About ME

I am a seasoned Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of clinical, research and program development experience in Behavioral Health, serving vulnerable populations. I have conducted research on both the neurobiological and clinical aspects of psychiatric disorders, in addition to providing therapeutic services to youth and families struggling with poverty related adversity. For the past 15 years, my work has focused on providing trauma informed behavior interventions to at-risk youth and designing behavior support systems for high poverty, low performing school districts.

The foundational principle that guides my work is that all children, regardless of race, socioeconomic status or zip code should be provided with an equitable pathway to success. With 1 in 5 children living in poverty in the United States, it is critical to equip families and schools with the tools and resources to more effectively address the complex needs of this underserved population. All too often, school staff lack the resources to utilize a trauma informed lens and the capacity to provide comprehensive assessments and behavior strategies to support children experiencing ongoing adversity.

I designed the MAYASA program in an effort to address this critical gap in services. It is my hope that this program will provide schools with a systematic behavior framework with targeted interventions to guide vulnerable children along a defined pathway to success.