NCFR Leadership and Staff

Deanne Tilton Durfee, NCFR Chair

Executive Director, Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN). Ms. Tilton Durfee has been a leader in the field of child welfare and child fatality review for more than twenty years. Under her leadership, ICAN coordinates services among public and private agencies for the identification, treatment and prevention of child abuse in Los Angeles County . She is the past Chairperson of the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Paul Mones, J.D., NCFR Vice-Chair

Author; attorney; member of the Board of Directors of ICAN Associates, Inc. Mr. Mones’ legal career has focused on child abuse, delinquency, sexual assault and family violence related matters. In 1993, the American Bar Association awarded him its Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award for his "Outstanding contributions and long term commitment to juvenile justice reform and promoting the rights of the child."

Michael Durfee, M.D., NCFR Chief Consultant

Dr. Durfee, a child psychiatrist, began multi-agency child fatality review in 1975 and initiated the first team in Los Angeles County in 1978. He has published in the medical literature on child death, child sexual abuse, and grief and mourning in child in survivors of fatal/severe family violence .

Valerie Dalena, NCFR Program Administrator

Ms. Dalena is a Program Administrator for ICAN, as a part of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services Executive Office. Her background includes social worker supervision and training, dependency investigation, grants development and program management for the Department of Children and Family Services, and former careers in publishing and film production.

Paul Click, NCFR Training Coordinator

Mr. Click was with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 25 years, including 12 years as a supervisor of child abuse criminal investigations. He specializes in networking and database design, and has built several databases for the LA County Sheriff 's Department and other agencies. Paul is in his seventh year with NCFR.

Vivian Ng Liang, NCFR Project Assistant

Ms. Liang is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, in the field of child development.  She has been working with children and families for the past nine years. She coordinates and tracks all NCFR Projects, including conferences, and manages the NCFR Library.

Laurence Kerr, NCFR Graphic Designer and Technical Coordinator

Mr. Kerr is a graduate of ITT Technical Institute, West Covina in the field of multimedia. He is the lead designer for ICAN/NCFR publications and the coordinator for technical assistance, and web maintenance and design.