Ms. Penn began to navigate the children’s mental health system through efforts to care for her own son and subsequently became an advocate for other families. She was the founding executive director of the Family Support Organization of Burlington County, and currently serves as a consultant on building family leadership within child-serving systems to communities and universities throughout the country.
Dr. Jackson is member of the faculty for the National Center for Cultural Competence at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, where she provides technical assistance and consultation for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Children’s Mental Health Initiative. Throughout her 30-plus years as a clinical social worker, Dr. Jackson introduced Stress Management programming as an integral part of client and family services in various health and mental health settings.
Ms. Stroul is a consultant in the area of mental health policy and has completed numerous research, evaluation, policy analysis, and technical assistance projects related to service systems for children and adolescents with emotional disorders and their families. As one of the architects of the concept of community-based systems of care, she has published extensively in the children’s mental health field and is co-editor of the Systems of Care for Children’s Mental Health ongoing book series. She is a senior consultant to the National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at Georgetown University and to the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program. She served on the mental health working group of the President’s Task Force on Health Care Reform and more recently served as a consultant to the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. She has been honored by the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health with the Claiming Children Award and by the American Psychological Association with the Distinguished Contribution to Child Advocacy Award.
Roxane Kaufman is Director of Early Childhood Policy at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development in Washington, DC.
Since joining the faculty at Georgetown University in the early 1980s, Ms. Kaufmann has been a strong advocate for the development of integrated services, supports, and systems for young children and their families. As part of the National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, she plays a leadership role in supporting the work of states and communities in developing early childhood mental health systems of care through the facilitation of strategic planning, targeted technical assistance, and the development of materials. Ms. Kaufmann has directed projects providing training and technical assistance to agencies such as Head Start and to programs such as child care, mental health, education, public health, and special education. She has written manuscripts, articles, and training materials on early intervention in the context of systems development. In addition, she developed curricula and provided training and technical assistance to twenty-eight countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia in support of their education reform efforts.
Dr. Blau is a clinical psychologist and chief of the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services. In this role, he provides national leadership for children's mental health and for creating systems of care across the country. Prior to this, Dr. Blau was Bureau Chief of Quality Management and Director of Mental Health at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and Director of Clinical Services at the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut. He also holds a clinical faculty appointment at the Yale Child Study Center.
Dr. Blau was formerly a member of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Director’s Division of Children, Youth and Families, and from July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2000, he was the division’s Chairperson. Dr. Blau has received several awards, including the prestigious Pro Humanitate Literary Award for “literary works that best exemplify the intellectual integrity and moral courage required to transcend political and social barriers to promote best practice in the field of child welfare,” the Connecticut Governor’s Service Award, the Phoebe Bennet Award for outstanding contribution to children’s mental health in Connecticut, and the Making a Difference Award presented by Connecticut’s Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. Most recently, he was the recipient of the 2009 Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service for his national leadership in children’s mental health.
Dr. Blau has numerous journal publications and has been the editor of several books, including the recently published Handbook of Childhood Behavioral Issues: Evidence-Based Approaches to Prevention and Treatment (Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2008), Family Influences on Childhood Behavior and Development (Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2008), and The System of Care Handbook: Transforming Mental Health Services for Children, Youth, and Families (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2008). He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama) in 1988.
Ms. Spencer has navigated a highly visible career path through local family organizing, state level systems of care development, advocacy, national meeting planning for both the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health and the Technical Assistance Partnership, and providing training and technical assistance to family-run organizations. Ms. Spencer has become a much sought after public speaker on the subject of children’s mental health from a national as well as a parent’s perspective. Her combination of passion and experience validates her message.
