Guests:

 

The Media and Our Kids

A Love/Hate Relationship with Food: Eating Disorders

You'll Know You're a Success When: Helping Our Kids Define Success

The Offender Will Be Tried as an Adult: Juvenile Justice Today

Hearing Loss in Children and Adolescents

Redefining the Family

Expressions of My World: The Arts as Self-Expression

Because I Said So, That's Why!

The Education They Deserve

To Medicate or Not to Medicate: Are We Over-Doctoring Our Children?

Adoption Alternatives

Santa Claus Doesn't Come to My House

Prior to Hillside, Gary worked at Rochester Medical Group's Wilson Health Center and Strong Hospital's Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, and as director of Town of Brighton Youth Services.

Gary's clinical interests include behavioral disorders, such as Oppositional/Defiant Disorder and ADHD, parenting skill development, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and children medications. Gary has a Masters in Social Work from Syracuse University and a Masters in Education and School Counseling from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Randy Gorbman, News Director, WHAM (Rochester) For the past five years, Randy has served as WHAM's news director, anchoring, reporting, assigning stories to reporters, planning overall news coverage, and producing and hosting the "Western New York Business Report." He also helps to oversee a news network of stations that include WSYR in Syracuse and WGY in Albany.

Randy has been involved in radio news for more than 20 years, including having been a news director at several stations in New York and Connecticut. He has been an editor at the NBC Radio Network in New York City. In addition, Randy has taught broadcast news writing and announcing in an adjunct capacity at State University of New York at Geneseo and Utica College.

A graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School, Randy Gorbman is a past president and current board member of the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters' Association.

Caroline Richards, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist, Hillside Children's Center Dr. Richards joined Hillside Children's Center a year and a half ago as a psychologist for residential treatment facilities. Her job includes consultation, clinical evaluations, and treatment services for three residential units of seriously mentally ill children and adolescents, including services for deaf and hard-of-hearing youth with mental illness.

For the past year, Dr. Richards has also worked with Elmwood Pediatric Group as a consulting psychologist, making diagnostic and cognitive evaluations of participants in a pharmaceutical study of pediatric primary care outpatients with ADHD.

Prior to joining Hillside, Dr. Richards worked at University of Rochester Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Richards has been published in psychology journals and given numerous presentations, research, and teachings in her field. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Richards is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Rochester Area Group Psychotherapy Society.

Marian Coon is responsible for the management of nutrition services for children in Hillside Children's Center's residential settings. She coordinates nutrition care with food service staff, medical staff, and living unit staff and assures that third party regulations are implemented and working effectively. Nutrition care includes nutritional screening and assessments, computerized menu development, implementation and adherence, coordination of staff and child education, and consultation for intake committee.

 

Prior to joining Hillside, Marian served as a clinical dietician at St. John Medical Center in Steubenville, Ohio and Highland Hospital in Rochester. She also taught a clinical dietetic course at Rochester Institute of Technology, facilitating senior students' clinical rotations at area hospitals. From 1994 to 1996, Marian served as a co-chairman of Highland Hospital's United Way Campaign.

Kay Ann McCullock Melnyk, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Rochester Eating Disorders Interest Alliance

Dr. Kay Melnyk is a health care advocate with a Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Rochester. She is an ANCC-certified Clinical Specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing. Rochester Eating Disorders Interest Alliance, co-founded by Dr. Melnyk in 1997, gives comprehensive outpatient treatment for people with eating disorders and dysfunction. Dr. Melnyk also has a private practice for psychotherapy.

Dr. Melnyk is an adjunct clinical instructor for the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She has also taught nursing classes at Roberts Wesleyan College and the State University of New York at Brockport.

Dr. Melnyk has presented and had much of her healthcare research published, and she has served in a variety of capacities for both the University of Rochester and the Rochester community. She is a member of the New York State Nurses Association and the Genesee Valley Nurses Association.

Susan L. Pritchard, Dietetic Technician, Hillside Children's Center

Susan Pritchard's responsibilities as dietetic technician include: completing nutritional assessments of nutritionally-compromised clients and providing follow-up status chart notes; monitoring weight status of clients; completing menus for clients on special, therapeutic diets; communicating with food service staff, living unit staff, nurses, and pediatricians regarding client or general nutrition issues; inspecting residential units and group homes for menu compliance, food safety, and sanitation and providing feedback; instructing clients on special diets; providing monthly in-service to new staff members on food service policies and procedures.

