Staff
CHDI’s diverse staff shares a common mission: improving the health and well-being of children.
Our staff members provide a range of expertise in pediatrics, children’s mental health, social work and government and have a range of knowledge and experience in translating research to inform and improve public policy and practice.
Rebekah Behan
— Senior Project Coordinator
Rebekah Behan is a Project Coordinator. She joined CHDI in 2019 and works on the School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) system, and Project AWARE. Rebekah has over 18 years of experience working in the human service field, with an extensive background in youth development, prevention strategies, and mentoring services. She is a skilled project manager and trainer who has presented both locally and nationally.
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Prior to joining CHDI, she served as Program Manager at The Governor’s Prevention Partnership, where she managed a state funded contract by the Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division and a federally funded contract by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. She also spent 15 years as a direct service provider at Klingberg Family Centers providing residential treatment, therapeutic after school care, and community-based services. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University.
Jeana Bracey, PhD
— Associate Vice President of School and Community Initiatives
Jeana Bracey is Associate Vice President of School and Community Initiatives at CHDI. She joined CHDI in 2011. She oversees several school and community-based systems development activities and has experience in school-based mental health, juvenile justice diversion, health equity, and program implementation and evaluation.
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Currently she directs several statewide initiatives, including: the CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), the Connecting Children and Families to Care (CONNECT) Initiative, and Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education). She co-chairs the statewide Trauma-Informed School Mental Health Task Force and serves on several state-level committees to advance policy and practice on social emotional learning, family and community engagement in schools, health equity/racial justice, and juvenile justice diversion. While she officially joined the CHDI staff in July 2011, Jeana has worked with CHDI since 2008 through her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at The Consultation Center at Yale University. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical/Community Psychology in 2010 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Roseann Breindel, MA
— Project Coordinator
Roseann (Rosie) Breindel joined CHDI in June 2022 as a Project Coordinator working on school mental health initiatives. Rosie earned her MA in School Counseling from the University of Saint Joseph and a BA in English from Providence College. She previously worked as a certified middle school counselor providing academic and social-emotional support for students in grades 5-8 and has participated in department, school, and district-level initiatives to improve behavioral health.
Jaime Brown, MSW
— Project Coordinator
Jaime Brown joined CHDI in March 2023 as a Project Coordinator working on projects related to evidence-based practice dissemination and quality improvement initiatives in children’s behavioral health programs.
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Jaime has a Master's in Social Work from Fordham University and a Bachelor's in Social Work from Central Connecticut State University. Prior to joining CHDI, Jaime worked as a Project Specialist for EDSI working on federally and state-funded workforce development programs. She helped launch the first Multi-Gen program in Connecticut which is designed to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by addressing the needs of both parents and children through job readiness training and social-emotional learning activities. The program created opportunities that led to family-sustaining wages and a strengthened family unit. Jaime also has also served as the Fundraising Coordinator for a Women’s Center overseeing fundraising efforts and donor relations. She has extensive case management experience within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Jaime is trained in Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
Yecenia Casiano, MS
— Senior Project Coordinator
Yecenia Casiano is a Senior Project Coordinator. She joined CHDI in 2013 and works on both the School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) and the Mobile Crisis Intervention Services (formerly Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services - EMPS) - Performance Improvement Center Projects.
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She serves on several statewide committees related to juvenile justice. She is also a member of the Fellow Network of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University and Transforming Youth Justice Leadership Development at the Tow Youth Justice Institute, UNH. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master in Non-Profit Management and Philanthropy. Yecenia has over 14 years of experience working in the human service field. She has extensive experience in child-welfare systems including foster care, adoption services, and juvenile justice.
Tasmina Chowdhury
— Data Analyst
Tasmina Chowdhury joined CHDI in January 2023 as a Data Analyst. She is responsible for analyzing data and producing reports for several different initiatives and projects, including Trauma ScreenTIME, Workforce Development, and Evidence-Based Treatments.
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Tasmina has a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has over two years of experience as a data analyst. She previously worked as a Systems Operations Assistant at the McSilver Institute for Poverty and Policy Research at New York University. In this role, she gained valuable experience in data analysis. She also has experience working for other non-profit organizations as well as the public sector.