Dr. Fisher has consistently served the American public throughout more than 15 years of federal service. As Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Dr. Fisher manages evaluations to assess the effectiveness of federal health programs throughout the nation. Previously, as a research psychologist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Survey Methods Research, she specialized in the application of cognitive methods to improve the quality of large government surveys. Dr. Fisher was the director of evaluation in the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch at SAMHSA from 2004 to 2010, and was project officer for the national evaluation of the systems of care program. She also coordinated program activities in the areas of suicide prevention, improving conditions for youth in residential care, and addressing the needs of LGBT children and youth. Dr. Fisher has worked extensively throughout her career to improve the health and well-being of children and youth and LGBT populations. Among other activities, she has launched and served as chair of a national workgroup to address the needs of youth in systems of care who are LGBT and their families and is currently a member of both the Healthy People 2020 Committee on LGBT populations and the National Action Alliance on Suicide Prevention LGBT Task Force.
Mario Hernandez, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. Dr. Hernandez serves as Director of the Division of Training, Research, Evaluation and Demonstration in the Department of Child and Family Studies. In this role, he provides leadership and management for a variety of research and technical assistance projects. This work includes serving as Co-Principal Investigator on a study of community-based theories of change as part of the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health as well as several projects involving the use of logic models as a tool for developing theories of change. Dr. Hernandez has edited and contributed to a special issue of The Journal of Behavioral Health Science and Research focused on system accountability in children's mental health. In addition, he edited Promoting Cultural Competence in Children's Mental Health Services with Mareasa R. Isaacs (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998). In 1998, he was a contributor and consultant to the Surgeon General's First Report on Mental Health.
Dr. Hodges is an applied organizational anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. She currently serves at Co-Principal Investigator for a study of community-based theories of change, a 5-year investigation of local policy implementation that is part of the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health. In addition, Dr. Hodges is involved with training and technical assistance projects using logic models as a tool for developing theories of change. Dr. Hodges has been involved in research and technical assistance on system accountability as well as on how organizational culture affects the utilization of outcome information. She directed a study of collaboration in child-serving systems for the federal Center for Mental Health Services' Promising Practices Initiative. Her experience also includes consulting with private sector companies in establishing and expanding their organizations, developing strategic business plans, and securing financing.
Mareasa R. Isaacs, Ph.D., is Coordinator of the Urban Mental Health Initiative at The Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, MD.
Dr. Perry is Director of the Women’s and Children’s Health Policy Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Perry’s research concerns women and children who are at risk for mental health disorders. She is the co-principal investigator of a research grant testing a preventive intervention for post-partum depression in Latina women. As Director of Research at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, she served as project director for an urban mental health grant focusing on maternal depression in low income families of color. She has worked with states and counties to develop and evaluate systems of care for young children under the age of 6 with or at risk for special needs. Dr. Perry has conducted research into the effectiveness of mental health consultation to early care and education providers. She has a doctoral degree in maternal and child health from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in psychology from the New School for Social Research. She is also the mother of an 11-year-old daughter, Grace.
Mr. Rotto is Chief Executive Officer of Choices, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has developed cost-effective, comprehensive systems of care in Indiana, Ohio, and Maryland. Mr. Rotto is a nationally recognized expert in creating high-fidelity wraparound programs, managing provider networks of strength-based, community-based services, and developing braided and flexible funding streams.
Hewitt B. Rusty Clark, Ph.D., received his doctoral degree in developmental and child psychology from the University of Kansas in 1972. He is a professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. His research interests and grants focus on evaluating the effectiveness of 1) individualized planning and intervention processes for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties and their families, 2) after-care services for juvenile offenders, and 3) the transition of youth and young adults into employment, educational opportunities, and independent living. Dr. Clark came to the University of South Florida after directing a comprehensive mental health program for families in Nevada, where he was affiliated with the University of Nevada. Over the course of his professional career, Dr.Clark has developed and researched various innovative programs and has published extensively, wit 3 books and more than 80 publications to his credit. He has served as President of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis and continues to chair the Florida Peer Review Committee, which monitors the quality of treatment programs in developmental disabilities and mental health. Dr. Clark serves on various boards of editors for professional journals and consults nationally and internationally. He was a guest professor at Philipps University in Marburg, Germany, and has presented a series of invited addresses and workshops at conferences in Israel, Peru, Scotland, and Sweden. When Dr. Clark is not conducting research and workshops or teaching, consulting, and developing programs on his topics of professional interest, he enjoys his avocation of sailing the Gulf of Mexico and other seas.
