What is HEART?
The Harm Evaluation Assessment Reduction Team (HEART) is an interdisciplinary team of De Anza College faculty, staff and administrators who are dedicated to fostering a safe campus community.
If you are concerned about a student or other member of the campus community, don’t remain silent – tell someone! By working together, we can help keep our campus community safe.
Tips for helping a Student in Crisis
HEART Mission
HEART members are committed to ensuring safety by using a proactive approach to preventing violence and reducing harm on campus. Through the use of accepted principles and practices of threat assessment, the team uses a collaborative approach to identify, assess and manage incidents as they arise, and to resolve potential violence and safety issues.
HEART works to
- Improve communication across campus and gather more accurate and detailed information about potential threats or safety risks
- Identify individuals of concern, based upon reports, and determine if they pose a risk of harm to self or others
- Assess situations based on credible information and rapidly develop an action plan to address concerns
- Implement intervention strategies to manage the situation and prevent harm
How to Report an Incident
Click on the red button to open the Report an Incident webpage with links to the various Maxient forms, which you can use to provide a detailed description of the incident and your assessment. Be sure to include the name and CWID of the student or other involved parties, if you have that information.
When filling out the form, please provide as complete an account as possible, including
- Whether a grade penalty was issued (if the incident is an academic integrity violation)
- Whether you have notified your supervisor, manager or division dean
- Whether the police were notified (provide police report number if applicable)
Attach electronic documents by clicking the “Add Item” button on the Maxient form. You may also submit paper documents via interoffice mail to Michele LeBleu-Burns, Dean of Student Development and EOPS.
Please contact the Student Development office at 408.864.8828 if you have any questions or problems with completing the online form. The office is located in Hinson Campus Center (Lower Level), Room 165.
What Happens Next?
HEART works to help students, faculty and staff members before they find themselves in crisis. Your referral to HEART will initiate a series of steps to review, assess and assign appropriate resources to assist the individual, while reducing risk to the college community.
HEART holds regular, confidential meetings and follows a protocol to determine appropriate action. Steps may include the following
- A HEART member may contact the person whose behavior prompted the report, to help connect them with resources such as counseling, financial aid, health and wellness care, social agencies or legal advice.
- HEART may determine that contact isn’t necessary because an action plan is already in place and working.
- A HEART member may contact the person who filed the report, to provide resources they can share with the individual of concern. This would only happen if the reporting party has expressed an interest in participating further.
- HEART may refer the individual of concern to the dean of Student Development or a designee, for the purpose of developing a behavioral agreement.
- When appropriate and in compliance with privacy laws, a HEART member may contact the reporting party to provide an update on actions taken.
Meet the HEART Members
Dr. Hyon Chu Yi-Baker
Dr. Hyon Chu Yi-Baker (pronounced Hyun-Joo Yee-Baker) was born in Seoul, Korea and immigrated to the United States at the age of three. She was raised in Puyallup, Washington located about 30 miles outside of Seattle and became a U.S. citizen at age 12. She celebrates her Korean American identity and honors her parents for their incredible love and sacrifice and who inspired her to go work in education. As a proud first-generation college student, Dr. Yi-Baker understands the value, power, and privilege that comes with receiving a formal education.
Dr. Yi-Baker attended Western Washington University where she majored in American Cultural Studies. Some of her favorite leadership experiences during her undergraduate years were working as a Resident Advisor, Peer Mentor, and Summer Bridge Counselor, which was a program that worked with underrepresented and lower socioeconomic youth. This led her to earn a Master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. After working as a practitioner for two decades and finding so much reward in the field of education, Dr. Yi-Baker returned to graduate school and obtained her Ed.D at San Jose State University in Educational Leadership. Her research interests included equity-based pedagogy, student engagement, civic participation, leadership development, and educational policy reform from a critical social justice lens.
For over 30 years, she has worked at various higher educational institutions including UC Davis, CSU Monterey Bay, Cal Poly Pomona, San Jose State University, and De Anza College serving in a variety of leadership roles as well as a tenured faculty member. In addition, she has worked as a consultant leading diversity training and organizational and program reviews for both corporate businesses and universities. As a community volunteer, she serves as Chair of the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission. Currently, Dr. Yi-Baker works as the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at De Anza College where she leads the Student Conduct and Judicial Affairs Office as well as the Office of College Life.
In her spare time, Dr. Yi-Baker loves to travel (especially long road trips), cook, nap (if she can fit one in), explore new restaurants, watch Broadway musicals, and most of all spend quality time with her family and friends. She has lived in the Morgan Hill and Gilroy area since 2009 and currently lives with her adoring husband, two very active teenagers, and their sweet puppy dog.
Dr. Wil Firmender
Dr. Firmender is a licensed psychologist and the Director of the Mental Health and
Wellness Center at De Anza College, where he has been a member of the HEART committee
since 2019. He is certified in multiple risk assessment measures. He moved to California
after spending his childhood, adolescence, and early adult years in South Carolina,
Washington, D.C., and New York City. His clinical and research interests include diversity
and community mental health, public policy, program development and evaluation, and
therapeutic sports interventions. He has a great deal of experience helping transition-age
youth deal with stressful life transitions.
Dr. Kim Lee
Dr. Kimberly Lee is a San Francisco Bay Area native who joined De Anza College’s HEART committee in 2021. Her clinical and research interests focus on advocating for discriminated, stereotyped, and marginalized communities, especially people with invisible disabilities and service animals. Dr. Lee has extensive training in culturally responsive, strength-based and trauma-focused therapy interventions which informs her understanding and perspective in her role as a HEART team member. Her passion is to empower students through increasing accessibility to mental health services and promoting social justice.
Dr. Rosafel Adriano Nogra
Dr. Rosafel Adriano-Nogra, DNP, PHN, FNP-C, has 20 years of clinical nursing experience in primary care and young adult, and supervisory/leadership role in college health setting. She received her BSN-MSN with emphasis on Family Nurse Practitioner - International Health Options at California State University, Los Angeles. She completed her doctoral education at Maryville University of St. Louis, Missouri in 2014. Her dissertation focuses on binge drinking behavior and sexual violence among community college students. She evaluates the effectiveness of implementing a comprehensive campus prevention program on the student’s knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards sexual assault and binge drinking behavior. Dr. Nogra was the previous Director of the Student Health Outpatient Clinic at Stanford Health Care for 15 years, and has now been the Clinic Director of the De Anza Student Health Services since 2019. In addition, she taught Adult-Geriatric and Family Nurse Practitioner clinical coursework to masters nursing students at the University of California, San Francisco, and Holy Names University. Her interest includes traveling with her family.
Dr. Michele LeBleu-Burns
Becket diGregorio
Manija Ansari
Manija Ansari's journey to become a College Counselor and instructor started 18 years
ago at Mission College, when she was an ESL Tutor. Manija received her B.S. in Finance
and M.A. in Educational Counseling from San Jose State University. For over 6 years,
she has been working as a Counselor at De Anza and other local Community Colleges.
Manija is teaching Counseling and Personal Development classes as well as hosting
college success workshops for ISP (International Student Programs) Students. Her teaching
and counseling philosophy is to make a lasting difference in her students’ lives by
providing them with the highest quality support and guidance to achieve their educational
and career goals.