Jenni Bartholomew
graduated from Syracuse University, College of Human Ecology School of Social work in 2009 with a
focus in Community Organizations Policy Planning and Administration (COPPA). In pursuit of
her degree, she held intern positions with Toomey Residential, a nonprofit providing residential
care to young boys with serious emotional disturbances, and United Way's Nonprofit Leadership
Center.
Since 2001, Jenni has been employed in the Community Impact Division of United Way of Central
New York. Always passionate about organizational development, issues regarding Board
fiduciary responsibility, and program evaluation, she coordinated board/agency trainings, developed
two community needs assessments as well as three volunteer-driven funding allocation processes, and
oversaw the on-going monitoring of all community investments. As part of her role with United
Way, she collaborated with local funders, city and county government, and human service agencies to
address community needs and support agency capacity building. Additionally, due to her
professional affiliation, she served as the Local Board Chair of FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter
Program, and participated as a member of the Syracuse Community Geographer steering committee.
Jenni is also a graduate of Binghamton University, State University of New York, with a B.A.
in Political Science, special interest in the development of sub-Saharan African nations.
Ching-Wen Chang did
her internship in the mental health program at Asian Human Services, Chicago, IL in 2003. In
her seven-month full-time internship, she provided on going individual psychotherapy at the
outpatient mental clinic, facilitated therapeutic groups at the psychosocial rehabilitation program
and performed community outreach.
Before coming to the US, she served as a psychiatric social worker in the Continuing Day
Treatment Program at Municipal Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, where she engaged in helping
individuals with mental illness manage their psychiatric symptoms and improve their social and
emotional functioning in community.
Ching-Wen Graduated from Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan with BA in Social Work in
1999. She received her MSW from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a clinical
focus in community mental health in 2003.
Her research interests include adult mental health issues and evidence based practice in
mental health field. She is also interested in exploring effective social work interventions
with an emphasis on cultural differences.
Min So Paek
recently worked as a medical social worker at the KHEIR Health Education Information & Research
Center, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, CA. I served mild to profound developmental
disabled population. I conducted intake and assessment and developed individual plans of care for
clients. I provided treatment services including crisis intervention, individual, group and family
counseling and participated in agency advocacy events.
I graduated from the Dongduk Women's University, Seoul, Korea, with a B.S. in social work. I
received M.S.W. from the University of Missouri-Coulmbia in 2007. During master's program at the
University of Missouri-Columbia, I did social work internship at the Voluntary Action Center,
Columbia, MO. I served low-income households including disadvantaged youth, elderly, and people
with economic disadvantages to meet their basic needs and to overcome crisis. I provided volunteer
information and recognition to local community and I also did program evaluation of providing
services. I did the second internship at the Asian Affairs Center, Columbia, MO. I worked as a
coordinator for workshop and volunteer program. I was working on a project for Asian immigrants and
Asian international students and their families. I did research on the problems of English as a
second language parents and I wrote a grant proposal. I prepared a two-session workshop for English
as a second language parents who have young children. I also organized a volunteer program for
college students.
My interests are social work policy analysis, program evaluation, aging, poverty, health, and
cross-cultural research.
MinKyoung Jun received
her BSW from Kangnam University, Korea and MSSA from Mandel School of Applied Social Science
(MSASS), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). While working at the school social work settings
of the elementary, middle and high schools in Korea, she designed, carried out, and evaluated
various programs including anti-smoking, school adjustment and class friendship enhancement, and
cultural work-study assistance programs.
While studying her MSSA, she worked at Shaker Heights Youth Center as an assistance program
coordinator and counselor for her first internship. From the center, she witnessed the
effectiveness of programs designed to help suspended students make productive use of their time. In
her second internship at Bellefaire Jewish Children Bureau, she was a case manager, individual
school counselor for PTSD and ODD students and research assistant. As a research assistant, she
analyzed the longitudinal effects of school-based programs. In 2007, MinKyoung had the special
opportunity to connect with students in needs in El Salvador, led by MSASS and International
Partners in Mission (IPM). This opportunity allowed her to see first hand the role of schools and
the importance of school professionals for preventing violence issues.