Michelle Delaney, MHP
— Senior Associate
Michelle Delaney is a Senior Associate. She joined CHDI in 2011 and works on the School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI). She previously worked as a Senior Data Analyst on Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Coordinating Center initiative.
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She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Connecticut and a Masters in Health Psychology from Central Connecticut State University. Michelle previously worked at the UConn Health Center with Dr. Julian Ford on a National Institute of Drug Abuse funded research study entitled Vocational Outcomes for troubled youth with substance abuse problems and high HIV risk.
Meghan N. Flynn, Ph.D.
— Post Doctoral Fellow
Meghan Flynn is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Child Behavioral Health. She earned her Ph.D. in Human Services Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), specializing in Community Psychology and Implementation Science. Meghan also served as a policy fellow at the Research-to-Policy Collaboration, where she helped translate evidence-based research into actionable policy at local, state, and federal levels.
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She holds a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Fredonia and an M.A. in Community Psychology and Program Development from the University of New Haven. Her multidisciplinary advocacy and research work have focused on various topics related to health equity, policy, and practice. Meghan also served as a lead program evaluator for the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC. She is passionate about utilizing evidence-based research and implementation science to bridge the research-policy gap, helping children and families flourish.
Nicole Foster, LMSW
— Project Coordinator
Nicole Foster joined CHDI as a Project Coordinator in September 2024 working on projects relating to developing training for the DCF Workforce Development and Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI) and primarily using our new asynchronous platform, Kids Mental Health Training. Nicole is
a licensed social worker with experience in schools as well as other settings, and previously had a career as a nurse in pediatric primary care. She has extensive experience training other professionals as well as family members.
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Nicole has a Master of Social Work from, the University of Connecticut, a Bachelor of Arts from Central Connecticut State University, and a Practical Nursing Diploma, from Isabella Graham Hart School of Nursing.
Tiffany Franceschetti, LCSW
— Senior Associate
Tiffany Franceschetti manages the dissemination and implementation of several evidence-based practices (EBP) for CHDI. Tiffany has over 15 years of experience in children’s behavioral health, including more than eight years at CHDI. She has disseminated and implemented several EBPs, including MATCH, TF-CBT, and the Early Childhood Learning Collaborative (ECTC). She has extensive experience using the Learning Collaborative methodology and is a state trainer for MATCH.
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Tiffany is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Masters from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in 2007. She is an experienced clinician, formerly as a Program Director at the Family and Children's Aid Extended Day Treatment program. She also has experience in the IICAPS and FST treatment models.
Marlene Gomez
— Project Coordinator
Marlene Gomez joined CHDI in May 2023 as a Project Coordinator working on both the Connecting to Care (CONNECT) initiative and the school-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) with the goal of implementing the youth and family voice into systems.
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Before joining CHDI, Marlene worked as a Parent Counselor at Klingberg’s Child and Adolescent Trauma Services Program, educating parents on trauma-informed parenting and supporting families in crisis. Marlene also helped families navigate the criminal justice, court, and school systems at Klingberg’s Child Advocacy Center. Marlene has contributed to countless Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings across the state, partnering with Child Protective Services through DCF and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Police Departments, and other providers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University.
Christine Hauser, LCSW, LADC
— Senior Associate
Christine Hauser joined CHDI in January 2021 as a Senior Project Coordinator. She was promoted to Senior Associate in 2023. She coordinates statewide implementation of evidence-based treatments for children's outpatient behavioral health, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems (MATCH-ADTC).
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Christine graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology through the LSA Honor’s Program and a Master's in Social Work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and Certified School Social Work Specialist. Christine has significant training and experience in evidence-based interventions, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT & TF-CBT), Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC), Motivational Interviewing, Adolescent Screening, Referral, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (A-SBIRT), and the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA). She also obtained leadership training through the TOW Youth Justice Institute’s leadership development program and UCONN Social Work Practice Fellows program. Christine previously worked as the Director of Outpatient Services at The Children’s Center of Hamden. Her areas of special interest include trauma, substance use, LGBTQ+ issues, and social justice.
Shannon Houston, MSW
— Communications Manager
Shannon Houston joined CHDI in June as Communications Manager, managing the organization's digital presence and supporting overall communications strategy and planning. She brings 17+ years of experience in nonprofit communications, fundraising, and community project management.
