- Staff
- Board of Directors
- Trainers
- Advisory Board
Abbie Rosenberg
Founder, Executive Director
Abbie has over 30 years of experience as an advanced psychiatric nurse practitioner, including outpatient private practice, inpatient psychiatric care and on college campuses. She also has experience in the non-profit sector as the founder and executive director of an event raising money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) for 16 years
Abbie lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons. She enjoys hiking with her dog, volunteering in her community and spending time with family and friends.
Marissa Carty
Program & Engagement Manager
Marissa oversees Mental Health Collaborative’s program development and delivery across the nation–managing 100+ programs to 10,000+ individuals. She also collaborates with research partners to evaluate MHC’s impact. She assists with grant writing, fundraising, volunteer management, and awareness campaigns. She also uses her graphic design experience to create MHC’s marketing materials.
Marissa holds a BA in Psychology from Boston University, where she was also a Kilachand Honors Scholar. She is currently pursuing her MSW at Boston University School of Social Work. Additionally, she holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Metrowest Nonprofit Network and Framingham State University
She has experience in social-emotional education, behavioral healthcare, graphic design, event management, research, and public speaking. She is passionate about prevention and empowerment and is excited to use her skills to bring mental health literacy to all.
Yara Ford
Director of Finance & Operations
Yara serves as the Director of Finance & Operations at Mental Health Collaborative, bringing over 25 years of leadership experience in nonprofit operations, financial management, and organizational strategy. She offers a unique blend of strategic insight and compassion, supporting organizational sustainability and long-term growth.
Yara holds a Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management and has served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for both national and regional nonprofits. Her commitment to mental health advocacy is longstanding. She has co-chaired a Mental Health Advisory Council, served as Executive Director of a private foundation, and was a board member of the Public Schools Foundation. Prior to relocating to Massachusetts, she was recognized as a Champion of Character by her former city in Oklahoma for her leadership in advancing mental health awareness in her community.
Yara lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Joe. They are the proud parents of three daughters. She enjoys traveling, volunteering, and spending time in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York.
Nadia Shahmehri
Operations & Business Systems Analyst
Nadia brings over 20 years of experience in operations, systems development, and information management. She believes a well-designed spreadsheet can save the world and has built a career around organizing chaos into clarity. With a background in both nonprofits and startups, she specializes in creating systems that scale, support communication across teams, and work in the real world.
As Operations & Business Systems Analyst at MHC, Nadia collaborates across the organization to identify process needs, analyze how work is currently getting done, and design tools that make those workflows more efficient and sustainable.
Nadia’s connection to MHC’s mission is personal. She lost her partner to suicide and believes that open communication and mental health literacy are the foundations of a mentally healthy society.
Ellie Winthrop
Board Chair
For the past twenty-five years, Ellie has volunteered for numerous organizations and served on several nonprofit boards. Her volunteer roles include ESL tutor, high school mentor, fundraiser, secretary, and treasurer, and she currently serves as Board Chair of MHC.
Ellie and her husband raised their three children in Massachusetts and now divide their time between there and Colorado. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, bike riding, hiking, and skiing, as well as plant based cooking.
Ali Balster
Vice Chair
Ali has over 20 years experience as a diverse business leader with expertise in supply chain management, financial analysis, engineering and operations. She is a trained industrial engineer having spent fifteen years in aerospace manufacturing worldwide. More recently, Ali founded a gourmet catering business and currently serves as an account analyst for a wealth management firm.
Ali volunteers for various Hopkinton organizations including MOMs Group, the HPTA, the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K and Mental Health Collaborative.
Ari Herman
Treasurer
Ari has spent over a decade leading various private equity firm’s finances and operations. Currently, Ari is the CFO at Franchise Equity Partners, a private equity firm who seeks to create long-term partnerships with best-in-class franchise operators by providing minority, passive, permanent and flexible capital solutions. Ari is a Class A firefighter, a member of the Hose 2 Company in the Woodmere Volunteer Fire Department, where he also serves as Treasurer.
Ari lives in NY with his wife Arielle and their 4 kids. When he’s not putting out literal and metaphorical fires, he spends much of his limited free time watching and playing sports, and running marathons and triathlons.