Since graduating with MSSA, she joined the project of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment as a
research assistant, led by Dr. Kathleen J. Farkas, MSASS, CWRU.
MinKyoung’s primary area of research interests include school aged children and adolescents’
mental health, school violence, and roles of school social work.
Michael Salwiesz
obtained his BSW from the University of Toledo in 2005. He then attended the University of
Michigan where he was named a Dean's Scholar and received a full tuition scholarship. Michael
received his MSW (2006) with an emphasis on Social Policy and Evaluation with Communities and
Social Systems. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan, Michael joined Teach For
America in the Las Vegas Valley. As a part of Teach For America, he taught fourth grade in a Title
I school and obtained a M.Ed. with an emphasis on Elementary Curriculum and Instruction from the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2009). The successes and failures, triumphs and challenges,
and the joys and disappointments that accompanied this experience, along with the stories of
incredibly resilient children, parents, and teachers have deeply impacted him personally and
professionally, and continually guide his work. Michael's research interests surround the
examination of the interplay between families, schools, and communities; family, school, and
community assets that promote success; the impact of parent and community involvement on schools
and communities; resiliency in individuals and communities; and characteristics of high achieving
schools and highly functioning communities.
James Andrews is a
clinical social worker with expertise in forensic social work. During the past twenty-five years,
he has been practicing in the behavioral health field as a clinical social worker, therapist,
administrator, consultant and educator. He has presented workshops at regional and national
conferences, is an adjunct faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in the School of Social Work,
and has taught at Seton Hill University's undergraduate Social Work program. His clinical practice
has included work in the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and
he has consulted nationally as a forensic social worker and legal consultant.
James holds degrees in general management, psychology and social work from Rhode Island
College in Providence, RI. He also holds advanced licensure in social work including the LCSW in
Pennsylvania, LICSW in Massachusetts and West Virginia. He holds national certification as a Board
Certified Diplomate (BCD) with the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. In
forensics, he holds credentials in Forensic Counseling, Sentence Mitigation and is a Forensic
Fellow with the American College of Forensic Examiners. Additionally he is an Internationally
Certified Co-Occurring Disorders Professional at the Diplomate level with the Pennsylvania
Certification Board and a Certified Investigator with the Office of Public Welfare in Pennsylvania.
James' current non-academic employment includes a full time position for the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center as the Manager for Quality Assurance and Risk Management at affiliate Mon
Yough Community Services, Inc. in McKeesport, PA. He operates two private consulting practices.
Forensic Behavioral Associates, a forensic consulting practice where he provides expert witness
services in both civil and criminal cases involving such issues as malpractice, wrongful death,
sexual abuse allegations and sentence mitigation in capital punishment. James also operates
Conscious Core, a consulting practice where he provides personal and career development coaching
and management consulting services to other social workers and professionals. He is very active in
the National Association of Social Workers, having held several leadership positions over the past
several years, including President (2007-2009) NASW-PA Chapter. He is presently the Chair of the
NASW-PA Public Policy Committee (2009-2011) advising chapter leadership on policy and legislative
issues.
His interests include juvenile justice, community violence and risk assessment.
Louis Weigele has social
work experience encompassing clinical practice, clinical supervision and program
administration. He has specific experience in the areas of severe and persistent mental
illness, forensics, trauma, dual diagnosis (substance abuse and mental illness), and drug
dependency and other addictions. He has a background in collaboration with partner organizations
working with specific program challenges and stabilizing troubled programs. He has had a
leadership role in several successful mergers of organizations. Louis maintains a clinical social
work practice in Lakewood, Ohio.
Louis currently serves as the President of the Ohio Council on Problem Gambling, is First
Vice President of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, is a member of
the governing boards of the Domestic Violence Center and the May Dugan, Multi-purpose Center in
Cuyahoga County, and is the Ohio Affiliate Representative to the National Council on Problem
Gambling.
