Staff

Abby has a Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from New York University and more than 20 years of experience in the human service field, specifically in children's mental health, public health, child welfare and managed care. She also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Human Services Department at Goodwin College for more than 8 years.

Sharon has over twenty years of banking experience in operations and project management. For the past nine years she worked for the City of Hartford, managing affordable housing programs funded by Federal and State of CT grants. Sharon will assist the Vice President of Finance & Operations with grants and contracts administration.

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 afterschool care, and community-based services. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Youth Psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University.

Jeana’s work focuses on developing effective systems, policies, and best practices to improve behavioral health outcomes for children, youth, and families through school-family-community partnerships. Currently she directs several initiatives in CHDI's role as a statewide coordinating center, in partnership with state agencies, including: 1) The CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), a state-funded program designed to reduce school-based arrests and to link youth with behavioral health services and supports; 2)The CONNECTing Children and Families to Care initiative for implementation and sustainability of an integrated statewide Network of Care for children's behavioral health; and 3) evaluation and school workforce development activities for Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education. 

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 and Transforming Youth Justice Leadership Development at the Town Youth Justice Institute, UNH. She has a BA in Psychology and a Masters Degree 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 and adoption services.

She has a BA in psychology from the University of Connecticut and a Masters Degree 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.

Prior to joining CHDI, she served as Program Coordinator for the Kohl’s Start Childhood Off Right (SCOR) Program at Connecticut Children’s, working with pediatric providers, community health workers, and families to prevent childhood obesity in low-income Hartford children from birth to age 2.  She also spent 6 years at the Central Connecticut Health District, where she designed and implemented health education programs serving residents of Berlin, Newington, Rocky Hill, and Wethersfield. She holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master’s Degree in Public Health from Southern Connecticut State University.

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. 

Prior to joining CHDI, Eminet worked at the Office for Community Child Health at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where she oversaw the development and implementation of various systems-level initiatives that support children’s optimal health and development. As Connecticut Children’s practice quality improvement program manager, she collaborated closely with CHDI to train pediatric primary care practices to adopt quality improvement methodology as a tool for practice change. Eminet earned a BA in African Studies and MPH in Health Policy and Administration from Yale University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut, where her research focuses on enhancing the capacity of existing service systems to engage in health promotion activities that address the social determinants of health.

She previously worked at the UCONN School of Social Work and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Inc. where she was involved with a number of initiatives supporting individuals with mental health and/or substance abuse issues and diverting young adults from arrest. Tianna’s other experiences have included therapeutic support for children in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, care coordination for adults with co-occurring disorders and supervision of juveniles involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Lisa has more than 30 years of experience working in child health organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, and ProHealth Physician's Connecticut Center for Primary Care. She serves on several statewide committees related to medical home implementation in Connecticut, health reform, family support, pediatric training, and quality improvement in pediatric care. Her work at CHDI focuses on: care coordination, developmental screening, the interface between primary care and community and subspecialty services, expanding the capacity of pediatric primary care to address mental health issues, and ensuring that pediatrics is addressed in health reform initiatives. Lisa has a BA in sociology from the University of Massachusetts and an MA and PhD, both in sociology, from the University of Chicago. She holds a faculty appointment in Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the Frank Netter School of Medicine.

To view Dr. Honigfeld's publications visit https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa_Honigfeld.

She provides administrative support to staff on several initiatives. A native of Antigua, Paulette spent seven years at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, and has a total of more than 15 years of administrative experience, which also includes working in the banking industry.

Prior to joining CHDI, Amanda worked in both elementary and middle schools as a special education teacher.  She has a MEd in Rehabilitation Counseling with a concentration in Pediatric and Developmental Disabilities and a BS in Special Education with a concentration in Children’s Literature.

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 is a nationally recognized expert who has published and presented about child trauma, evidence-based practices, and implementation science.  Since joining CHDI in 2007 as a Program Associate, he has also held positions as Associate Director and Director of Dissemination and Implementation. 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. He is Principal Investigator of the Early Childhood Trauma Collaborative, funded by SAMHSA as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), and he serves 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

She completed her DPhil in social intervention at the University of Oxford and her MPH 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, and her MPH research focused on the association between adverse childhood experiences and parenting outcomes. Her primary research interests include mental health, child sexual abuse, parenting, substance use, qualitative research methodology, and the creation of evidence-based mental health policy.

 A list of Brittany’s publications is available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brittany_Lange

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 Master’s degree in Community Psychology from Wichita State University and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Prior to joining CHDI, Ashley worked at Boston University's (BU) Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. She assisted with a randomized clinical trial utilizing MATCH-ADTC as a part of the clinician fidelity coding team. She completed her master’s thesis in the Brain and Early Experiences Lab of BU, where she studied retrospective childhood perceptions of maternal warmth and control on adult cortisol response to psychosocial stress.

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.

Prior to joining CHDI in 2012, Susan’s work focused on health, social, and community-based research and grant writing related to maternal and child health. Susan earned a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota.

A list of Susan's publications is available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Macary

She previously worked at the Connecticut Association for Human Services providing education in community settings to help increase awareness about and identification for clients who might be eligible for the Food Stamp program. Maggy has a long history of advocacy and education in such areas as HIV and nutritional assistance. She has coordinated programs for the Central Area Health Education Center and worked in an administrative position in a medical practice in Hartford.

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. She is responsible for data collection, analysis, and reporting aspects related to the MATCH-ADTC project.

She participated in the TF-CBT Learning Collaborative, has implemented the model and has been a TF-CBT Senior Leader/ Coordinator, supervisor and clinician. Carol has extensive administrative and clinical experience working with children, adults and families in both clinical and school based settings.

Dr. Perry has a Masters Degree in Education (Concentration: Rehabilitation Counseling) from Hunter College and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She completed her Predoctoral Internship at the Post Traumatic Stress Center (New Haven), and her Post-doctoral Fellowship at Clifford Beers Clinic (New Haven). She has extensive experience as a direct services clinician with particular interest in systems & attachment theories, post traumatic stress, chemical dependency, institutional racism and oppression, and disability studies.  

Kellie joined CHDI in 2015 as a Senior Associate. 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 also provides administrative support to staff in the Finance, Contracting and Human Resources areas and also supports the President and CEO and acts as Liaison to Board of Directors.  She has over twenty years of claims management experience, which includes working in the insurance industry.

Carrie directed a unique learn-to-type program aimed at children with learning disabilities for the renowned Ben Bronz Academy in West Hartford for eight years, and was previously an office manager for a large advertising and marketing agency.

She also worked for many years for a general contractor and as an Administrative Fiscal Assistant at the UCONN Health Center.

Heather previously worked as a 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. 

In addition, Paul oversees contract management and human resources for both organizations. He joined CFC/CHDI in 2004 with twenty years of experience in public accounting as a partner in Filomeno and Company, P.C., where he was director of the Audit Department and the firm's Business Valuation practice. Paul is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA).

She 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.

She received a BA from the in Human Development and Family Studies, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health from the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining CHDI, Kayla worked as a Research and Evaluation Intern at the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund in Hartford. She also has 8 years of experience in early childhood education.

LeeAnn also worked for Foodshare, a major foodbank, working alongside the Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer to help battle hunger in CT. Her interests includes a focus on epidemiology, disease prevention, health promotion, and research benefiting the human services field. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from the University of Saint Joseph.

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 policies, systems, and practices 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.