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About Us

Catalyst Mentoring is a vision to invest in our community’s youth to invest in our community’s future through the power of mentoring. No one gets to the finish line of life having done something great without the support and guidance of great mentors along the way. Unfortunately, for many kids in our community, there is no one showing up in their story and left to their own problem-solving abilities our youth are repeating the stories that they are seeing with their lives.

Our community is facing challenges that are shocking when you look at the statistics. We have double the state average in ACE’S scores (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and double the national average. This means the youth of our community are facing tremendous hurdles, alone. These hurdles leave our youth more likely to use drugs, solve their problems with physical violence, and drop out of school. Add in the Carr fire and a year full of Pandemic and our kids are being set up for disaster.

We envision a brighter future for our community than these statistics report because we KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that there is something we can do to change the trajectory of a young person’s life, and that is for them to have a mentor.

Our Team

Jenna Berry

Jenna is a wife of 15 years and mother to four rambunctious kiddos. She has a Master’s degree in social work and a background of working with child-focused non-profits. Jenna is very aware that children are our future and recognizes how important it is that we are investing in them now. She has spent time investing in youth through 4-H as the superintendent of Equine 4-H on Whidbey Island, through time as an instructor and wrangler at Exodus Farms, as a foster parent, and now as an adoptive parent. Jenna joined the Catalyst Mentoring team as the school liaison and became the executive director in October of 2020. Jenna is very passionate about the youth of our community and loves that her role at Catalyst allows her to advocate for them.

Jenna Berry

Executive Director

Clair Bringhurst

Clair was born and raised in Modesto, CA and after spending a few years in Salt Lake City, UT and 6 years in the bay area, moved to Redding in 2018. Clair has a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and has always loved learning about others’ stories and connecting with a wide variety of people. She has spent the last 12 years as a mother to 4 wonderful kids and recently decided to re-enter the workforce. Clair values integrity, authenticity, kindness and love above all else. She is passionate about children having a safe place to be themselves and feel loved. Authentic connection is such an important part of community and she is excited to experience that while working with catalyst. When she isn’t working, Clair loves to be outside, go on bike rides with her family, get lost in a good book, a good song or a good podcast and especially enjoys good food she didn’t have to cook.

Clair Bringhurst

School Liaison

Jenn Mason
Jenn was born in Minneapolis, MN and was raised in the Midwest for the first 15 years of her life. She has lived in Redding for the past 20 years, attended school and then became a mom to three great kiddos. Jenn is passionate about having a place for children where they can be seen and valued. She is currently at Shasta College and working towards a degree in Psychology.  In her free time she enjoys being outdoors hiking, paddleboarding, and traveling. She also loves Country and 80’s music, and Mexican food. Jenn is excited to work for Catalyst and help support the impact we are making in our community.

Jenn Mason

School Liaison

Taylor Hartsock

Taylor was born and raised in a small town in northeast Indiana, population 2,000, and recently relocated to Redding. She has spent her entire career in the world of nonprofit support services, beginning after she graduated high school at an agency that provided support to adults and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She worked her way up in the agency over the years, becoming a team lead and then a supervisor, eventually becoming a Program Director for the agency. She also spent time working for the state of Indiana in disability services before relocating to Redding. In all positions she has held, being person-centered and compassionate minded has been a priority for her and her work. Taylor has her degree in Human Services with a concentration in family and child services. In her free time, Taylor enjoys spending time with her family, thrifting, reading, and playing with her furbabies.

Taylor Hartsock

Program Coordinator

Nina Thomas

Nina grew up in Chico, CA  and obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from UCSB. She moved to Redding in 2018 after getting hired as supervisor for the California Conservation Corps. She has worked as an environmental and aquatics camp counselor, a substitute teacher, and taught English in Thailand. Nina is currently in graduate school for clinical counseling. When not working, Nina enjoys home improvement DIY, stand up paddle boarding, hiking and biking, and singing in the Shasta College Choir. She loves Redding and the north state and is so excited to help strengthen this beautiful community.

Nina Thomas

School Liaison

KeyAndra Borum

KeyAndra was born and raised in Vallejo, CA and moved to Redding, CA in 2016. She attended Shasta College and transferred to National University where she obtained her degree in Psychology. During her time at Shasta College she was a Student Academic Mentor, Umoja Leader and a math tutor. Although she has also held many office administration positions, she has always had the passion for working directly with people. Community based work is where her true passion is. As a mother of 2, and a bonus mom to 2 others, KeyAndra loves kids and loves to learn more about what can help them succeed in life. As a former foster youth, KeyAndra understands how important it is to have consistent support and how big of an impact it can make. When she found out about Catalyst, she knew this is where she is meant to be. She is excited to tell everyone about Catalyst and to bring in as many amazing mentors as possible!

