Adjunct Faculty

Zelaika Hepworth Clarke, PhD, MSW, MEd, is an African-centered social worker, anti-colonial sexuality educator, cultural and clinical sexologist, decolonial eroticologist, decolonizing autoethnographer, and sexosopher. Dr. Hepworth Clarke is the first Jamerican (Jamaican-American) to earn three degrees in Sexuality Studies from accredited universities in the United States: a Bachelor of Arts from NYU in Sexuality, Culture, and Oppression (2007); a Master of Education in Human Sexuality (2012); and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Human Sexuality (2015) from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University.

Dr.Hepworth Clarke is a graduate of the National Academy for African-Centered Social Work, the International School of Transnational Decolonial Black Feminism in Brazil, and the Decolonizing Knowledge and Power Summer School in Barcelona. Dr. Hepworth Clarke co-founded the decolonial sexuality studies program at Goddard College and co-created the Decolonial Sexual Attitude Restructuring/Reassessment (D-SAR), a sexuality training program focused on deconstructing settler-colonialism, white supremacy, capitalism, and cisheteropatriarchy in sex, gender, and relationships.

Dr. Hepworth Clarke is committed to increasing sexual multiepistemic literacy, relational wellbeing, erotic sovereignty, and sensual awareness. They specialize in working with people of the African diaspora, as well as kinky, non-monogamous, queer, gender-expansive, and erotically marginalized communities. Dr. Hepworth Clarke’s approach is grounded in anti-erotophobic, anti-oppressive, healing-centered and decolonial methodologies.

Yesika S. Montoya, LCSW-R, is Director of Advising at Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW).

Ms. Montoya is also an adjunct faculty teaching the Professional Immersion Seminar for international students at CSSW. The class supports students to adapt to academic study and field education in the USA, recognizing cultural differences and similarities.

In her previous work experience, Ms. Montoya provided individual, family and group psychotherapy. In her practice she addressed the interaction of mental illness, cultural beliefs, socio-economic conditions and immigration status (where applicable) and using an anti-oppression practice. She has experience working with different populations (children, adolescent, adults, homeless SPMI, MICA, HIV).

Ms. Montoya has worked at the Mount Sinai Medical Center’s World Trade Center Program, with people who participated in the rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks. This experience allowed her to develop an additional expertise on trauma.

Ms. Montoya is a psychologist in her native country of Colombia, with a degree from the Universidad Santo Tomas. She earned a Masters in Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in clinical practice from Fordham University.

Xiaoning Huang, PhD, MSW, is a Research Assistant Professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Dr. Huang’s research focuses on the social determinants of racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health outcomes. He has received the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Career Development Award, which supports his research exploring the mechanisms between early pregnancy psychosocial stressors and postpartum cardiovascular health. Furthermore, Dr. Huang is the principal investigator for the AHA’s Get with the Guidelines Data Science Research Award, concentrating on the social determinants of disparities in heart failure outcomes. He was also selected as a Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Dr. Huang received his PhD in Social Work from Columbia University and an MSW from the University of Southern California.

Wenjuan Huang, LCSW, is a registered play therapist at University Settlement Society of New York, where she oversees the Home Based Crisis Intervention Program. She has experience in direct clinical practice, clinical and administrative supervision, and program management. Her clinical practice and supervision have focused on children and families experiencing active crisis and at risk of out-of-home placement. She restructured the Home Based Crisis Intervention program and developed evidence-based practice trainings. She previously served as a clinical social worker and direct service provider in University Settlement. Ms. Huang earned her bachelor’s degree from Jiangnan University in China, and her MSW from New York University.

Vivianne Guevara has been a restorative justice practitioner and facilitator for 10 years and a social worker in public defense for over 16 years. She is the Director of Integral Justice, an organization that provides private mitigation in state and federal criminal cases nationwide, as well as restorative justice training and facilitation globally.
Vivianne began facilitating restorative circles in 2014, when she facilitated the first-known restorative circle for a Federal District Court case. Since then, Vivianne planned and facilitated hundreds of circles within/for the criminal legal system, schools, universities, coalitions, community members, and private and non-profit organizations. She co-created the first restorative justice course at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and facilitated restorative circles at NYU School of Social Work, Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work, Columbia Law School, NYU Law School, Texas A&M Law School, Yale Law School, New York Law School, as well as myriad public defender conferences, workshops, and offices.

Vivianne was the founding Director of Social Work and Mitigation at the Federal Defenders of New York in the Eastern District, where she developed one of the first Federal Defender social work practices in the nation and led the social work practice from 2012-2023. Vivianne was previously an Investigator and Social Worker at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, where she supported litigation that challenged conditions in juvenile and adult jails and prisons in Georgia and Alabama, the provision of indigent defense in Georgia, and the proliferation of debtor’s prisons in Georgia. She began working in public defense as a Social Worker at the Bronx Defenders in 2007, where she worked with clients charged in domestic violence and mental health courts. Vivianne has planned and provided training in defense social work practice and mitigation since 2011 – at national Federal Defender workshops and conferences, law schools, and federal & state public defender offices/districts nationwide.

Vivianne comes from a family of farmworkers, faith workers, and social justice workers. She strives to honor their legacy and that of her ancestors through a life of service. Vivianne continues to learn through teaching others and by providing opportunities that promote community and healing.

Verena Salvi, LCSW, has worked with psychological trauma for ten years and specializes in interpersonal and gender-based violence. She is a clinical social worker at the Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies (DOVE) Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where she provides crisis intervention and trauma-focused psychotherapy to survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence.

Ms. Salvi incorporates different trauma treatment modalities in her work, with an emphasis on body-oriented and memory reconsolidation techniques; she is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.

Ms. Salvi holds a faculty position at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and The Training Institute for Mental Health, where she teaches neurobiological principles that underlie psychological trauma, trauma-symptoms reductions, and trauma-processing techniques. She also served as an international consultant to Women’s Crisis Care International, the first and only Rape Crisis Center of its kind in the Middle East region, and currently serves as a freelance consultant and trainer for various organizations working with victims of crimes.

Typhani Carter is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has more than a decade of experience working in the field of mental health. Her work experience has focused on direct clinical work, training and supervision of staff, administration, and research. She specializes in working with populations that have experienced complex trauma.

Presently, Typhani works as Vice President of Programs at Joe Torre Safe At Home. In this role, she provides clinical, administrative and programmatic oversight for multiple trauma-informed, school-based programs across the nation. More specifically, she supervises the program management and supervisory staff, develops/institutes policy and procedures for staff, supports ongoing service provision and replication efforts, and ensures that all program services are in compliance with local and national law, ethical standards and best practices.

Prior to this, Typhani worked as Director of Clinical Services at HELP Haven, a subsidiary of HELP USA. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Clinical Department. She was also tasked with developing and facilitating training for all HELP sites, which focused on trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care for the client population. Additionally, she was responsible for modifying existing protocols and procedures to meet best practice standards for managing clients who had experienced complex trauma and were without homes.

During her time at HELP USA, Typhani also consulted with Bonding Links Mental Health Clinic, an Article 31 clinic associated with Coalition for Hispanic Family Services. In this role, she diagnosed and treated children who struggled with psychiatric illnesses, as well as their families, collaborated with an interdisciplinary team in order to assess a family’s level of functioning and to determine the best practice for treatment, and provided clinical supervision for current clinicians.

Before joining HELP USA, Typhani was the Administrative Supervisor for the Specialized Programs at Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA). For three years, she supervised and evaluated a team of Social Workers and Socio-Therapists. Among other responsibilities, she interfaced with upper management regarding program development, policy, procedure and census, and developed and facilitated training for foster parents, parents and staff regarding the impact of trauma on different populations.

Preceding her work at JCCA, Typhani worked as a Trauma Recovery Clinician at The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, where she used various treatment modalities to counsel children, adolescents and young adults who had experienced trauma. Additionally, she developed protocol for, and conducted, research studies to assess the effectiveness of Safe Touches Workshops on young children, oversaw the administration of the Child Empowerment and Trauma Recovery Programs, and conducted training for staff, parents and donors regarding trauma-related issues.

Dedicated to her field, Typhani, among other things, has supervised social work interns since 2009, is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, was a former Co-Chair for subcommittee of Lower East Side Community Partnership Initiative, and was awarded the Robert Maslow Excellence in Practice Award during her employ at JCCA. She received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and her Master’s Degree from Columbia University School of Social Work.

Trélan Nicole Holder is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is a skilled psychotherapist with  extensive years of counseling experience in mental health and human services. Trélan attained her  Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Clark University, her Master of Science Degree in  Social Work from Columbia University, and a Certificate in Bioethics and Medical Humanities from  Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Cardozo Law School. Additionally, her clinical pursuits  include: postgraduate psychodynamic psychotherapy certificate at the NYU Institute for Psycho analytic Education. 

In 2014, Trélan founded Renew Perspectives (RP), a professional corporation that is recognized by  the New York State Education Department's Board For Social Work and provides continuing  education for Licensed Social Workers. Additionally, RP provides healthcare consulting services  within the private and public sector. She has served as a Clinician and Director at the City College of  New York (CCNY): Wellness and Counseling Center. Prior to her leadership at CCNY, she worked  at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, Adolescent AIDS Program. 

Ms. Holder’s previous work in human services spans across her municipal employment with New  York City’s leading Child Welfare Agencies to her international academic pursuits at the University  of Cape Town, South Africa, where she was selected to study as a Visiting Social Work Scholar (a  collaborative with the New York University Steinhardt Graduate School of Education). 

Trélan Holder is a Senior Lecturer at Columbia School of Social Work and has also taught at the  Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.

Timothy began his social work career in defense based social work. Working in a prison reentry program, Getting Out and Staying Out, in East Harlem, he advocated in criminal courts in four boroughs, provided clinical services for his case load and improved programming that connected his clients to helpful resources in NYC. He has experience providing and building community based programming for public schools in Harlem with the Columbia Achievement Initiative. Additionally, he has taken on therapy roles at Housing Works, Cylar House, a community based outpatient mental health setting, at Greenpoint Psychotherapy, a private group practice, and most recently, college therapy at Manhattan University. Timothy has a particular passion for working with vulnerable youth and specifically, in understanding how to improve social work systems to address systemic inequities for the populations he has served.

Timothy believes that advancing social justice is the core of social work, as well as clinical work, and must be integrated into every professional interaction. Timothy acknowledges that it is a continual learning process to decolonize social work and to take ownership of being a lifelong student committed to cultural humility and at its root, the ethics that each social worker is bound by. He holds an LMSW and SIFI credential. Timothy also has a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelors in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College in NYC.

Dr. Tiffany N. Younger is a social medical scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research explores intersections of race, gender, the economy, and health, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods within a critical community participatory action research framework. Known for her expertise in trauma-informed research, Dr. Younger emphasizes the importance of lived experience in research and prioritizes healing as a key outcome in collaborations with participants and co-researchers. She has conducted extensive research across the United States and internationally in South Africa, Brazil, and Ghana.

Prior to pursuing her doctoral program, Dr. Younger served as a policy fellow for United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, focusing on issues of criminal justice, gender, and race equity. During her doctoral studies, she founded the Social Change Agents Institute (SCAI), fostering collaborations with local students and community activists in countries within the African Diaspora such as South Africa, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. Additionally, Dr. Younger directed policy and advocacy efforts as the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Closing the Women's Wealth Gap, where she developed strategic agendas and launched the Community Leaders Fellowship to elevate the voices of Black and Latina women facing economic inequality.

Dr. Younger earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Social Welfare from the Graduate Center at CUNY and completed her Clinical Epidemiology degree at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. During her predoctoral training, she conducted research as part of a T32 clinical research science fellowship with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focusing on health disparities and the impact of structural racism on cardiovascular disease, maternal health, and cancer disparities. She also holds a Master of Science in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Dr. Younger resides in Harlem, New York, with her daughter Grace.

Terri L. Wilder is a social worker and advocate for the rights of of people living with HIV/AIDS, the LGBT community, and people with myalgic encephalomyelitis. She has worked in HIV and LGBT health since 1989 providing HIV social services, coordinating education for clients and medical providers, and advocating for policy change. She has presented at local, national, and international conferences on a variety of topics. Many of her articles on HIV can be found in AIDS Survival Project’s Survival News, The Body’s Web site, POZ Web site, as well as Project Inform’s Web site. She served on the New York Governor’s Task Force to End AIDS (EtE) as well as his Hepatitis C Elimination Task Force, and is currently a member of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Advisory Council EtE Subcommittee. She is an expert in HIV and LGBT health and was recognized in The POZ 100: Celebrating Women edition of POZ magazine (2017). Terri is a 1992 graduate of the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Social Work where she earned her MSW. She graduated from UGA with a Bachelor in Social Work in 1989.

Terri L. Wilder is a social worker and advocate for the rights of of people living with HIV/AIDS, the LGBT community, and people with myalgic encephalomyelitis. She has worked in HIV and LGBT health since 1989 providing HIV social services, coordinating education for clients and medical providers, and advocating for policy change. She has presented at local, national, and international conferences on a variety of topics. Many of her articles on HIV can be found in AIDS Survival Project’s Survival News, The Body’s Web site, POZ Web site, as well as Project Inform’s Web site. She served on the New York Governor’s Task Force to End AIDS (EtE) as well as his Hepatitis C Elimination Task Force, and is currently a member of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Advisory Council EtE Subcommittee. She is an expert in HIV and LGBT health and was recognized in The POZ 100: Celebrating Women edition of POZ magazine (2017). Terri is a 1992 graduate of the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Social Work where she earned her MSW. She graduated from UGA with a Bachelor in Social Work in 1989.

Steve Salee is founding partner and CEO of the organizational change firm Wildfire Strategies. He has over 20 years of experience as a coach, organizational consultant, and strategist. Steve is particularly passionate about helping high-stakes teams and leaders to work together effectively in service of quality service and results. He recognizes that rapid changes in numerous industries exert additional pressures on leaders and teams, making collaboration both more challenging and more essential than ever. His work helps them meet these challenges by overcoming divisions, building relationships, and strengthening engagement.

Steve has coached dozens of high-stakes leaders and teams, including those in the fields of health care, law, financial services, the nonprofit sector, the arts, and media. A sample of clients include New York City Health + Hospitals, White & Case, UNICEF, and Sageview Capital.

Steve’s coaching style is to engage the client or team in an active, practical exploration of their values, strengths, and opportunities for professional and personal growth. Using aspects of emotional intelligence and appreciative inquiry, Steve helps clients both design their desired state and build the awareness, behaviors, and structures necessary to get there, while supporting the organization’s goals. Steve is also conducting ongoing primary research on what makes team cultures healthy or toxic.

Stephanie Manes JD, LCSW maintains a private practice in New York, working with adults, teens and couples, and specializes in working with the LGBTQ community. In addition to her clinical practice, she has been engaged in teaching, consulting with other organizations, and supervising therapists. Stephanie was previously affiliated with Ackerman’s Center for Families and Health and has been a guest speaker at the institute. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology supervising students studying couples therapy and at Mercy College, where she taught family and group therapy.

Stephanie earned her BA at Barnard College, her JD from Brooklyn Law School and her MSW from New York University School of Social Work. Stephanie went on to complete post-graduate training in couples and family therapy at the Ackerman Institute, studied with the Institute of Psychoanalytic Studies of Intersubjectivity, and has a certificate in Spiritually Informed Psychotherapy from New York’s Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Stephanie worked as an attorney in New York and Paris.

Sonya Lott, PhD, has been a licensed psychologist for more than thirty years and maintains a multi-state online private practice specializing in death-related loss. She is an affiliate of the Center for Prolonged Grief and an adjunct faculty member of the Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW). She is also a contributing author to the 2024 edition of Living With Grief: Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder, published by the Hospice Foundation of America.

Shanika "Lavi" Wilson received her Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of Connecticut-Storrs, Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) with a concentration in Mental Health and Substance Abuse from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Doctor of Social Work (DSW) with a concentration in Clinical Practice and Leadership from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She was a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist (LCAS) and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the States of North Carolina. Her direct practice includes providing mental health and substance abuse therapy to individuals, groups, and families. She has experience working at a university student health center, university counseling center, private practice, and in community mental health agencies.

Shakira Harrell is a licensed Master social worker hailing from the Bronx, New York. She received her BA in Sociology from CUNY Hunter College and her Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia School of Social Work (class of 2012) as well as a Master of Education from Arizona State University.

For over 15 years Shakira has worked in schools, homeless shelters, youth group homes and churches as social worker, case manager, counselor, and mentor. Though she has worked in various settings with different populations, Shakira is especially passionate about working with youth, children and families. She regularly advocates for social emotional learning and trauma informed practices in schools and sees this advocacy as an opportunity to educate, empower and prepare those coming behind her.

Sethu Laxmi Nair is a mediator, facilitator, coach, and trainer in the fields of alternative dispute resolution and restorative practices.

Through her work, Sethu improves interpersonal and social dynamics by enhancing leadership capacity and conflict competence among leaders and groups. Currently, she serves as senior conflict resolution specialist at the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution within New York City government. A founding member of Hidden Water, Sethu facilitates restorative circles to heal the impact of child sexual abuse in the family system. Through the Center for Justice at Columbia, she also offers a foundational restorative practices training called “Responding Restoratively.” Through her private practice, Sethu consults with organizations, offering a unique blend of leadership coaching and restorative conflict management.

Sethu has also worked with various human rights organizations in New York and India. Sethu is a graduate of SUNY Purchase and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Sarah Strole, LCSW, received her MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work and her BA from Georgetown University. She developed an expertise in trauma while working as a bilingual trauma therapist and as a Special Victims Social Worker. Currently, she runs a shelter and foster care program for unaccompanied minors: children detained by immigration without guardians, many of whom are fleeing community violence and abuse.

Sarah has presented on chronic trauma, resilience, and supervision practices at the local, national, and international level. She currently provides clinical supervision and has developed a comprehensive training curriculum for a team of Case Managers, Clinicians, Teachers, and direct care staff providing trauma-informed care to unaccompanied minors. Sarah co-facilitated a support group at NASW-NYC for clinicians working with cases involving trauma from 2014-2017 and she received the NASW-NYC’s Emerging Leader award in December 2015.

Sara Bartlett is a licensed clinical social worker in California. Her background is in medical social work and social work with older adults. Previous positions include home health/medical clinic social worker, older adult case manager, Area Director of the Alzheimer’s Association, and medical social worker/volunteer coordinator at Hospice. She also does teletherapy with long term care residents and older adults.

Sara received her B.A. in Psychology and minor in Gerontology from UC Davis, her MSW with an aging concentration from UC Berkeley, and her DSW from Penn, where her dissertation was focused on intergenerational service-learning, intergenerational relationships and reduction of ageism among emerging adults.

Dr. Samantha Schindelheim specializes in working with young children, teens, young adults, and their parents who struggle with behavioral challenges, self-esteem, relationships, mood, anxiety, trauma and life cycle transitions in outpatient settings. She has specific training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), and Parent-Management Training (PMT).  She is passionate about increasing high-quality care for children, adolescents, and their families through the delivery of evidenced-based interventions.
 
Dr. Schindelheim currently works in a psychotherapy private practice in New York City.  She is also a clinical consultant on an NIH Grant through Johns Hopkins, which focuses on suicide intervention research with Latine parents and Community Health Workers in Baltimore.  She formerly worked and held a faculty appointment at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital/Columbia Irving Medical Center where she provided therapy to children, adolescents, and young adults with suicidal and disruptive behaviors in their home and communities to prevent higher levels of care (i.e. hospitalization). In that role, she also co-directed the Social Work Training Program at the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic.  
She received her Master’s degree from Columbia School of Social Work and her Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice.  Her dissertation research was focused on Latina adolescents with suicidal behaviors and essential sociocultural factors that contribute to the therapeutic relationship and treatment trajectories. At CSSW, she teaches courses on Advanced Clinical Practice and Suicide Assessments and Treatment.

Sa’uda Dunlap-Frazier, LCSW, is an experienced leader within New York City’s public health, school, and social service systems. She is an influential manager known for ease within development of relationships, and she contributes to skillful negotiations and strategic planning. Sa’uda had a leadership role in developing strategies to shift policies, programs and practices at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to center racial equity and social justice to address health inequities in public health. She was part of a team that successfully implemented the 100 Schools Project through the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program in New York’s middle and high schools. Her career includes case management, work in a psychiatric hospital providing treatment to children and adolescents and clinical consultation, implementation of school mental health programs in the public health sector, and support to staff at community-based organizations.

