Meet our Directors
Darrell Hodari Tripp’s BIO My name is Darrell Hodari Tripp. My mother gave me a Swahili middle name; in fact all of my brothers and sisters have one. Hodari means energetic and capable. She expects all of us to live up to these Swahili names in a positive way. I was born in Oakland, California. Due to domestic violence between my mother and father that carried over into the hospital when my mother was in labor, I was taken from my mother and father when I was three days old. I was tossed around from foster home to foster home and group homes (both in Alameda County and Los Angeles County). I have always had a deep sadness which I attribute to not being reared by my natural parents. However, I could not allow that sadness to hold me back. I stopped and thought about how I could turn an unfortunate situation into a positive one. I, therefore, decided to go to college to become a psychologist—one that works with children in foster care and transitioning from foster care. Being a psychologist will give me the opportunity to not necessarily erase childhood psychological trauma of youth but replace helplessness with hope.
Becoming a psychologist would also allow me to practice family therapy—helping parents and children overcome alienation syndrome that takes place in their lives when children are placed in the foster care system. My practice would include erasing the stereotypical negativity of the absent parent in the minds of the youth I service. My practice would eventually lead into a program that focuses mainly on family reunification. I am on the right track in utilizing my past experiences within the foster care system, in conjunction with my college education to help our youth. These experiences and others have made me more eager to become a psychologist.. I worked hard to finish college. Through determination and persistence I got up daily attended class and maintained. I obtained loans, worked odd jobs that did not totally sustain me with the financial support I needed my first three years of college. These experiences provided me with a sense of responsibility and made me study harder and I graduated—May 2014! I know that I have a lot to offer our youth and will be a great asset in helping to re-direct lives and the mindset of those children who desperately need the help not only with theory/”book” knowledge, but also real-life experiences.
Director
Sabra Diogioes-Waddy
Director
Megan Warren
Director
Michael Wild
Director
Pierre Murrell
Director
Samuel Carter
Director