Before joining Hillside, Susan worked as a dietetic technician at Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport, New York and had several job experiences in dietetics and food services.

Susan has a master's degree in Elementary Education from Nazareth College, a bachelor's degree in Food Administration and Management from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an associate's degree in Dietetic Technology from Genesee Community College.

Mary Ellen Webb, Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry, Rochester Eating Disorders Interest Alliance

Mary Ellen Webb is the co-founder of the Rochester Eating Disorders Interest Alliance, a comprehensive diagnostic, individual, and group psychotherapy and medication management for individuals with eating disorders. She is ANCC-certified as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing.

Mary Ellen has worked as a clinical instructor at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, a staff nurse at Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport, a school nurse at Hazel Jenkins Elementary School in Hilton, and a Public Health Nurse for the Monroe County Health Department in Rochester. As program coordinator for the Partial Hospitalization Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Psychiatry Department, Mary Ellen developed, implemented, and provided clinical supervision of an Eating Disorders Program.

The 1997 and 1986 Outstanding Nurse Awards for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing at the University of Rochester Medical Center were given to Mary Ellen Webb. She is a member of the Genesee Valley Nurses Association and has given several presentations on eating disorders at high school, colleges, and community organizations.

Mary Ellen Webb has a master's degree in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing from the University of Rochester.

Dawn, senior high school student and currently enrolled in Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection

Shantel Denson, Youth Advocate, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection Shantel joined Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection in 1998 and currently works as a youth advocate. Her responsibilities include: providing case management and mentoring to 30 high school students; facilitating weekly academic and career planning sessions; organizing life skills training for students; monitoring academic records and referring students to resources; soliciting parental support through home visits; and, interfacing with the Rochester City School District, local government agencies, churches, and other community organizations.

Prior to joining Hillside, Shantel worked as Training Services Coordinator-Education and Development for Baden Street Settlement. In this role, she developed basic life skills workshops, assessed the quality of service delivery, and negotiated program contract and fee structures. Shantel also served as Tutorial Coordinator for grades K-6 for the Baden Street Settlement. In this role, she supervised other staff members, recruited and evaluated student participants, and wrote reports and grants.

 

In addition to her work, Shantel has volunteered as a youth activities coordinator for New Life Fellowship and has served as a board member for Monroe Council on Teen Pregnancy and Baden Street Settlement. Shantel Denson received in associate's degree from Monroe Community College.

 

Claudia Herman, Recreation Coordinator, Hillside Children's Center

Diann Roffe-Steinrotter, Hillside Champion This three-time Olympian started her career out fast when she became the youngest woman to win the World Alpine Championships in 1985. Then times went tough for Diann who had a series of injuries that dropped her ranking and drained her of the desire to ski race. After much soul searching, Diann regrouped and made an incredible comeback. She won a Silver Medal at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and two years later reached the pinnacle in sports: she captured an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

Diann retired from ski racing at the end of the 1994 season. Now she focuses her endless energy on making motivational talks, writing about ski racing, and bringing skiing to youngsters and newcomers to the sport. She also rides competitively in equestrian events.

In the fall of 2000, Diann began her role as Hillside Champion, taking an active role in events and activities involving children and families served by Hillside Children's Center, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, and Crestwood Children's Center. Diann has also been featured on recent Hillside radio and television commercials.

Kay Roffe, Diann's mother

Prior to her current role as a co-coordinator of the Livingston County Community Service Program, Mary Jo worked for Hillside Children's Center in a social worker role for children in therapeutic foster care and as a home-based crisis intervention worker in Wyoming County. Before joining Hillside, Mary Jo worked with pregnant teens as a case manager and HIV counselor. She has also worked with dual-diagnosed and developmentally disabled individuals through Steuben County ARC and Craig Developmental Center in Sonyea, New York. Mary Jo has volunteered at the Genesee Valley Rotary Camp for emotionally, physically, and developmentally disabled children.

Mary Jo received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Rich Reynolds, Program Coordinator, Livingston County Community Service Program In addition to his current role, Rich Reynolds has had previous experience as a foster care supervisor and as a residence manager for a community-based boys group home.

Rich received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio.