Sa’uda currently serves as the program director for the Prevention and Intervention Program in the school-based mental health department at The Jewish Board. She is responsible for the clinical, operational, and administrative oversight of the program. She ensures quality services in line with city, state, and agency mandates. Sa’uda maintains relationships with school personnel and various city regulatory bodies while cultivating additional resources and relationships with community organizations for purposes of referral and collaboration.

Sa’uda was born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn. She is a proud product of the NYC Department of Education school system. She graduated from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service with a Masters in Social Work and received her Bachelors of Arts in Sociology from Hunter College, City University of New York. Sa’uda uses a racial equity and social justice lens in all aspects of her work. She is also an active member of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Ryan Zamarripa is an adjunct lecturer at the Columbia University School of Social Work and concurrently serves at the U.S. Economic Development Administration, where he manages grants under the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and contributes to dismantling long-standing barriers to economic prosperity faced by marginalized communities across the country. He previously worked on the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth in the U.S. House of Representatives, as a Biden Administration political appointee in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the White House, and in various policy roles in think tanks. His experience spans local, state, and federal agencies and touches on a wide range of issue areas.

Ryan has extensive experience as an educator, having served as a mathematics teacher in Tanzania with the Peace Corps and as an English teacher through the Colombia Ministry of Education. He holds bachelor's degrees in both mathematics and economics from Tulane University and a master's degree in economics from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, he completed the Columbia University School of Social Work Institute on Pedagogy and Online Learning. A Los Angeles native, he currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Russell Baptist is a trailblazer in the field of social work, with a distinguished career dedicated to advancing equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive care for marginalized communities. Currently a senior lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work, Professor Baptist has authored state-approved curricula in Macro Practice, Leadership, Management, Program Planning, and Development. Most recently, he led a comprehensive rewrite of the school’s core course on Advocacy and Social Work Practice, ensuring its relevance for today’s evolving social and political landscape.

He is the President and Founder of The A. and S. Consulting Services, a private practice organization that offers leadership coaching, clinical evaluations, and technical assistance to institutions and nonprofits focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

As one of New York State’s first Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Baptist was a founding member and former Managing Director of Programs at the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), where he helped pioneer integrated supportive housing and mental health services for special-needs populations. He led and developed interdisciplinary teams—social workers, psychiatrists, and paraprofessionals—while implementing evidence-based practices and advancing DEI initiatives in urban systems of care.

With sponsorship from the Robin Hood Foundation, he directed the development of Single Stop USA, an anti-poverty program designed for Harlem and Washington Heights. He also founded the George Brager Scholarship Program for college-bound students in supportive housing, named in honor of the late dean of Columbia’s School of Social Work.

Professor Baptist has provided extensive training across New York City, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, with a focus on topics such as LGBTQ+ inclusion, Black mental health, homelessness, cultural competence, and social work supervision. He has successfully managed contracts and collaborations with federal agencies such as SAMHSA, HUD, and the Veterans Administration, as well as key departments across New York City and State including DOHMH, OMH, DHS, and HRA.

His clinical work includes providing psychotherapy to foster youth and mentoring emerging social workers in complex systems. He has served as a lecturer at Stony Brook University and as a frequent consultant, keynote speaker, and media contributor on local television and radio.

Professor Baptist’s leadership also extends to nonprofit governance. He has served on the Board of Directors for Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), The Association for Retired Citizens (ARC) XII, and as former Board Chair of Unity Fellowship Church NYC. He is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and maintains a visible presence across major social media platforms where his advocacy and commentary reach a broad and engaged audience.

He holds degrees from Texas College (an HBCU) and Columbia University, where he earned his MS in Social Work Practice. He is a "JFK Jr. Fellow/Mentor" and has completed additional studies at Yeshiva University, Long Island University, and the University of the District of Columbia.

His published works include Adam and Steve: The Rules for Men Attracted to Other Men (2015, revised 2016), and his forthcoming book Built By the Ancestors: A Legacy of Black Institutions and Their Enduring Power explores the historical, cultural, and future impact of foundational Black-led organizations—such as the AME Church, Prince Hall Masons, HBCUs, and the NAACP—and affirms their ongoing role in shaping justice, leadership, and legacy in American society.

Rosa Maria Bramble is a New York licensed clinical social worker who maintains a private practice in direct practice and as a consultant in NYC.  She specializes in the psycho-social impact of traumatic events in individuals and communities.

She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Hunter College and has completed post graduate training in family therapy and advanced trauma studies. She is trained in trauma focused interventions such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Breath~Body~Mind.  Rosa conducts psycho-social evaluations for immigration cases, provides expert testimony on trauma and  impact of deportation on children and families.  In her consultant capacity she is currently working with community based organizations servicing survivors of gender based violence and unaccompanied minors.

She also consults in the field of maternal child health. She has extensive experience in the field of HIV as a direct practitioner, as well as in program development and agency cofounder. She a member of the community participatory research board of Project ICI which studies collaboration among HIV service providers.  She facilitates workshops on the trauma of migration and professional development. Rosa is the founder of Borders of Hope/Fronteras de Esperanza, a volunteer community organization addressing the needs of Latino survivors of trauma. Currently the project focuses on Ground Zero Clean-up Workers.

Rosa Jaffe-Geffner (she/her/mx.) is a zealous advocate with individuals and systems in the city she was born and raised in. She is also a trauma-informed trainer and a non-profit management professional. Her work holds a human rights and anti-racist focus.  

Rosa has advocated in Family Court, Criminal Court, and Housing Court. Rosa started her work as a social worker in public defender offices at the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, working on child welfare and juvenile justice cases. She then transitioned into the role of Director of Social Work at Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, where she oversaw their social services and community education courses. Currently, Rosa holds the position of Bronx Defenders’ first Civil Action Practice Director of Social Work. In this role she conducts program development, provides training, supervision, direct service, and contributed to policy work.

Today, she provides annual trainings on trauma-informed interviewing with NYU Law School and CUNY. Rosa received her M.S. in Social Work at Columbia University and her B.A. in Sociology at SUNY Purchase College.

Richard Beck is a clinician in private practice specializing in issues related to group therapy, psychological trauma, sexual abuse and incest. He is President (2018-2021) of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process; a former president of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. Mr. Beck lectures nationally and internationally on issues of trauma and therapist self care – with recent presentations in Istanbul, Turkey; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Berlin, Germany; Cairo, Egypt and Malmö, Sweden.

Ria Rodney is a Registered Nurse and social worker with over 15 years of experience in public health and advocacy. As a formally trained doula with a commitment to maternal health, she provides training in reproductive health for both students and public health workers in various capacities. Ria currently serves as a National Board Member for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education.

Ria’s career is driven by addressing the access to quality healthcare as a social justice issue. She utilizes frameworks that are specific to the intersectionality of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. In addition to providing direct care to patients in a healthcare setting, Ria focuses on macro-level systemic change through policy to address challenges and limitations in the United States healthcare system. Her areas of academic research include reproductive justice, the health and mental health needs of pregnant women and their families, and patient safety in the hospital setting.

Ria has worked in public policy, both domestically and internationally. In New York City, her work focuses on advocacy and policy review to address maternal mortality for underserved mothers. Previously, while working for the Ministry of Health in Guyana, she focused on training social workers who work in outpatient public health services. Additionally, she wrote health care policies for the Gender Equity Division within the Ministry of Health.

Ria holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. She received her Post- Master’s policy training through The Network for Social Work Management Public Policy Fellowship. Outside of work, Ria enjoys baking, traveling, and studio cycling.

Dr. Rebecca Hanus, LCSW, maintains a private practice in New York City, through which she provides supportive counseling and therapy using the cognitive behavioral therapy framework. She previously served as a social worker as well as a task supervisor in a New York City hospital. Dr. Hanus specializes in issues concerning law and social work, as well as gerontology. She has presented at the New York Academy of Medicine and at the annual Aging in America conference. Her work has been published in Aging Today.

Dr. Hanus earned her BA in philosophy and political science from Brandeis University, her MSW with a law minor from the Columbia School of Social Work, her JD from New York Law School, and her PhD from Wurzweiler School of Social Work.

Rachelle D. Veasley is a licensed clinical forensic social worker with almost two decades of experience in advocacy, education, criminal justice, and mental health. She is the Director of Social Work with the Federal Defenders of New York, a federal public defender office that provides legal representation to individuals facing federal criminal involvement. Ms. Veasley is passionate about defense-based social work, with a unique focus on how to utilize clinical skills to advocate and center client voices. In her capacity as director, Ms. Veasley oversees the social work department and provides advocacy, mitigation, and social work support to clients. The social workers collaborate with providers and assist clients to navigate systems as necessary to minimize harm as they contend with their legal case.

Ms. Veasley has conducted training and workshops across the country, teaching members of the defense team on topics ranging from holistic defense practice to persuasive writing, engagement skills, and mitigation/sentencing advocacy. Ms. Veasley has served as a guest presenter at New York University and Yale Law Schools and has been retained as expert consultant in defense-initiated victim outreach with Yale.

In addition to her role as a defense-based social worker, Ms. Veasley is a committed educator. She provides field instruction at Federal Defenders for graduate social work students from Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, and Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College who are interested in working in holistic defense. She teaches the seminar in field instruction (SIFI) with CSSW and has served as an advisor for first- and second-year students. She also teaches the practice lab at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. The yearlong course utilizes mindfulness, practice wisdom, and anti-oppressive liberatory theories to equip students with foundation competencies in social work practice, with an emphasis on applying essential concepts and skills across social work methods. A strong believer in the teachings of bell hooks and Angela Davis, Ms. Veasley believes in co-creating a learning space where students can experience education as the practice of freedom and resistance. She aspires to teach students to understand the context in which social work is practiced, while encouraging them to become critically reflective practitioners.

Rachelle received her B.A. in psychology and philosophy from Columbia University (CC ’07) and her Master of Social Work from Hunter College (’10). She has worked as a clinician, educator, and advocate in myriad roles within the field of social work. She attributes her commitment to liberatory social justice work to her brothers, relatives, and community members who continue to be harmed by these oppressive systems and institutions. She is a facilitator, mentor, community member, and systems thinker grounded in direct practice in the present for individual and collective liberation in the future.

Rachel Goldsmith, LCSW-R, is a therapist, trainer, educator, and non-profit management professional. Throughout her career, she has worked with survivors of interpersonal violence and systemic trauma.  Rachel has held leadership positions at Sanctuary for Families, Safe Horizon, and The Legal Aid Society. She currently is the Director of Social Work for the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society. In this role, Rachel oversees social work services within the Civil Practice and provides training and technical assistance to all Civil Practice units. She also maintains a private practice.

Rachel is passionate about helping the next generation of social workers learn meaningful skills to prepare them for the field. Additionally, she regularly trains on trauma, vicarious trauma, self-care, and wellness practices for social workers and non-profit and public interest legal staff. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Trauma Studies and completed training in EMDR and Internal Family Systems therapy. Rachel obtained a BS in Social Welfare from Stony Brook University and an MSW from Columbia University.  

Priya Seshan, LMSW, is a school social worker with the New York City Department of Education. She works with District 79’s Pathways to Graduation Program, a high school equivalency program for students ages 17-21 in the alternative district. She previously served at New York City’s only public high school for formerly incarcerated and court involved adolescents.

Ms. Seshan has experience in sexuality education, community-based after school programs, and foster care settings. Working with clients and their families, she has focused on issues of incarceration, gang involvement, substance abuse, trauma, abuse and neglect, homelessness, sex work, pregnancy prevention, school interruption, learning issues, foster and kinship care, immigration issues, and bereavement and loss.

A native of Cleveland, Ms. Seshan is a member of the CSSW Schools Advisory Committee. She earned her BA in journalism and sociology from Marquette University, where she was a fellow in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program/Educational Opportunity Program. She earned her MPH with a concentration in HIV and infectious diseases from Hunter College, and her MS from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Courses taught include: Program Evaluation, Social Welfare Policy, Social Policy & Advocacy Practice, Non-Profit Leadership & Macro Practice, Clinical Practice with Groups, Generalist Social Work Practice, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, and Vulnerable Youth & Young Adults in Transition.

Peter Maugeri, MSW has 15 years of experience in designing, facilitating, managing, and evaluating community-based programs. As a capacity builder, Peter is an expert in asset and evidence-based community-led innovation. He has worked closely with NYC and Boston public high schools, community organizations, higher education institutions, policy makers, and youth practitioners to provide coordinated, holistic support in ensuring that youth successfully overcome barriers to post-secondary pathways. Peter has facilitated programs internationally with over 5,000 youth from across 75 communities in the U.S., Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, France, Senegal, and Indonesia.

Peter currently works as a facilitator for Global Citizen Year, a gap-year international youth leadership program. In 2008, Peter co-founded Global Potential, a youth leadership, service-learning, and social entrepreneurship program for vulnerable adolescents, where he serves on its Board. For the past 8 years, Peter has trained hundreds of case managers working for the HIV/AIDS Service Administration on harm reduction strategies; concepts of diversity, intersectionality, oppression; integrating cultural sensitivity approaches in program delivery; COVID-19 risk reduction; and basic HIV/AIDS education. Peter is currently developing geriatric wellness initiatives for socially isolated and sedentary older adults by sharing his enthusiasm for exercise and wellness to support the aging population in accomplishing their health goals and building self-efficacy.

“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” -Aboriginal activists group, Queensland, 1970s.

Pascale Jean-Noel is the Director of Training for ACT Institute at the Evidence-Based Practices Technical Assistance Center. She provides and coordinates training, and provides technical assistance in the core principals of ACT and other evidence-based practices to ACT practitioners throughout New York State. She has experience serving in inpatient psychiatric units, outpatient mental health, foster care and outpatient substance abuse programs. Mrs. Jean-Noel holds a master’s degree and clinical license in social work.

Dr. Ovita Williams is the Executive Director of the CSSW Action Lab for Social Justice at Columbia School of Social Work. She also serves as Associate Director of Field Education, and acted as Interim Dean and Director of the department for two years. Dr. Williams has taught the Social Work Practice and Domestic Violence course at CSSW and the Social Work Practice Lab for Liberation and Social Justice at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter CUNY. Dr. Williams is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in intimate partner violence and forensic social work practice with ten years of experience as the Director of Clinical Services in the Counseling Services Unit at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to this position, Dr. Williams was a therapist at the Children’s Aid Society.

During her time at CSSW, Dr. Williams has facilitated the Seminar in Field Instruction (SIFI) for new field instructors and expanded the Advanced SIFI around holding critical conversations in the supervisory relationship.

Dr. Williams has developed and facilitated interactive workshops for social workers, managers, and various practitioners on facilitating challenging dialogues around racism, class, gender, sexual orientation and intersecting identities. At Columbia, Dr. Williams has worked with students, alumni, faculty and administrators on the development of the foundations course, “Decolonizing Social Work”, through a power, race, oppression, and privilege framework. The course centers undoing anti-black racism and dismantling white supremacy culture.

A graduate of Vassar College (’90) and Columbia University (’93), Dr. Williams received her PhD from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Silberman School of Social Welfare. Her dissertation addresses the impact of stress, vicarious trauma and structural racism on social workers practicing in district attorney offices while supporting intimate partner violence survivors.

Dr. Williams is co-author on the recent book Learning to teach, teaching to learn: A guide for social work field education, 3rd Edition (2019) published by the Council on Social Work Education.

Born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn, Onleilove Chika Alston brings over 13 years of community organizing and advocacy experience and more than 17 years in the non-profit sector to her teaching and leadership roles. She has led community organizing and advocacy campaigns across New York City State as well as nationally and internationally. Currently, she serves as the Social Worker for the Neighborhood Initiatives Development Corporation, where she oversees the Family Support Network, offering trauma-informed workshops and programming for parents and child caregivers.

Onleilove is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, teaching Foundations of Social Work Practice: Decolonizing Social Work, Spirituality, Religion, and Social Work, and Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Spirituality, Religion, and Social Work. She also teaches the History of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and the Marginalized for Union Theological Seminary’s MPS program at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. Additionally, she teaches Criminal Justice and Corrections at Hope International University and courses in Social Justice for Southern New Hampshire University.

Onleilove earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development with a minor in African American Studies from Penn State University. In 2011, she completed dual Master’s degrees in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and Social Work from Columbia University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at Virginia Union University, focusing her research on West African Jewish communities. Her scholarly work is reflected in her book, Prophetic Whirlwind, which explores African and African American Jewish communities, justice, and communal healing. The book, based on extensive travel and research, is the only work by an African American woman to examine Jewish communities in West Africa. For her research she lived in Ghana, West Africa and traveled   to various countries in Africa and the Middle East. 

Onleilove’s leadership has been recognized through her role as the youngest member of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Clergy Advisory Council and her service on Mayor Eric Adams’ Faith Transition Committee. She has testified before the United Nations on the impact of mass incarceration on Black women and girls. Her writing has appeared in Sojourners Magazine, HuffPost Religion, NY Daily News, and NPR’s On Being, among print and online publications.

Beyond her professional and academic pursuits, Onleilove is passionate about travel, has a large extended family and lives in Harlem. 

Highlights

• Organized and led the Faith Over Fear Civic Engagement Campaign, mobilizing over 90 congregations and 30 faith institutions to create a progressive policy platform and voter engagement strategy, ultimately reaching more than 20,000 faith-based voters across New York.

• Directed New York’s largest faith-based community organizing federation, representing 100 multi-faith, multi-racial congregations and serving 80,000 families.

Research Interest

• The Implicit Bias of Colorism and its Impact on the Criminalization of Black Women and Girls. 
• The History of Community Organizing in East New York, Brooklyn
• Faith-Based Community Organizing and Advocacy. 
• African and African American Jewish communities. 

Grants & Projects

• 2022-2023 l NYC Office of Civic Engagement TRIE Neighborhood Coordinator (TNC) for the Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE)  neighborhoods of Morningside Heights and Hamilton Heights

Selected Published Works 

• Alston, O.C. (2020). A Litany for Anchoring and Energizing Justice Work with Sabbath, Contemplation, and Community. In B. Winn Lee (Ed.), Rally. Nashville, TN: Fresh Air Books.
• Alston, O.C. (2015). The New Jim Crow: A Poem. S.D. King (Ed.), Out of the Depths: Poetry of Poverty–Courage and Resilience. Duluth, MN: Holy Cow! Press.
• Let’s Reform Our Broken Criminal Justice System. (2016). Religion & Politics Magazine.
• In rezoning, a tale of two cities: Poorer, black, and Latino neighborhoods and wealthier, predominantly white ones still get treated very differently by the city. (Sep 12, 2016). NY Daily News.
• Is Dark Skin A Sin? Colorism & Criminal Justice (2015). Sojourners & CBE Voices of Color Blogs.
• We Are Not an Island: Queen Quet, The Gullah/Guchee People & Their Struggle for Environmental Justice. (July 2014). Sojourners Magazine.
• Connecting The Dots: Hurricane Sandy, Racism, Climate Change & Poverty. (2013). Sojourners Magazine
• Romney vs. Reality: A Social Worker’s Perspective. (2012). HuffPost Religion.
• New York Domestic Workers Call for Rights. (2010). Sojourners Blog.
• Destroying West Virginia, One Mountain At A Time: The Battle for The Mountains in West Virginia. (2010). Sojourners Magazine.
• A Call to Action for Healthcare Equality. (2007) The Black Commentator

Dr. Noel B. Ramirez is a Graduate School of Columbia lecturer and has taught graduate social work courses CSSW since 2016.  He received his MSW from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, a graduate degree in public health from Drexel University in 2012, and a doctorate in behavioral health from Arizona State University in 2020.  During the past 16 years, Dr. Ramirez has been involved in community health initiatives providing care access (HIV/AIDS, MAT, Recovery/Resilience-oriented care, and integrated health care in federally qualified health centers).  He is the Founder and Director of Mango Tree Counseling & Consulting, an Asian-American Mental Health Social Enterprise that focuses on the unique mental health needs faced by AAPI communities in the diaspora.  Dr. Ramirez was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ, bowls regularly in various leagues, and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Nino Makharadze Ortiz, LCSW, is a Lecturer at the Columbia School of Social Work and a Project Manager at Mount Sinai Hospital. She specializes in clinical practice, with a focus on depression, bipolar disorder, and clinical case evaluation.