Brian Gross
Secretary
Brian Gross is a partner in the Boston office of the law firm Manning Gross + Massenburg, and has more than twenty years of experience finding client-oriented solutions to complex business and litigation issues. His practice involves a broad spectrum of litigation, but is primarily concentrated in corporate litigation.
Brian lives with his wife and two children, and has been active in Hopkinton youth sports for many years. He enjoys travel, sports, and spending time with family.
Ellen Scordino
Ellen Scordino is a partner in the Boston office of DLA Piper, where her legal practice focuses on counseling life science clients in intellectual property matters and other business disputes. She also has a robust pro bono practice focusing on access to justice for children and women. Ellen also has decades of volunteer experience including being on several boards, including Hopkinton School Committee, Hopkinton Country Club Charitable Foundation, and the College Axis Project.
Ellen lives with her husband, two children, and two dogs. She enjoys spending her free time with family, traveling, and watching bad tv.
Brian Carlisle
Brian Carlisle serves as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Arkansas State University – Mountain Home. He has worked for nearly 30 years in higher education, serving in several vice president roles. His area of expertise is the intersection of law and higher education.
Brian lives in AR with his husband John Farrell and their dog Binx. He enjoys traveling the world, camping, fishing, and the great outdoors.
Mia LaFlore
Mia LaFlore is a legal marketing professional in Chicago where she develops strategic campaigns and manages cross-functional teams. She has contributed to award-winning projects and leverages data-driven insights in her work. Drawing from her understanding of effective leadership in professional services, Mia created “The Anti-Manager,” a social media series that challenges outdated management practices.
Mia has completed two triathlons, plays five instruments, and has attended over 500 concerts. She and her husband celebrate their anniversary each August by taking photos in their wedding attire. They live with their dog, Marlowe, in Chicago.
Naomi Brown, Ph.D.
Trainer Bio
Naomi has a Ph.D. in Education and a Master’s in Social Work. She has over 15 years of experience working in mental health and education, in roles including high school teacher and social worker in school-based, community-based, and private practice settings. She currently works as an education consultant to school districts across the country. Her doctoral research focused on mental health in schools, specifically exploring how to foster stronger collaboration between teachers and school mental health professionals. Naomi is passionate about ensuring that children and adolescents are surrounded by the individuals and systems they need to support their mental health, well-being, and ability to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.
Elizabeth Levine Brown, Ph.D.
Trainer Bio
Elizabeth is an Associate Professor at George Mason University in the College of Education and Human Development, having received tenure in 2018. Her background in Applied Developmental Psychology along with her former work as an elementary educator grounds her multidisciplinary research centered on comprehensive school-based mental health systems with particular attention to Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports that shape children and youth’s developmental and academic outcomes. With partnerships with the National Center for School Mental Health and the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environment (NCSSLE/AIR) team she has gained expertise in school-based mental health research, conducted evidence-based trainings and developed data-driven products. Skilled in interprofessional and interdisciplinary collaborations, Dr. Levine Brown focuses on university-school-community partnerships for applied research and evaluation that support the capacity and sustainability research-to-practice projects for creating and executing comprehensive school-based systems, policies and protocols.
Michele Bredice Craemer, M.Ed.
Trainer Bio
Michele Bredice Craemer holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Boston College and a Master’s of Education in Health Science from Springfield College. She is certified through American Council on Exercise, and has a course certificate of The Science of Well-Being.
She has over 25 years of experience in the field of health and wellness; including corporate fitness center management, wellness program management, exercise group instruction, personal training and specific training programs such as Walk-to-Run Series.
She is the founder of power pack presentations, where she has designed and implemented presentations on various wellness and motivation topics. Subjects have included themes of: stress management, exercise motivation, positive attitudes, goal setting and life balance. She has been an invited speaker at many organizations, schools, colleges, corporations and conferences. Her presentations include keynote addresses for the Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Women’s Health Event and the Litchfield Women’s County Network Daughter’s Day Event.
Michele is a part-time instructor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she teaches courses on Fitness/Stress Management and Fitness/Resiliency to undergraduate students.
