On November 15, the College of Health and Human Services will host the 2019 Health and Human Services Hero Awards to recognize the unsung heroes in our community whose actions, thoughts and words have had a transformative impact in our region. We will highlight the ten honorees in our Heroes Blog Series.
Name: Kristine Gose
Occupation: Co-owner, Touchstone Family Development Center in Fresno
Nominated by: Central California Children’s Institute
For more than three decades, Kristine Gose has transformed the field of early intervention for children with developmental delays. Her dedication to reconstructing the Central Valley community’s attitude towards infant-parent mental health has greatly contributed to the development of future leaders in her field.
Gose began her career at Stanford University, specializing in the Women’s Health Care Project. Through this work, she was brought to Fresno City College, where she currently serves as faculty in Child Development and Education. At FCC, she founded the Ram Tots program, which offers early intervention services to families in the surrounding communities of the college, with a focus on strengthening the relationship between child and caregiver.
Gose’s work is far-reaching and spans many regions. As the state lead faculty member for the Department of Developmental Services, Gose was responsible for implementing the college-level Early Intervention Assistant Certificate programs at 50 community colleges throughout the state.
Most recently, she opened the Touchstone Family Development Center in Fresno, which serves families of children on the Autism Spectrum and other special needs. The center focuses on the Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR®) Model, which is a framework that helps clinicians, parents and educators conduct a comprehensive assessment and develop an intervention program centered around the strengths and challenges of children with Autism.
In collaboration with the Central California Children’s Institute, Gose developed the curriculum for the region’s two- and three-year infant mental health training and endorsement project. From Galway, Ireland to Detroit, Michigan, Gose has inspired thousands of individuals to pursue careers in child development.
“Kristine represents the kind of teacher every student needs, the kind of colleague every early childhood practitioner wants, and the kind of leader every community needs.” – Dr. Cassandra Joubert, Central California Children’s Institute
The 2019 Health and Human Services Hero Awards, which celebrates heroes from each of the seven departments, as well as centers and institutes within our college, will be held on November 15, 2019 at Fresno State. For more information on the event, contact Beth Wilkinson at 559.278.3603 or bwilkinson@csufresno.edu.
Fresno State College of Health and Human Services 