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Shannon holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with a concentration in community organization from the UConn School of Social Work and a BA in Writing from Ithaca College. Prior to CHDI, she spent four years working as a freelance communications consultant for nonprofits and mental health providers and previously managed communications and fundraising for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center. She currently volunteers with the Middletown Racial Justice Coalition.
Ryan Jason
— Vice President for Finance & Operations
Ryan Jason is Vice President for Finance & Operations. He joined CHDI in 2022 and leads CHDI’s accounting, finance, contract management, operations, and human resources. Ryan has 15 years of experience in finance and public accounting with a focus on the non-profit sector.
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Prior to joining CHDI, Ryan served as Assistant Chief Financial Officer at Adelbrook, Inc. in Cromwell, an organization that serves children with autism and other developmental disabilities. In that role, he worked closely with municipal, state, and federal funding sources. Ryan also spent 11 years in public accounting at Whittlesey & Hadley, where he specialized in planning and performing audits for non-profit organizations.
Ryan graduated from Assumption College with a BA in Accounting. Ryan has also served on Boards of other local non-profit organizations, including the Greater Hartford Jaycees and a local Habitat for Humanity chapter.
Aleece Kelly, MPP
— Senior Associate
Aleece Kelly joined CHDI in August 2018. As Senior Associate, she leads CHDI's expanding work in behavioral health systems development, including efforts to strengthen Connecticut's behavioral health workforce and support the state’s behavioral health plan implementation workgroups. Aleece also serves as chair of CHDI’s Committee on Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE). In this role, she leads the committee’s efforts to recommend, implement, and monitor adherence to standards for culturally appropriate and anti-racist policies and practices within the organization in order to advance health equity and wellness.
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Aleece previously served as a senior program officer and as a senior data analyst at CHDI. She has over 20 years of experience working on design, implementation, and quality improvement of programs supporting children and families.
She obtained her Master of Public Policy from the University of Southern California and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Alyssa Korell, PhD
— Project Coordinator
Alyssa Korell is a Project Coordinator at CHDI working primarily on evidence-based treatment initiatives. She was hired after completing her postdoctoral fellowship with CHDI in 2023. Prior to joining CHDI, she served as a clinical interviewer for the National Study of Mental Health, where she obtained information about the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders among adults in the United States.
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Alyssa completed her predoctoral internship at the Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Sacramento, CA. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Idaho State University, where she also obtained her Masters and Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology. During her time at ISU, her research experiences included evaluating Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) including adaptations for age and diagnosis, examining psychometric properties of a measure of child and adolescent psychosocial strengths, and serving as a research coordinator for an NIH-funded study, titled Sleep Physiology and Risk for Alcohol Problems in Children of Alcoholics. Her interests include assessment and treatment for childhood traumatic stress and increasing access to evidence-based mental health services, particularly among underserved populations.
Alice Kraiza, MPH
— Senior Project Coordinator
Alice Kraiza joined CHDI in September 2019. She serves as Senior Project Coordinator for the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Bounce Back initiatives. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Neuroscience from Gettysburg College and received a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Public Health Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. Her master’s thesis focused on the implementation and initiation of school-based mental health programs in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
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Alice previously was a Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration. She developed a training program on early childhood development together with a local Latina childcare provider group as a Pre-Doctoral Fellow. That training program is still ongoing in partnership with the LEND program.
Jason Lang, PhD
— Chief Program Officer
Jason M. Lang serves as CHDI’s Chief Program Officer, where he leads CHDI’s work to advance solutions that result in equitable and optimal behavioral health and well-being for children, youth, and families. He is responsible for staff and programs across CHDI’s areas of expertise, including evidence-based practices (EBPs), trauma-informed care, comprehensive school mental health, quality improvement and measurement-based care, and policy and system development. Jason is a nationally recognized expert on child trauma, evidence-based practices, and implementation science and has published and presented extensively on these topics.