She is the author of 3 books: 2 children’s picture books and an inspirational book for girls–all which promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles.
Kristina Floyd, LCSW-C
Trainer Bio
Kristina is a licensed clinical social worker in Maryland with 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents, young adults and their families. She has provided direct clinical services, supervision to licensed clinicians and masters level interns, case management, and consultations within non-public and public school systems since 2009 and as a private practitioner since 2016. Kristina has also worked in larger, global systems, such as the United Nations, to explore systemic changes that have impacted the lives of many. She is currently a lead clinician and clinical trainer in many evidenced-based interventions. She has presented at local, state, and national levels on evidenced-based curriculums and other issues related to school mental health. Kristina is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Kristina earned a Bachelors in Social Work from New York University and a Masters of Social Work, specializing in families and children, from University of Maryland, Baltimore.
In her spare time, she is an avid traveler and even runs her own travel agency!
Gabrielle Giordano BS, EdM
Trainer Bio
Gabrielle was a teacher at Fay School in Southborough MA for many years. She was previously a stay at home mom, who balanced volunteer opportunities with part-time businesses, and also a Financial Aid Director at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has three adult children who are now all out of the house. She is working with Mental Health Collaborative as an educator consultant and co-taught the mental health curriculum remotely and is now enjoying training other educators.
Ali Gutermann, LICSW
Trainer Bio
Ali is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly a decade of experience working with children adolescents and families in both school and outpatient therapy settings, as well as inpatient mental health. She has experience supporting students with a variety of mental health challenges, including anxiety, ADHD, executive functioning skills, trauma, depression and other learning differences. In addition to her clinical work, Ali has helped to design, implement and deliver numerous Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curricula in schools working alongside teachers, school administrators and students in grades K-8. Ali is passionate about helping children and adolescents grow, flourish and succeed and is excited to bring her enthusiasm and energy to Mental Health Collaborative.
Susan Hanly, MSN, RN
Trainer Bio
Sue has worked as a registered nurse for over 38 years and for 22 of those years, was a middle school nurse. In 2019, she graduated with her Master’s of Science in Nursing and is currently working as a clinical nursing instructor at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester overseeing Associate Degree Nursing students in their psychiatric rotation. Sue became passionate about mental health education over 20 years ago when her own daughter began struggling with depression.
Very quickly, she came to realize how little most people knew about mental illness including students, parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, coaches, and college administrators. She is thrilled to be part of Mental Health Collaborative and shares their mission to bring mental health literacy to all.
Sue and her husband live in MA and are blessed with 4 grown children and 6 grandchildren who live nearby. She loves to spend time with her family, loves God and is a fitness enthusiast.
Arti Kumar-Jain, NCC, Ph.D Candidate, MCHC, M.Ed
Trainer Bio
Arti Kumar-Jain is the Executive Director of Diya Holistic Life Care, a 501c3 non-profit organization headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Arti is also the Founding Director of Love & Light 4 Kidz LLC. Arti provides leadership, collaboration, and partnership
opportunities for education and advocacy in the community. Mrs. Kumar-Jain has obtained several certifications through the coaching modality. That allows for engagement and education with various organizations in the community and nationally.
Arti has previously taught in the preschool and elementary education setting and provided tutoring services. Arti has also completed a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Arti is currently part of a private practice in Virginia. She is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in General Psychology with an Emphasis on Performance Psychology (Qualitative Design) from Grand Canyon University. For her dissertation, Arti focuses on looking at workplace stress on early educators’ job performance.
Arti is deeply motivated in education and advocacy for mental health and well-being.
She is committed to serving local, national and international efforts in examining holistic health to live happier, joyful, and healthy lives. She enjoys spending time with her family, doing yoga, being mindful, and doing anything calling for her in the moment.
