latest advances in neurosciences and trauma-informed approaches across sectors and at the practice, policy, and systems levels. She oversees the Texas Change in Mind Learning Collaborative, through which 10 organizations from multiple sectors across Southeast Texas are working to embed brain science principles with the goal of improving outcomes for children and families, as well as their organizational cultures and ability to collaborate with partners.

During her five-and-a-half years on the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s trauma-informed services team, and year-and-a-half as an independent consultant, Johnson trained and consulted with organizations, systems, and communities striving to advance trauma-informed, resilience-oriented approaches. She also led and developed community-based programs during her 19 years at SaintA in Milwaukee. Johnson combines the newest advances around adversity, relational health, and resilience to infuse hope and connection into our work.

Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker certified in Dr. Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and Daring Way and trained in Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics.

Kelly Martin is the director of practice excellence at Social Current, with an emphasis on applied developmental psychology, workforce well-being, healing-centered approaches, and antiracism. She contributes to systems change across the network through training, coaching, leadership development, learning collaboratives, and design sessions for teams and individuals—from front-line staff to executive leaders.
Prior to this role, Kelly was with the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, facilitating advocacy and coalition-building work at the intersection of education and human services, leading evaluation and research projects, and supporting both internal and external efforts to advance equity.

Before joining the Alliance in 2016, Kelly was an applied researcher in the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Pittsburgh. She partnered with cross-sector stakeholders to infuse the theory, research, and best practices of developmental psychology into local, statewide, and national collaborations. Kelly was also an adjunct instructor during her years at Pitt, teaching a graduate course in developmental psychology.

Kelly is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory®, has been trained in human-centered design by Greater Good Studio, is a certified trainer in Youth Work Methods out of the Forum for Youth Investment, and is working toward the completion of Yoga Roots on Location® Certified Yoga Teacher Training, an antiracist and social justice Raja Yoga teacher training. She holds a master’s in applied developmental psychology, and a bachelor’s in psychology and sociology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Phyllis Richards, MA, MS, is the director of practice excellence, leadership and organizational development and supports all aspects of evaluation and leadership strategies at Social Current.

She has over 20 years of experience partnering with social sector and K-12 leaders to build capacity by using data-informed practices and systems thinking approaches. Phyllis provides internal evaluation services as well as works collaboratively with team members to provide evaluation, organizational planning, and workshop facilitation for external partners. She holds a master’s in social policy from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice along with a master’s in educational psychology with a concentration in measurement and statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is also a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

Robena Spangler is an innovative senior executive with over 30 years of experience in behavioral health, human services, and advancing equity and inclusion work. The majority of her career has been dedicated to systems improvement within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Spangler held several leadership roles in the public and private sectors. She has provided professional coaching and leadership development for teams and individuals on a national level.

Her current role, as an EDI and leadership strategist, is to design and manage all aspects of Social Current’s leadership and organizational development portfolio. Spangler holds a bachelor’s in sociology and human services along with a master’s in leadership and professional advancement.