West Pasadena-Based Hillsides Expands Workplace Wellbeing Training Through Center of Excellence

Hillsides, the Pasadena-based nonprofit that provides behavioral health and support services to children, young adults and families, announced Tuesday, Oct. 13, a broader rollout of its Center of Excellence, an initiative offering workplace wellbeing training, consulting and educational services to businesses and community organizations.

The center is intended to extend the nonprofit’s experience in trauma-informed care and behavioral health beyond its traditional programs, according to a Hillsides news release.

The initiative provides three categories of services: customized group training, organizational consulting and speaking engagements. Training topics include mindfulness, emotional intelligence, communication, compassion, stress management and self-care.

The organization’s website confirms that training can be delivered in person or online, while consulting services focus on identifying an organization’s wellbeing needs and developing responses suited to its circumstances. Speaking services include educational presentations for conferences, retreats and other gatherings.

“The Center of Excellence is a natural extension of that work,” Stacey Roth, Hillsides’ chief executive officer, said in the announcement.

The initiative builds on earlier work rather than beginning entirely from scratch. Hillsides’ 2023–24 annual report documented the development of an initial wellness training pilot through the Center of Excellence, intended to extend the organization’s trauma-informed approach to other institutions.

The Oct. 13 announcement presents the center as a broader effort to make those practices available to businesses, school districts, human resources departments and nonprofit organizations.

Gina Perez, Hillsides’ president and chief operating officer, said the program draws on the organization’s experience with behavioral health and professional development.

“We have spent more than 100 years learning what helps people connect and grow,” Perez said in the release.

The center has already scheduled educational programming. Its website lists a three-part virtual series addressing self-awareness, emotional intelligence and compassion, with sessions scheduled for Oct. 12, 19 and 26.

A separate two-day training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is scheduled for Nov. 3 and 4 in South Pasadena. That workshop is intended for licensed or registered behavioral health professionals and includes instruction on assessment, caregiver involvement and treatment approaches for children and adolescents affected by trauma.

Hillsides traces its history to 1913, when Evelyn Wile established a home for children in Highland Park. The organization moved its residential program to Pasadena in 1918 and continues to maintain its headquarters at 940 Avenue 64.

Its existing services include behavioral health treatment, foster care and adoption support, and transitional services for young adults.

The Center of Excellence represents an extension of that work into training and professional development for organizations outside Hillsides’ direct service programs.