Who we are

The Community Technical Assistance Center of New York (CTAC) and the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center of New York (MCTAC) are a training, consultation, and educational resource center serving all behavioral health agencies in New York State. We help agencies strengthen their clinical and business infrastructure through training opportunities focused on implementing evidence-based practices and addressing the challenges associated with the recent changes in regulations, financing and overall healthcare reforms.

What We Do

Co-directed by Drs. Kimberly Hoagwood and Andrew Cleek, CTAC was founded in 2011 as the Children's Technical Assistance Center and expanded in 2012 as the Community Technical Assistance Center to offer technical assistance to all Article 31 mental health clinics in New York State.

In 2014, CTAC expanded its scope through the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center (MCTAC), working in conjunction with New York State to provide technical assistance to all behavioral health agencies in New York State in preparation for the transition to Medicaid managed care. CTAC provides training and support on quality improvement strategies -- including training on specific clinical skills and evidence-based practices.

We help agencies develop strong business and financial models to ensure sustainability in the changing healthcare landscape.

Our Partners

A collaborative partnership aimed at improving outcomes for New York's children, families, and adults, CTAC and MCTAC have a strong set of New York state-based partners working collaboratively to provide training and technical assistance activities to your agency /clinic(s).

McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research

The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University Silver School of Social Work is committed to creating new knowledge about the root causes of poverty, developing evidence-based interventions to address its consequences, and rapidly translating research findings into action.

http://mcsilver.nyu.edu/

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) is a national nonprofit research and policy organization focused on improving the understanding, prevention and treatment of substance use and addiction. CASA connects science with policy and practice to better the lives of all people impacted by substance use and addiction.

http://www.centeronaddiction.org/

Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI)

CCSI has more than 25 years of experience in providing support to organizations in the behavioral health and human services fields so that they can improve services for those in need. CCSI will provide training and technical assistance related to billing practices & fiscal management, the use of data for quality improvement and decision making, and treatment supply & demand.

http://ccsi.org/

Families Together in New York State (FTNYS)

Families Together in New York State, Inc. is a non-profit, family-run organization that strives to establish a unified voice for children and youth with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. FTNYS has several initiatives designed to strengthen and sustain the important work of family support organizations and family advocates, including the Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) Training Initiative, the establishment of a Family Advocate Credential, the creation of learning collaborative opportunities for family advocates, and the development of data-informed strategies to better understand the unique contribution of family support as an important cross-system resource for families. FTNYS will provide consultation on training related to all parent support, engagement, multi-family group, and development of new training modules.

http://www.ftnys.org/

Institute for Community Living, Inc. (ICL)

With 25 years of experience providing services for people with serious mental illness, as well as those with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, ICL offers accessible, quality health and mental health care, family support, school-based services and more. ICL provides training and technical assistance in billing practices, fiscal management, data management and quality improvement.

http://iclinc.net/

NYAPRS

A statewide coalition of people who use and/or provide recovery oriented community based mental health services. NYAPRS is dedicated to improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities or diagnoses, and those with trauma-related conditions by promoting their recovery, rehabilitation and rights so that all people can participate freely in the opportunities of society. NYAPRS will provide consultation on developing and delivering peer directed services in adult mental health clinics.

http://www.nyaprs.org/

NYU IDEAS Center

The Center for Implementation and Dissemination of Evidence-based Practices in States (IDEAS Center) is focused on the advancement of implementation science in behavioral health systems serving children, adolescents and their families. Implementation and dissemination research focuses on how the best evidence-based practices in children’s behavioral health can be more efficiently and effectively put to use in a way that they will ultimately benefit the greatest number of children and families.

Funded by a combination of support from the National Institute of Mental Health (including a P30 Center grant) and New York State Office of Mental Health, the mission of the IDEAS Center is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state roll-outs of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and quality improvement initiatives (QI).

https://www.ideas4kidsmentalhealth.org/

Our Team

Kimberly Hoagwood

Kimberly Hoagwood, PhD |

Since coming to NYS from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Kimberly Hoagwood, PhD, has worked to advance knowledge about effective implementation strategies for improving the uptake of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the New York State public mental health system. She has received substantial federal funding to study effective implementation of EBP's within the state public mental health systems, including the new NIMH-funded Center on Implementation Science, which is focused on researching innovative strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of evidence-based services in state mental health programs. Her research portfolio includes numerous studies underway to examine the impact of family-to-family engagement and empowerment interventions and strategies for improving the uptake and sustainability of these therapies within NYS school and outpatient clinics Dr. Hoagwood is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, the Child Unit Director for the Division of Mental Health Services and Policy Research at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and is the Director of Youth Services Research in the Office of Performance Measurement and Evaluation within the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH).