In addition to her academic role, Mrs. Makharadze Ortiz brings over a decade of experience in healthcare systems and clinical social work. At Mount Sinai, she leads large-scale initiatives to enhance clinical workflows across multiple hospital sites, contributing to improved patient care and operational efficiency. Her earlier clinical work includes providing comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, care coordination, and transitional case management for medically complex patients.

Mrs. Makharadze Ortiz has also provided psychotherapy in private practice, working with diverse populations across a range of mental health concerns. Her clinical and research interests center on emotion regulation, trauma, and psychopathology. She holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, where she graduated summa cum laude, and is a licensed clinical social worker in New York.

Natalie Mena is an accomplished psychotherapist, business owner, and mental health advocate for communities of color. Natalie received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Binghamton University and was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. She then went on to receive a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work. Natalie also received a 2-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program certificate from the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society & Institute in New York City. 

Natalie has been providing quality clinical care as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R) since 2011. She is experienced in working with adults, families & children, individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), and substance abuse. Natalie is passionate about helping others and treating those affected by trauma, anxiety, and depression. As an advocate for equitable mental health care access, Natalie’s interest in understanding complex trauma is a staple to helping others access care that they may need.

As a student at CSSW, Natalie participated in Undoing Racism workshops that helped shaped her professional career. As an esteemed adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, Natalie enjoys teaching courses including Building Resilience to Trauma, Foundations of Social Work, and Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice. She actively engages in matters that address racism in behavioral health care, creates workshops around mental health education and treatment, provides psychoeducation around trauma, and cultivating ways for self-care from a culturally competent framework.

Natalie Ginsburg is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her MSSW degree from Columbia University's School of Social Work. Prior to that, Natalie was an elementary and middle school teacher in both rural and urban schools.

Since 2015, Natalie has worked as a school social worker at Community Roots Charter School, an intentionally-integrated elementary school in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. She provides individual and small group counseling and works closely with families and staff.

Natalie has been a volunteer and advocate with Parole Preparation Project (PPP) since 2016. PPP supports currently and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers through advocacy, litigation, and community care.

Natalie has been an instructor for Human Behavior and the Social Environment and Core Concepts in Childhood and Adolescent Trauma, as well as a Teaching Associate for Social Work Research, Social Welfare Policy, and Direct Practice II.

Natacha Jacques, a New York native, received her BS in Psychology and her MS in Experimental Psychology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She then began working at the Veterans Affair Medical Center in 2008 within their Mental Illness Research Education Clinical Center (MIRECC) in a dual position: psychology technician conducting telephone-based triaging interviews with Veterans interested in connecting to mental health services as well as a research coordinator for various studies focusing on the treatment of substance use, depression, PTSD, and pain. In 2014, she earned her MSW and M.Ed. focusing on Human Sexuality from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies (CHSS) at Widener University in Chester, PA. She completed her doctoral work from the same program with a research focus on female veterans’ sexual functioning, mental wellness, and their relationship with their primary care providers, earning her Ph.D. in August of 2020.

Natacha has worked with adult male sex offenders post-incarceration providing relapse prevention treatment as mandated by their parole and probation stipulations within a group and individual setting. Present day, she is at the VA Medical Center working as a subject matter expert on software implementation for measurement based care projects and as a clinician within Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) caring for veterans with a myriad of mild to moderate mental and behavioral health concerns within a primary care setting. She has worked for Columbia University’s School of Social Work (CSSW) since 2016 and currently holds the position of an Adjunct Lecturer, leading classes focusing on human sexuality and clinical practices with sexual minorities for master’s level students. She provides clinical supervision to LSWs, consultation to other clinical sexologists on training materials and conference presentations, and has made guest appearances on a podcasts discussing sexuality and sexual myths.

Natacha believes, wholeheartedly, in the intersection of sexual health and mental health, which continues to drive her research interests, clinical practice, and teaching style. Her future goals all center around destigmatizing conversations around sexual functioning, decolonizing the clinical approach to treating sexual concerns, and dismantling the system of power that continues to oppress women’s sexuality.

As an authority on engaged learning, Murali Nair combines traditional cross national value systems with evidence based knowledge in the classroom setting.

Over his 47-year academic career, Murali Nair has served as a BSW, MSW, and DSW professor and administrator at five universities in the United States and as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at three overseas universities.

In his last positions, Nair was the Clinical Professor of Social Change and Innovation at University of Southern California (2012-2020) and a Professor and the Director of the School of Social Work at Cleveland State University (1992-2012).

His areas of teaching expertise include macro practice, social enterprise, social responsibility, wellbeing innovation, harnessing technology for social good, advancing long and productive lives, and social responses to changing environments. He also offers weekly mentoring sessions to students and alumni on career options and publications.

Nair has published extensively around social development, including 15 books, nine short documentaries, and over 100 journal articles and peer reviewed paper presentations at national and international conferences. His latest books include Evidence Based Macro Social Work Practice (3rd edition), Engaged Learning, Leading and Managing Human Service Organizations (4tth edition), and coauthored three articles in the recent issue of Encyclopedia of Social Work.

He is a CSWE member of the Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice and an Associate Editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work. 

Some of Nair’s recent teaching-service awards include:

• Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Service to the University, the School and the Community, University of Southern California (2019, 2015, 2014)
• The Frances Feldman Excellence in Education Award, The California Social Welfare Archives (2017)
• National Policy Fellow Lead Mentor Award: National Network for Social Work Management (2017)
• Distinguished Mentoring Award: CSWE-APM conference in Denver (2018)
• President’s (White House) Volunteer Action Award (2012)
• Columbia University School of Social Work Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee (2011)
• Distinguished Faculty Award for Service, Multi-culturalism and Teaching, Cleveland State University (2011, 2006, 2002)
• Senior Fulbright Scholar Award (2010)
• Certificate of Special United States Congressional Recognition for Outstanding Services to Community (2009)

He holds an MSW from Loyola College of Social Sciences, an MS in Computer Science from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from the Columbia University School of Social Work

Morgan Ritacco, LICSW, LCSW is the high school division social worker at The Lab School of Washington for nearly a decade. The Lab School, a private nonprofit school in DC, specializes in educating students who are diagnosed with language-based learning differences. Ms. Ritacco also serves as the Director of The Lower School Summer Program and maintains an outpatient practice providing individual therapy to children, adolescents, and families. Ms. Ritacco supervises MSW students from CSSW and The University of Maryland.

Prior to The Lab School, Ms. Ritacco worked in a community-based mental health organization providing trauma focused crisis intervention services to children and families in the Washington, DC region. She also worked in schools providing services to students diagnosed with emotional disabilities.

A native to Florida, Ms. Ritacco earned her BSW and MSW from The Florida State University with a focus in Child Welfare. Ms. Ritacco moved to the Washington, DC region in 2008 and currently lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia. Morgan joined CSSW as an Associate in 2019. She has also been an Adjunct Instructor at Wilmington University since 2016.

Moradeyo Adeyi, LCSW, SIFI, is a seasoned psychotherapist, educator, and clinical supervisor with over a decade of experience in mental health and social work. She is an adjunct professor at both Columbia University and Hunter College, where she teaches foundational courses in social work practice with a strong emphasis on social justice and systemic change. Moradeyo has provided therapy across diverse clinical settings, specializing in trauma-informed care, relational dynamics, and maternal mental health.

In December 2024, she established her own private practice, Lovewell Psychotherapy, where she offers compassionate, evidence-based therapy to individuals and couples. Her practice reflects a deep commitment to healing, empowerment, and culturally affirming care.

Monica Foote is the Director of Workforce Development at Project Renewal. In this role, she manages a team of job developers, trainers, and case managers to help New Yorkers with significant barriers to employment obtain and keep jobs throughout the city. Her work is focused on special populations including formerly incarcerated persons, individuals with mental health diagnosis, clients with substance use histories, and individuals that are currently or formerly homeless. Prior to her work in the nonprofit world, Monica spent seven years as the Director of Human Resources and Marketing at DevonWay, an enterprise software company in California.

Monica currently sits on the Board of Directors for New Women New Yorkers, which empowers young immigrant women through workforce development and community building. She previously volunteered at Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco for five years and was a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in the dependent court system. Monica received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University.

Monica A. Joseph retired as Vice President of Treatment Services from ARTC/URI, a multisite nonprofit. During here twenty year career there, she managed outpatient and residential behavioral health care programs serving a variety of vulnerable populations, including domestic violence survivors, persons diagnosed with substance use and/or co-occurring disorders, persons with intellectual challenges, incarcerated adolescents, and adults receiving criminal justice supervision. For approximately ten years, Dr. Joseph also provided clinical administration to NYPCC’s Continuing Day Treatment Programs, which serves persons diagnosed with serious mental illness. Dr. Joseph has taught at CUNY since 2003, and has presented and published on chemical dependency, discrimination, and mental illness.  She holds an MSW and PhD in Social Policy and Policy Analysis from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Dr. Michelle Salvaggio, LCSW-R, maintains a private practice in the Hudson Valley, where she provides clinical services to individuals and families coping with trauma and mental illness. Prior to opening her practice, she served in community mental health clinics in Queens and Brooklyn, as well as school, foster care, and preventive services programs in the Bronx. She has also served as a clinical supervisor, field instructor, and trainer in Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting. She has taught as an adjunct professor in the Silberman School of Social Work’s Human Behavior in the Social Environment course, and served on the board of the Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP), a parent advocacy organization in East Harlem. Dr. Salvaggio earned her BA in Psychology and English from Rutgers University (2001) and her MS from the Columbia School of Social Work (2004).

Michael Bodtmann, LCSW, is a certified school social worker who serves as a clinician and director of DBT services in two New Jersey group private practices. Prior to his work in private practice, Mr. Bodtmann served as a DBT program coordinator, in which role he designed and facilitated a DBT program for youth requiring intensive psychiatric services in a therapeutic high school. He has provided psychiatric and substance use services to adolescents in school based settings in New Jersey and New York City, and worked in medical settings with children, adolescents, and families. Mr. Bodtmann has participated in research on DBT, suicide and self harm screening, and spirituality in clinical practice.

Mr. Bodtmann is an alumnus of Columbia University’s DBT Training Program and Lab. He completed additional DBT training with adolescents, families, and individuals with complex behavioral disorders. He has conducted presentations and trainings on DBT, and on adapting the treatment for adolescents in school settings. He provides education on DBT to schools, practitioners, and community members

Adjunct Lecturer Bomar received his bachelors as a graduate of Winthrop University with a minor focused in Business Administration, and received his masters from the University of South Carolina. Bomar has experience in providing clinical practice and executive management within statutory guidelines, with a focus in regulatory and policy development with program implementation. His professional experience spans 20 + years. During this time accumulating experience in executive management, and as an independent clinical therapist with various populations in areas such as medical practice, and behavioral health.
Currently, Bomar is a supervisor of a Program Integrity Department of a managed care organization (MCO) in NC, responsible for preventing, detecting, and identifying fraud, waste, and abuse within their respective network. Michael holds clinical licensure in North and South Carolina, also holding the Accredited Healthcare Fraud Investigator (AHFI) designation through the National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA).

Areas of Specialty: Project Management, Process Mapping/Development, Strategic Planning, Program Compliance, Risk Management, Financial & Data Analysis, Quality Assurance, Program Development.

Melissa Meinhart has a PhD in Social Policy from Columbia University’s School of Social Work with a social science concentration in economics. Dr. Meinhart’s research focuses on the development of methodologies to critically measure and examine the underlying constructs that perpetuate gendered inequities and social discordance in low- and middle-income countries, particularly within humanitarian emergencies. Her career in social work began while working with street children in Ghana. She was a caseworker and direct-practice researcher for refugee resettlement in the United States before focusing her attention on global humanitarian policy and research. In addition to her adjunct teaching positions, Dr. Meinhart works as an independent consultant in humanitarian emergencies across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the South Pacific.

Dr. Mathylde Frontus is the Founder and Principal of Avant-Garde Consulting and Avant-Garde Behavioral Health Resources. Through her firms, she partners with nonprofit organizations across New York City to provide management consulting, board development, staff training, and professional development workshops.

Dr. Frontus brings more than 25 years of experience in social work, having founded and led multiple organizations and coalitions. Her career spans micro, mezzo, and macro practice, including her recent role as a New York State Assemblymember from November 2018 to December 2022 (D-46). During her tenure, she served on six committees including Aging, Mental Health, and Children & Families, and was the first Chair of the Minority Mental Health Subcommittee.

Dr. Frontus earned her BSW and MSW from the New York University Silver School of Social Work, an M.A. in Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from the Columbia School of Social Work, where she specialized in Social Policy and Administration.

She currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU Silver, where she has developed and taught courses including Advocacy and Social Justice and Political Social Work for Advocacy and Social Change. She also teaches Social Welfare Policy and Advocacy in Social Work Practice at the Columbia School of Social Work.

Marybec Griffin is a behavioral scientist with training in public health and policy. She holds a PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from New York University, an MPH in global health leadership also from New York University, a MA in international affairs from the New School, and a BA in political science and international studies from the University of St. Thomas.  Marybec is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy at the Rutgers University School of Public Health.  Her research interests include LGBTQ+ health, condom and sex messages in rap and pop music, menstrual health stigma and education, and access to sexual healthcare services. She’s also half of Dr. Period Hackers, a Twitter menstrual education account, and is working on a research project called Bloody Women: Slasher Films and the Female Viewer.  

Prior to her academic career, Marybec worked at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where she designed programs for harm reduction counseling for people living with HIV.   Marybec also developed the Doing it NYC mobile app to help people of all sexual orientations and gender identities find sexual and reproductive healthcare services.  

Marybec is also a trained full-spectrum doula and a certified sexologist. She is passionate about helping people connect to bodies and centering sexuality as an innately human experience. She also provides counseling around contraception and menstruation.  When she isn’t teaching or writing, Marybec indulges in her creative side via baking and making handmade cards. She is also a tarot enthusiast and is a forever student of the French language.

Martin G. Englisher, CEO of the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood (the “Y”), grew up down the block from the organization he has led since 1981. Over the years, Mr. Englisher’s visionary leadership of the Y has been a positive force for the community, especially as he steered programming to serve the needs of a diverse and evolving neighborhood. His approach has always been to be an active visible leader in the community, and he has positioned the Y as a key player at many tables. Under his leadership, the Y has developed outstanding services at multiple locations in Manhattan for neighborhood families, including diverse youth programs, accessible social services in three different languages, and a housing facility for senior citizens, the Wien House.

He has been actively involved with the New York Police Department both at the precinct level and citywide, and especially with the NYPD Cadet Corps providing training and guidance to police officers. He has mentored hundreds of NYPD officers, starting with their initial employment and throughout their careers—some of whom are Commanding Officers today. In 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg awarded Mr. Englisher the NYC Small Business Services Award for Leadership, as a person who has significantly impacted a community over a lifetime. Mr. Englisher has chaired the Management Caucus of the New York region of UJA Community Centers and has negotiated collective bargaining agreements for the multi-employer group for over three decades. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences and meetings both locally and nationally, and a coach to newer CEOs joining the field.

Dr. Badillo-Diaz is an experienced school administrator and counseling director with a demonstrated history of working in community mental health and in education as a social worker. Currently, Dr. Badillo-Diaz is a consultant focusing on the training of educators, supervision of social workers, and program evaluation with MABD Consulting. She is also an adjunct professor and board member of the National School Social Work Association of America. Her area of interest includes child & adolescent mental health, school social work practice, community partnership development, social-emotional learning programming, 21st-century skills, leadership, clinical supervision for social workers, data management, program evaluation, grant writing, and career development.

I am an Associate Professor at Westfield State University Graduate Social Work Program, Adjunct Professor at Smith College School for Social Work, and Course Facilitator at Boston University, School of Social Work. In addition to my Doctoral and Master degrees in Clinical Social Work from Smith College, I hold a Masters in Business Administration from Western New England College.

My research area is in political psychology, with a focus on American immigration policy, immigrant integration, and contemporary rising sociopolitical ideologies in Europe and the United States--nationalism, nativism, populism, and white power groups discourse. I have presented my work in Europe, the United States and Canada, including at the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), and Processes Influencing Democratic Ownership and Participation (PIDOP), part of the European Commission, under the Seventh Framework Programme. My most recent publications include two books, "Psychological Borders in Europe and the United States: Contemporary Nationalism, Nativism and Populism" (November, 2023), and "White Nativism, Ethnic Identity and U. S. Immigration Policy Reforms: American Citizenship and Children in Mixed Status, Hispanic Families" (2018).

My clinical social work experience has ranged from individual/family therapy with adults, children and college students in outpatient/inpatient and college settings, to supervision and program start up, development and management. I continue to maintain a clinical practice, working primarily with the Latinx and immigrant communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Maria Astudillo, is a Chilean immigrant who came to the USA over 40 years ago with a scholarship to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. Maria chose to remain in the United States since her home country was under military rule.

She began her professional career at the Mount Sinai’s Adolescent Health Center, during that time she ran groups and provided individual therapy to adolescent girls with histories of sexual abuse.  She also worked at the NYU Child Study Center where she provided services to survivors of 9/11. At that time, she also worked with The American Red Cross providing group therapy in Spanish to the families of workers who died in the WTC attacks.  

Maria worked for 11 years at the Children’s Aid Society where she reached the position of Deputy Director of Mental Health Services, overseeing mental health programs in school-based clinics, foster care and community mental health clinics.  Currently, she is the Assistant Executive Director for Health Services at Forestdale Inc, a foster care agency in Queens and has a private practice focused on clinical supervision.

Maria is a proud single parent by choice of a 22 years old son, an advocate of children’s mental health services and works as a pro bono consultant/ trainer with The Young Center a non-profit organization that services unaccompanied immigrant youth.  In her free time, she loves to travel.

Margarita Carson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State, specializing in individual and couples therapy. Margarita was inspired to enter the field of social work by witnessing the mental health disparities in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Her purpose is to ensure everyone is provided with quality mental health services and lives a healthy life. As a solution-focused therapist, Margarita has been honored to make a difference in the lives of people through improving self-confidence and assisting them through challenging times.

Margarita graduated from Phoenix University in 2008 with a master’s degree in Public Administration and Management and the University of New England in 2014 with an MSW. She is currently attending Walden University as a PhD candidate in Public Policy and Administration.

Through her academic studies, experience, and passion she continues to engage people through a strength-based lens and compassionate counseling. Margarita strives to examine and correct practice through the lens of racial equity, dismantling systemic and institutional barriers to the well-being, stability, and success of clients, families, and community.

Madelyn Bart, LCSW, received her Master of Science in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University, where she was a member of Columbia University’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy Training Program and Lab. In addition to standard DBT, Madelyn has received advanced training through Behavioral Tech LLC in DBT for anti-racism, adolescents, eating disorders, and trauma. She also has extensive training in other evidence-based interventions including Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Clinical Perfectionism.

Madelyn is currently the Director of DBT Services at MindWell NYC, a group private practice in New York City. In this position, she provides DBT and CBT to adolescents and adults throughout the lifespan, supervises licensed clinicians, leads the DBT Consultation Team, and co-facilitates the Eating Disorder Consultation Team. Prior to her work at MindWell NYC, Madelyn was a therapist and clinical supervisor at Columbus Park Eating Disorder Experts, where she delivered CBT-E and DBT therapy to college students and adults struggling with eating disorders, body image issues, and trauma. She has also provided trauma-focused therapy and coordinated services for adolescents, young adults, and their families in residential and medical settings. Madelyn is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the New York City Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association.

Lyndsi is a licensed psychologist, receiving her doctoral degree in School Psychology from Rutgers University. Lyndsi was intensively trained in DBT by Behavioral Tech and has completed advanced training in DBT with special populations including families, couples, individuals with PTSD, and individuals with eating disorders. Her clinical experience has focused on treating emotional dysregulation throughout the life course. She has a particular expertise in behavioral observation, consultation, and interventions, and she is a devoted advocate and educator for families and other professionals. In addition to her clinical experience, Lyndsi also also has an expertise in school-based services to support students within their educational setting.