Alyssa Johnson, LICSW
Trainer Bio
Alyssa is a licensed independent clinical social worker in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut with over 10 years experience working in settings such as Boston Children’s Hospital, Westwood Mansfield Pediatric Associates and Boston Emergency Service Team. Alyssa is an adjunct professor at Fordham University in their Master of Social Work program. In her therapy private practice, Alyssa provides evidence-based individual therapy to adolescents and adults seeking support for managing life stressors and mental health concerns. Alyssa is a 200-hour yoga teacher and Reiki Master and is passionate about holistic healing modalities as an integrative therapy to support mental health. Through her work experience, Alyssa strongly believes preventative care and early detection are critical for improving mental health outcomes. She is excited to join Mental Health Collaborative in their mission to increase preventative care through mental health literacy.
Elena List, LICSW
Trainer Bio
Elena is an LICSW, earning her Masters degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her career has included a wide range experience, including hospital social work, and obesity and eating disorders counseling. Her passion turned to prevention and health promotion with a focus on the development and delivery of stress management, smoking cessation, fitness and nutrition-based education in workplaces and community settings. Later, she spent 10 years working for the UMass Medical School Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training, where she was involved in research, provider education on tobacco interventions and tobacco treatment training efforts. Her passion for education on health and mental health issues continued most recently as a Program Manager for MassGeneralBrigham where she was involved in a number of efforts to improve patient flow, enhance team-based care, integrate behavioral health measures into primary care and support the management of preventive care and chronic disease measures. Much of her work over the decades has included training and education to improve health, and she is very excited to bring this experience along with her clinical background to the critical mission the Mental Health Collaborative.
Carrie Prisco, MEd in Special Education, MEd in Literacy
Trainer Bio
Carrie was a teacher and team leader in Westborough, MA for years. She has two girls of her own and loves being active and volunteering in her community. Carrie co-taught the mental health curriculum to remote 8th graders in MA, and enjoyed using interactive and creative ways to engage the students. She is passionate about teaching and learning, and believes this curriculum will make a difference in students and schools.
Karen Renaud, M.Ed., NBC-HWC, CiWPP
Trainer Bio
Karen has been teaching in the field of wellness education for over 20 years. She proudly served as the K-12 Wellness Subject Matter Leader for the Hopkinton Public School district and has presented at the MAHPERD, SHAPE America Eastern District Association and National conventions, and the Advancing School Mental Health National Conference. Several years ago, she was introduced to Positive Psychology while developing a high school stress management course. She was so fascinated by this field of study and the impact it has on mental health that she enrolled in a certification program in Wholebeing Positive Psychology. In the years since, she has also completed certifications in Positive Psychology Health and Wellness Coaching, Happiness Studies with Dr. Tal Ben Shahar and Mindfulness and Meditation. Currently, she works as a Positive Psychology Health and Wellness coach, is an online course creator and professional education provider. She is passionate about bringing Mental Health education to all schools in the U.S. because it is an often ignored, stigmatized and misunderstood part of our health and wellbeing. Karen is thrilled to be part of the Mental Health Collaborative team.
Elizabeth Schuster, M.A. in Counseling Psychology
Trainer Bio
Elizabeth is a licensed secondary school adjustment counselor with over 20 years of experience working with students in grades 6-12, college students, and young adults entering the workforce.
Her work has focused on helping students with mental health diagnosis, social/emotional challenges, and students with learning, physical, and medical disabilities. Elizabeth assists students and their families as they navigate the transition from high school to college.
Currently, Elizabeth is the Director of Accessibility Services at a college in Massachusetts and is also an adjunct instructor in undergraduate psychology programs teaching courses in general psychology, life-span development, the psychology of learning, and strength based resiliency. Elizabeth volunteers with a non-profit pediatric palliative care organization and enjoys traveling, reading, running, eating too much chocolate on some days and spending time with her family.
Phoenix Ward, M.S. in Curriculum, Instruction and Teaching
Trainer Bio
Phoenix is a former Philadelphia School District teacher who has taught all grades for six years. A Temple Graduate, and Drexel Alumni with a B.S. in Education and a M.S. in Curriculum, Instruction and Teaching. He has experience in teaching, socio-emotional learning, and has studied the effects of social media on youth’s social development.
Phoenix uses his free time to engage in creative activities, such as writing and composing music.