Andrew F. Cleek

Andrew F. Cleek, PsyD | Executive Officer: McSilver-UIBH

Dr. Andrew Cleek oversees community partnerships and codirects both New York State’s Community and Managed Care Technical Assistance Centers (CTAC and MCTAC) in his role as the McSilver Institute’s Executive Officer. Dr. Cleek was the founding director of the Urban Institute for Behavioral Health (UIBH), which was a unique partnership of behavioral health providers dedicated to the implementation of evidencebased practices, integrated primary and behavioral healthcare, and system transformation. Under Dr. Cleek’s leadership, UIBH became an incubator in which pilot projects were developed and brought to scale across New York City and State. Dr. Cleek regularly presents at local and national conferences and is the coauthor of widelyused curricula including “Wellness SelfManagement” and “Knowledge Empowers You (KEY).” Dr. Cleek also holds an appointment as a Research Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine.

Diana M. Arias

Diana M. Arias, MSW, MS |

Diana M. Arias works with the Clinical Education and Innovation Department where she collaborates on research projects and assists on developing and disseminating training initiatives. She was an intern at McSilver during her graduate studies and has primarily worked on the Family and Food Matters prjoect, which address food insecurity and family functioning. Prior to joining McSilver, Diana has worked in comprehensive inpatient and outpatient mental health services including monitoring and evaluating patient safety, coordinating research projects, and providing case management. She has an MS in Social Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a MSW from Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work.

Meaghan Baier

Meaghan Baier, LMSW |

As the Assistant Director of Strategic Operations at McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, Meg is an integral part of the team that manages the ongoing work of the Managed Care Technical Assistant Center (MCTAC) as well as a varity of other projects. As part of the team, Meg helps to oversee the daily operations of MCTAC as well as numerous on-going partnerships and the development of trainings, tools, and resources to support ongoing healthcare transformation work.

Ms. Baier was formerly the Project Manager in the Department of Innovations at Institute for Community Living (ICL), one of MCTAC's provider partners. In this role, Meg was responsible for the coordination and management of MCTAC and CTAC deliverables, including the management of various CTAC Business offerings.

Meg is a graduate of Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work’s Community Organizing, Planning and Development and has been invited to be a guest speaker at various Hunter, NYU, and Columbia's master social work classes. Meg is interested in supporting individuals and communities in implementing sustainable and effective interventions and programs. Prior to her graduate studies, Meg lived in Alaska working as an advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence and as a program coordinator for children who had experienced abuse and neglect. Ms. Baier is passionate about social justice and trauma informed practices and has a background in the development and implementation of community violence presentation plans and working within child welfare reform.

Patricia Batista-Quintero

Patricia L. Batista-Quintero, MPA |

Patricia serves as the Assistant Director for Analytics and Evaluation for the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center for NY (MCTAC). In this role, she leads all evaluation and data analytics efforts. She also assists multiple research initiatives, with a particular interest in change management and implementation science.

Prior to joining the McSilver Institute, Patricia has held multiple roles encompassing project management, relationship development and strategy.

Patricia holds a Master’s in Public Administration from CUNY Baruch College and completed the National Urban Fellows Leadership program in 2011. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Development from Binghamton University, along with multiple advanced certificate degrees in health care, nonprofit leadership and project management.

Susan Burger

As the Director of Family Peer Advocate Credentialing and Workforce Development at Families Together in NYS, Susan brings with her 22 years of both personal and professional experience in the field of peer-to-peer support and advocacy. Susan is committed to developing a strong, credentialed Family Peer Advocate workforce. She provides outreach and assistance to family support programs and caregivers interested in becoming professional Family Peer Support workers. Susan works closely with the Community Technical Assistance Center on projects related to the Parent Empowerment Program Training, continuing education for Family Peer Advocates and their supervisors, and overall growth and sustainability of Family Peer Support Services. Susan earned a Bachelor of Arts from CUNY Brooklyn College, a New York State Family Development Credential from Cornell University Division of Continuing Education and a Family Peer Advocate Credential from Families Together in NYS.

Geraldine “Jerry” Burton

Geraldine “Jerry” Burton, FDC, CFPA |

"Jerry"is currently at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research-NYU Silver School of Social Work and has worked collaboratively with the Clinical Education and Innovation and Technical Assistance Center teams to identify, plan and implement a series of offerings supporting mental health providers and other related programs. She co-leads the family support technical assistance center where she identifies, plans, and implements a series of training and technical assistance offerings geared to the needs of family support programs as they transition to managed care. She is a member of the comprehensive children’s technical assistance leadership team and participates in a number of weekly planning and coordination meetings. She also participates in the advisory committee for Families Together in NYS to assist in redefining the family support credentialing process and related training.