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Jason joined CHDI in 2007 and held positions as Program Associate, Associate Director, Director of Dissemination and Implementation, and Vice President for Mental Health Initiatives. His work has encompassed child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, law enforcement, education, pediatric primary care, and family advocacy organizations to improve children’s behavioral health services and create sustainable system improvements. A specific focus has been on enhancing CHDI's role as an intermediary organization to develop partnerships with state agencies, researchers, and community providers to test, implement and evaluate innovative strategies for disseminating and sustaining EBPs and other system improvements. He has been Principal Investigator of the Early Childhood Trauma Collaborative and ScreenTIME, funded by SAMHSA as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), and previously served on the NCTSN Steering Committee.
Jason is a licensed clinical psychologist who also holds appointments as an Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at UCONN Health and at the Child Study Center in the Yale School of Medicine. Prior to joining CHDI, Jason completed his pre- and post-doctoral fellowships specializing in child traumatic stress at the Yale Child Study Center. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 2005, and is a graduate of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series College and The NIH-sponsored Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH).
A list of publications is available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Lang2
Brittany C.L. Lange, DPhil, MPH
— Senior Associate
Brittany Lange is the Senior Associate for CHDI’s ScreenTIME (Screen, Triage, Inform, Mitigate, Engage) initiative. In this role, she leads the development and national dissemination of an online training for child-serving professionals to improve early identification and support for children suffering from traumatic stress. She also supports CHDI’s quality improvement initiatives.
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Brittany joined CHDI in August 2019 as a Postdoctoral Fellow and was hired as Senior Project Coordinator for ScreenTIME in 2020. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Social Intervention at the University of Oxford and her Master of Public Health in Health Policy at the Yale School of Public Health. Her DPhil research focused on the association between child sexual abuse and subsequent mental health and parenting outcomes. Her MPH research focused on the association between adverse childhood experiences and parenting outcomes. Her primary research interests include mental health, trauma screening, child sexual abuse, parenting, and qualitative research methodology.
A list of Brittany’s publications is available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brittany_Lange
Jamie LoCurto, PhD
— Senior Associate
Jamie LoCurto is the Senior Associate for Project AWARE. She joined CHDI in January 2020 and leads implementation, quality improvement, evaluation and training on Project AWARE. Jamie has over 10 years of experience working with schools and community mental health centers, implementing, training and overseeing evidence-based treatments in anxiety and depression for children and adolescents.
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Prior to joining CHDI, she completed a post-doctoral fellow position at UConn Health, where she managed a NIMH grant-funded project which examined the efficacy of three types of talk therapy in anxious and depressed adolescents. A total of ten child and adolescent community mental health centers across Connecticut and Massachusetts collaborated on this project in order to connect with and enroll families in treatment. Jamie holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Community Psychology from Wichita State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Connecticut.
Jack Lu, PhD, LCSW
— Director of Implementation
Jack re-joined CHDI in 2019 where he leads the dissemination and implementation of multiple evidence-based treatment (EBT) initiatives for children with behavioral health concerns, with a particular focus on training and site-based consultation. These initiatives include Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems (MATCH-ADTC), and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Bounce Back (BB).
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Jack first worked at CHDI from 2014 to 2016 as a Senior Project Coordinator for the MATCH and Mobile Crisis Performance Improvement Center. After leaving CHDI he held a faculty position at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2016 to 2019.
Throughout his professional career, Jack has focused his work on communities that experience marginalization through direct practice, research, and scholarly activities. His primary interests have been in community-based participatory initiatives, health equity, refugee and immigrant communities, and models of integrated care.
Jack holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts.
A list of Jack’s publications is available here.
Elaine Mancini, MA
— Project Coordinator
Elaine Mancini joined CHDI in January 2023 as a Project Coordinator for the School-Based Diversion Initiative. In this role, Elaine will coordinate the implementation of SBDI in several schools and districts and support CHDI’s school mental health initiatives.
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Elaine earned her MA in School Counseling and BA in Psychology from Assumption College. She has worked as a certified School Counselor for the past eight years at both the middle and high school levels. For the past six years she has been the director of school counseling at the high school level ensuring the department met the needs of students in the academic, college/career preparation, and social/emotional domains.
Ashley Nelson
— Senior Data Analyst
Ashley Nelson is a Senior Data Analyst. She joined CHDI in January 2017 and works on multiple evidence-based treatment initiatives (including MATCH-ADTC, TF-CBT, and CBITS/Bounce Back). She has a BA in Psychology and Child Study from the University of Saint Joseph, and a computer science certification from Gateway Community College.
