Cyndi McDonald

Cyndi’s passion to work with first responders came after hearing an officer's story about the heavy stigma and fear attached to going to therapy. It's important to Cyndi to be that therapist that gets the first responder culture and not be another bad counseling experience she has heard too much about.

Cyndi also comes from a family of first responders and has witnessed the pressure these individuals face everyday. This has helped her develop a personal understanding of what happens behind the badge beyond her professional experience. Cyndi has great respect for their need for privacy and thrive to provide a comfortable setting for them. Cyndi has experience helping those to manage the stressors of the job to providing a safe debriefing environment to helping maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

Cyndi also has experience working with families of first responders to help maintain a healthy and supportive relationship as well as coping with the unique stressors first responder families face. 

Cyndi holds the following certifications & credentials:

Certified First Responder Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #54035, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor #488

Certified First Responder, Counselor Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), FLASH Technique, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT), Teen Triple P: Positive Parenting Program, Assessing & Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) Trainer.

For more information visit her website: https://cyndimcdonald.com/

Adam Sepagan

Adam was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula. Adam graduated from Portland State University, where he received a B.S. in Criminology/Criminal Justice. Following college, Adam served his community for 17 years as a police officer.

Adam worked for the cities of Marina and Pacific Grove before working for the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.  As a police officer, Adam was a Patrol Officer, Motorcycle Officer/Traffic Investigator, Corporal/Field Training Officer and General Crimes Detective. As a District Attorney Investigator III, he worked in the Major Crimes Division, the Gang Unit, and the Environmental/Consumer Protection Division. Adam was assigned to the Monterey County Special Response Unit (SRU) as a Hostage Negotiator/SWAT Operator, a member of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team (PRVNT), a member of the Monterey County Child Abuse Response Team (CART),  and a member of the Monterey County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). Adam was a 2-time recipient of the Officer/Investigator of the Year Award and a 2-time recipient of the Monterey County Police Officer’s Association Award of Merit. Adam retired from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office in 2017.

After seeing and feeling the effects of post-traumatic stress (PTS) himself and seeing many of his friends and co-workers, Adam wanted to collaborate with mental health professionals and fellow first responders to create a safe space for others to get help. 

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