Geraldine is a veteran mental health advocate, a pioneer of the mental health family support movement in NYS and one of the core contributors to the Parent Empowerment Project curriculum. She has made many presentations and trainings and has been active in New York State as a senior family advisor on numerous policy panels. Throughout the years that Geraldine has worked in these positions, she has dedicated her time to supporting families and children, and is committed to the principles of collaboration, partnership, and cooperation with service agencies and with the research community.

Ruth Colón-Wagner

Ruth Colón-Wagner, LMSW |

Ruth has over 27 years of experience in the field of Child Welfare, Homeless Services, Employment, and Mental Health Care working with Children, Adults, and Families. For 12 years, Ruth served as Director of mental health programs at the Mental Health Association of Rockland County. During that time, Ruth brought recovery-based, person-centered and culturally competent approaches to increase staff competency and increase client outcomes. Ruth currently works with NYAPRS as Director of Training and Development and manages various initiatives for the organization including training providers across New York State in recovery-oriented principles and practices to transform our system of care. Ruth received her MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and is licensed as a social worker in New York State. Ruth’s other specialties includes Group Facilitation, Program Management and Compassion Fatigue. Ruth is certified as a Dialectical Behavioral Therapist, a Functional Family Therapist and a Life Skills Educator.

Chris Copeland

Chris Copeland, LCSW |

Mr. Copeland joined ICL in 2011 as the agency’s Chief Program Officer. In his new role as COO, Chris will ensure that the agency continues to produce quality outcomes that meet the demand of the Triple AIM of: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of health care. An experienced leader and innovator, Mr. Copeland brings to the position his over 30 years of clinical and administrative healthcare experience both in the United States and England. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Copeland lived in Maine where he took on progressively more responsible positions at the Tri-County Mental Health Services, before ultimately assuming the position of CEO. Mr. Copeland’s expertise is in combining the need for fiscal responsibility with clinical excellence, particularly when funding and resources are severely compromised. He is a recognized expert in identifying the role that trauma plays in the seeking and receiving of social and health care, and transforming service systems to be trauma informed. Mr. Copeland received his social work degree in England in 1985 where he worked in inner city projects and subsequently as an administrator for a psychiatric social work team at St James University Hospital in Leeds, England.

Caitlin Cronin

Caitlin Cronin |

Caitlin Cronin supports various TAC initiatives. As part of MCTAC she helps build infrastructure, create interactive tools, cultivate resources, and craft presentations to help train providers in Managed Care and other system transitions. She also works to facilitate the institute’s growing efforts to offer CE credits for trainings and assists with the creation of reports, research papers, and grant applications. Caitlin received her BA in psychology from Vassar College, where she engaged in research looking at the intersection of social psychology and media specifically in regards to gender, emotional regulation, and the role and effects of “edutainment.”

Kara Dean-Assael

Kara Dean-Assael, LMSW, DSW Candidate |

Kara has been working with children and families in a social service setting since 1996. She is passionate about helping to create programs and practices to increase and improve engagement and family mental health. She was the co-director of the MFG Project, an NIMH funded project that is now known as the 4 Rs and 2 Ss for Strengthening Families Program. She has facilitated and supervised many groups and has worked for the past several years on training clinicians and supervisors on how to utilize the model in their clinic settings. She currently works for the Clinic Technical Assistance Center as a coordinator, content developer, and trainer. She co-leads a variety of projects and initiatives that are offered through CTAC to help improve quality and effectiveness. She has also co-founded a soon to be 501c3 called Fareground Community Cafe, which is a non profit in Beacon, NY, that attends to food access in Dutchess County, NY.

Kathryn Federici

Kathryn Federici, MSW | Research Associate

Kathryn is a Research Associate at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) and focuses her efforts on the Health Care Reform Technical Assistance Center initiative. Prior to joining CASA, she was working on her MSW at Boston College and interning at the Department of Mental Health in Boston, MA as well as Harbor Health Services, Inc., a FQHC. Kathryn holds a BS in Human Services and a BS in Music Industry from Northeastern University."