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Ashley previously worked as an evaluator on a CDC/OAH-funded adolescent public health initiative run by the City of Hartford Department of Health and Human Services. At CHDI she is responsible for data analysis and reporting aspects related to MATCH-ADTC, as well as cross-model treatment model reporting needs for the ARC, Bounce Back, CBITS, CPP, MATCH-ADTC, and TF-CBT treatment models.
Katie Newkirk, PhD
— Senior Associate
Katie Newkirk, PhD, joined CHDI as a Senior Associate working on performance improvement in children's behavioral health. In this position, she helps lead the data analysis and quality improvement reporting for several community-based children's behavioral health initiatives.
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Prior to joining CHDI, Katie served as a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale School of Medicine. She has a PhD. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, and an MA in Community Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University. Her research has focused broadly on mental health in the context of family relationships across the lifespan. She is a Licensed Psychologist with clinical specialties in perinatal maternal mental health and integrated behavioral health. Katie has clinical experience in community mental health centers and medical settings.
Caleb Owen
— Data Fellow
Caleb joined CHDI as a Data Fellow in 2024. He primarily supports CHDI's quality improvement initiatives for crisis services and evidence-based practices. Caleb recently graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut, where he worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. He is interested in the potential of leveraging data analytics to optimize efficacy, monitor progress, and discern trends in children's behavioral health.
Kate Powers, LMSW
— Senior Project Coordinator
Kate Powers, LMSW, joined CHDI in March 2023. She serves as Senior Project Coordinator for Workforce Development projects, including the new online training center, the Workforce Strategic Plan, and CT Health Horizons.
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Kate has a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Michael’s College. Kate has extensive experience as a master’s level social worker in various settings, and as an adjunct professor of Social Work, Sociology and Psychology.
Kellie Randall, PhD
— Associate Vice President of Quality Improvement
Kellie Randall is the Associate Vice President of Quality Improvement at CHDI. In this role, she provides oversight for initiatives focused on trauma-informed and best practices in children's mental health, with a specific focus on data analysis, reporting, and quality improvement. She also helps to guide CHDI and support the Board of Directors as a member of the senior leadership team.
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Kellie leads the implementation and dissemination of ARC, CPP, and other effective treatment models for young children. Her other projects include Mobile Crisis Intervention Services, Care Coordination, as well as multiple evidence-based treatments initiatives including TF-CBT and MATCH-ADTC. She served as the Project Director of the Early Childhood Trauma Collaborative (ECTC), funded by SAMHSA as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN),
Kellie holds a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining CHDI, Kellie worked on the evaluation team for a federally-funded demonstration project on the effectiveness of supportive housing for families involved in the child welfare system. She also helped lead a study on the characteristics of Connecticut youth who were involved with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Her broad interests are in quantitative research and improving policies and programs for children and their families.
Lori Schon
— Office Manager
Lori Schon joined CHDI in 2008. She serves as CHDI's Office Manager where she responsible for managing organizational operations, technology, and human resources. She also serves as the Liaison to the Board of Directors and supports CHDI's contracts and finance activities.
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Lori is an active member of CHDI's Sunshine Committee, which promotes staff well-being and engagement. She has also worked to improve CHDI's hiring practices in coordination with CHDI's Committee on Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE). She has over twenty years of claims management experience, which includes working in the insurance industry.
Suzanne Shea
— Accounting Manager
Suzanne Shea joined CHDI in January 2020. She serves as Accounting Manager, supporting CHDI's finance, human resources, and contract operations. She has over twenty years of accounting experience, most recently working in Property Accounting for a company that provides affordable housing through state and federal funding to residents across the country.
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She also worked for many years for a general contractor and as an Administrative Fiscal Assistant at the UCONN Health Center.
Nik Sixco
— Administrative Assistant
Nik Sixco joined CHDI in May 2023 as an Administrative Assistant. Nik provides administrative support to CHDI staff and partners on a range of children’s behavioral health initiatives and supports the Finance/Administrative team.
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Nik has several years working as an administrative assistant and graduated with a B.A in English at the University of Lynchburg in VA.