Lucia McBee, LCSW, received her Master’s in both Social and Public Health from Columbia University. She worked for over 30 years with elders, high risk populations and persons with chronic conditions as well as their caregivers in a wide range of community, research, and institutional settings. During this time, she developed a pioneering practice using mindfulness as well as other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities to improve the quality of life in community, hospital, clinic and nursing home settings. She trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness in 1997. She also completed training in in Mind/Body/Spirit Medicine at the Center for Mind/Body Medicine in 2000, and in 2008, Lucia became a certified Kripalu yoga teacher.

Since 1994, Lucia has taught MBSR to a wide variety of populations including frail elders and caregivers, college students, persons with HIV, those recently released from incarceration, and health care professionals, as well as courses for the general population. Lucia is currently a freelance author, teacher and consultant who regularly publishes and teaches nationally and internationally on mindfulness. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work. Mindfulness-Based Elder Care: A CAM Model for Frail Elders and Their Caregivers, her book describing her work with elders and caregivers, was published in 2008. For more information on Lucia see: www.luciamcbee.com.

Lindsay Chester, LCSW, is the Founder and Clinical Director of City Behavioral Health. She
earned her BA from the George Washington University and her Masters in Social Work from
Fordham University with an emphasis on addiction and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.

Lindsay has extensive experience working in addiction treatment, in both a clinical and
research capacity, and has worked in inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. Lindsay has
held several positions at the world-renowned Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation where her
clinical work focused on the treatment of addiction with emerging adults [18-35] and their
families. She has extensive training and clinical experience in the implementation of
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in its fully adherent form. In addition to her background in
DBT, Lindsay has advanced post graduate training in couples and family therapy from the
nationally recognized Ackerman Institute for the Family as well as the Gottman Institute.

Lindsay’s private group practice, City Behavioral Health, focuses on the treatment of
individuals with complex psychiatric needs, addictive disorders and personality disorders.
Treatment emphasis is placed on integrating behavioral interventions [DBT, CBT and ERP]
with more traditional methods of addiction treatment. Lindsay has emerged as a leader in the
field with her innovative perspective on the integration of addiction treatment and DBT. She
teaches and trains the clinicians and staff of multiple treatment centers on DBT and how to
integrate its principles into general practice.

Dr. Lena L. Green, DSW, LCSW, currently serves as the executive director of the HOPE Center, a community-based mental health clinic connected to Harlem’s historic First Corinthian Baptist Church. Prior to her role at the HOPE Center, Dr. Green held several positions in New York City government including deputy director of the Office of Substance Use, Policy, Planning and Monitoring at the city’s Human Resources Administration. In her more than 20 years of direct practice and management experience as a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, fatherhood practitioner, professor, and administrator, Dr. Green has had a tremendous impact on countless New Yorkers. She is skilled in various areas of mental health, program planning, development, clinical supervision and building strategic partnerships.

A licensed clinical social worker, Dr. Green’s research interests include mental health, trauma-informed clinical practices, fatherhood, maternal health, pregnant and parenting families, child-parent attachment, and perinatal mood disorders. Dr. Green has a deep commitment to community, working with underserved and marginalized populations. Her work explores the experiences of young fathers and the impact on paternal involvement on family dynamics. She is devoted to promoting open dialogue around the destigmitazation of father absence, men’s mental health, and ensuring that all children have access to both parents in a safe co-parenting environment.

Dr. Green has received several awards and has been recognized as a leader by national organization as well as her peers. She received the National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter’s Social Work I.M.P.A.C.T. Award in 2019. The award, which is the chapter’s highest honor, is presented to a social worker who “exemplifies the commitment to social justice, equity, empowerment, and civil rights, through their work, research, advocacy, practice, embodiment of the social work profession, and their dedication to the communities and individuals they serve.” In 2015, she also received the chapter’s Mid-Career Leadership Award. Most recently, in 2019, she was inducted into the Pi Pi Chapter of the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society. In the same year, she was selected as an honoree for the Living the Dream Award by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. In 2016 Dr. Green was granted the Cause Marketing Summit Awesome Possum Award for Distinguished Leadership and she was named Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated’s Human Services Award recipient for outstanding service in 2015.

Dr. Green, a native of Harlem, holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in social work from New York University  and received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Dr. Green completed post-master’s certificates in Advance Clinical Practice from Hunter College, and the Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Addicted Clients from NYU. Dr. Green serves on several boards throughout the northeast and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Laurie C. Maldonado is a social worker, educator, advocate, and an international scholar on single-parent families and policy. She is Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW). She holds a MSW and PhD in social welfare at UCLA.

Dr. Maldonado is passionate about teaching the policy and research series at CSSW. Since 2016, she has taught several courses at CSSW, sharing her expertise in comparative social policy and research. She designed and led a Comparative Welfare State course, which explored the role of social welfare and social policy across countries, including international study trips to Europe.

Her research focuses on gender inequality, poverty, and the interaction between social policy and families, aiming to inform policies, programs, and practices that improve the lives of single parents and their families in the U.S. and globally. Her work is cross-national and comparative, using quantitative data analysis. She was awarded a four-year PhD grant by the Luxembourg National Research Fund, which fully funded her dissertation, Doing Better for Single-Parent Families: Policy and Poverty in 45 Countries. Her research highlights the effectiveness of child support, child benefits, paid leave, and working time policies in reducing poverty for families. Prior to her PhD, she was a pre-doctoral scholar and researcher at The Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and The LIS Cross-National Data Center.  

Dr. Maldonado's research has been featured in leading publications, including ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Community, Work, and Family, Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology, the Belgian Social Security Review, the Handbook of Research on In-Work Poverty, and the Handbook of Family Policy. In 2016, her joint research with Rense Nieuwenhuis (Stockholm University) was nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. Her findings have been cited in policy reports by UN Women, the European Union, and as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate poverty.

Dr. Maldonado co-edited a book The Triple Bind of Single-Parent Families (Bristol University Press), which highlights how single parents face a triple bind of inadequate resources, employment, and policy – which combined, make it really difficult for single parents to provide for themselves and their children. The book presents evidence from over 40 countries, suggesting that these challenges are less about individual factors and more about structural factors that warrant policy solutions. Leading international scholars contribute rigorous research on effective policies to support single-parent families.

She also co-authored the influential report Worst Off: Single-Parent Families in the United States with Tim Casey from Legal Momentum. The study made an important contribution towards understanding the difficult plight of single parents in the U.S. as mostly due to the lack of social policies and protections that are available in other high-income countries.

In 2022, Dr. Maldonado, along with Janet Gornick (Graduate Center CUNY) and Amanda Sheely (London School of Economics) organized an international conference and co-edited a volume on Single-Parent Families and Public Policy in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The volume, available to the public for free, was designed to impact U.S. policy by examining effective approaches from high-income countries. The editorial team with Isabelle Sawhill from Brookings Institute, launched a high-profile event with public policy scholars and policy makers that tackled: What does the social science research tell us about what’s most effective in helping single-parent families? What are the prospects for policy reform in the United States? The Brookings Institute Event successfully translated the research to the public and policy stakeholders.

Looking ahead, Dr. Maldonado’s future research and work will continue to focus on families. Her next project will explore how public policy can better support shared parenting after separation and blended families.

Dr. Maldonado loves the social work profession. Prior to her PhD, she worked as a social worker in community-based organizations that served women and children, an experience that continues to shape her research and teaching.

Lauren Taylor, M.A., M.S., L.C.S.W. psychiatric social worker and oral historian, is a Senior Lecturer at the Columbia University School of Social Work, and a graduate of the first cohort of Columbia’s Oral History Master of Arts program. Ms. Taylor has been on staff for many years at the Service Program for Older People (SPOP), a mental health clinic for older adults. 

Ms. Taylor gives seminars and workshops on a wide variety of mental health issues related to the aging process, with a focus on the therapeutic use of narrative. In 2002, in conjunction with CSSW and the Hartford Foundation, she made an educational film about sexuality and aging and, in 2005, a second teaching film in which she brought together social work students at CSSW with older women, for a dialogue about the challenges facing women across the life span. 

As an oral historian, Ms. Taylor has conducted dozens of life history interviews with older adults, both in the United States and abroad, and is studying the subjective experience of aging through the medium of narrative in a cross-cultural context.  
Ms. Taylor has lectured and published on the therapeutic use of oral history and life review for an aging population. Most recently, she collaborated with a social work researcher in Hong Kong, and CSSW professor Ada Mui, on a book for Columbia University Press about the therapeutic use of narrative with older adults in the East and the West.

Laura D. Miller, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Brooklyn. She has a special interest in issues related to immigration, and focuses on bilingual/bicultural work with Latinx immigrants. She works with Physicians in Human Rights providing pro bono psychological evaluations for asylum seekers. She previously served as a psychotherapist and supervisor at Interborough Developmental and Consultation Centers, and has treated a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder.

Ms. Miller has published and presented on issues including problems of transition with adolescent immigrants, and the impact of parental infidelity on adult clients. Her work has been published in the Clinical Social Work Journal. She is an Associate Editor of the academic journal Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She is a contributor to the Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Action blog for Psychology Today. At CSSW, she has taught Direct Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups and Adult Psychopathology and Pathways to Wellness. She also teaches in the social work graduate schools at Fordham University and CUNY Hunter College.

Ms. Miller is the Director of the License Qualifying Program in Psychoanalysis at the William Alanson White Institute, where she earned a certificate in psychoanalysis. She earned her BA in sociology from New York University, and her MSW from CUNY Hunter College, with a Certificate of Specialization in Children, Youth, and Families.

Dr. Kimberly Grocher earned a BS in Psychology from Towson University in Baltimore, MD, MSW from Howard University in Washington DC, MA in Media Studies & Media Management from The New School in New York City and PhD in Social Work from Fordham University in New York City. She completed post-graduate training in Psychodynamic Couple Therapy at the Training Institute for Mental Health in NYC and received coach training through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC). She completed yoga teacher training at Yoga Haven in Scarsdale, NY and she is a qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, as well as a graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program facilitated by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Her research focuses on mind-body therapies to improve health outcomes for Black women. She was a fellow in the inaugural Media & Medicine program at Harvard Medical School where she focused on creating content addressing health disparities in Black women using yoga.

Dr. Grocher has provided psychotherapy, executive coaching, and consultation services in numerous settings in the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro area, South Florida, and New York City including inpatient and outpatient mental health/substance abuse facilities, sub-acute/long-term care, corporations and private practice. She maintains a private practice serving clients in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois and Florida. She provides psychotherapy to couples and professional women who are navigating mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, and reproductive mental health concerns. Her executive coaching services focus on high performers and entrepreneurs who want to achieve their career, business and leadership goals while aligning their lifestyle goals to achieve optimal health, wellness and satisfaction in all areas of their life. In addition to integrating yoga and mindfulness practices into her work with clients, Dr. Grocher offers individual and small group yoga and meditation sessions with new yogis in mind.

Dr. Grocher also has extensive experience as a trainer and educator. She is a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work and Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Grocher has presented on topics related to health, wellness, media, anti-racism and cultural humility in health care, academia, and clinical practice. She is also an expert speaker on performance, leadership and non-profit management in organizations and has shared her expertise at national and international conferences. She hosts the Thriving Outside the Box podcast shedding light on the stories of leaders and entrepreneurs across industries who dared to create and walk their own path in their careers, lives and businesses while centering their wellness and providing inspiration for how listeners can do the same. Dr. Kimberly Grocher, the host, also provides listeners with insights on how to thrive mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually while living a life outside of the box.

Kimberly Westcott is a Senior Program Officer in Criminal Justice Grantmaking with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where her work focuses on promoting thriving Black and brown communities through community-led health and lived-experience-centered restorative initiatives that transform punitive systems.

Formerly Associate Counsel at the Community Service Society (CSS), a 175-year-old anti-poverty organization, and a labor and employment attorney with the New York City Transit Authority, Dr. Westcott has worked to remove barriers to employment impacting the formerly incarcerated and to create living wage career pathways that resource communities of color.  At CSS, Dr. Westcott’s cultural organizing led to her founding and producing the Full Participation Is a Human Right Conference and Arts Festival (2018-2020) and the intersectional conversation series The Color Line in the 21^st Century.

Dr. Westcott’s academic interests include social welfare and disrupting the process of racialization, criminalization, and exclusion. She aims to build power with groups and communities of color by advancing health and full political, economic, and social participation in accord with human rights norms.  She explored these topics in her doctoral thesis, Fictive Citizenship: A Genealogy of the Social Construction of the Black Male and the Penal Process in the U.S., 1790-1930.

Dr. Westcott holds a BA in history from Yale, an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work, and a PhD in Social Welfare Policy from Columbia. She is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law– Newark.  Dr. Westcott developed and teaches CSSW’s course “Race, Representation, Criminalization and Exclusion: Black Americans in the United States Criminal Punishment System”; writes opinion pieces on race and social justice;, and has published several articles that advance a life-course-development/human rights approach to changing the punishment paradigm, including “Race, Criminalization and Historical Trauma in the United States: Making the Case for a New Justice Framework,” Traumatology 21(4), 273-284 (2015).

Kerry Moles has worked at the intersection of intimate partner violence and child welfare for more than 30 years. Currently she serves as CEO of Court Appointed Special Advocates of NYC (CASA-NYC), a volunteer-based non-profit providing advocacy for children, youth and families impacted by the foster care system. Prior to joining CASA in 2015, Kerry worked at Children's Aid for 15 years where was the founding director of the Family Wellness Program, serving families experiencing intimate partner violence, and later served as Deputy Director for Children and Family Services overseeing domestic violence and youth justice programs.  Kerry's early career included work in a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, residential treatment for children, and the NYC Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP.)  She is recognized internationally for her expertise in teen relationship abuse and abusive partner intervention. She is the author of The Relationship Workbook, The Teen Relationship Workbook and Strategies for Anger Management. Kerry received her MSW from Fordham University and her BFA from Emerson College and has served as an adjunct professor at CUSSW since 2011.

Keren Ludwig, LCSW, is a New York-based psychotherapist, trainer and consultant. In her private practice she sees couples, families, and individuals, and specializes in issues of inter-personal trauma, family life cycle transition, aligning money and relational values, as well as adolescent development.

Keren has experience working in schools and community-based agencies serving children and families involved in the foster care system, managing life-threatening illnesses, and navigating various forms of trauma. She provides clinical consultation and training to professionals and organizations ranging from supervision, to agency-wide professional development.

She is on the faculty of the Columbia University School of Social Work and the Ackerman Institute for the Family, where she has been a member of the Children and Relational Trauma Project, The Multi-Racial Family Project, The Couples and Intimacies Project and The Money and Family Life Project. She has edited and written articles, and created films to convey the practice of therapy to other professionals. Keren is a consultant to Showtime’s docu-series Couples Therapy and participates in their casting process.

Kelly Smith is the founder and director of the Institute for Social Work and Environmental Justice. In partnership with Adelphi University, she launched the first continuing education certificate program in Environmental Justice for social workers.

Kelly currently serves as an inaugural member of the Grand Challenge Advisory Council for Creating Social Responses to a Changing Environment. She was also a member of the Council for Social Work Education’s Environmental Justice Curricular Guide Task Force, assisting with competency development for the EPAS Curricular Guide Resource Series.

Kelly earned her Doctor of Social Work degree at the University of Southern California in 2020, where she was honored with The Order of Arête and Phi Alpha Honor Society memberships. Kelly holds a master’s degree in Gender and Social Policy from the London School of Economics and another master’s degree in secondary education. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton with a double-major in English Literature and Psychology and a minor in Women’s Studies.

Katrina Balovlenkov, LCSW is the Administrative Director of Montefiore Health System’s AIDS Center and an advocate for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, and people who use drugs.

Katrina has a wealth of expertise implementing best practices for the prevention, care and treatment for People Living with HIV/AIDS, and applying public health policies designed to lessen the negative consequences associated with various high-risk behaviors (i.e., harm reduction).

Katrina’s expertise in healthcare and harm reduction strategies derives from her experience as the Program Director for Whitney M. Young Junior HIV Program (2013-2015), the only federally qualified health center in Albany County, New York, as the Interim Executive Director at New York Harm Reduction Educators (2015-2016), a syringe exchange program providing services in Harlem and the South Bronx, and subsequently as the Director of The Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center (2016-2017). Prior to these executive leadership positions, Katrina’s biography includes eight years of direct clinical experience as a therapist and case manager.

Katrina’s community advocacy is exemplified by her membership in the New York City EMA Ryan White Planning Council’s Integration of Care Committee, her role as the community co-chair for NYSDOH AIDS Institute’s Ending the Epidemic Drug User Health Workgroup, and her membership in the New York State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute Consumer Quality Advisory Council and Sentinel Events Work Group.

Katrina regularly travels throughout New York State to speak on variety of public health topics, such as harm reduction in drug use and sex work, and the Undetectable=Untransmittable ( U=U) movement and it’s implications for clinical practice. Most recently, Katrina delivered a presentation entitled “Bringing the Patient Voice to the Improvement Table: Strategies to Meaningfully Engage Consumers in your Clinical Quality Management Program” at HRSA’s 2018 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment.

Katrina was recognized for her work in HIV prevention, education, and advocacy by the New York State Department of Health at each of the 2016 and 2017 World AIDS Day Celebrations.

Katrina is a 2007 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she earned her MSW. In 2017, the University bestowed upon her the “Alumni of the Year Award”. Katrina received her LCSW-C in 2011. Katrina also received a certificate in Financial Social Work from the Center for Financial Social Work in 2009. Katrina is currently a licensed clinical social work (LCSW) in New York State. Katrina is a certified Naloxone Trainer of Trainers for Overdose Prevention.

Katherine Tineo-Komatsu (she/her/they) is a licensed clinical social worker and registered yoga teacher. Katherine started in the field of social work over 10 years ago. They’ve worked with adults, older adults, young people, young children, families, and groups. She developed her skill set while working in nonprofits, health care, and educational settings with different populations. Katherine attended Brown University and Columbia University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Africana Studies and Master of Science degree in Social Work, respectively. She completed a certificate program at The New School in Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy. Katherine also completed a 200-hr certificate program in teaching yoga and social emotional learning.  

Katherine is currently the Intake Coordinator at Family PEACE Trauma Treatment Center working with young children and their families. Through the NCTSN, she participates in the Trauma and Substance Use and Embodied Holistic Healing collaboratives. She is also embarking on a yearlong journey with NCTSN by participating in the Being Anti-Racist Is Central to Trauma-Informed Care Implementation and Transformational Change Community. Katherine is also the sole proprietor of a training and consulting business, where she provides offerings on social-emotional learning, identity development, play and nature-based interventions, substance use disorders, Motivational Interviewing, trauma-informed care, and healing-centered practices focused on self-care and embodiment.

Katherine identifies as a Black-Indigenous-Dominican, cis queer woman, two-spirit, radical intuitive healer, housed within an able-body that is educated, middle class with a history of poverty, living with histories of trauma that contribute to her neurodiversity. She sees herself as a steward of Earth who is working towards remembering and rekindling her relationship with plants and herbs, reconnecting to practices of stillness and embodiment, and working with the ancestors, spirits, guides, and Source to continue the traditions of knowing and being in communion with the Universe. Katherine believes we are all stewards of Earth, and through colonization have forgotten this organic, natural relationship. Her intention is to engage in decolonial practices and ways of being to help bring forth her original self—that part that is seeking connection and belongingness to Earth and others. She finds that doing and witnessing this work within a community can offer healing and integration.

In her spare time, Katherine enjoys learning about alternative spiritual philosophies. She enjoys building community connections and learning how to have more compassion, love, and acceptance for others and herself. She finds joy in exploring ways of dismantling systems of oppression that change how we are in relationship with ourselves and each other. She loves to express herself through dance, journaling, art, rituals, yoga, and love. She enjoys learning and sharing with others. 

Katherine was born on the lands of the Taino, Macorix, and Ciguayo peoples, the lands known as Ayiti/Quiskeya and currently known as Haiti/Dominican Republic. Katherine was raised on the lands of the Munsee Lenape, Wappinger, and Schaghticoke peoples, the lands known as Lenapehoking and currently known as New York City. She was born to a family with long and deep histories of trauma that led to a resilient reliance on Afro-indigenous spiritual practices as a way of surviving. She currently lives in NYC with her life partner and their two daughters.