Lydia M. Franco

Lydia Franco, LMSW |

Lydia Franco is Co-Director of the McSilver Institute’s Clinical Education and Innovation Department and is a lead trainer and organizer for the Community Technical Assistance Center of New York (CTAC) where she focuses on developing and disseminating a number of practice and business trainings and resources to providers across New York State and nationally. She previously served as the Senior Research Coordinator for an NIH-funded study (The 4 Rs and 2 Ss for Strengthening Families) assessing the effectiveness of a multiple family group approach for children with behavioral difficulties. She is a Ph.D. Candidate at Rutgers University School of Social Work and a past recipient of the SAMHSA funded Council on Social Work Education's Mental Health and Substance Abuse Minority Doctoral Fellowship Program. Her research interests include a focus on Latino family mental health, engagement in mental health services, culturally sensitive practice, workforce resilience, and community participatory research. Ms. Franco received her MSSW at Columbia University’s School of Social Work. She has clinical experience working with children and families in the areas of mental health and health care. Ms. Franco is also a Part-Time Lecturer at Rutgers University School of Social Work and a Field Instructor for social work students at the McSilver Institute.

Ashley Fuss

Ashley Fuss, LMSW |

Ashley Fuss received her Masters of Social Work from Fordham University with a concentration in research in May 2011. Upon graduation she joined The Urban Institute for Behavioral Health (UIBH), which became McSilver-UIBH in July 2012. Ashley is responsible for the coordination, data management and oversight of various initiatives, including The Clinic Technical Assistance Center (CTAC), the Knowledge Empowers You (KEY) program and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Health Homes’ project. She also holds research positions with faculty from NYU's Silver School of Social Work and the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. She has over ten years of experience working with children and youth in an array of settings, including pre-school and dance education, after school and summer youth programs. Ashley's research interests focus on engagement in mental health treatment for military service members and their families, reintegration into civilian life and improving mental health services for families involved in the child welfare system.

Priya Gopalan

Priya Gopalan, LMSW |

Priya Gopalan works at the McSilver Institute as a researcher and program coordinator. She has experience in program evaluation for several local, national and international projects, such as the YMCA and the National Council. She provides technical assistance to community based organizations implementing Connections to Care, part of the THRIVE NYC Initiative and is involved with the Clinical Technical Assistance Center's research initiatives. Priya is currently enrolled in a masters program in Applied Statistics for Scoial Science Research at the Steinhardt School, NYU. She holds an MSW from New York University Silver School of Social Work.

Briana Goncalves

Brian Goncalves |

Briana Gonçalves serves in the Clinical Education and Innovation Department organizing clinical initiatives and hosting national and statewide webinars. She manages departmental communications and supports all projects and initiatives. Ms. Gonçalves previously worked with Success Academy Charter Schools in Brooklyn, NY fostering an environment of intellectual growth in a K-4 elementary school. There, she managed students’ special education needs and programs, as well as local and state-wide assessments and data collection. She holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross with a double major in Sociology and Spanish Language & Literature. Ms. Gonçalves is currently enrolled at NYU Steinhardt pursuing a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy. She is expected to graduate December 2017.

Rebecca Hauck

Rebecca Hauck, MPA |

Rebecca Hauck is a Consultant in CCSI’s Center for Collaboration in Community Health. Rebecca supports customers with performance measurement, including measure and outcome identification, data collection and analysis, and utilizing data-driven decision making in CQI efforts. Specifically, she works with customers all over NYS in areas of Medicaid Managed Care changes and the move toward Value Based Payments. Rebecca has over 8 years of direct service in the behavioral healthcare field, a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from SUNY Geneseo and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University.

Tiffany John

Tiffany John |

Tiffany is a Research Associate at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) with the Health Care Reform Technical Assistance Center initiative. Prior to joining CASA, she was working on her MSW at Columbia University and interning at the Social Intervention Group. She received a BS in Human Development and a BA in Communications from Virginia Tech.

Jayson Jones

Jayson Jones, LMSW |

Jayson K. Jones, LMSW, is a member of the Clinical Education and Innovation Department at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at NYU Silver, where he develops and disseminates trainings and educational content for helping professionals, and serves as a research coordinator. His work involves developing, testing, and evaluating innovative approaches to deliver content to our audience. Prior to joining McSilver, Mr. Jones served as a City Year Corps member and worked in several New York City based social service agencies and academic settings. He holds a Master of Science in Social Work degree with a specialty in Advanced Clinical Practice, from the Columbia School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University.

Yvette Kelly

Yvette Kelly, LMHC |

Yvette Kelly has over a decade of experience working with children and families. She has served in a variety of roles including Clinician, Supervisor, Quality Improvement Coordinator and more recently, Director of Children’s Mental Health at Northeast Parent & Child Society in Schenectady, New York. Passionate about ensuring that the world’s most vulnerable populations have access to high quality services, Ms. Kelly has worked to enhance organizational efficiencies to improve clinical performance, supervision strategies, compliance, and access to behavioral health services.

