Training Presenters

Jeanne Croy, LCSW, CCS

Jeanne (she/her) has over 20 years of experience in mental health, working with children, adolescents and adults in the fields of mental health, substance abuse, child welfare, and forensic interviewing and evaluations. She was awarded two fellowships at the Yale School of Medicine as a Psychiatric Social Work Fellow and Zigler Fellow and is a former faculty member at the Yale Child Study Center. She has specialized training in a range of therapeutic modalities, including evidence-based treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, and other concerns. She is currently in private practice in Springvale, Maine.

Jessica L. Griffin, Psy.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), where she has been a faculty member since 2006.  Dr. Griffin is an internationally known relationship expert, sought after public speaker, and national expert in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), trauma, and relationships. She has trained and provided consultation for thousands of clinicians and therapists across the United States and has led wide-scale TF-CBT dissemination efforts and pilot projects, informed by implementation science and focused on multiple settings and populations (e.g., in-home therapy, court-involved youth, transition-age youth). With funding from SAMHSA/NCTSN in 2012, as Principal Investigator and Executive Director, she developed the UMMS Child Trauma Training Center, with a focus on training, treatment, and resolving access issues youth who have experienced trauma. Within this initiative, Dr. Griffin created and piloted a highly innovative centralized referral system, LINK-KID, targeted at decreasing wait-times for youth and families to trauma-focused evidence-based treatments.  Due to LINK-KID’s early successes, she and her team expanded LINK-KID to what is now a statewide capacity, serving trauma victims throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To date, under her direction, the center has trained over 100,000 professionals in trauma-informed care and trauma-responsive practices and successfully referred over 5000 youth into evidence-based treatment models. In 2020, Dr. Griffin was awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant to develop the national Resilience through Relationships Center, housed at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. In 2021, Dr. Griffin became the Executive Director of Lifeline For Kids within the division of Lifeline For Families in the Department of Psychiatry.

 Dr. Griffin is a clinical and forensic psychologist with a specialty in trauma and relationships.  She has extensive expertise in childhood maltreatment, attachment and relationships, psychological evaluation, and divorce and custody matters. She presents regularly at local, national and international level on topics related to childhood trauma, relationships, TF-CBT, and forensic evaluation of children and families and has published journal articles and book chapters on a variety of topics related to trauma and relationships.  She is a co-author of a book by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Childhood Trauma and Resilience, A Practical Guide, a go-to resource on childhood trauma for pediatrics. Recently, Dr. Griffin also authored a book for couples, Relationship Rx: Prescriptions for Lasting Love and Deeper Connection (Rowan and Littlefield Press, for release in February 2023) which addresses common problems plaguing couples with evidence-based, science-backed techniques and exercises to solve them. Dr. Griffin has received numerous awards for her work and has been featured on NPR, BBC, US News and World Report, Fox News, the Insider, Sirius XM Doctor Radio, People Magazine, Readers’ Digest, iHeartRadio, the New York Post, MedScape, the Daily Mail, and other news and media outlets.  Dr. Griffin has appeared on numerous television programs, serving as an expert and consultant on several television docuseries about relationships, marriage and divorce on A&E’s Lifetime Television network, including several seasons on the hit show, Married At First Sight and related spinoffs.  She has a private consulting and coaching business and is the CEO of LoveBuilder, a relationship company, which provides educational online courses to couples, singles, and parents.

Websites and Social Media Handles:

 Lifeline for Kids webpage: www.umassmed.edu/lifelineforkids

Media page: www.drjessica.com

 Twitter: @TheDrJessica

Instagram: @dr.jessicagriffin

Facebook: Dr. Jessica Griffin

Jessica Wozniak, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and the Clinical Research and Development Manager at Baystate Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry in Springfield, MA, and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate (UMMS). In her role she oversees community-based projects, clinical research, and training including oversight of all projects funded by SAMHSA/NCTSN. She is the Director of the Child Advocacy Training and Support Center, a national training and consultation center for Children’s Advocacy Centers.  Additionally, Dr. Wozniak oversaw the development of the One Mission Project which provides coordinated services to child trafficking victims. She is also a leader of the Hampden County Coalition to Identify and Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children. Dr. Wozniak is a nationally recognized trainer in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, the most rigorously tested treatment for trauma in children. Additionally, she conducts trainings for community organizations as well as presenting at national and international conferences on topics related to trauma informed practices, vicarious trauma, trauma-informed multidisciplinary teams and sexual exploitation of children.

Kelli Fox,LCSW, LADC, CCS – Educator, Consultant, Psychotherapist, Administrator.  These are professional roles Kelli has had during her 35 year career in the fields of social work, substance use disorder, and higher education. Throughout her work, Kelli has learned from mentors and her own experiences to recognize the power of positive and authentic relationship to create healing and recovery for individuals and families, including very young children and adult survivors of violence.  While also employing other practice theories, Kelli believes that working from this relational framework in the context of clinical supervision, organizational leadership and change management, and as an educator is invaluable and creates the basis from which learning, growth and positive change emerges.

Kristel Hill is a LMSW-cc who is passionate about working with a variety of teenagers and adults who have been impacted by trauma related grief.

Kristel is certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Laura Slap-Shelton, Psy.D.  

Laura is a licensed psychologist specializing in neuropsychology who has extensive experience in evaluating children and adults with Autism, Asperger’s Disorder, and Developmental Disorders.

Laura Sproch, Ph.D.

Dr. Sproch is the Program Director of the New England Eating Disorders Program at Sweetser. She utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral therapy, family-based therapy, and interpersonal therapy in the treatment that she provides.  Prior to her work in Maine, Dr. Sproch was the research coordinator at The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt (Baltimore, MD) and also trained at Friends Hospital (Philadelphia, PA) and ‘Ai Pono Eating Disorder Program (Honolulu, HI).   Dr. Sproch received her doctorate from Hofstra University in Clinical and School Psychology and her undergraduate degree from Vassar College.

Margaret Norbert, LCSW

Maggie holds a Master of Social Work Degree from Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. She is an adjunct professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and field instructor for master’s level social work students. She has worked within school systems and primary care offices most of her career supporting individuals, families and children within non-profit mental health agencies. Her background is in child (Play Therapy) and family work. Maggie is a certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist.

Marylena Chaisson, LCPC

Marylena is a clinical supervisor in the Case Management program at Health Affiliates Maine.  She also has a small private practice in Wilton where she focuses her efforts on helping clients improve their resiliency, set effective boundaries, live more mindfully, and commit to living a life focused on their individual personal values.  She has worked in community mental health in Maine since 2003, including in direct care, supervising and as a program manager for case management, disaster mental health, residential care, community integration, DLSS services and crisis response and stabilization programs.  She has a special interest in rural mental health care and improving access to care for rural Mainers.  She is also a contracted trainer for Maine’s Disaster Behavioral Health Team through the Maine CDC and regularly offers trainings on Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery throughout the state.

Melissa Winchester, LCPC

Melissa received her Bachelor’s (1988) and Master’s (1992) degrees in Child Development and Family Studies from the University of Maine. She received her MBA in healthcare administration from Thomas College in 2019. Melissa have been a licensed professional counselor in the state of Maine since 1998 and has provided family therapy, case management, child protective services, therapeutic foster care, and policy level services over the years. In addition, she has supervised and trained interns, licensed and non-licensed staff in the provision on behavioral health services for over 20 years.