Heather Solak
— Senior Data Analyst
Heather Solak rejoined CHDI in 2019 as a Senior Data Analyst and works primarily with children’s outpatient services data, including work with a number of the evidence-based treatments, as well as on the CBITS/BB initiative.
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Heather previously worked as a Senior Data Analyst for the CBITS and TF-CBT initiatives at CHDI from 2015 to 2017. Heather has also previously worked as a data analyst in the aerospace industry and as an evaluator for various drug free community coalitions in Connecticut. She holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University.
Julie Tacinelli
— Vice President for Communications
Julie is the Vice President for Communications and is responsible for building awareness of the organization’s mission, priorities and initiatives. She oversees internal and external communications strategies, messaging, content, publications, websites, and outreach. Julie also contributes to the management and strategic direction of CHDI as a member of the senior leadership team and helps to guide CHDI’s work to address racism and promote equity. She joined CHDI in 2012.
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Julie began her career in Washington, DC working in politics and government, including for the Clinton Administration at the White House Domestic Policy Council. Later, Julie promoted women's sports opportunities through the WNBA's Washington Mystics and went on to lead a media outreach team for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to help reduce youth drug use nationwide.
Kayla Theriault, MPH
— Senior Associate
Kayla Theriault serves as a Senior Associate, where she helps to lead CHDI’s Mobile Crisis Performance Center. In this role she provides data analysis, reporting, and quality improvement for Connecticut’s Mobile Crisis program by monitoring key indicators on access, quality, and outcomes to help inform policy and practice solutions. She also provides coaching for states to improve their mobile crisis services, including serving as faculty on the Mobile Response and Stabilization Quality Learning Collaborative – a partnership between CHDI and the Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Kayla also supports other quality improvement activities and initiatives, including the School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) and Care Coordination.
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Kayla joined CHDI in 2019 as a Data Analyst and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2023. She received a BA in Human Development and Family Studies, and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Connecticut. Kayla also has eight years of experience in early childhood education.
Jenna Trott, LMSW
— Project Coordinator
Jenna Trott joined CHDI in 2024 as a Project Coordinator working on projects related to evidence-based practice dissemination and quality improvement initiatives for TF-CBT and MATCH.
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Jenna obtained her Master’s Degree in Social Work from The University of Connecticut and is trained in TF-CBT. Prior to joining CHDI, she gained clinical experience in various settings, including conducting behavioral and psychiatric crises assessments at Saint Francis’s Emergency Department and advocating for children's best interests at The Children’s LAW Center of Connecticut alongside Guardian ad Litems (GALs). Jenna's most recent role was as Director of Creative Strategies at Families in Society, The Journal of Contemporary Social Services.
Allison Valenti, LMFT
— Project Coordinator
Allison Valenti, LMFT, joined CHDI as a Project Coordinator in 2023. In this role, she focuses on CHDI’s substance use disorder (SUD) initiatives, including work in youth outpatient settings through a DCF-funded SUD project and in-home services through SAMHSA’s CT-TREE grant.
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Allison is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with six years of clinical and supervisory experience in outpatient psychiatric clinics for children, most recently at United Community & Family Services (UCFS). She is also certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in Connecticut.
Jeffrey Vanderploeg, PhD
— President & CEO
Jeff Vanderploeg is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut. He joined CHDI in 2009 and was appointed President and CEO on October 1, 2017.
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Vanderploeg received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University, completed Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine, and was a research faculty member at Yale before joining CHDI in 2009. He initially began as a Program Associate before being promoted to Associate Director of Mental Health in 2011, and Vice President for Mental Health Initiatives in 2014.
During his career at CHDI, he played a central role in developing effective systems, practices, and policies for the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions among children and adolescents and their families. He was the lead author of the Connecticut Children’s Behavioral Health Plan, a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the behavioral health needs of youth, which has remained a significant guiding framework for state-wide reform. He was also the co-developer of the Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) model and was instrumental in creating a quality improvement system for the state’s mobile crisis system.
In addition to his role as CHDI President and CEO, Vanderploeg serves on the Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board, co-chairs the Quality, Access and Policy Subcommittee of the CT Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council, and is a member of several other committees and councils in children’s behavioral health policy development. He holds faculty appointments in Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut Health Center School of Medicine.