Anne Kuppinger

Anne Kuppinger |

Anne Kuppinger has focused her professional energies on fostering partnerships that improve access to effective and responsive services for children and families. This includes partnerships between researchers, providers, funders, policymakers, families, youth and communities – working together to achieve positive outcomes. Anne’s current focus at CTAC is on scaling up the training and credentialing of Family and Youth Peer Advocates, promoting family-driven and youth-guided practice, and supporting children’s services providers as they adapt to changes in the healthcare environment. Anne earned her BA in History from Boston College and her Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Daniella Labate

Daniella Labate, MSW |

Daniella has worked in the field of recovery services for the past 18 years. She has experience working in and overseeing Continuing Day Treatment, Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment (IPRT) and Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) Programs in New York City. She is a certified Cognitive Remediation Specialist and oversaw Cognitive Remediation services in the IPRT and PROS programs she worked in. She also has experience writing group curricula and has presented at both local and national conferences on developing group curricula and the implantation of Cognitive Remediation.

Daniella oversaw the transition to Medicaid Managed Care in a PROS program in NYC and took her expertise to NYAPRS in May 2016 where she became the Director of Managed Care Readiness Initiatives. Daniella is using her skills to coordinate with MCTAC and MCTAC partners to facilitate in person trainings, webinars and developing learning communities for providers with little or no experience billing Medicaid. She is also working with Performing Provider Systems (PPS) to meet with their partners, where she is providing technical assistance in transitioning to a value based payment environment and helping them to be ready to meet the needs of DSRIP.

Daniella holds a Master’s degree from Hunter College School of Social Work.

John Lee

John Lee |

John Lee is the Director of the CCSI Center for Collaboration in Community Health. He has worked for both Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (CCBHO) as well as Beacon Health Strategies, most recently in the role of Program Director for the Western Region Behavioral Health Organization (WRBHO) initiative. In addition, John served as Vice President for Highland Hospital of Rochester for a number of years. John holds an MBA with a certificate in Health Administration from Cornell University and is currently a member of the New York State Behavioral Health Advisory Council.

Carla Lisio

Carla Lisio, LCSW | Director of Health Care Reform Consultation

Carla Lisio leads the Health Care Reform Technical Assistance Center at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). As a licensed clinical social worker, she brings over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health arena as a clinician and an administrator. Prior to joining CASA, she served as the Executive Vice President of a not-for-profit, behavioral health organization, leading that organization’s services through adaptive change and growth in the environment of health care reform. She graduated with a BS in Psychology from Cornell University and earned an MS in Social Work from Columbia University. She holds a certificate in Not-For-Profit Business Management from the Columbia University Business School.

Adrianna Maldonado

Adrianna Maldonado, MA, EdM | Research Associate

Adrianna Maldonado is a Research Associate with the Health Care Reform Technical Assistance Center at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). She comes to CASA from The Carlbrook School, where was worked as an Adolescent and Family Therapist. Prior to that, she worked as a Habilitation Counselor at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care where she provided case management and counseling service. She received her BA in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and her MA in Psychology and EdM counseling from Columbia University.

Morgan McGuire

Morgan McGuire | Policy Analyst

Morgan works with the McSilver Institute's training and technical assistance initiatives for behavioral healthcare providers, including the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center (MCTAC) and the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC), supporting programming, communications, and evaluation needs. Her interests lie in the implementation of business and clinical models that strengthen service quality, access, and sustainability. Morgan received a B.A. from New York University in 2014, where she graduated summa cum laude, received the dean's prize for religious studies, and was granted membership to two honors societies, Phi Beta Kappa and Theta Alpha Kappa.

Elizabeth Meeker

Elizabeth Meeker, PsyD |

Elizabeth is Director of Training and Practice Transformation for Coordinated Care Services, Inc. where she provides technical assistance in System of Care development, particularly in the area of Trauma Informed Care. She is also a Clinical Consultant for the Monroe County Office of Mental Health (MCOMH) providing expertise in the area of child and family services. Elizabeth presents and consults on a range of topics including trauma-informed care, trauma, grief and loss, and family engagement to cross system providers including mental health, substance abuse, child welfare, education, probation and family advocates. She served as the first coordinator of The Consortium on Trauma, Illness, and Grief in Schools (TIG), a program that provides training and consultation to assist the nineteen school districts in Monroe County in being prepared to respond to crisis situations. In addition to her administrative and consultation work, Dr. Meeker is a licensed clinical psychologist and has a private clinical practice specializing in children, adolescents, and young adults. She completed her pre-doctoral training at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse, NY. She received her PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Indiana State University, MS in Psychology from Indiana State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wellesley College.

