Our Team
Claire Marie
Since 2015, Claire has led efforts to support community and systems-level trauma-informed and resilience practices through education, implementation, and evaluation. Her work spans school emergency preparedness & management, school safety & prevention systems, non-profits, the private sector, and law enforcement mental health and wellness. Claire has a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Oregon State University, received the Culture of Writing Award in Public Health, and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2012.
Working across different sectors to support collaboration, she helps to build more well-connected, trauma-informed systems. Her work aims to create sustainable change to help groups adapt and thrive. She has experience working in the fields of healthcare, systems change, and law enforcement. Claire is the owner and primary consultant of Flux Consulting, LLC, the creators of Sammy & Friends.
In her free time, you can find her on the water, adventuring with her family, or playing with her Great Dane, Murphy.
Dan Kraus-Rivera
Dan has served his community since 1986, first as a commissioned officer in the infantry of the United States Marine Corps and then as a police officer in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Since retiring from police work, Dan has worked with school districts throughout the state of Oregon assisting districts with emergency operations planning, site, threat and vulnerability assessments, and school threat assessment integration into school protection and prevention efforts. Dan has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administrations from Oregon State University graduating in 1986.
One of Dan’s focuses in working in school emergency management has been to bridge the divide between first responders and the school community to ensure that schools in a crisis know how to obtain the best possible results for students.
Dan is a volunteer with Team Rubicon, a veteran-based agency that responds to natural disasters around the world. He has deployed to disasters throughout the country including flooding in Kentucky and Hurricane Ian in Florida in 2022.
In his free time you can find him on the mats doing Brazilian jiujitsu, travelling with family, or sipping bourbon.
Gene Biggs
Gene Biggs lives a life of service, which began with his work as a corpsman with the First Marines. Following his retirement from military service, Gene helped develop outreach clinics in the Portland metro area of Oregon for underserved populations. During that time, he also received a Master of Public Health degree with a focus on epidemiology and emergency response.
He is a member of the Oregon Emergency Management Association and an expert in K-12 School Safety and Emergency Management. His work spans efforts in prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery, serving schools and healthcare facilities across Oregon.
When Gene is not supporting emergency management efforts in schools, he can be found kayaking on the water with his wife and kids or playing outside with the family dog.
Pam Bonner
With over 30 years of dedication and experience in managing and coordinating administrative and operational tasks, Pam Bonner is a highly motivated and detail-oriented professional known for streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and ensuring seamless operations. Pam manages all the logistics and operations for the Sammy & Friends team, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and everyone is well supported.
With years of experience Pam has filled many roles, most recently as the Executive Operations Coordinator of an Education Services District, collaborating closely with the Chief Financial Officer to oversee a wide range of complex administrative and supervisory duties related to safety, emergency management, logistics, project management, district facilities, and operations.
Pam finds many pathways for service through her work and personal life and has cultivated a life rooted in meaningful work for her family and community through art and personal passions.
Dr. Patricia Sublette
Dr. Sublette obtained her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in School Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1994. She retired as a Superintendent in 2024 but still serves school communities as an expert consultant. As an educator, Pat has supported children and adults from preschool through graduate school.
Her current work focuses on grant writing efforts that bring in funding to help bolster community and school resilience, using collective impact and community-engagement approaches to improve outcomes for children and students.
Dr. Sublette has lived experience supporting communities who have been impacted by gun violence as she supported school district and community response and recovery following the Umpqua Community College mass shooting. This experience motivated her ongoing dedication to trauma-informed safety solutions and psychologically safe emergency management support for students and communities.
When she is not working, Dr. Sublette enjoys visiting her kids and grandkids and standing in rivers with a fly rod and waders as fish pass by unconcerned.
Izabela Ciesinska
From her earliest days in the crib, Izzi absorbed every picture book that she could get her hands on - she read them all, she drew them all, and she smelled all the pages. Many broken pencils and torn up pictures later, she went on to create art for dozens of children’s books, activity books, animation, and games. Her clients include Oxford University Press, the Concordia Publishing House, the United Methodist Publishing House, Insight Editions, Big Sunshine Books, and TJX Canada. In the Spring of 2024, she will be making her debut as an author with the picture book “The Royal Donkey,” published by Ascension Press.
In her free time, Izzi loves exercising, taking (very) long walks, reading good books, discovering great cinema, and watching cute animal videos on YouTube.