Katherine A. Segal, Ph.D., LCSW is an integrative social worker, graduate-level educator, qualitative researcher, and holistic wellness coach. Dr. Segal earned an MSW from Columbia University and a Ph.D. specializing in Integrative Mental Health along with the Integrative Wellness Coaching certificate from Saybrook University. Dr. Segal has practiced social work in a variety of settings including school, medical, forensic, residential, and community mental health. Dr. Segal has utilized their knowledge and skills in the delivery of direct practice, clinical supervision, delivering professional trainings, and teaching. They have taught and mentored master's and Ph.D. students across multiple universities. 

Throughout clinical and academic work Dr. Segal has cultivated an integrative theoretical perspective that guides their assessment and treatment of clients as well as the education of colleagues, aspiring social workers, and integrative practitioners. In addition to teaching, Dr. Segal operates a remote coaching private practice specializing in provider burnout prevention, Integrative Mental Health, holistic wellness, life goal attainment, and dissertation completion.

Julman Tolentino is an educator and program developer whose work is grounded in liberation sociology. He is an academic advisor at the School of Labor and Urban Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) and has a master’s degree in social work from Hunter College. Julman has created and facilitated anti-oppression trainings and retreats for students, educators, and social service providers. Through the American Conference on Diversity, he has run yearly summer social justice camps for youth from high schools throughout NY and NJ. Julman develops and facilitates workshops on undoing patriarchy, including running a monthly men’s group in New York City, working with high school students at the Young Men of Color Symposium, and co-facilitating the Uprooting Patriarchy retreat at Columbia University’s School of Social Work. In support and solidarity with the Black community, he has created a workshop for Asians/Asian Americans to address anti-Black racism which has been conducted at numerous conferences and for various community-based organizations. Julman began his social justice work as an organizer in the Filipino community and as a founder of a leadership organization for Filipino high school youth in Jersey City, N

Dr. Julia Colangelo (DSW, MSW, and LCSW) is a licensed solution-focused therapist, Flow & Mindfulness researcher and consultant with more than 14 years of experience as a therapist and clinical researcher in the science and psychology of flow. She’s the founder of Hello Flow where where she teaches behavioral strategies and mindfulness skills to support social, emotional, and relationship growth. Julia helps visionaries, and public figures get out of the riptide of overstimulation, regulate their nervous system, and cruise into their greatest flow states of creativity so they can recover, connect, and flourish. Julia completed her Bachelors of Social Work at NYU, MSW at Columbia, and her Clinical Doctorate (DSW) at UPenn.

Josie Torielli, LCSW has worked as a therapist, counselor, crisis counselor, advocate, program director, educator, presenter, and supervisor. Of particular interest is trauma work with communities, activism, supervision, professional development, and vicarious trauma. Her professional experience includes The NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Training Institute for Mental Health, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, Aldea Counseling Services, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Safe Horizon, and Long Island College Hospital. To relieve stress, she occasionally asks her colleagues to ‘dance it out’ with her. She is a comically bad dancer.

Ms. Torielli has completed post-graduate training in Advanced Trauma Treatment and EMDR. She holds a BA from Syracuse University and an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Jordana Rutigliano currently serves as Director, Value Based Payment Project at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In this role, Jordana is responsible for a program to support Community Based Organizations in their move to Value Based Payment (VBP) in line with the goals of DSRIP and the larger Medicaid reform landscape in New York. Prior to her current role, Jordana spent almost 10 years developing and managing behavioral health services within a federally qualified health center network, developing an expertise in behavioral health compliance, financial sustainability, and operational efficiency while focusing on meeting the needs of highly underserved populations – a career-long passion of hers. Jordana has also worked in provider quality and strategy at a behavioral health managed care organization, assisting providers with developing services to best meet established quality measures and helping design payment reform initiatives. Jordana received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University.

Dr. Jonathan P. Edwards is a Program Consultant for New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment and brings more than 25 years of experience facilitating individual and organizational change through programming and planning, clinical practice, supervision, training, and research. A licensed clinical social worker specializing in recovery-oriented care for adults experiencing mental health and substance use issues, Dr. Edwards is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) and an adjunct instructor at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College where he has taught organizational theory, research, and professional seminar. He also consults nationally on peer support services implementation and supervision, as well as plays an integral role in advancing peer workforce development in mental health and substance use treatment settings. He is former director of peer support services at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY where he supervised a large team working in five different service settings, as well as developed and facilitated support groups for family members of individuals accessing inpatient psychiatric services.

Dr. Edwards combines academic, professional, and personal experience with several decades of involvement with organizations and initiatives serving black, same-gender-loving (SGL) identified men. He has received training on anti-Black racism from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, and has organized conferences and initiatives promoting racial, health, and gender equity in his professional and community organizing roles and is integrally involved with Surviving Race: The Intersection of Injustice, Disability, and Human Rights, a grassroots organization focused on eradicating police violence against black people and individuals with disabilities. Dr. Edwards was a recipient of the SAMHSA funded Minority Fellowship through Council on Social Work Education, and has received several awards, including a behavioral health innovation award from the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, New York University Silver School of Social Work, a peer leadership award from Mental Health Empowerment Project, and the Cookie Gant and Bill Compton LGBTQIA+ Leadership Award, from The National Empowerment Center, for excellence in advocating for intersectionality and inclusion of diverse identities within the mental health peer and survivor community. Dr. Edwards also serves on the National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.) Board, New York Peer Specialist Certification Board, and Mental Health News Education Board.

A graduate of City College (BA, industrial psychology;’03) and Hunter College School of Social Work (MSW, group work, organizational management and leadership;’08), Dr. Edwards received his M. Phil. and Ph.D. from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Social Welfare Program. His dissertation explores factors associated with job satisfaction among peer support workers in mental health treatment and recovery-oriented service settings. Dr. Edwards is co-author on three recent journal articles, The Impact of COVID-19 on Peer Support Specialists in the United States: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey, Perceptions of Supervisors of Peer Support Workers in Behavioral Health: Results from a National Survey, and National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Specialists and Supervisors.

A former Franciscan monk who founded a friary in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he still lives, Dr. Robertson is an expert in social policy, advocacy, and community organizing.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1201027036725094Dr. John Robertson teaches Social Welfare Policy, the Policy Practice course for policy majors, and Advocacy in Social Work Practice. His interests include community development and organization, employment and family issues, and treatment for people struggling with substance abuse. He is involved in community social work practice in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood and has worked on several national policy research initiatives related to poor families, their employment, family formation, and receipt of public assistance. His publications include “Social Work with Families after PRWORA: Family Systems and Rational Choice Models,” “Relational Discord and Depressive Symptomatology among Non-Marital Co-Parents,” “Using Geographical Information Systems to Enhance Community-Based Child Welfare Services,” “Young Nonresidential Fathers Have Lower Earnings: Implications for Increasing Child Support Payments,” and “Using the Criminal Justice System to Prevent Adolescent Drug Abuse.”

Dr. Robertson has taught research methodology and human behavior courses. He previously taught at the Hunter School of Social Work, where he developed the school’s community organization field placement program, and at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. He has also worked with newly released federal inmates as they return to family, employment, and their communities. Dr. Robertson holds a BA in Economics from St. John’s College, University of Manitoba; an MSW from Rutgers University; and a PhD in Labor Economics and Social Policy from the Columbia School of Social Work.

John Fredrickson, LCSW, serves as the Team Leader for the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Team at the New York University Student Health Center. He previously served as a clinical social worker at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, an outpatient medical and mental health clinic focused on LGBTQ+ healthcare, where he initiated the DBT Skills Training program. Mr. Fredrickson specializes in work with gender and sexuality, mindfulness, emotion regulation, HIV/AIDS, relationships and intimacy, and life adjustments.

Mr. Fredrickson is an alumnus the DBT Training Program and Lab at the Columbia School of Social Work, and has received advanced training in DBT through Behavioral Tech LLC. He participated in a weeklong Advanced Intensive with Dr. Marsha Linehan in 2013, and has been directly supervised by Dr. Andre Ivanoff, President of Behavioral Tech LLC and President of the Linehan Institute, while implementing DBT skills training groups at a federal prison. He serves as a field instructor for CSSW’s DBT Training Program and Lab, the only DBT training program for social workers in the nation.

Joanne McLaughlin Toran is a public administrator. Prior to her retirement, she served as Associate Director of the Mt. Sinai Pediatric School Based Health Center, and as a faculty member in the Division of General Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital.  She oversaw four school-based health centers, which provided comprehensive medical services to approximately 4,000 children.

From 1994–2000, Ms. Toran served as the Administrative Manager and the Coordinator for Community Affairs and Capital Development for Harlem Health Promotion Center at Columbia University. She previously served as the Projects Administrator for the Biosocial Treatment Research Division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University, in which role she oversaw all research projects within the division. Her responsibilities included budget planning and implementation, management of one hundred central and field staff, and the coordination and writing of project administrative reports to internal and external funding agencies.

Ms. Toran received a National African American Women’s Leadership Institute Fellowship in 2003, and has been an advocate in NYC’s education and healthcare systems. She serves on the board of directors of CLOTH (Community League of the Heights), a community development organization working to strengthen and empower southern Washington Heights. She also serves on the board of Community Health Network, a not-for-profit healthcare organization providing comprehensive quality and culturally competent care to underserved communities throughout New York City. She is the President of Sankofa Circle, a cultural organization that develops, promotes, and cultivates positive self-image among African Americans through cultural, recreational, and educational activities.

A New York City native, Ms. Toran holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from SUNY Empire State College, and an MPA from the Wagner School of New York University.

Joan L. Bell serves as the Clinical Coordinator of Outpatient Child Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Her clinical practice has focused on children and families in inpatient and outpatient child psychiatry, pediatric HIV, and treating survivors of trauma. From 1995-2000 she served as the clinical director of the Westbank office of Family Service of Greater New Orleans, in which role she secured funding to develop programs for adult survivors of childhood trauma, conducted suicide risk assessment in juvenile detention facilities, and began a crisis treatment program for sexually abused children. Since 2000, she has focused on administration and supervision in outpatient child psychiatry. She developed programs in conjunction with the New York State Office of Mental Health to train and supervise cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD in community mental health settings, as well as evidence-based child CBT and parent management training for treatment of childhood disruptive behavior disorders.

Ms. Bell has served as a supervisor of social work students since 1993 and has supervised child psychology and child psychiatry trainees in the areas of evaluation, group treatment, play therapy and family therapy. She earned her undergraduate degree from New York University, and her MS from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Dr. Jessica Chock-Goldman, DSW, LCSW is the Director of Clinical Services/Social Worker at Bard High School Early College of Manhattan. She is the former School Social Worker at Stuyvesant High School.  She received her Doctorate of Social Welfare in Clinical Social Work at NYU School of Social Work focusing on restructuring how mental health and suicidal ideation are addressed within the Department of Education (DOE).  She is an adjunct professor at NYU School of Social Work, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, and has taught numerous Continuing Education Workshops on Culturally Responsive Suicide Prevention and Intervention in Schools to MSW students and clinicians.  She has two years of advanced clinical training at the Ackerman Institute for the Family, received her MSW from NYU School of Social Work and her BA from Oberlin College. 

Singer, J. & Chock-Goldman, J. (2024). School Services Sourcebook, 3rd Edition, suicide

      pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention. Oxford University Press.

Chock-Goldman, J. (2022). New York City school social workers in a pandemic: Lessons

      learned from COVID-19. Children and Schools.

Chock-Goldman, J. (2022). High-achieving Asian American adolescents and suicide: The

      need for culturally sensitive suicide intervention approaches in schools. Advances in

      Social Work.

Chock-Goldman, J. & Meader, H. (2021). New School Social Worker: The art of being

      indispensable. Crisis intervention and response. Oxford University Press.

Sedillo-Hamann, D. Chock-Goldman, J. & Badillo, M. (2020). Shared Trauma, Shared

      Resilience During a Pandemic: Social Work in the Time of COVID-19. Springer.

Jenny Crawford maintains a private mitigation practice working on state and federal cases. She joined CSSW in 2011 after serving as the Director of Social Work with Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project. At CSSW, she supports students in field practicums, with a focus on interdisciplinary practice within social work and the law.  She teaches Contemporary Social Issues and developed the first forensic social work class offered at CSSW, which she teaches.  Ms. Crawford also teaches supervision and field instruction, and co-created a curriculum for practitioners and organizations on recognizing and managing vicarious trauma.

Before joining the Mental Health Project, Ms. Crawford served at The Bronx Defenders, a public defender office in the South Bronx that provides criminal, family, and civil defense to indigent clients arrested and charged with crimes in the Bronx. In 2005, she became The Bronx Defenders’ first Director of Social Work. Ms. Crawford was part of an interdisciplinary planning team that developed the family defense practice, which represents parents charged with abuse and neglect in Bronx County.  In 2009, Ms. Crawford received the New York City Chapter of NASW’s Social Work Image Award. She has served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, where she co-taught Interdisciplinary Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect to law and social work graduate students.

Mr. Jarron Magallanes, LCSW-R, BCD is a Senior Lecturer at CSSW and teaches research and clinical practice courses. He has served as a clinical social worker and social work manager in community-based and hospital healthcare settings, homeless services, HIV/AIDS prevention, and domestic violence. He also maintains a private practice in New York City and practices EMDR and Somatic Experiencing for the treatment of trauma. His interests include social work and public health research methods, LGBTQ issues, medical care coordination and chronic disease management, HIV prevention interventions, and program evaluation. He received his BA from the University of Washington, his MSW from Columbia University and post-graduate training with the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute

Janelle Stanley is a school social worker in a public high school in Brooklyn. Before she was in schools, Janelle worked with children in palliative care. Prior to her career in social work, Janelle was a computer programmer and tech lead for a decade in international technologies and change management. She writes and presents on suicide, conflict de-escalation, and trauma-informed services. Janelle holds a second degree black belt in Goju-Ryu Karate, and teaches self-defense workshops for women, LGBTQ groups, and others who are particularly impacted by violence.

James L. David, MS, is Senior Project Director at Columbia University’s Social Intervention Group and Senior Project Director of the AI for Social Good (AISG) Initiative at the Columbia School of Social Work, where he leads large-scale, community-engaged research and implementation efforts focused on substance use, health equity, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in public health. He previously served in a senior leadership role for the NIH-funded HEALing Communities Study (HCS), a multi-state, $86 million initiative testing county-level strategies to reduce opioid overdose deaths through coordinated implementation of evidence-based practices .

Mr. David’s work bridges implementation science, coalition-based community engagement, and AI-enabled analytic methods, including the development of the PRISM-Capabilities framework for responsible AI use in community-engaged research . He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in journals including JAMA Network Open, The New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Addiction Medicine, and International Journal of Drug Policy, addressing opioid use disorder, stigma, overdose prevention, and health systems implementation .

Across his academic and professional career, Mr. David has led statewide and county-level partnerships with health departments, community-based organizations, criminal legal systems, and health care providers to translate evidence into practice, build implementation capacity, and center community voices in research design and delivery. He holds an MS from Columbia University and a BA from James Madison University .

Jaime Estades, a former Columbia University Revson Fellow, earned a Juris Doctor at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law and Masters in Social Work at the CUNY Hunter College Graduate School of Social Work. Jaime continues to inspire generations of community activists as Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Policy at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Social Work. He has also taught Social Justice and Public Policy at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Services. Jaime is a frequent invited commentator on political and policy issues on NY1 and NY1 Noticias (in English and Spanish), as well as CUNY TV. He has authored articles for numerous outlets, including but not limited to Roll Call (Washington, DC), The Orlando Sentinel and The National Latino Policy Institute. Jaime frequently participates as a speaker and panelist at academic and other institutions including Columbia University, Rutgers University, Brown University, New York University School of Law and City University in of New York.

Jaime is an Executive Producer of the new documentary film based on the 2016 presidential election entitled “The November Surprise” to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018. Jaime has committed his life to advocacy, education, health and leadership training. For decades, Jaime has worked on issues related to education, immigration, housing, voter registration and family entitlement issues. In 1996, Jaime founded the Latino Leadership Institute, Inc., a nonpartisan not-for-profit corporation affiliated with the City University of New York which has trained thousands of individuals on the fundamentals of campaign management and public policy, has hosted numerous colloquia and civic engagement projects in the northeast and Florida. The Latino Leadership Institute has chapter at the University of Central Florida and at Temple University in Pennsylvania. In October 2015, the Latino Leadership Institute was selected by the White House as one of the Bright Spots of Excellence in Education in the Hispanic Community in the United States.

Jaime has also used his expertise to bolster the work of key nonprofits, including the Boriken Neighborhood Health Center, which in 2014 completed renovation of the first eco-friendly (Green) Health Center in East Harlem. As Director for Advocacy for the Alliance for Quality Education, Jaime built, managed and coordinated a coalition of sixty community-based educational and labor organizations to improve the quality of public education in New York City. In 1996, during the Presidential election, as Executive Director of the Hispanic Education and Legal Fund, Jaime spearheaded the nonpartisan registration of over 100,000 new voters in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.

Jacques Nir, LCSW, SIFI has been teaching the intro Substance Abuse Treatment at CSSW for the past 5 years and is an Alumni graduate of the CSSW class of 1996. He is Chief Operating Officer at Parallax Center providing services for Outpatient Detoxification and Substance Abuse Services. Prior positions include Chief Operating Officer at the PAC program, which retains 5 outpatient substance abuse clinics. He has dedicated his career to re-establishing medically supervised 822 clinics to provide a holistic approach to client care. Mr. Nir has held senior leadership roles for the last 23 years in both Mental Health and Substance Abuse Agencies. "it’s important that we identify the clinical relevance of the APG billing codes and provide services with a harm reduction - medical model philosophy. Substance Abuse is a medical diagnosis that is not isolated and the term, "self- medication" implies that the client presents a life experience of trauma or a mental health concern. 80% of substance abusers experience a comorbidity of SUD and MH". Mr. Nir continues to develop policies that are client centered and with the lens that a client has multitude of bio-psycho-social needs that need to be addressed and that client's goals evolve from session to session.

Hilary Bucell (she/her), LCSW, is a psychotherapist, educator, consultant, and speaker. She is the founder of Integrative Psychotherapy and Wellness, a private psychotherapy practice located in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia and serving clients online across PA, NY, and CT. In her private practice she works with both individuals and couples, specializing in the treatment of trauma, grief, anxiety, and relationship stressors. Outside of direct clinical practice, Hilary provides clinical consultation, training, and key-note presentations to professionals and organizations—her involvement ranges from individual supervision to institution-wide professional development.

Hilary has extensive training and interest in Buddhist/Contemplative Psychotherapy and the implementation of mindfulness and compassion-based interventions within clinical practice. She has studied and taught mindfulness-based interventions throughout East and Southeast Asia and is a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as designated by the UC San Diego Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute (UCSD MBPTI). With the intersection of contemplative practice and psychotherapy as a major area of focus, Hilary continues to strengthen her clinical skills through consistent, ongoing training in areas such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), and Compassion for Couples.

Hilary is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Training Lab; there she received intensive training in DBT through Behavioral Tech Institute. Along with DBT, she is comprehensively trained in other evidence-based therapies: Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Gottman Couples Therapy. Hilary has worked at The Center for Cognitive and Dialectical Behavior Therapy in New York City, interned at The Child Mind Institute in downtown Manhattan, and provided trauma counseling to inmates on Rikers Island through STEPS to End Family Violence.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Hilary worked as a classical musician, performing professionally throughout the United States and Europe. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, a Master of Music from Temple University, and a Master of Science, Social Work from Columbia University where she was named the Overbrook Fellow for Advanced Study in Clinical Social Work Practice. Hilary firmly believes in the intersection of social justice and mental health, and is ever continuing to grow and learn best practices to ensure all her work represents these values.

Helaine Ciporen, LCSW, brings more than 30 years of experience and a creative approach to social work. She has developed innovative solutions to patient and student education, which include interactive events and online activities. Within the Mount Sinai Hospital setting, she specialized in pediatrics. She worked clinically with children and their families to better cope with chronic illness, such as cystic fibrosis and diabetes, while addressing systemic healthcare disparities.

