Register for the 2022 Trauma Institute

Dr. Jon Ebert is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is also an Associate Professor for the Vanderbilt Department of Human & Organizational Development. Dr. Ebert has over 20 years of experience and expertise in clinical, consultation and training in the assessment and delivery of services to children and families who have experienced traumatic stress and mental health challenges. Dr. Ebert is the Director of the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE), which serves to improve public health by enhancing the quality of services provided to children in or at-risk of entering the Tennessee child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Dr. Ebert is the Associate Director of the APA approved Vanderbilt University Medical Center Internship in Professional Psychology (VUMC-IPP) and is co-director of the Child & Adolescent Psychology internship track. Appointed by the Tennessee Commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS), Dr. Ebert is Chairman of the Treatment Subcommittee for the Tennessee Joint Task Force on Children’s Justice and Child Sexual Abuse. Dr. Ebert is a senior leader and advisor for the Tennessee Best Practice Initiative which is responsible for the statewide implementation of evidence-based treatments. Under his leadership, models such as: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Attachment Regulation & Competency (ARC), Teen Outreach Program (TOP), Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) continue to be trained & supported in Tennessee.

Dr. Kathleen Chard is co-developer of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and is the Director of the Trauma Recovery Center and Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Cincinnati Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Center. Serving as the VA CPT Implementation Director, Dr. Chard oversees the dissemination of CPT to mental health clinicians across the United States. She is the co-author of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Model (The Guilford Press, 2017) and author of CPT for Sexual Abuse Treatment Manual (2012). A sought-after speaker, Dr. Chard has personally trained over 5,000 clinicians throughout the United States on using CPT with veterans, active duty personnel, and civilians in addition to overseeing the training of tens of thousands of others via the trainers she supervises. She is co-chair of a 17-site study comparing CPT to Prolonged Exposure (PE) in US veterans in addition to conducting a $6 million-dollar Department of Defense study on the assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She served as a past editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress and is currently a professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati, as well as the Director of the UC Health Stress Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Joshua Arvidson, MSS, LCSW  is an expert in trauma-informed care for children, and established the Alaska Child Trauma Center at Alaska Behavioral Health. He has served on the Steering Committee for SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network and is the Principal Investigator for the Military Family Child Trauma Program. He’s also on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and has presented at over 100 conferences on childhood trauma, including the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.  Joshua serves on the Board of Directors for FOCUS and has designed and taught courses on clinical practice with children and adolescents and childhood trauma for the University of Alaska Anchorage. Joshua has published in the journals, Child Welfare 360, Child Maltreatment, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and Trauma, Abuse and Violence.  He’s been recognized by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as one of Alaska’s “Top 40 Under 40” and has received a Business Achievement Award for Healthcare from the Anchorage Daily News. Joshua currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Alaska Behavioral Health.

Meghan Crow, LCSW, has been a school social worker with the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) for the past 24 years. She currently serves as the Lead School Social Worker for LKSD and in that role provides direct services to 2 village schools, supervises 9 other school social workers and collaborates on staff training and District-wide initiatives.  Meghan has served on several Statewide coalitions such as the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, the Safe Children’s Act Curriculum Committee and the Maternal Child Death Review Committee.  Meghan is a member of the UAA MSW Admissions committee as well as an adjunct faculty member at UAA School of Social Work.  Building resilience in youth has been and remains a passion for Meghan and the “why” behind her work.  

Meda’s Tlingit names are Tśa Tsée Naakw, Khaat kłaat, adopted Iñupiaq name is Tigigalook, and adopted Cree name is Boss Eagle Spirit Woman “Boss.” Her clan is Naanyaa.aayí and she is a child of the Kaach.aadi. Her family comes from Shtuxéen kwaan (now referred to as Wrangell, AK.) Meda’s lineage also comes from Oregon, Washington, and the BC/Yukon Territories. Currently she lives on Dena’ina lands in Anchorage, Alaska with her fiancé James “Chris” Paoli and their eight children. Meda’s work revolves around the personal credo “Leave a world that can support life and a culture worth living for.” Her work experience draws from her training as an Alaska Native traditional healer and Healthy Native Communities capacity building facilitator. 

Saraj Gottstein, MA, LPC was born and raised in Alaska. Her family has been here for 4 generations. Saraj has a love of adventure, the outdoors, and human relationships. Saraj attended Western Washington University for her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Nutrition. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Wilderness Therapy at Naropa University. Saraj weaves her training in treating trauma with her training in wilderness and outdoor-based therapies. Saraj has worked in the child and family trauma clinic and Alaska Seeds of Change with Alaska Behavioral Health for four years.

Marissa Hanson, MSW, LCSW is the director of partial hospitalization program and wrap-around services at Alaska Behavioral Health. She has a Master in Social Work and a Certificate in Interpersonal Trauma Studies from University of Denver. She has worked with children and families who have experienced trauma since 2010. Marissa provides Attachment, Regulation, and Competency training and consultation throughout Alaska. She is a certified TF-CBT therapist and, previously, helped implement TF-CBT for children at a child advocacy center. At AKBH, Marissa leads the school-based team that provides services within elementary, middle, and high schools.

Lori has been healing children, teens, and adults with play, expressive arts, skills, mindfulness, and EMDR in the Mat-Su Valley for 22 years. Fostering healthy attachments and using neurobiology as the foundation of therapy, Lori creates a fun, safe environment to heal from trauma or work through life’s stressors causing anxiety or depression.  She is the president of the Alaska Association for Play Therapy and a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor and a State of Alaska LPC Supervisor.