Serena Melvin

Serena Melvin | Project Coordinator

Serena works as a Project Coordinator at Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) with a focus on Finance and Billing. She supports the Senior Consultants, which includes responsibilities such as approving invoices, maintaining work plans, monitoring budgets, and associated tasks. Other experience includes managing accounts receivables and payables, purchasing, human resource management and quality improvement. Serena received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the State University of New York at Brockport.

Charles J. Neighbors

Charles J. Neighbors, PhD, MBA | Director of Health Services Research

Dr. Neighbors oversees research on treatment system change and integration with health care at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). He came to CASA from Brown Medical School where he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and a Research Fellow. Prior to that, he was a Financial Analyst at Kraft-General Foods in White Plains, New York. He received his BA in history and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, his MBA in finance from Indiana University, and his PhD in clinical psychology from Rutgers University.

Research Topics: Health care reform; treatment systems change; big data analytics; integration of behavioral health care into mainstream health care

Briannon O'Connor

Briannon O'Connor PhD | Senior Consultant

Dr. O’Connor is a Senior Consultant in the Center for Collaboration in Community Health at CCSI, where she is currently developing and expanding services for child-serving mental health organizations and growing research and development initiatives. Previously, Dr. O’Connor’s experience centered on improving the quality of care for children and adolescents with mental health disorders. Dr. O’Connor received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University at Buffalo, where she conducted empirical research to enhance the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders and to develop models for disseminating Evidence-Based Practices into school and community settings. She completed her pre-doctoral training at the Center for ADHD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York State. Through her post-doctoral fellowship in The Center for Implementation-Dissemination of Evidence-Based Practices (IDEAS Center) in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of NYU, her work focused on developing behavioral health care quality indicators for primary care settings and measuring access to mental health care. Dr. O’Connor has substantial expertise in research methodologies and data analytics, and has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Implementation Science, Psychiatric Services, Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, The Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, The Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, School Mental Health.

Aida Ortiz

Aida Ortiz |

Aida Ortiz joined the Community Collaborative Board in 1999 and continues to be an active member of the board. Aida began her career as a facilitator and assistant coordinator for the NIMH-funded HIV prevention program, The Collaborative HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP) more than a decade ago. But that was only the beginning, she says, of a rewarding 18 year career as a both a facilitator and parent advocate, helping families meet both physical and mental health challenges. She is currently a Parent Advocate/ Jr Research Assistant at the McSilver Institute. Mrs. Ortiz is also a Parent Advocate trained and credential in the Parent Empowerment Program (PEP), she served as an Assistant Community Coordinator for the CHAMPIONS Project, an HIV prevention program for youth driven by community members. Aida has worked as a parent advocate on several IDEAS studies, most recently as ‘standardized parent’ for the Family-to-Family study; in this role, she helped to elicit information about FPA-provided services in NYC mental health clinics. Aida also collaborated with CTAC to help develop the 4Rs and 2S’s video, and today, works with CTAC staff in an administrative and technical capacity to support the development of training and technical assistance initiatives to improve both clinical and business practices in NYS’ mental health clinics. Mrs. Ortiz was involved with the Poverty and Shame Research Project at the McSilver Institute.

James Rodriguez

James Rodriguez, PhD |

Dr. James Rodriguez is a Senior Research Scientist at McSilver. His work at the institute includes direct practice, training and supervision with an eye to developing evidence informed practices in the area of child and adolescent mental health. His areas of interest iclude Trauma Informed Care, resiliency, and school-based mental health. Prior to coming to McSilver, Dr. Rodriguez worked for five years as a child therapist in the School-Based Mental Health program in the Department of Psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH). Prior to his clinical work at NYPH he was a research scientist with the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University. Dr. Rodriguez received his MSW degree from Columbia University School of Social Work and his PhD in Counseling Psychology, Counselor Education and Supervision, from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Anthony Salerno

Anthony Salerno, PhD |

Anthony J. Salerno, PhD, is a NYS licensed psychologist with over 30 years of public mental health experience in inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Salerno has extensive experience as a clinician, supervisor and administrator of mental health rehabilitation programs. He has extensive experience working closely with families and consumer advocacy organizations; training multi-disciplinary staff in the principles and practices of psychiatric rehabilitation and wellness self-management; and providing organizational and leadership consultation and training services to mental health agencies. In addition to clinical leadership activities, Dr. Salerno has helped organizations improve practices through innovative implementation methods such as learning collaboratives and practice improvement networks. These methods have been employed to promote the widespread and sustainable implementation of quality practices across clinical conditions, cultural populations and program types.