KeyAndra Borum

Mentor Coordinator

Eleanor Lee

Eleanor recently moved to Redding from Northern Indiana. After majoring in Psychology at Purdue, she moved into non-profit youth services. From there, she continued to invest in children by teaching piano. When not working with children, she enjoys spending time in nature with her family, reading, and watching sports. She is an avid fan of both the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs.

Eleanor Lee

School Liaison

Janaye Tesauro

Janaye was born and raised in the Midwest. She moved to Redding in 2005, where she relocated with her family.

Janaye has been working with children for over a decade, largely through camps and after-school programs. She enjoys being a safe adult for the children she works with and enjoys how honest and full-of-life children can be.

Janaye is currently pursuing a degree in psychology at Shasta College. Beyond her academic endeavors, Janaye’s an avid sports enthusiast, enjoying basketball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and other team sports. In her free time, she enjoys playing board games and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Janaye Tesauro

School Liaison

Our Board

Ken Waite

Ken Waite has been with Cresco Equipment Rentals for 18 years.  He started out by sweeping the floors and washing equipment then gradually moved up in the ranks. Mr. Waite managed the Oakland Cresco and has  been in Redding for almost 8 years running this operation. Ken started with Cresco right out of high school, and had a great mentor to help him grow up in the company, and life in general. He believes it’s important for kids to have someone they can trust and rely on. This is what brought him to Catalyst Mentoring. As a Catalyst Board member, Ken looks forward to helping Catalyst grow, so we can help as many kids as possible. Ken spends his free time working on his house and spending time outdoors with his 12 year old son. 

Ken Waite

Board President

Moya Kombrinck

Moya is a Child & Adolescent and General Psychiatrist.  She is a passionate advocate for children and has a desire to help restore families one child at a time.  Her and her husband strongly support mentorship and have seen firsthand its positive benefits.  They live in Georgia with their 2 children.  Moya loves Catalyst Mentoring because of the real impact they are making in the North State community.  However, she desires to serve Catalyst Mentoring as it continues to do strong work within the Redding community while expanding its borders and serving as an effective template for other mentorship programs.

Moya Kombrinck

Board Secretary

Jerrod Vanlandingham

Jerrod has been back in Redding since 2020 after living in Colorado for the past 25 years raising a family and having a successful career as a firefighter. He is currently the Fire Chief for the City of Redding Fire Department. His passion for service has been a life-long adventure. While in Colorado he worked with several non-profit organizations including a mentoring program similar to Catalyst. While raising his three sons, he saw the need to connect with other dads who could mentor his own kids from time to time. “We all know that sometimes a child will listen and learn better when it comes from someone other than their parents”. Jerrod believes that parents, guardians, mentors, and teachers need to be intentional about spending quality time with our youth in order to connect and build true trusting relationships. “It’s only through relationships that we get a sense of belonging, and all humans want to belong to something”. Jerrod holds a MBA and serves on several local, and state boards within the fire services industry and has a platform from which to spread the word about all the great programs and services Catalyst has to offer.

Jerrod Vanlandingham

Board Member

Sam LaRobardiere

Sam LaRobardiere has been in the coffee industry since 2012, is a Certified Q Grader and the Founder and CEO of Theory Coffee Roasters in Redding, California. Theory Coffee Roasters is known for sourcing, roasting and brewing world class coffee in a friendly manner. Since opening their doors in 2016, Theory has grown to four locations, been published in Food and Wine Magazine as one of the top 100 cafes in the US, and based on Sam’s performance in the Golden Bean Competition, was recognized as one of the top 30 coffee roasters in North America by Fresh Cup magazine. Sam is also currently one of the top 10 coffee roasters in North America based on his performance at the US Coffee Roasting Championship. Also notable in Sam’s story is his time spent serving his country in the United States Marine Corps. Theory is proud to be a veteran owned business.

Sam LaRobardiere

Board Member

Jeremy Rosten

Jeremy Rosten is President and CEO of Cronic Disaster Restoration & Construction.  His company specializes in new construction and remodels after a disaster strikes.  They are the largest restoration company north of Sacramento with offices in Redding and Chico. Cronic Disaster holds an annual charity golf tournament where 100% of the profits go to support Catalyst Mentoring. Jeremy was born and raised in Shasta County.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from National University. He and his wife Holly, have been married over 20 years and have 2 boys.  He loves coaching his kids little league teams, golfing, and country music.