Maressa Jensen, MSW, is the Trauma Engaged Schools Specialist for the Juneau School District, leading a district-wide effort to implement comprehensive strategies to support well-being for students and staff. She contributed to the Trauma Engaged Schools Toolkit from DEED, and provides professional development in mental health, trauma engaged schools, and restorative practice; for JSD staff and community partners. Nurturing joy in learning, outdoor education, social equity, and cultivating social emotional competency for everyone are areas of professional interest. When not at work, Maressa enjoys spending time with her family, and in the beautiful outdoors; hiking, skiing, paddle boarding and trail running, and is an avid reader.

Jimael Johnson is a program officer with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Among other priority investment areas, she works to increase the Trust’s opportunities for advocacy and partnership related to infant and childhood mental health to enhance the continuum of care for children and families. This work supports the Trust’s mandate to promote early intervention and prevention strategies on behalf of its beneficiaries. Families and children involved in the child welfare system continue to be a high priority for the Trust. Jimael looks forward to supporting the work of the Alliance in her role as a program officer and through her volunteer role as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.

Jimael has previously worked in child and family services and systems development with the State of Alaska’s Division of Public Health as well as in direct support roles with community based behavioral health and developmental disability service providers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services from Alaska Pacific University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Alaska, Anchorage with an emphasis in maternal child health.

Melissa Kitko is an Air Force veteran, a Registered Nurse, and a Program Instructor with Paws for Purple Hearts. Her passion is tostrengthen her community through support for recovery and resilience building before, during and after critical times. She strives to facilitate resource sharing by empowering others to help themselves and those they serve.

Amanda Metivier, MSW, is the Director of the Child Welfare Academy at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Cole Murphy is the Program Manager at Alaska Seeds of Change. As a lifelong Alaskan who enjoys unicycling, Dungeons & Dragons, and camping, Cole has found a place of very meaningful fulfillment serving youth and growing plants in midtown Anchorage. Having graduated from UAA with a dual-major in Japanese and International Studies, Cole  found his passion in getting young people engaged in agriculture through a year and a half of thesis study and farm volunteering in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
His passion for farming, working with young people, and building a fun and healthy lifestyle brought him to Seeds where, first as a volunteer and intern, and then as a supervisor and assistant manager, Cole learned the power that meaningful and support work has to help create safe and empowering spaces for the youth of Anchorage. Today, Cole and his team are implementing the ARC Framework and daily trauma-informed care coordination into the support and vocational training they offer their youth participants at Alaska Seeds of Change

In her role at the Cohen Military & Family Clinic at AKBH , Suzette supports the clinical team at the Anchorage Cohen Clinic as leader and champion of targeted, measurement-based care. In addition to providing direct clinical care, she is responsible for the overall management of clinical training. This ensures that our clients receive high-quality, client-centered care that adheres to the fidelity of proven evidence-based practices best suited for the military and veteran community. Prior to joining the CVN team, Suzette served the military community of JBER as Outreach Manager, Intervention Specialist and Treatment Manager within the 673^rd MDG, Mental Health Flight, Family Advocacy Program.  Before becoming a resident in the great state of Alaska, Suzette worked with veterans and their family members as a Readjustment Counselor at the Alexandria Vet Center, in Alexandria, VA. She attributes becoming a LCSW specializing in military culture from her lived experience as a military spouse and the trials and tribulations that come with accepting that role. Suzette’s clinical passion is rooted in the bio-psycho-social impact of trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Informed Care. When she is not guiding others to develop healthy coping skills, she practices mental and physical self-care on the rugby pitch as a player with Anchortown Women’s Rugby Club and member of the Alaska Rugby Union. She can also be found hiking and biking year-round with her neurotic dog and enjoying all that Alaska has to offer with her two children. Suzette received her BA & MA in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and her MSW from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Jared Parrish, PhD. is the senior Maternal and Child Health epidemiologist at the Alaska Division of Public Health and co-chairs the Alaska Statewide Violence and Injury Prevention Partnership. He holds affiliations at Harborview Injury Prevention Research Center, Washington University at St. Louis, and Oregon Health Sciences University – Portland State University. His research interests focus on child and adolescent injuries, administrative data linkages, longitudinal data analysis, and incorporating novel methods for applied surveillance with an emphasis on improving timeliness, efficacy, and utility of data that lead to prevention.

Patrick Sidmore, MSW, a Public Health Specialist with a focus on school health, works for the Alaska Division of Public Health.  He holds degrees in social work and economics and studied elementary education.  His focus of work over the last decade has been on exploring and telling the story of Alaskan resilience and trauma across multiple disciplines and communities.  He is one of the co-authors of the Transforming Schools: A Framework for Trauma Engaged Practice in Alaska and planned and led the Alaska Mental Health Board’s “Overcoming ACEs in Alaska initiative”.  He lives in Juneau where he and his wife have raised two children. 

Katie Walker, OTD is an occupational therapist who lives in Anchorage, Alaska. Katie received her Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies and Psychology from Howard Payne University and her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Creighton University. Katie is originally from Freedom, Oklahoma but has spent time living and working in Japan, Texas, and now Alaska. Katie’s professional interests include advocating for OT’s role in mental health and her personal interests include quality time with friends and family.

Curt Wengel, MD is a board certified Psychiatrist and currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Alaska Behavioral Health. Dr. Wengel loves working as part of an interdisciplinary team that includes therapy and wrap-around services to fully meet the mental health needs of individuals.

Dr. Wengel trained at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He and his family are excited to live in a place with snow!

Debbie Zastrow Yanagida is a Program Instructor with Paws for Purple Hearts and a Certified NATIONAL Crisis Response Team. Her goal is to strengthen communities during critical times, and to encourage resilience and recovery for the military community and civilian populations.