Ms. Ciporen, a graduate of the Columbia School of Social Work, has previously taught at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Borough of Manhattan Community College. She has supervised numerous graduate students in their hospital internships at Mount Sinai Hospital. As the mental health member of the clinical team, she participated in all department research studies, and she is currently a board member of Teen HEED, a research based, self-help program to prevent type 2 diabetes. She has published and presented at various conferences and is the winner of the Health Through the Lifecycle Award presented at the 7th International Conference on Social Work in Healthcare, Dublin, 2010.

Dr. Heidi Horsley is a grief expert and the Executive Director of Open to Hope, an international organization committed to providing hope and resources to grieving people. She co-hosts a weekly award-winning cable television show and podcast.

Dr. Horsley serves on the Advisory Boards for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of Military Loss (TAPS), the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, and Peace of Mind Afghanistan.  She is the Founding Member for Tuesdays Children Survivors Tragedy Outreach Program (STOP), a coalition offering peer support to individuals impacted by acts of terrorism and military conflict. Dr. Horsley has a private practice in New York City and has co-authored eight books on grief and loss. She has appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and been quoted in numerous media venues. For ten years, Dr. Horsley served as a co-investigator for the FDNY-Columbia University Family Guidance Program, a longitudinal study providing ongoing intervention and follow-up to families of firefighters who were killed on 9/11.

Dr. Horsley received clinical training at Manhattan Psychiatric Center, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center.  Her research interests focus on grief and loss, and she wrote her doctoral dissertation on the sudden death of a sibling. She holds a PsyD in psychology from the University of San Francisco, an MS in mental health counseling from Loyola University in New Orleans, and an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Hector Cendejas is a seasoned social worker and educator with more than a decade of experience advancing the well-being and dignity of marginalized communities. Cendejas has focused his efforts on supporting vulnerable populations.

As the former Program Director for Family Reunification at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Cendejas oversaw trauma-informed care and comprehensive support services for unaccompanied children and their families. His leadership in this role reflects a dedication to healing and empowerment for those navigating complex challenges.

In academia, Cendejas serves as an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University, George Mason University, and the University of Maryland, where he mentors future social workers and provides practicum instruction for BSW and MSW students. His hands-on approach ensures students gain meaningful, real-world experience as they prepare for impactful careers.

Beyond his professional and academic contributions, Cendejas is actively engaged in civic life. As a former city council member, he championed community-centered initiatives.

Cendejas holds degrees from Georgetown University, the University of Southern California, and Harvard University.

Harry Schiffman is a community advocate in government, not-for-profit organizations, and neighborhood and economic development corporations. He specializes in government relations, community relations, development, the creation of strategic neighborhood alliances, coalition building, and inter-group relations. Mr. Schiffman has worked with Brooklyn Neighborhoods on issues including health, education, youth services, economic development, housing, immigrant services, and programs for the elderly. He serves on the board of directors of the Midwood Development Corporation and the Brooklyn Center for Quality Life. He is a member of the NASW New York Chapter Pace Committee, Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition, the Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn, and We Are All Brooklyn. Mr. Schiffman holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Hunter College Graduate School of Social Work.

Gariy Livshits has a diverse background in social work, creative arts therapy, and music. With over two decades of experience, Gariy has honed his skills through various roles and with diverse populations. Originally from Belarus, Gariy started his career at FEGS Continuing Day Treatment Program as a social worker and music therapist. He then progressed to becoming an intensive case manager at the New York State Office of Mental Health Manhattan Psychiatric Center, where he provided rehabilitative and restorative services to individuals with severe mental illness, dual diagnoses, and forensic backgrounds. Later on, Gariy excelled as a treatment team leader, overseeing Intensive Psychiatric and Sex Offender Units. 

In addition to his extensive experience in the mental health field, Gariy also served as a senior housing associate at the New York State Office of Addictions Services and Supports. In this role, he managed a portfolio of voluntary housing agencies and implemented effective standards and methods. He later returned to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, where he worked as a treatment team leader in the Quality/Risk Management department, as a Program Evaluation Specialist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and currently as a coordinator for Forensic Intensive Case Management Services at the NYS OMH, Central New York Psychiatric Center. In addition, Gariy also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Syracuse University School of Social Work and the University of Kentucky COSW. Gary also provides field instruction to students from various parts of the country.

In addition to his professional work, Gariy is passionate about giving back to his community. In his spare time, he works at Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, providing invaluable support to needy children and families. 

Gariy holds a Bachelor of Music degree in choral conducting and piano performance from Molodechno School of Music in Belarus, a BA in general music from the City College of New York, a master’s in music therapy from Illinois State University, and an MSW from CUNY Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. He is pursuing his DSW at the University of Kentucky with a concentration in Higher Education and is expected to graduate in May 2025.

Gabrielle Gilliam is a fund development and non-profit management professional. She has nearly 30 consecutive years of experience in fundraising and institutional advancement, and has served in leadership positions at organizations such as United Negro College Fund, Bottomless Closet, Poly Prep Country Day School, the French-American Foundation, and Opening Act, and Oliver Scholars.

A seasoned fund development generalist, Gabrielle enjoys sharing and applying her professional expertise in strategic campaign planning, institutional giving, and board development. She is particularly committed to organizations that engage and empower youth who have been under-served or unsupported by systems and institutions. Gabrielle takes special pride in working on behalf of programs that create a path for young people of color to pursue their dreams and find success in life. 

Gabrielle currently serves as Chief Advancement Officer at Ascend Learning in Brooklyn. She is also a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Social Work and member of the Management Faculty at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. Since 2014, she has been working as an independent consultant, providing strategic planning and fundraising support to NYC-based non-profit organizations. Her client list has included the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Fiver Children's Foundation, Brooklyn Children’s Theatre, and The Peter Westbrook Foundation.

Gabrielle received her BA in Drama and Africana Studies from Vassar College and her MA in Performance Studies from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts.

Dr. Frederick (Jerry) Streets is the former Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor in Pastoral Counseling at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, New York City. He also served as Chaplain of Yale University, 1992–2007. He is a member of the faculty and coordinator of the dual divinity and social work degree program at Yale University Divinity School. A licensed clinical social worker, Dr. Streets is a faculty member of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma. (www.jerrystreets.org)

Dr. Streets is the recipient of numerous awards and Senior Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Practical Theology and the Department of Social Work at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. His recent publication (2024) is: How Are You Being? Clergy Wellness During a Time of Uncertainty, Pickwick Press. Eugene, OR.

Dr. Folusho Otuyelu is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 27 years of experience working as an Administrator and Clinical Supervisor in prominent not-for-profit agencies in New York City such as the Children’s Aid and Visiting Nurse Service of NY. She has spent a significant number of years working with children, adolescents and their families in the mental health and child welfare areas of practice. In addition, she is well versed in evidenced based practice models such as Functional Family Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional- Level II.

Dr. Otuyelu provides training and support to human service organization on anti-oppressive and anti-racist practices and its application to organizational management, clinical supervision, and direct practice.  She also provides training around various clinical modalities such as CBT, DBT and Trauma along with clinical supervision and consultation to several nonprofits and organizations across New York City. 

Dr. Folusho Otuyelu holds a PhD in Social Work from Fordham University, a Master of Science degree in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University.

Felecia Farrell, LCSW, RYT  is a psychotherapist, educator, yoga instructor, and founder of Alline Therapy - a group practice dedicated to helping all people align their lives and build a new path forward.

Before receiving her master's degree from Columbia University in Advanced Clinical Social Work, she attended Williams College in Massachusetts.

Felecia is committed to helping clients increase their authentic self-expression and improve communication skills so that they can foster meaningful relationships with themselves and with others.

Over the course of her career, Felecia has provided services to various New York City communities while working with organizations such as The Fresh Air Fund, Creative Connections, S.O.U.L. Sisters Leadership Collective and Project SAFE of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone. In addition to her clinical work, she has experience in workshop facilitation, curriculum development, community organizing, and program development. At CSSW, Felecia is an adjunct instructor for courses such as Decolonizing Social Work and Motivational Interviewing.

When she's not teaching classes at Columbia or leading workshops or supporting clinicians at Alliine, you can find her on long runs throughout New York or rolling out her mat to dive deeper into her yoga practice.

Eva C. Haldane runs a consulting firm, ECH Consulting, LLC, where she teaches communities of color about mental health, speaks and writes about living with mental illness, and creates programming for children. Dr. Haldane has 13 years of experience in the nonprofit sector where she conducted program evaluations and currently works in programming quality improvement. Her research interests include fatherhood, mental health and mental health stigma in communities of color and trauma. She is a huge fan of research and data analysis and hopes her work will relieve the fear that surrounds these two. She earned her BA from Smith College and her MSW and PhD from Columbia University School of Social Work.

Ericka Echavarria, LMSW, JD, currently serves as an Associate Director of Field Education and Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work, and is the Coordinator of the Seminar in Field Instruction for CSSW Field Instructors. Ericka is passionate about preparing future and current social work professionals for a justice-based practice with clients/participants and systems, through: a power, race, oppression, and privilege lens; the use of contemplative practices and inquiry to cultivate self-care and self-awareness practices; a solid foundation in social justice advocacy; and a grounded ethical, professional identity.

Prior to her role at CSSW, Ericka served as a mitigation specialist/sentencing advocate and had her own private practice working closely with defense attorneys of both court appointed and privately retained cases, where she advocated for clients in serious federal and state felony cases, including death penalty eligible cases, through the use of comprehensive psychosocial investigations, narratives, sentencing advocacy, in-depth assessments, storytelling, and case management , in the federal, and several state criminal legal systems. Ericka also spent several years advocating for youth, children, and their families in schools and community-based agencies in Washington Heights and Harlem. Ericka received her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University in 2008 (FYC/AGPP), and her Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School in 2002. Ericka is also a mother, a caregiver, and identifies as Afro-Dominican, born to immigrant parents, and aspires to leave a legacy of love, courage, hope, and compassion for future social workers and above all, her son and nephews.

Eric Shanks, works in alternative dispute resolution and mental health, as a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, mediator, and restorative justice practitioner. In his work, Eric works to interrupt cycles of harm by facilitating structured healing processes to bring about relational growth, development and transformation. Prior to his current role at the NYC Center for Creative Conflict Resolution, Eric facilitated restorative circles for Hidden Water to heal the impact of child sexual abuse in the family system. Additionally, he has 20 years of experience within various human service delivery systems from youth work and juvenile justice through end of life care with older adults. Eric is a graduate of UMASS Boston College of Public and Community Service and Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.

Eri Noguchi is the Associate Executive Director of the Association to Benefit Children, a not-for-profit organization that provides early childhood, youth, mental health, and wraparound family support services to children and families in New York City. Her research interests include labor markets, poverty, urban sociology, social welfare policy, and civic engagement. Dr. Noguchi earned her MSW, MPA, and PhD in sociology from Columbia University.

Em is passionate about eradicating systemic injustice through policymaking. Em is a Doctoral Candidate at Brown University’s School of Public Health. Their research interests include the role and impacts of public health insurance and managed care for older adults and those with disabilities, healthcare for those who are transgender and gender diverse (TGD), health equity, social determinants of health, and community-based participatory research. 

Before pursuing their PhD, Em was a Senior Policy Analyst in New York City Council’s Legislative Division, and worked with the Council’s Committees on Health and Hospitals. In their role, Em assists with developing health policy to govern New York City, such as Int 0954-2018, a Local Law which created a third gender marker option on birth certificates for those who do not identify as female or male. Prior to joining the Council, Em was a Senior Policy & Client Services Associate at the Medicare Rights Center, where they advocated for older adults and people with disabilities, and specialized in assisting and advocating for those with long-term care health needs.

They received both their Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Masters in Social Work from New York University.

Ellen first taught as an adjunct professor for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Social Work and Family Studies departments in 2007-2009. She was an Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Resources for UNH Cooperative Extension from 2005-2011, and she was a Clinical Assistant Professor for the University of New England Graduate School of Social Work from 2011-2015 before continuing as an adjunct professor in the Fall of 2015. She has continued teaching in higher education, carrying a full load of courses across several Universities for reputable, accredited online MSW programs. She also had a two-year appointment as a visiting instructor at Florida Atlantic University from 2020-2022 working with undergraduates.

She has worked with children and adults with development disabilities and brain injuries and their families, folks who were incarcerated, folks with felony convictions in alternative sentencing programs, families who were experiencing homelessness, adults with dual diagnoses (DD and MI), school systems, folks experiencing substance abuse issues, families affiliated with the child welfare system, relatives raising others’ children, as well as adolescents.

Her areas of expertise are spirituality and wellness, group facilitation, strength-based trauma-informed parenting and family systems, neurodiversities and developmental disabilites, and the arts in social work practice. She is a practicing life coach and therapist.

Her practice and teaching are largely informed by cultural fluidity and proficiency, social justice, feminist, humanist, and strengths perspectives. Her extensive cultural immersion travel has greatly informed these perspectives. Ellen's theories of practice include problem solving, coaching, systems, narrative, and transpersonal theories of human development. ​She is the best-selling author of Self-Care Revolution: 5 Pillars to Prevent Burnout and Build Sustainable Resilience for Helping Professionals.

Elizabeth Fasanya (she/her) has been active in the social services sector for over a decade. She currently serves as the Senior Director of Clinical Development and Training at Project Renewal, bringing nearly a decade of expertise in organizational management and leadership. Known for her strengths in program development, operational management, and curriculum design, Elizabeth excels at fostering learning environments tailored to diverse staffing levels.

Deeply committed to social justice, Elizabeth integrates an anti-oppressive lens into all facets of her professional and personal life. Her research interests include criminal justice reform in the U.S. and social welfare policies, reflecting her dedication to creating equitable systems.

In addition to her professional endeavors, Elizabeth is a spirited photographer who documents the rich narratives of people across the African diaspora. Through her lens, she captures the beauty and complexity of diverse experiences, further enriching her understanding of community and culture.

Eleni Zimiles is a social worker grounded at the cross-section of healing, education and organizing. Her work strives to build authentic community, foster creativity and critical consciousness, and disrupt harmful relationships and systems of power. Eleni is currently a School Mental Health Specialist for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Eleni guides schools in developing transformative mental health practices in order to cultivate trauma-informed and healing-centered learning cultures. She is one of the agency’s Race to Justice Trainers, facilitating staff workshops on how racism drives health disparities and inequitable workplace practices. Eleni is also a Therapist at the Critical Therapy Center, a relational, liberation-oriented psychodynamic practice. Her organizing work is currently focused on mobilizing social workers to transform the mandated reporting culture and laws that lead to the mass regulation and surveillance of families.

Eleni’s social work practice is rooted in two decades of movement-building and youth justice spaces. Eleni has worked in youth shelters, after-school programs, community centers and schools in NYC, Chicago and D.C. Eleni has supported the creation of anti-racist political education & community organizing spaces with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond as part of the Undoing Racism Internship Project, Operation Understanding DC, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Avodah, Showing up for Racial Justice, and the Bridgeport Alliance. She has served as adjunct professor at Touro College. Eleni holds a BA in Anthropology from Macalester College, and a MS in Social Work from Columbia University. Eleni is a proud fifth generation Brooklynite and Brighton Beach devotee, who carries a love for messy art & writing experiments.

Eishelle M. Tillery, has over 20 years of experience In the healthcare field working primarily in infection disease overseeing prevention and support service programs throughout New York City. Ms. Tillery received her Master of Social Work degree from Fordham University School of Social Services where she majored in Client -Centered Management and specialized in Gerontology. She recently began her first year at Tulane University’s Doctorate of Social Work program Summer 2021.

Ms. Tillery currently is working in the youth development field focusing on youth programming, health and safety operations of school age programs and building curricula activities within afterschool programs within the community school setting.

Ms. Tillery is currently an Adjunct Professor at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Africana Studies Department and has taught at Molloy College School of Social Work and CUNY Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work. She has been a guest lecturer at many other colleges and universities.

Ms. Tillery is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated where she is the immediate past president of Pi Phi Omega Chapter in the Northeast Queens community.

Durrell Malik Washington Sr. is an abolitionist and an interdisciplinary social scientist trained as an interpretive methodologist and critical social work scholar. His research examines the collateral consequences of youth incarceration—exploring how incarceration impacts not only young people but also the broader systems they belong to, including their families, communities, and social networks. Through this work, he aims to build theory and inform policies and practices that foster positive and equitable outcomes for formerly incarcerated Black youth and their families.

Durrell’s research agenda seeks to understand three main lines of inquiry: (1) How does a period of incarceration shape the health, social life, and relationships of formerly incarcerated youth and adults? (2) How do Black families experience, navigate, and respond to interactions with carceral institutions? and (3) How can a robust continuum of care be developed and applied to dismantle oppressive structures and improve the material conditions of Black families? His research is deeply rooted in community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and critical and liberatory frameworks that center knowledge production as a tool for social change.

Before joining the faculty at Rutgers his academic journey includes academic journey includes earning his PhD from the University of Chicago School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, an MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work and a Bachelor’s in Social Work with a Minor in Sociology from York College, City University of New York.

Liberation-focused clinician, educator, and public health scholar advancing trauma-informed, abolitionist care.

Dr. L. A. McCrae is a psychotherapist, public health practitioner, and abolitionist scholar whose work sits at the intersection of trauma recovery, substance use treatment, and community-rooted liberation practices. A licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor (LCADC) in Maryland, Dr. McCrae integrates somatic, expressive, and anti-oppressive modalities in therapeutic and academic practice, with particular emphasis on queer and trans healing, Black liberation, and recovery justice.

Dr. McCrae is currently completing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Carceral Epidemiology at Morgan State University, where their research focuses on the impacts of structural violence, trauma, and mass incarceration on substance use and recovery trajectories in marginalized populations. They hold dual doctoral degrees: a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Public Engagement from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Theology (NThD) in Street Theology and Recovery Studies from The New Theology School, where they serve as the Stokely Carmichael/Kwame Ture Professor of Street Theology.

As Chief Clinical Officer at Orange Oasis Healing, Dr. McCrae leads program development in trauma-informed addiction recovery and community-based behavioral health. Their practice is informed by training in focusing-oriented therapy, polyvagal theory, narrative therapy, and expressive arts, alongside certification as aFocusing Oriented Therapist, Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist and Recovery Coach Professional.

A passionate educator and advocate, Dr. McCrae has designed and facilitated curricula on trauma, abolition, peer recovery, and culturally responsive care. They bring to the classroom a liberation-oriented pedagogy grounded in lived experience, interdisciplinary scholarship, and a commitment to centering marginalized voices in clinical and policy settings.

Dr. McCrae identifies as a Black, queer, transmasculine healer, and maintains an active private practice serving queer and neurodivergent adults navigating trauma, addiction, and identity-based harm. Their teaching and scholarship challenge colonial legacies in mental health while fostering spaces of accountability, creativity, and collective care.

Dr. Diane D. Williams is an Adjunct Faculty member and Fellow at the China Center for Social Policy, where she advances research and teaching at the intersection of social work and international policy. She earned her PhD in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago with a merit scholarship, completing a dissertation on productive aging in older adult populations. Her research examines how social integration, social support, and experiences of discrimination influence planned retirement age and broader life course outcomes. A central emphasis of her work is on immigrant populations, where she investigates how cultural, structural, and policy contexts shape the experiences of aging, adaptation, and retirement within diverse communities.

Dr. Williams’ academic training bridges disciplines and geographies: she holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and a Master of Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work. This dual foundation equips her to approach social welfare challenges from both a data-driven and practice-oriented perspective, with applications in comparative and international contexts.

Her applied policy work includes contributions to the AARP Disrupt Disparities Illinois Report, which addressed racial disparities among older adults in areas such as economic security, health equity, and digital connectivity. Her research incorporates international dimensions of aging, immigrant populations, and social protection, demonstrating her commitment to linking evidence from local contexts to global policy conversations.

In addition to her academic and research roles, Dr. Williams serves as a Delegate for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Illinois Chapter, engaging in legislative advocacy and professional policy dialogue. Through her teaching, scholarship, and leadership, she is committed to advancing international social work education and driving innovations in aging policy that promote inclusion, resilience, and dignity across diverse populations and the life course.

Diana Melendez (she/they/ella), MSW, LCSW, holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the Graduate Center-CUNY, with a Certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. Her dissertation developed and pilot tested a participatory storytelling tool to counter-map manifestations of coloniality within social work higher education. She completed her post-graduate clinical training at the Institute for Family Services in Liberation-Based Healing approaches to family therapy and for several years served as an anti-racist community organizer and trainer with The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. She has experience working across the mental health service continuum as a clinical social worker at multiple capacities, including supervision and program management. Diana currently teaches at Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work and Columbia School of Social Work. Her research and practice interests are focused on the integration of liberation-based frameworks into social work pedagogy and praxis. Her teaching is process-oriented and influenced by texts such as adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy and Jennifer Mullan’s Decolonizing Therapy. 