Gail Martinez Waters, Ph.D., LCPC, NCC
Trainer Bio
Gail has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision with Spiritual and Pastoral Integration, as well as a M.Ed. in School Counseling. She has 17 years of experience working with children and adolescents as a K-12 school counselor and licensed clinical professional counselor in Maryland. In addition to her school and clinical experience, she is an adjunct professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program at Wilmington University in Delaware. Gail’s doctoral research study was on the impact of mental health literacy training on mental health knowledge, attitudes, relationships, and spirituality at work of secondary teachers. Mental health literacy advocacy, research, and training in schools and communities is her passion.
Kristy Willadsen, BS
Trainer Bio
Kristy is a certified WellCoach and actively coaches individuals to be their best selves through goal setting, and the power of positive thinking. She has also worked in the Hopkinton school system’s Parent Teacher Organization in various ways. Mostly, she loved being in and around the athletic coaching role leading and advising many young kids from 2nd grade through middle school. Previously, Kristy was a Marketing Director at MIT’s brand new health & wellness center. She was passionate about bringing the education and importance of health & wellness to the minds & bodies of students, staff and professors at MIT’s intense educational environment.
As a Trainer at Mental Health Collaborative, Kristy specializes in bringing MHC’s critical and pertinent mission to coaches and athletes in both the High School and Collegiate level.
Evan Bishop
Evan is the principal at Hopkinton High School. He has worked at HHS for the past 15 years. He started his career as a school counselor and coach and has spent the last 10 years as an administrator. He loves to spend time with his family & friends, coaching his daughter’s sports teams, traveling and exercising.
Dr. Sharon Burdulis
Sharon has been practicing pediatrics for close to 25 years in the community setting. She and her husband are blessed with 5 children and 2 dogs. In addition to spending time with her family, she loves to run and volunteer her time.
Dr. Jennifer Herring
Dr. Jennifer Herring is a graduate of Gordon College, Cambridge College and Lesley University. At Gordon College, Dr. Herring studied Theater and minored in communications. She was the recipient of the New City/Clarendon Scholars program which recognized urban leaders and their potential to make an impact in their communities or partnering urban communities with Gordon. Additionally, Dr. Herring has traveled to Ghana, W. Africa, Guatemala, London, Scotland for service learning and theater study abroad. In graduate school, Dr. Herring obtained a Master’s of Education in Psychological Studies as well as a PhD in Educational Leadership. Her research focus centers around supporting all students who have endured trauma in school. After the personal and professional experiences gained from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Herring was able to reimagine what a safe and supportive school requires with the lens of trauma-sensitivity and language learning.
Diane Kosheff
Diane brings over 30 years of experience in the Life Sciences industry to her role at MHC, where she focuses on enhancing organizational processes to support the company’s growth. Beyond her professional commitments, Diane has volunteered with organizations such as the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K and Friends of Hillers Hockey, demonstrating her dedication to community engagement. She also enjoys traveling and cycling with her husband, exploring new destinations together.
Dr. Kirk Lum
Kirk is a psychiatrist who has been in practice in the Boston area for over 20 years. He has enjoyed working in community mental health clinics and private practice. He has a love and appreciation for teaching and schools as both his wife and daughter are teachers and he did a student teaching internship himself at Brookline High School many moons ago.
Jon Nelson
Jon is a healthcare communications executive who is a passionate patient advocate focused on pulverizing the stigma of mental illness. Jon participated in a deep brain stimulation clinical trial out of Mt Sinai hospital in New York for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. He has been in remission from depression since the moment the device was turned on. He is living a bonus life and is dedicated to saving as many lives as possible through his advocacy efforts and supporting organizations like Mental Health Collaborative. Jon lives in PA with his wife and 3 children.
Ilene Silver
Ilene is a former longtime principal of the Elmwood School in Hopkinton, MA. She lives in Framingham with her husband and loves to spend time with her grandchildren and travel. She is also an avid volunteer in her community.
Lisa Stevenson
Lisa is an award winning Creative Director/Art Director with more than 25 years of experience. She is VP, Creative Director at Merge, Boston—a marketing agency specializing in the healthcare and financial services industries. She is mom to two amazing daughters and when she isn’t driving the dance carpool, she loves to travel and ski with her kids.