Kara Vlahcevic, MS
— Data Analyst
Kara Vlahcevic joined CHDI as a data analyst in November 2022. She is responsible for analyzing data and producing reports to support CHDI's quality improvement initiatives in outpatient children’s behavioral health and evidence-based treatments (including TF-CBT, MATCH-ADTC, and CBITS/Bounce Back).
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Kara has several years of research experience in clinical and academic settings. Prior to joining CHDI, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the Department of Anesthesiology. Her academic research background has focused on the behavioral, cognitive and neurological development of children and adolescents. Kara earned a bachelor of science degree in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in Psychological Science with a concentration in Developmental Psychology from the University of Connecticut.
Arielle Wagoner
— Senior Project Coordinator
Arielle Wagoner joined CHDI in May 2023 as a Senior Project Coordinator working on the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems (MATCH-ADTC) and Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) initiatives. Previously, Arielle worked in the public school system for 7 years as a school psychologist. She has provided support for children’s social-emotional and behavioral health needs through assessment, intervention implementation, and consultation and collaboration-related activities.
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Arielle received her Master of Science in Applied Educational Psychology and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Psychology from Northeastern University. She is a certified School Psychologist. Arielle has also worked in various research related projects during her graduate and undergraduate training through the Think: Kids Lab at Massachusetts’ General Hospital, Behavioral Disorders Research Team at Northeastern University, Kid Think at Providence College, and The Infant Cognition Center at Yale University.
Sarah White, LCSW
— Project Coordinator
Sarah White joined CHDI as a Project Coordinator in July 2024 working on the CONNECT and SBDI initiatives. Sarah is an LCSW and a Licensed School Adjustment Counselor and earned her Master of Social Work from Simmons University. Sarah’s most recent role was a School Social Worker at Longmeadow Public Schools in Longmeadow, MA, were she provided counseling and crisis intervention services and developed intervention strategies to increase students’ academic success. She also has clinical experience in other settings, having worked in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and correctional facilities.
Annie Winneg, MPH
— Senior Project Coordinator
Annie Winneg is the Senior Project Coordinator for CHDI’s Trauma Sensitive Practices in Early Childhood (TSPEC) project. In this role, she leads the development of a training series around trauma-sensitive practices for early childhood interventionists. She also supports CHDI’s ScreenTIME initiative.
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Prior to joining CHDI, Annie worked with Families First to build teaching and evaluation tools for the organization’s parenting and advocacy programming. She also worked at The Motherhood Center of New York, providing supportive services to new and expecting mothers struggling with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Annie is a current member of the Promotion and Education Advisory Committee for the Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health, using her early child development expertise to advocate for growing families in her community. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health, specializing in Maternal and Child Health Promotion.
Mackenzie Wink, PhD
— Project Coordinator
Mackenzie Wink joined CHDI as a Postdoctoral Fellow in July 2022 working on our school mental health initiatives. She was hired as a Project Coordinator in 2023. Mackenzie earned her M.A. in 2019 and completed her Ph.D. in 2022 in Human Development and Family Sciences, with a specialization in child and
adolescent development, from the University of Connecticut.
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She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Her doctoral research focused on classroom teachers’ well-being, social-emotional competencies, and their use of punitive and non-punitive types of behavior management approaches with their students. Her primary research interests include social emotional learning interventions, school mental health, school-based program implementation, and promoting social and emotional well-being and positive behavioral outcomes for students.
Beth Zweibel, MA
— Contracts Manager
Beth joined CHDI as Contracts Manager in April 2022. She has over two decades of experience in grants and contracts processing, monitoring, and compliance.
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Prior to joining CHDI, Beth served as Grants and Contracts Manager at The Salvation Army's Southern New England Divisional Headquarters in Hartford where she prepared and submitted funding relationship documents including applications, agreements, and reports to numerous funders including United Way, foundations, corporations, and local, state and federal entities. Additionally, she served as chair of the United Way of Connecticut's FEMA/Emergency Food and Shelter Program State Set-Aside Committee which provides funding for food, shelter, rent, and utilities assistance to Connecticut nonprofits.
Beth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Brandeis University, a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Tufts University, and a Master's Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy where she was awarded induction into the Nu Lambda Mu International Honor Society.