He has served as the executive director and clinical director of several agencies providing
treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders. In a former position with the Cleveland
Department of Public Health, Louis oversaw two substance abuse treatment programs, substance abuse
prevention services, and worked for the greater integration of behavioral health policy and
services with public health policy and services. In his most recent position as the Director of
Behavioral Health at The Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland, he directed the mental health and
substance abuse programs and worked to integrate the treatment for substance abuse disorders,
mental illnesses, and physical health disorders.
Louis graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in psychology and sociology-anthropology. He
received his M.S.S.A. from the School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve
University.
Maureen Riley-Behringer,
MSSA LISW has been a social worker for the past 15 years and is currently partnered in a private
practice in Cleveland, Chagrin Counseling Associates. She specializes in supporting the
developmental needs/milestones of child/adolescent adoptees. Prior to private practice work,
Maureen was a hospice social worker for several years and enjoyed working in the many diverse
communities of Cleveland. She also served as a trauma social worker on the Burn Intensive Care Unit
at Metro Health Medical Center as well as a research assistant at Rainbow Babies and Children's
Hospital. Maureen received her MSSA from the Mandel School at CWRU in 1994 and has a BS in
Psychology/Biology from Youngstown State University. She has congruently served as an adjunct
faculty member in the MSSA program at the MSASS for the past six years teaching child, adolescent,
and adult developmental coursework.
Ms. Riley-Behringer is currently working with a team of adoption specialists from Children's
Hospital in Boston, the International Adoption Program at the Cleveland Clinic, and the Rainbow
Center for International Child Health at University Hospitals of Cleveland on a multi-series,
post-adoption education project for families living in Massachusetts (September-November, 2009) and
Ohio (January-March, 2010). Her research interests lie in the domestic/international adoption
systems, with a focus on the development of strong post-adoption services and supportive policies
for adoptive families. For the past year, she has been involved in CWRU faculty research projects
relating to family preservation in low resource countries, child/family human rights, global child
health, and bicultural socialization of international adoptees in the U.S. with related
publications in process. In May, 2009, she presented aspects of this research entitled, "A Review
of Interventions Impacting Education Outcomes of Children Living in Preserved Families/Kinship Care
or are Orphaned &Vulnerable in Low Resource Countries" at the International Adoption Conference
in Oslo, Norway, sponsored by the University of Oslo.
Will Koehler is a Licensed
Clinical Social Worker in the state of Pennsylvania. His current clinical experience involves
working with traumatized and abused children and adolescents in Erie, PA. Will works as a
clinical therapist through the Child Advocacy Center's Safe Start Program and through the
Post Adoptive Support Services (PASS) Program, both in Erie, PA. Additionally, Will serves as
an Erie County Mental Health Designee and Program Evaluator for the newly implemented High Fidelity
Wrap-Around Initiative.
Previous work includes in-home family therapy with the Sexual Abuse Family Education and
Treatment of Youth (SAFETY) Program and the Multi-Systemic Therapy program through Family Services
of Northwestern PA. Prior to his work in the Social Work field, Will was involved with campus
ministry and abstinence education (1998 – 2004), and Civil Engineering (1993 – 1998).
Will graduated with an MSW from Edinboro University of PA in 2006. His Bachelor's
degree, interestingly enough, is in Civil Engineering from Penn State University in 1993.
Donald A. Caserta graduated
from John Carroll University in 1997 with a BS in Psychology, received his MSSA in 2000 from the
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, and earned his MA in
clinical psychology from Kent State University in 2008. A native of the Cleveland area, he has
worked in the ADHD Center for Evaluation & Treatment (ACET) at the Children's Hospital -
Cleveland Clinic since 1999 and provides behavioral consultation, assessment, and both individual
and group therapy for children, adolescents, adults, and their families. As sub-investigator and
research coordinator for a number of clinical trials and studies conducted through the ACET
program, he is actively involved in ongoing research in the treatment and assessment of ADHD and
other disruptive behavior disorders. He has enjoyed part-time teaching at the undergraduate level
at John Carroll University and Kent State University and has presented didactics to pediatric,
psychiatry, and neurology residents since his tenure at the Cleveland Clinic.