Desiree Bunch is Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development for Public Health Solutions, a nonprofit organization that develops, implements, and advocates for solutions to prevent disease and improve community health. Public Health Solutions creates and manages community health programs, provides services to organizations to address public health challenges, and conducts comprehensive research on public health issues.

Over fifteen years in the HR field, Ms. Bunch has served in leadership capacities for local, national, and international organizations. She is a certified trained mediator, and mediates community and family disputes at the Safe Horizon Mediation Center. Ms. Bunch is a board member for Voices of African Mothers, an international women’s organization. She holds a Master’s degree in social work, and a Senior Professional Certification in Human Resources Management.

Deborah Lolai (she/her) is a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. She brings almost two decades of experience in community organizing, policy making, direct legal services, and teaching on a range of social justice issues, focusing on policing, mass incarceration, and gender and sexuality. Deborah is one of the leading experts in representing LGBTQ people in criminal cases and improving conditions of confinement for TGNCNBI people.

Deborah was a public defender at The Bronx Defenders for nearly a decade, where she represented thousands of clients. She was the Founding Director of the LGBTQ Defense Project at The Bronx Defenders, the first project of its kind in the country at a public defense organization. In that role, she represented LGBTQ clients in direct legal services, advocated for policy changes impacting criminalized LGBTQ people, and offered training and technical assistance for organizations striving to better serve LGBTQ communities. Deborah was among the first appointed members of the NYC Board of Correction Task Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in Custody in 2019, and co-authored the first report of the Task Force published in 2022. In addition to her work on the Task Force, Deborah has worked on many successful legislative and policy campaigns, improving the experience of criminalized LGBTQ people.

Deborah has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work since 2019, where she teaches three courses: Advocacy, Contemporary Social Issues, and LGBTQ Communities. Deborah is a dedicated and passionate educator and believes that one of the main keys to social change lies in the classroom and our education systems. 

Deborah’s publications can be found in the Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality, The New York Law Journal, and Bustle Magazine. Deborah is the proud recipient of the Community Excellence Award by the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York in 2021, the New York State Bar Association’s Award for Outstanding Achievements in Promoting Standards of Excellence in Mandated Representation in 2020, and the New York Law Journal Trailblazers Award in 2019.

David Rich, LMSW, earned his Masters graduate degree from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2016 with completion of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) training program and lab under Dr. Andre Ivanoff, PhD. He is currently part of two NYC group private practices, Brooklyn Heights Behavioral Associates, and Metro NY DBT, where he provides DBT therapy to adolescents, adults, and families. Mr. Rich has extensive training experience in various therapeutic modalities including DBT, Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Parent Management Training (PMT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). His previous work experience includes lead mental health worker at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore, MD, where he was part of inpatient crisis stabilization team for adolescent males.

Dave has been involved with CSSW and the HBSE-A course for the past two years, and brings great enthusiasm in working with first-year students so they may excel in the CSSW program.

David B. Howard, MSW, Ph.D., has more than 23 years of professional experience in the nonprofit sector, including senior management, program planning and evaluation, research, data management and analysis, and direct care. Since 2019, David has provided professional consulting services focused on research, evaluation, and monitoring for nonprofits and public agencies. From 2015–2024, David served as the Senior Vice President of Research, Evaluation & Learning at Covenant House International, where led strategic efforts to achieve positive outcomes for and with youth experiencing homelessness by building a federation-wide organizational culture that embraces and implements rigorous performance measurement, continual quality improvement, and program excellence.

Prior to his work at Covenant House, David was the Director of Research and Innovation at The Doe Fund, one of New York's largest homeless service agencies, and he was a researcher at the UCLA Center for Civil Society, where he co-authored numerous reports on the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. David is also a member of the Leap Ambassadors Community, a cohort of professionals from the social, public and private sectors, which focuses on the importance of high performance in the pursuit of lasting impact and a more just and sustainable world. David is also a founding Board Member of the Liberty Fund, New York’s first city-wide bail fund. 

David is a graduate of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he earned his Ph.D. and a master’s in social welfare, and University of California, Berkeley, where he received his bachelor’s degree.

Danielle Elleman is the supervisor in the Bellevue Hospital Victim Services Program. Her advocacy experience includes individual-level work in criminal justice, civil court, and hospital contexts. Her macro-level experience includes advocacy work with local and state policymakers.

Ms. Elleman co-leads Project Envision, a community organization that addresses the root causes of violence from a public health perspective. Project Envision considers intersectional social issues through the lens of oppression and social norms, and develops strategies for change on the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy levels. Along with her co-leaders at Project Envision, she received the 2014 Lydia Martinez Multidisciplinary Award for Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence.

Ms. Elleman has worked with international organizations through the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan and Romania, and through the Open Society Institute’s Sexual Health and Rights Project. She assisted La Casa Mandarina in Mexico City with program development and community mobilization. She organizes and trains forty volunteers a year to provide crisis intervention and advocacy to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors in the immediate aftermath of the trauma.

Ms. Elleman earned her MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work in 2006.

D. Franklin Swayne has been a Senior Adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Social Work for over nine years.

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he is now a retired 22-year veteran of the United States Air Force living in rural Montana. During his Air Force career, he had seven assignments and three deployments (in addition to leading a mental health response team to the Pentagon on Sept 11). He also served in many roles, to include Mental Health Flight commander (aka Clinic Director), Behavioral Health Consultant, and Social Work Resident Director. In his final assignment he served as Director of the Cadet Counseling Center at the United States Air Force Academy. Prof Swayne is a standard of care reviewer for clinical social workers in the Dept of Defense who have clients with adverse events. In addition, he is a clinical supervisor for social workers seeking state licensure. He also has a private practice.

Prof Swayne earned his Bachelors in Social Work from Campbell Univ (NC) in 1990, worked in the field and then earned his masters from East Carolina University School of Social Work (NC) in 1995. His main clinical focus has been treatment of trauma as well as suicide prevention/response. He has been steadfast in providing services to those affected by any form of trauma (be it childhood, natural disaster, sexual assault, combat or terrorism). Prof Swayne is married to Dr. Susan M. Swayne. They have one son, Ethan, and two cats (Hunter and Leah).

Courtney Hutchison, PhD, LCSW, MPH, (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and researcher specializing in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She received her doctoral degree in Social Work from Rutgers University, where her research focused on sexual violence prevention in young adults and the use of psychedelic therapy to address trauma-related disorders. She holds master’s degrees from University of California, Berkeley and Bryn Mawr College, and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. 

Dr. Hutchison has a decade of experience and training in trauma therapy and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and has completed the MDMA Therapy Training Program offered by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). From 2020 to 2023, she worked as a psychedelic facilitator and lead trainer at SoundMind Institute in Philadelphia, where she helped develop the organization’s psychedelic therapy certificate program and led retreats training providers in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

Prior to becoming a clinical social worker, Dr. Hutchison worked as a policy advocate and journalist focusing on public health and racial justice. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to expanding access to healing and post-traumatic growth for individuals who have experienced harm.

Clarencetine (Teena), LMSW, M.Phil., ABD (she, her, hers) will be teaching Advocacy in Social Work Practice. She worked for over a decade with the Urban Justice Center, an innovative nonprofit that serves New York City’s most vulnerable residents through a combination of direct legal services, systemic advocacy, community education, and political organizing. In this position, she worked to support the development of impact litigation and develop public policy and community organizing strategies to address the criminalization of people with mental health conditions. In this role, she also worked closely with statewide and national organizations, such as the Alliance for Rights and Recovery and Community Access, to advocate for legislation created to improve the lives of people with behavioral health conditions.

In her current role as the Assistant Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Teena works to ensure that the voices of individuals with lived experience of mental health and substance use conditions are heard in government policy and planning. Her current scope of work at DOHMH includes working on initiatives regarding Medicaid Managed Care, Equity, and Trauma-Informed Care.

Teena is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in the Social Welfare program. Her research interests include Black/African American women’s health, sexual minority women of color health, intersectionality, trauma-responsive organizational readiness, and the impact of diabetes on the Black/African American community.

Christopher Ferraris, LMSW (he/him/his), is a research program manager at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. In this role, he manages a portfolio of HIV care and treatment studies both domestically and internationally. Chris has over a decade of experience in clinical research and clinical program management, domestically and internationally, in a variety of academic and healthcare settings. He has also provided training and capacity-building to a variety of settings and institutions across the US centering around HIV care and prevention best practices and continuous quality improvement processes with a focus on the role of the social worker. His areas of focus are research operations and administration, HIV, global mental health, and gender/sexuality. You can read more about his research here.

Chris holds a BA in Sociology from Christopher Newport University and an MSW from Tulane University School of Social Work. He is currently working towards his doctorate of clinical social work (DSW) at University of Pennsylvania. When not in the office or studying, he is an avid runner, traveler, and unofficial NYC dessert expert.

Dr. Christine Holmes is an adjunct lecturer at the Columbia School of Social Work, and has enjoyed working with the online program since 2018. Her areas of interest bridge aging and international social work. Christine is the founder and counselor of Hand in Hand Caregiver Counseling, supporting long distance caregivers of older adults through caregiving, loss and grief. She is also an alum of the American Society on Aging’s RISE fellowship program, which develops leadership in BIPOC professionals in aging. 

Christine’s clinical practice began at The New York Foundling where she delivered home-based family therapy in the South Bronx before supporting justice-involved families as a case manager for the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Christine discovered her passion for family caregiving as a case manager for the D.C. Superior Court’s Guardianship Assistance Program. Afterward, she provided distance counseling to caregivers of parents living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias for the NYU Caregiver Intervention study.

Christine has served internationally in various capacities, including her role as a course facilitator for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in Jakarta, Indonesia. Previously, she was visiting faculty for The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, an academic institution of The Banyan, a mental health and homelessness NGO in Chennai, India. She developed an operations manual and a diploma course for homeless shelter coordinators, and led research on the history of colonial psychiatry in Kerala, India. Christine was also a regional teacher trainer for the Peace Corps in Cambodia, and provided capacity building to the Harpswell Foundation, the Youth with Disabilities Foundation for Education and Employment and the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Christine earned her Doctor of Clinical Social Work degree at the University of Pennsylvania where she was honored with the Dr. Ram Cnaan Award for merit. Christine holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the Columbia School of Social Work, a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Arizona State University and an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies from Glendale Community College.

Christine Carville, LCSW-R, is the co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Resilience Lab, an innovative psychotherapy startup with 250 clinicians and supervisor providing simple, personalized, affordable therapy in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Christine developed the Resilience Methodology, a trans-theoretical training model that provides the fundamental framework for therapists to be able to provide individualized, flexible, trauma-informed care which is taught through the Resilience Institute. She brings a unique perspective to the mental health social enterprise by combining her expertise as a Columbia School of Social Work instructor, her entrepreneurial past, 10 years running multi-disciplinary community-based clinical teams, and her private psychotherapy practice. She has been teaching Advanced Clinical Practice and Understanding Depression and Bipolar Disorder practice courses since 2016.

Dr. Christie Hunnicutt is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York and currently holds the position of Senior Director, Health and Counseling Services at The Juilliard School in New York. She has maintained clinical appointments and adjunct positions in higher education since 2016 that include focus on teaching, administration and advisement and support of students at varying levels and needs. Her teaching assignments span multiple educational settings, including Columbia University, Smith College, and Southern Connecticut State University. For the past 8 years, she has served as a Clinical Instructor for the Yale University Post-MSW Fellowship program, where she provided annual clinical supervision and consultation to students seeking post-graduate training for clinical licensure. She has over 15 years of clinical practice experience treating children, adolescents and adults in for-profit and non-profit clinical settings at all levels of care and with varying health and wellness challenges. Dr. Hunnicutt earned her doctoral degree (PhD) from Smith College School for Social Work and earned both her undergraduate (BSW) and graduate degrees (MSW) from the University of Texas. She contributed to publications pertaining to higher education and clinical supervision and her current research interests include: clinical supervision and practice with special focus on access and intersectionality; community practice and integrated health care; higher education and workforce development, and international social work practice and supervision. Dr. Hunnicutt is also sole owner of a private psychotherapy practice and provides varying clinical interventions and treatment for adolescents and adults, including a specialized focus on disordered eating.

Chantelle Doswell, LCSW, is a clinical supervisor at Esperanza NY. Esperanza, a community based alternative to incarceration program, provides both casework and family/individual counseling services to teens in the criminal justice system and their families. She also acts as Esperanza’s post-program completion coordinator; facilitating connections to voluntary pro-social programming for youth after their mandated services end. Experienced in working with multi-problem youth and families with complex needs and chronic trauma/stress; Chantelle has used a variety of counseling techniques to promote the health, empowerment and well-being of her clients. She is trained in EMDR (as well as A-Tip, EMD & EMDr), Narrative Therapy, CBT, Mindfulness and Breath-work, Family Systems Therapy, Hip-Hop Therapy, and Dance/Movement Trauma Work. Chantelle has worked to provide responsive and integrative therapy that also incorporates her love of singing, rapping, and writing. She is working to set a standard of evidence-based mental health treatment that is accessible, holistic, anti-racist and non-oppressive.

Catherine Shugrue dos Santos (“Cat”) is a transformational client services executive and social justice activist leading policy change, impactful program development, and strategic alliances to build community and mobilize equity. Cat identifies as an anti-racist liberation social worker, Queer/Bi activist, and an educator, with 40 years in the intersecting movements working to end violence and to build racial, gender, reproductive, and economic justice. Cat currently serves as the President and CEO of Shugrue dos Santos Consulting, providing capacity building and support for non-profit and for-profit organizations, and as Executive Director at Fresh Youth Initiatives, which works with 1,300 immigrant and first-generation children and families in Washington Heights and Inwood each year, providing culturally responsive programs that are built on three pillars: academic success; community wellness; and family strength. FYI uses a whole child, whole family, whole community approach to providing holistic services to support students to become joyful readers and lifelong learners, from cradle to career. For thirty years, FYI has partnered with youth to develop their leadership, nurture their agency, and build their legacy.

 Cat serves as a subject matter expert in violence intervention and prevention, anti-oppression, and trauma-informed programs and organizations. Cat is a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work, speaks locally and nationally at conferences, has contributed articles to the Smith College Studies in Social Work Journal, the Domestic Violence Report, and Huffington Post, and is a leading voice in many local, statewide, and national coalitions working to end violence and promote equity. Cat serves on the National Council on Leadership and Innovation for the Joyful Heart Foundation, the Priority and Strategy Council for the Human Services Council and the Policy Committee for the New York State Network for Student Success. Cat is also the Co-Chair of HEARTS: Healing; Equity; Accountability; Restoration; Safety, a unique collaboration among intimate partner violence prevention advocates, survivors, practitioners working with those who cause harm through intimate partner violence, as well as community members, funders, and more, to end violence everywhere. Prior to bringing her talents to FYI, Cat served as the Deputy Executive Directorat the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which envisions a world in which all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-affected people are safe, respected, and live free from violence.  Cat believes in radical healing, transformative justice, and the power of poetry, loves sci-fi/fantasy, as well as games and crafts of all kinds. Cat lives just outside of New York City with her husband, adult daughter, and the family dog.

Carmen Fajardo is a New York State-licensed clinical social worker who specializes in developmental trauma in relation to interpersonal and gender-based violence. She is currently the Enough Is Enough coordinator at the Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies (DOVE) Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where she provides New York City colleges and universities with comprehensive, prevention-focused training and education for students, faculty, and staff on topics including bystander intervention, trauma-informed care, and domestic and sexual violence awareness. She also provides crisis intervention and trauma-focused psychotherapy to survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence and serves on the Washington Heights and Inwood Coalition Against Interpersonal and Domestic Violence.

Additionally, she is the founder of a New York City group therapy practice called Bodega Roots Therapy, PLLC, which developed to help bridge the gap in BIPOC communities to destigmatize mental health. She utilizes an anti-oppressive and client-centered lens to provide culturally sensitive approaches to create and maintain a calming and safe environment.

Carmen received her bachelors in Social Work from Long Island University and her MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work. She is also an adjunct professor at Manhattan College. Carmen identifies as Honduran-American and utilizes she/her/hers pro-nouns. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her partner and Luna, their Shiba Inu. She also enjoys reading, hiking, and the beach and has a guilty pleasure of binge-watching reality TV.

Brandon J. Weiss, PhD, is an attending psychologist and assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He provides evidence-based individual psychotherapy for adults, primarily individuals who identify as LGBT and/or are HIV+, with a variety of presenting problems, He also maintains a part-time private practice where he specializes in anxiety disorders, PTSD/trauma, and LGBT mental health. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Weiss was an assistant professor at Georgia Southern University, where he taught and mentored students in the clinical psychology doctoral program.

Dr. Weiss received his BS in Psychology from the University of Houston and his MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He completed his clinical internship at the Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology, where his major rotation was within the National Center for PTSD Behavioral Science Division at the VA Boston Healthcare System. While on internship, he maintained academic appointments as a clinical fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a teaching fellow in Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Weiss also completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, part of the Stanford University School of Medicine and VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

His program of research is driven by a desire to improve mental health services for underserved populations, particularly individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) and individuals residing in rural areas. His research focuses on (1) evidence-based treatment for PTSD and related disorders (particularly anxiety disorders) and (2) using various technologies (e.g., videoconferencing, mobile apps, web-based interventions) to increase access to care and maximize the efficiency of interventions.

 Boris Vilgorin is the Health Care Strategy Officer at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at NYU. In this role, he provides technical assistance to all publicly funded mental health and substance abuse agencies in New York State. He has over twenty years of experience in health and human services.

Mr. Vilgorin was previously the Vice President of Managed Care & Business Development at Federal Employment & Guidance Services (FEGS). He oversaw Managed Care Contracts and Services for their behavioral health network, which consisted of programs serving persons with mental illness and/or developmental disabilities in New York City and Long Island. Previously, Mr. Vilgorin worked at Magellan Behavioral Health, where he worked on a development and implementation team and served as a contract manager for their ambulatory care network.

Mr. Vilgorin has assisted with the development of new businesses, designing and implementing projects that range from $1 million to $40 million.  He served on the New York State Office of Mental Health Clinic Restructuring Stakeholder Workgroup, and helped implement the New York State Department of Health Chronic Illness Demonstration Project, PROS and Health Home services. He has served on DSRIP, PPS Senior, and Executive Committees, and on the board of Independ Practice Association (IPA).

Mr. Vilgorin earned his BA in Psychology from the City College of New York, and his Master’s in Public Administration (Executive Program) from Baruch College.

Ashley E. Stewart is a PhD candidate at Ohio State University. As a social work educator, she promotes self-awareness and advocacy skills. As a policy/political social worker, she is passionate about the translational aspect of research, policy, advocacy, and social change. Her main research interests are theory development around racial trauma, and policy advocacy around efficient and intentional federal programming.

Ms. Stewart has taught Introduction to Social Work, Social Problems and Social Policies, and Policy Advocacy. She has worked extensively in higher education on student support and program development. In Ohio, she has also been an advocate for community-based service, including work with incarcerated women and children with a diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance.

Ms. Stewart earned her BA from Rutgers University, and her MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Arjon Crawford is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that has been practicing social work in child welfare since 2011 and has over a decade and a half of experience in the nonprofit, health care and education sectors. Throughout her career in social work, she has supported families in Juvenile Justice, Preventive, Foster Care, Clinical and Care Coordination services, both as a direct service provider and in managerial roles. Arjon has a strong belief in professional development, wellness and holistic care and has expanded that interest in becoming a certified yoga instructor, reiki practitioner, and professional development and wellness consultant. Arjon has developed her professional skills over her career in multidimensional roles from case planner to program director to business owner. Throughout Arjon’s career she has worked closely with service providers and stakeholders to support the well-being and safety of children and families served, approaching her roles from the lens of cultural awareness, humility, and learning. In addition to her clinical and organizational experience, Arjon has been an adjunct instructor in courses such as Integrative Seminar (BSW) and Motivational Interviewing (MSW).