“Having 2 young kids myself, I know how important stability and guidance is for our youth.  Being on the Catalyst Board allows me the opportunity to support our mentors however I can and make a positive change for the future of our youth.”

Jeremy Rosten

Board Vice President

Katie Luther

Katie Luther is a home town girl from Redding California, born, raised, and  jokes probably from conception. She loves Redding… the recreational playground, history, culture and THE PEOPLE… Especially our youth!

Katie is an alumni of Simpson University, spent 15 years serving the youth through local churches, and  is a second-generation realtor.  She owns and operates Katie Luther Real Estate Group which specializes in Redding homes, and greater Shasta County horse / country properties, helping people realize their dream of home ownership and rural living. She strives to serve her clients, friends and community with the best service, care, integrity, AND an enjoyable experience.

“I am a people person. I love to help and serve people. I think that is why I have loved my career path so far. I have spent the last decade of my career designing and coordinating youth camps that have proven to be benchmarks of positive change and personal growth for young adults and, now I get to walk along side people helping them with huge life transitions, buying their first home, needing a large home for a growing family, helping grow clients investments and even helping in some of the saddest times dealing with estates and loss.”

When I am not working I love to create, woodworking, gardening, DIY projects, food. I love to work with my horse Cotton. Happiness for me is to prepare a meal for a house full of friends and family – and to sit and enjoy one another’s company.

Katie Luther

Board Member

Michelle Nystrom

Michelle is the Regional Director of O2 Employment Services and a Shasta County native. She started with Catalyst as a presenter for our Life Skills Academy prior to joining the board. She is passionate about working with non-profits in our community to help them grow and expand their services. She recognizes the strong need for organizations to have solid business practices and to be connected within the community in order to be successful. She has three grown children and a high maintenance cat.

Michelle Nystrom

Board Member

Ken Freigher

Ken moved to Shasta County in 2018 and fell in love with the area.  He has spent the last 25+ years in banking and finance, and enjoys helping clients be financially successful in whatever ways they see that happen.  He is involved in a number of community organizations in Redding, Palo Cedro and Anderson, and is excited to be recently accepted to the Catalyst board.  Ken enjoys staying active and traveling in his free time.

Ken Freigher

Board Treasurer

Erin Hull

Erin joined the team at the Redding Chamber of Commerce in June of 2018 as a third generation female Chamber professional, after staying at home with her four boys for nearly a decade. She has a background in health and wellness, administration, marketing, photography and business. In addition to her primary role at her Chamber she plays an active role in the local entrepreneurial and start-up community, within Redding’s destination marketing organization, and in local and state government affairs. She is passionate about helping the city of Redding to reach it’s fullest potential as the result of economic growth, an engaged business community, robust arts and culture, and constant collaboration. Knowing that support for our youth and families is vital to the health of our community, she is honored to be of service to Catalyst Mentoring.

Erin Hull

Board Member

Leah Roadrunner

Leah Roadrunner is a wife and mother of 5 amazing kids (and a son in law). Her husband works for Dignity Health, Coaches Softball at Enterprise High School and was recently sworn in as a CASA superhero. Leah is an active community member on many fronts and her family take kids and helping them seriously. Leah and her husband and family helped in the founding years of Catalyst and she is so happy to now serve as one of our board members. Leah is one of Shasta County’s top mortgage loan officers and recently opened an office for Academy Mortgage here in Redding to better serve her clients. Leah also wants to make sure everyone knows she is a graduate of the Leadership Redding Best Class Ever -2019!

Leah Roadrunner

Board Member

Kyle Garton

Kyle Garton is a partner at the George Petersen Insurance Agency. His company specializes in commercial insurance and risk management for a wide variety of business types. George Petersen is one of the largest independently owned insurance agencies in Northern California with 10 offices ranging from Eureka to San Rafael. Kyle is a Shasta County native and has been active volunteering in the community through Rotary, RMEF, as well as NCCS Ed Foundation. Kyle and his wife Rachelle have been married for 11 years and have two children. He believes that that there is no more urgent cause than serving the youth in our community and looks forward to working toward that goal while serving on the Catalyst board.

Kyle Garton

Board Member

Our Programs

Training Mentors

We have found that people are often intimidated or overwhelmed by the idea of mentoring. So we have created trainings that…

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School Mentoring

In the fall of 2019 the Catalyst team launched the School Mentoring Program on 5 local campuses; Turtlebay, Mistletoe,…

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Office Mentoring

When the pandemic hit and schools shut down Catalyst could no longer serve students the way we had in the past…

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