Dr. Salerno served in a leadership role with the New York State Office of Mental Health to develop system wide strategies to promote evidence based practices throughout the state, with a particular emphasis on the use of curriculum based treatment approaches such as wellness self-management and brief family involving interventions. Dr. Salerno has also developed a web based wellness self-management course to promote widespread, feasible and continuous access to training supports for students and mental health staff. Most recently, Dr. Salerno has been working on a number of national improvement projects related to trauma informed care and the integration of behavioral and physical health services. Dr. Salerno’s teaching interest has focused on assisting students and practitioners to develop the core competencies characteristic of effective helpers working with individuals across a wide spectrum of clinical conditions, program settings and cultural backgrounds. Most recently, Dr. Salerno has been working on a number of national improvement projects related to trauma-informed care and the integration of behavioral and physical health services. Dr. Salerno’s teaching interest has focused on assisting students and practitioners to develop the core competencies characteristic of effective helpers working with individuals across a wide spectrum of clinical conditions, program settings, and cultural backgrounds.

Edye Schwartz

Edye Schwartz, DSW, LCSW-R | Director of Systems Transformation

Edye Schwartz is a licensed social worker and received her Master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter School of Social Work and her Doctorate from City University Graduate Center. Dr. Schwartz has a long history in the field of mental health in New York State, and is a strong proponent of the recovery movement. She has worked as a provider to advance recovery-based approaches to service provision most recently as Executive Director of Putnam Family and Community Services (PFCS), a community behavioral health center in Putnam County, one hour north of NYC. During her tenure PFCS became an agency focused on recovery, providing services that nurtured recipients and creating an atmosphere where people could feel empowered to control the outcomes of their treatment and the course of their lives.

Dr. Schwartz has been involved with the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) for many years, serving as a member of the Board of Directors and as its president. In 2010, Edye joined the NYAPRS team as the Director of System’s Transformation and currently provides technical assistance and training both locally and nationally on a variety of issues including transforming to a recovery based service system, the impact of health care reform and managed care, integrating behavioral and physical health systems, leadership and excellence in administration and management practices. Dr. Schwartz has taught at Lehman College and Hunter School of Social Work on leadership and management, recovery based mental health services and psychiatric rehabilitation. In addition, she has presented workshops and keynotes nationwide.

Priscilla Shorter

Priscilla Shorter |

Priscilla is an energetic and motivated professional with 15 years of experience in the field of family support and advocacy in both education and hospital-research settings. She is currently a Parent Partner at the IDEAS Center, and in this capacity, provides training to clinicians on the 4R’s and 2S’s Program, a curriculum-based practice is designed to strengthen families, decrease child behavioral problems, and increase engagement in care by teaching the 4Rs (rules, roles and responsibilities, respectful communication, and relationships) and 2Ss (stress and social support). She has also worked as a ‘Standardized Parent’ for Columbia University/The New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she conducted 'walkthroughs' in service settings with family peer advocates, interviewed research subjects and conducted data entry and management of research data and information. Priscilla has also served as a Project Coordinator for the Parent Empowerment Program at Columbia University, a training and consultation program developed over a number of years through the collaborative efforts of researchers, practitioners, parents, parent advocates, and policymakers, designed to promote parents as agents of change for children’s mental health. Priscilla has also worked as an advocate for the Department of Education, helping families, parents, and her education colleagues to tackle complex situations regarding social and health issues, inclusion, case management, aging out of the education system, and guardianship.

Brian Smith

Brian Smith, MSW |

Brian works as a Research Associate in the Center for Collaboration in Community at Health at Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI). He supports initiatives associated with the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center (MCTAC) team including logistical and technology support, and evaluation needs. Brian’s other responsibilities at CCSI include working with the Evaluation and Services Research team. In this role, he helps design outcome measures, surveys, and conducts data analysis and visualization for partners locally, statewide, and nationally. Past experience includes working in Community Mental Health and Chemical Dependency. He received his BS in Psychology from St. John Fisher College and his Masters of Social Work from the Greater Rochester Collaborative Nazareth College and State University of New York at Brockport.