Antonette Mentor, LCSW, ’01, is Associate Vice President at Montefiore CMO, where she leads population health strategies across clinical, behavioral, and social care domains. She oversees NCQA-accredited managed care functions for public and private plans covering 350,000 lives and directs The Montefiore Health Home, supporting 8,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in the Bronx. Antonette partners with the New York State Department of Health on the CMS Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) Program, reaching nearly 50,000 pediatric beneficiaries, and leads Montefiore’s expanding telemental health practice to strengthen access and performance across value-based arrangements.

She earned her MSSW from Columbia University with a specialization in aging and was named a Hartford Foundation Geriatric Fellow. Her training in Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming shaped her expertise in program architecture, performance improvement, regulatory translation, and fiscal management. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, focusing on health equity and social justice.

Anthony Zenkus, LCSW, is the director of education for The Safe Center, a victims services agency on Long Island providing services for survivors of family violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. He has worked for almost 30 years in the field of youth and family services.

As a presenter, Mr. Zenkus has trained thousands of professionals regionally and nationally on issues of trauma, child abuse, family violence, and income inequality. He has been the keynote presenter at the Prevent Child Abuse NY Annual Conference, The Child and Family Home Program National Conference, the Nassau County Co-Occurring Disorders Annual Conference, and others. In 2016, Mr. Zenkus gave a TEDx Talk on the ways in which income inequality and racism affect the brains and behavior of children. He also serves as an expert on family violence and trauma in television, print and digital media. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Social Work at Adelphi University for 9 years, and has taught at the LIU Post graduate School of Social Work.

Mr. Zenkus is an activist on issues of racial justice, income inequality, and climate justice. He was trained by Vice President Al Gore as a presenter in his Climate Reality Project, and has been an organizer with Occupy Wall Street, the fight for a $15 minimum wage, and an ally in the Movement for Black Lives.

Anna M. Hedrick teaches Foundations of Social Work Practice and the AGPP Seminar in Field Instruction. She has also served as a CSSW Field Instructor and Field Advisor.

Ms. Hedrick served as the Deputy Director of NYC Department of Transportation Employee Assistance Program for ten years, heading up the training and organizational development component. Major projects included “work and family life” programs, supervisory and managerial staff development, organizational change, stress prevention, and conflict management training. Ms. Hedrick then assumed the position of Deputy Director of the city-wide Employee Assistance Program, where she developed a Trauma Intervention Program for non-uniformed city employees assaulted in the line of duty. For this multi-faceted treatment, advocacy, and disability management program, she received the 1997 Sloan Public Service Award.

Ms. Hedrick has also worked on major applied research projects in the Psychology Department at St. John’s University, developing and conducting stress, anger, and conflict management treatment protocols for victims of abuse and women with AIDS. She maintains a private clinical practice, and specializes in the treatment of affective and personality disorders, learning and attention deficit disorders, and PTSD. She earned her MS from the Columbia School of Social Work in 1982.

Angelie Singla, LMSW (she/her), has extensive experience in fundraising, program development/evaluation, and grant management in the fields of public health, youth development, and healthcare. Currently she is the first chief development officer for the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, the only organization focusing on building power with AAPI women and girls to influence critical decisions that affect their lives, their families, and their communities.

Previously, Angelie was the director of corporate, foundation, and  government relations at Mount Sinai South Nassau, where she managed a $25 million portfolio of programs to improve patient experiences. As vice president of philanthropy at Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, she was responsible for retaining and growing the portfolio of foundation, corporate, and government partnerships as well as supporting individual donor cultivation efforts. Before that, as the assistant director of program and resource development at the Fund for Public Health in New York, Angelie secured several multimillion-dollar grants and donations for high-profile, complex initiatives.

Angelie earned her MSW degree from the Columbia School of Social Work and a BA from Pace University. As a student at CSSW, she interned at UJA-Federation of New York, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, and Palladia (now part of Services of the UnderServed) and worked as a development assistant at Sakhi for South Asian Women. Prior to graduate school, she was a site director at the Queens Community House, where she facilitated programs for students, parents, and staff.

Angelie is an adjunct faculty member at the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service and Stony brook University’s School of Social Welfare in-person and online. She has taught continuing education courses and workshops at CSSW, the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, Stony Brook University’s School of Social Welfare, and the Network for Social Work Management’s national and New York City chapter conferences. In addition to classroom teaching, she has been a field instructor for CSSW and Silberman students. She is the co-chair of the Scholarship Committee of the NYC chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has served on the board of directors of Community Mediation Services, as a team leader for the Grants Advisory Committee of the New York Women’s Foundation, and a member of the Asian Women Giving Circle. Angelie was a Selection Committee member for the NYCT Nonprofit Excellence Awards, a volunteer mentor for the Network for Social Work Management, and a career coach for Women in Development.

Angela Daubon, MDiv, LCSW, SIFI-Certified, has been a school social worker at the Hempstead School District since 1998, where she supports students and families while bridging the gap between the community and the school. She also works at the Lutheran Counseling Center since 2008, where she provides psychotherapy, conducts mental health assessments, and facilitates workshops. Mrs. Daubon has an extensive background working with children, teens, adults, and families.

Mrs. Daubon has years of experience as a field supervisor of students from various universities and is grateful to be a part of the development of future social workers. With a sincere passion and love for social work, she continues working, serving, volunteering, and teaching.

Angela Daubon obtained her Bachelor‘s in Social Welfare and a Master’s in Social Work from Adelphi University, a Post Master’s Certificate in School District Administration from Stony Brook University, and a Master’s in Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.

Andrés Hoyos, MS, LCSW, brings over three decades of clinical and administrative experience in the fields of mental health and social services working in private, public and non-profit sectors.  Their expertise lies in the areas of direct clinical practice, program development, training and supervision through an expansive social justice lens with particular emphasis on trauma, substance abuse, immigration, political asylum, and working with queer, gender-expansive, transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and gay communities and psychedelic assisted therapies.  For over 15 years, Andrés has provided faculty advising and taught clinical social work practice I, II, & III, psychopathology-DSM 5, working with Spanish speaking Latino immigrant families and global mental health from an anti-oppressive lens. They have lectured nationally and internationally on issues of trauma, mental health and public policy. Andrés has a private practice in New York City, and currently provides training, participates in community organizing, and advocacy for diverse communities in the US, Guatemala and Colombia with emphasis in Indigenous and Afro-descendent women and their children.

Analeah Green holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from SUNY Cortland, a Master of Social Work degree from New York University, and a PhD in Human Services with a specialization in Administration and Leadership from Walden University.

She is originally from Queens, New York, where she worked as an LMSW for a case management agency for adults aged 65 and older. From 2009 to 2011, she and her husband lived on the island of Dominica in the West Indies, where she worked with university Behavioral Science and Introduction to Clinical Medicine departments to train third-semester students in interviewing and taking biopsychosocial assessments. Since that time, she has worked as a social work instructor, field placement advisor, and field placement coordinator.

Dr. Green has an interest in staff and program development, grant writing, continuing education, and the use of animal-assisted therapy with the older adult population. Her Facebook page offers more information on animal-assisted therapy.

Amy Batchelor works on policy related to Medicaid long term care, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and social determinants of health in the Executive Office of the President at the Office of Management and Budget. She previously worked on issues related to minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, overtime policy. Prior to her service in the federal government, Amy supported a consensus study on family caregiving for older adults at the National Academy of Sciences

She has been a lecturer at the Columbia School of Social Work since 2016, where she has taught Introduction to Statistics, Social Welfare Policy, and Policy Practice courses. She is also the author of Statistics in Social Work: An Introduction to Practical Applications.

Amy holds a BA from the George Washington University in International Affairs and an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Professor Amelia Ortega, LCSW, TCYM, SIFI, currently works as a somatic psychotherapist, organizational change consultant, and professor of Social Work practice. As a social worker, Professor Ortega’s work for the last 14 years has been dedicated to supporting queer and trans young adults and families. They currently work in their NYC-based practice, Amanecer Feminist Psychotherapy, as a Senior Lecturer at the Columbia School of Social Work, and as a consultant to direct service and non-profit agencies seeking to address structural and interpersonal racism.

Professor Ortega has taught at Columbia for ten years both residentially and online, specializing in trauma-informed practice and classroom pedagogies. They have been dedicated to the growth and development of the CSSW Online Program since the program was established. Professor Ortega currently teaches Human Behavior in the Social Environment A, Advanced Clinical, and Building Resilience to Trauma, and has also created a HBSE B course focused on Constructions of Gender and Sexuality. Professor Ortega believes their role in social work education and as a community-based clinician is an opportunity to build collective consciousness about identity, power, and liberation labor.

Professor Ortega’s clinical and teaching practice engages healing through use of somatic experiencing, EMDR, and their training in the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method. In 2019 they were named by Negocios Now as one of “NYC’s 40 Latinos under 40” for their trauma therapy work with LGBTQ Latinx community.

Professor Ortega’s academic background includes a BA in Media Studies and Critical Race Studies from Hampshire College and an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work (AGPP/Family, Youth, and Children). Since graduating from Columbia in 2007, Professor Ortega has focused their career on work within the foster care and public school systems. While their work is currently clinically oriented, Professor Ortega’s background is primarily rooted in community organizing, training, and consultation. They are a current candidate for a doctorate in Social Welfare at SUNY Buffalo, where they are focusing their academic labor on somatic interventions for healing racialized trauma with multiracial identified clients.

Professor Ortega is a deep listener of all life, and when they aren’t working they are often found out in nature with birds and wildlife. They are a photographer, writer, visual creator, and naturalist.

Amanda Levering oversees the Brooklyn Supervised Release Program, which has diverted more than 4,000 people from pre-trial detention since March 2016. Additionally, Ms. Levering launched the Pre-Trial Youth Engagement Program (PYEP), which supervises 16-19 year olds charged with violent felony offenses. Ms. Levering previously served as the Strategic Coordinator for the Circles of Support Program at the Harlem Community Justice Center. Before joining the Justice Center, Ms. Levering worked for the Delaware Department of Justice as a victim advocate and as a substance abuse counselor at an outpatient facility. In 2009, she worked as a health volunteer for the Peace Corps in Nicaragua. Ms. Levering holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Delaware and a master’s in social work from the Columbia University School of Social Work, where she completed the Management Fellows Program in 2013.

Ms. Brown Kenney is a mission-driven international development professional committed to social justice and access to quality health care. A respected international humanitarian and development professional with more than two decades of experience as both practitioner and executive, Ms. Brown Kenney collaborates with partners to ensure that humanitarian actors are equipped to lead effective and creative responses to alleviate suffering and save lives.

A social work public health professional by trade, her areas of expertise include program development and coordination, advocacy and representation, curriculum development and training, and partnership building. She has utilized these skills in complex environments, in both emergency and development settings with a focus on maternal and child health. Extensive work in Bangladesh, Haiti, and Rwanda, and collaboration with national and international NGO partners has deepened her commitment to improving health outcomes for vulnerable communities and providing dynamic and relevant training opportunities that help learners build their skills, knowledge, and confidence to take on leadership responsibilities. As a lecturer, she strives to create an inclusive learning environment whereby students feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to the classroom.

For close to fourteen years, she held a variety of positions at Concern Worldwide US. Most recently, she served as the Director for the National NGO Program on Humanitarian Leadership (NNPHL), a consortium led by Concern in partnership with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and International Medical Corps, which provides training to the next generation of humanitarian leaders. Prior to leading NNPHL for five years, she managed Concern’s Child Survival grant funding and provided technical and liaison support to Concern’s maternal and child health programs; oversaw the organization’s active global citizenship program, which included advocacy efforts focusing on Concern’s food security and nutrition portfolio; and served as Concern’s acting Operations Director (2010), managing technical and operational staff, overseeing emergency and development US government grants, providing high-level representation, and temporarily deploying to Haiti for the 2010 earthquake response.

Earlier, Ms. Brown Kenney worked with other international and domestic mission-driven organizations, including managing socioeconomic reintegration programs at the World Rehabilitation Fund and coordinating services for New York City families affected by 9/11. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Peace and Conflict Studies from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Master of Science in Social Work degree and Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University.

Allison R. Ross, PhD, LCSW, is the Deputy Clinical Director at Sanctuary for Families, an organization that provides comprehensive services to adults and children survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking and other forms of gender violence. Her area of interest includes: intimate partner/domestic violence and its impact on women and children; along with developing social interventions and prevention programs to benefit survivors of domestic violence.

Dr. Ross earned her MSW degree from Columbia University School of Social Work, and a doctorate degree (PhD) from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services. She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and New York University, Schools of Social Work. She also serves as a Field Instructor, in which role she provides clinical instructions and supervision to MSW, MHC, and undergraduate interns as they complete their varying degrees.

Alirio H. Guerrero, LMSW, is the former Deputy Director of Child Welfare and Family Services for the Children’s Aid Society of New York. During his 22-year tenure at the Children’s Aid, he oversaw their child abuse prevention and domestic violence programs. As Director of Preventive Services, he developed a comprehensive trauma-based clinical model that addresses relational family dysfunctional behaviors and their interference with strength-based and positive parenting. This model successfully reduced child abuse and neglect and prevented out-of-home placements.

Professor Guerrero earned his master’s in social work from Rutgers University Graduate School of Social Work. Before earning his MSW, he worked as a child abuse investigator and adolescent case specialist for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services. After moving to New York City, he served as Program and Site Director for a community-based organization on the Lower East Side, where he provided counseling, advocacy, and other services for immigrant families dealing with child abuse issues.

Professor Guerrero completed his postgraduate studies at the renowned Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York City. He maintains a private practice in Manhattan, specializing in family therapy with bi-racial, bi-cultural families. He has written and given presentations extensively on child abuse and neglect, the immigrant experience, and systemic family therapy. He also serves on the Board of St. Nick’s Alliance, a nonprofit social service agency that helps children and families in Brooklyn.

Professor Guerrero is entering his 14^th year as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work. He is the proud father of two adult daughters and currently lives with his wife in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Alexandra Seals is currently the Associate Director of Mission and Outreach at The Reformed Church of Bronxville. In her current role, she oversees the Reformed Church in Bronxville’s mission and advocacy efforts, ranging from systemic change and social justice issues locally and abroad, as well as the administration of Coming Home, a prison re-entry program. Prior to this, she was a Research Consultant at Fordham University’s Beck Institute for Religion and Poverty. Alexandra has provided consulting services for reentry programs where she conducted training, curriculum development, and program planning for organizations such as Rye Presbyterian Church, Riverside Church, and SEARCH Houston.

Alexandra has worked on many mass incarceration reform initiatives including at the Westchester County Jail, where she spearheaded a program that provides incarcerated youth with pre-release training and coordinated planning to support their transition into the community. She has served as an Advisory Board member of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison and most recently has served on the Westchester Ban the Box Task Force. Her work is featured in a documentary released by the New York State Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration. Alexandra is pursuing a Doctoral degree in Social Work at Fordham University and has an MSW from Lehman College. Alexandra’s current research is in the area of parental incarceration and intergenerational transfers.

Aditi Bhattacharya (she, her) is Director of Client Services at NYC Anti-Violence Project, one of the largest  anti-LGBTQ violence organizations in the country.  She holds an LCSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and an MA in International Politics. A recipient of the “Emerging Leaders'” award from the National Association of Social Workers, Aditi has practiced anti-violence social work through her entire 14 year Social Work career. Prior to AVP, she was Prevention Coordinator for Columbia University Sexual Violence Response (SVR), Rape Crisis Program Manager at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center (MSAHC) and for nearly six years, she served as  Senior Manager of the Sexual Violence Services Program for Womankind, one of the largest anti-violence agencies serving the Asian Pacific Islander community in country. She set up the first Coordinated Community Response in NYC for organizations around intimate partner violence prevention (Asian Anti Violence Network). She also does Forensic Clinical work and has served as expert witness on DV and Coercive Control cases in NY and NJ. Aditi is also a certified death doula. Beyond Social Work, she is a farmer-in-service to the Ramapo Lunaape Turtle Clan at Three Sisters Munsee Farm in Central New Jersey. She is committed to celebrating the life and resilience of people who survive great harm by helping them connect to their innate capacity for healing.

Adeline Medeiros, LMSW

Adeline currently serves as the Executive Director for The Children’s Storefront, a first-of-its-kind, free program in Harlem where parents receive support to build their children’s brains in the first 1,000 days of life through the power of interactive play. With strengths-based coaching focused on responsive, nurturing interactions, families build a strong foundation for lifelong success.

Previously, Adeline was the Borough Director for Power of Two where she led a team of 25 to expand services throughout New York City, develop a thriving, equitable organizational culture, and ensure holistic support of the hundreds of families Power of Two partnered with annually. She also served as Associate Director of Community at 100Kin10, where she strategized in partnership with stakeholders to strengthen STEM education in the United States. She began her career as a community organizer and coalition builder, and has previously directed civic engagement efforts at Barnard College, developed curriculum and taught as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and facilitated community leadership fellowship programs. Adeline earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Bridgewater State University, a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, and has received her LMSW and SIFI certification. She is an active leader in the fight for equity and racial justice, a regular guest lecturer and trainer at educational and community institutions across the country, a long-time member and former treasurer of NASW-NYC’s political action committee, and a recipient of the National Association of Social Worker’s Emerging Social Work Leader Award.

Adela Effendy, a Licensed Master Social Worker in New York State, has led multiple pilot and well-established programs in the nation’s largest secondary and public university systems, overseeing over $1.5 million in budgets, 75+ staff members and reaching 10,000+ students over the past 12+ years. She has expertise in staff and student learning and development, teaching and facilitating groups, crisis management/rapid responding, and fostering diverse, equitable, and inclusive team environments while also leading teams and programs through change management processes.

As the current Program Coordinator at CUNY Start/Math Start’s LaGuardia Community College, Adela has been at the forefront of capacity-building and navigating significant systems changes at the City University of New York’s (CUNY) pilot program since 2014 by redesigning professional development and student advisement processes for increased stakeholder engagement and change. Along with her work at CUNY, Adela has worked with various non-profit organizations, summer camps, public schools, and corporations to uplift conversations around examining knowledge of self, cultural sustainability, and anti-oppressive and healing-centered work spaces.

Abe Zubarev, LCSW, BCD, ATR, DPS, is a board certified licensed clinical social worker. He has over thirteen years of experience working with adults and adolescents providing direct clinical services, and much of his career has focused on college mental health. Most recently, Abe served as Director of Counseling at University of the Arts in Philadelphia and directed Counseling Services at Penn State Brandywine. He has worked in staff therapist roles at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania and as an embedded clinician at The Wharton School.

As a registered art therapist as well as an LCSW, Abe is an expert in the field of visual arts in mental health. At CSSW, Abe teaches a graduate seminar on Art Therapy in Social Work Practice — the first art therapy course ever to be taught at Columbia University. Previously, Abe helped to establish the undergraduate art therapy concentration as a lecturer at Rutgers Camden. Abe has taught undergraduate courses on modern/contemporary art history and theory at institutions such as Penn State Abington and Moore College of Art & Design, and graduate seminars in art therapy and counseling psychology at Holy Family.

Abe earned his BA summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College CUNY in Art History and Philosophy, an MSSW from Columbia (2010), and a doctorate in Bioethics with a focus on clinical ethics consultation from Albany Medical College, where he wrote his doctoral project on bioethics in art therapy. Abe is also currently completing a second doctorate in Health Sciences at Eastern Virginia Medical School (expected 2023). Before pivoting into the Arts in Health field, Abe trained to be an art historian and arts educator. He has an MA from Cornell in Art History (ABD, 2004) and an MEd from Harvard in Arts in Education, and he later obtained an MFA in Studio Art with a focus on sculpture from University of the Arts.

Having worked in a range of mental health settings, from outpatient/IOP clinics to inpatient psychiatric units, residential treatment programs, and college counseling centers, has left Abe with a deep sense of purpose to help support young adults and their mental health. Abe has considerable leadership experience in program development/coordination and evaluation, with staff and intern training, and financial management. Abe currently works full-time as a psychotherapist in private practice. His clinical interests focus on autism, self-esteem, social anxiety/loneliness, gay men’s issues, and existential concerns. Abe further supports Columbia students by serving as an external clinical supervisor and advisor in field education and enjoys mentoring the next generation of clinicians.