Joslyn Teter-McBride

Joslyn Teter-McBride, MSW |

Ms. Teter-McBride works as a project coordinator for Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI). She supports various initiatives which includes responsibilities such as logistical and technical support, reporting out on projects, approving contracts and invoices, and maintaining work plans with associated tasks. She previously worked with the Quality Improvement Department assisting in the development of evaluations, data entry and cleaning, and by collecting and analyzing data to evaluate human service programs locally, regionally, and nationally. Other experience includes contract negotiation and coordination for the development of a behavioral health network in Upstate New York under the New York Care Coordination Program. Ms. Teter-McBride received a Master’s of Social Work from the Greater Rochester Collaborative Social Work Program from Nazareth College and State University of New York at Brockport and her Bachelor’s in Sociology from the State University of New York at Brockport.

Ervin Torres

Ervin Torres |

Ervin Torres is currently the Chairman of the Community Collaborative Board (CCB). The CCB consists of key stakeholders from the community in collaboration with University research staff and is charged with the design, development and implementation of interventions focused on addressing the health and mental health needs of children and families. Mr. Torres is also a former parent coordinator with Step-Up, a school, family and community based mental health intervention. In addition, he has served as a community coordinator and a parent-peer facilitator on several federally funded community-based participatory research projects.

Boris Vilgorin

Boris Vilgorin, MPA |

Boris Vilgorin joined the McSilver Institute in 2015 with over 20 years of experience in the health and human services sector. He was formerly the Vice President of Managed Care and Business Development, overseeing managed care contracts and services for FEGS Health and Human Services System’s behavioral health network. Prior to FEGS, Mr. Vilgorin worked at Magellan Behavioral Health, where he was part of the development and implementation team, implemented Call Center services, and served as contract manager for the ambulatory care network for the metropolitan region. Mr. Vilgorin was also part of the New York State Office of Mental Health Clinic Restructuring Stakeholder Workgroup and involved in implementation of the New York State Department of Health Chronic Illness Demonstration Project, PROS, and Health Home services. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Baruch College.

Janet Watson

| Janet Watson

Janet Watson joined the Community Collaborative Board in 2003 and is an active member of the board.she now serve as the Co-Chair for the Collaboravtive Board. She has served as a community coordinator for the CHAMPIONS program, an HIV prevention program for early and middle school students. Mrs. Watson was also involved with other federally funded research projects (NIMH) Collaborative HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP) In addition, has served as a Community Outreach Worker where she provided referrals for clients to access necessary health care and support services in the community. Mrs. Watson is also a parent advocate trained and credential in the Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) / Research Scientist at McSilver Institute and was recently involved with the Poverty and Shame Research Project at the McSilver Institute. She also work with the Clinical Technical Assistance Center (CTAC) to support developments of training in clinics.

David Wawrzynek

David Wawrzynek, MS, MBA | Senior VP for Finance at Spectrum Human Services

David E. Wawrzynek MS, MBA is Senior Vice President for Finance at Spectrum Human Services which is a private, non-profit community mental health organization, recognized as one of the most effective behavioral healthcare providers in Western New York. David has more than 35 years’ experience in public behavioral health and in his career has worked as a Substance Abuse Counselor, Mental Health Clinician/Supervisor, Clinical Program Director and Executive Management CFO. David has joined his clinical training and experience with his business/financial training and experience to bring a unique perspective and set of skills to the efficient and effective management of behavioral health services. In recent years David has been concentrating on the development of analytic modeling tools, communication platforms, and knowledge management supports to transform raw data into meaningful information to enable more effective strategic and operational insights and decision-making.

Naomi Weinstein

Naomi Weinstein, MPH |

Naomi Weinstein is the Vice President, Innovations, at ICL, where she focuses on training and clinical excellence. Ms. Weinstein has a long-standing interest in the needs of vulnerable individuals and families, and has extensive experience developing and managing training, education and technical assistance programs for mental health, substance abuse, child welfare and family court. Ms. Weinstein is the author of numerous curricula and other clinical resources, and has a special interest in curriculum development. Prior to ICL, Ms. Weinstein worked at the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, where she directed the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery, and at Phoenix House’s Center on Addiction and the Family for 15 years. Ms. Weinstein has a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University.

Effective Care.
Efficient Practices.

Since 2011.

Who we are

What We Do

Our Partners

McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)

Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI)

Families Together in New York State (FTNYS)

Institute for Community Living, Inc. (ICL)

NYAPRS

NYU IDEAS Center

Our Team

You are here

Effective Care. Efficient Practices.

Since 2011.

Who we are

What We Do

Our Partners

McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)

Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI)

Families Together in New York State (FTNYS)

Institute for Community Living, Inc. (ICL)

NYAPRS

NYU IDEAS Center

Our Team

Effective Care.
Efficient Practices.