Peter K. Hixson, Ph.D., executive director, Rochester Hearing and Speech Center (RHSC)Hixon has a broad background in the speech and hearing field, demonstrating competencies as a clinician, teacher, researcher, manager, and administrator. He has written and published software for a computerized version of a developmental sentence scoring procedure that benefits professionals and the children they evaluate for speech and hearing. He is currently working to create a clinical database that will promote more accurate diagnosis and prognosis, better cost/benefit decisions, and better patient care.

Hixon's interest in product development for the profession has resulted in the national promotion and sales of the RHSC Articulation Severity Scale, a testing instrument that standardizes the way speech professionals look at the results on the children they test. His skills in creative program development resulted in RHSC's Teaching Age Appropriate Language to Kids (T.A.A.L.K.) Program for infants and toddlers and a climbing frame curriculum to promote motor development in preschoolers.

Hixon began his career in Omaha, Nebraska, where he served as an adjunct assistant professor, worked for Boys' Town Institute for Communication Disorders (now known as Boys' Town Research Hospital), and worked for the Omaha Public Schools to supervise special education placement services. He also served on state-level task forces in Nebraska studying speech and hearing issues and designing educational programs.

Dr. Peter Hixon received his bachelor's and master's degree in speech pathology from Northwestern University. He completed his doctorate in speech pathology at Purdue University. He is currently actively involved in various state and national speech and hearing professional organizations.

Larry Medwetsky, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development, Rochester Hearing and Speech Center (RHSC) In his current capacity at RHSC as vice president of Research and Development, Medwetsky serves as the driving force in the development of cutting edge audiology programs and is the lead investigator on a nationally funded research grant to develop and recommend approaches to best meet the needs of elderly people with hearing problems. In 1999, he established the RHSC Hear-To-Tel Program Ó , which provides hard of hearing people with access to a variety of assistive listening devices in one-to-one consultation with a licensed audiologist. Medwetsky served as RHSC Director of Audiology from 1992 to 1998.

In addition to numerous publications in professional journals, Medwetsky is associate editor of the definitive text in the field of audiology, the Handbook of Clinical Audiology. He has received awards for significant contributions in his profession and serves on committees and belongs to organizations for his profession.

Dr. Larry Medwetsky, who has worn two hearing aids since age 13, received a master's degree in Audiology and Aural Rehabilitation from McGill University. He completed his doctorate in Speech and Hearing Science from the City University of New York Graduate Center. There he participated in the development of new hearing aid systems for the profoundly hearing impaired and was involved in cochlear implant, vibrotactile, and lip-reading research.

Robert S. Menchel, assistant professor, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Robert Menchel is currently a tenured faculty member in RIT's Department Science and Mathematics, teaching Basic Science, Optics, Astronomy, Meteorology, and Environmental Science. He is conducting ongoing research in areas involving gender inequality of deaf students. He also researches the achievement in post-secondary education of high achieving deaf students in regular colleges and universities. Menchel developed a proposal for the National Science Foundation for an outreach program to encourage deaf women to continue mathematics and science in high school and prepare for careers in science and engineering. The proposal enabled a partnership between NTID and Mt. Holyoke College. Menchel is currently writing a proposal to enable the program to expand to other colleges and universities and increase the number of deaf women participating in science and mathematics programs.

Before becoming a college faculty member, Menchel worked at Xerox, Avco Corporation, and the United States Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory as a physicist. He has and continues to serve on a number of committees for Hillside Children's Center.

Robert Menchel received a bachelor's degree in physics from Clarkson University and a master's degree in business administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. He completed a master's degree in education at Harvard University.

Brian Rosado, 2001 graduate, Rochester School for the Deaf Brian has office work experience through his participation in Horizons Work Experience Program, associated with Rochester School for the Deaf. He is planning on attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology beginning in fall 2001.

Prior to joining Hillside, Barbara Jean worked as a community mental hygiene specialist for Orleans County Mental Health in Albion. In this position, she conducted a public education campaign for mental health in a rural community through interagency collaboration, public presentations, and external communications media. She collaborated with GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wayne counties) Family Support to create Parents and Professionals as Partners, an educational forum to promote better relations between human services workers and their clients. With GLOW, she co-wrote a grant for the Commissioner's Performance Pool of the New York State Office of Mental Health to fund Resiliency Program in Orleans County.

Barbara Jean also worked as a case coordinator for eight years at St. Joseph's Villa in Rochester. She facilitated a multidisciplinary treatment team for the psychiatric care of adolescent boys and their families and practiced family, individual, and group psychotherapy. She was recognized in 1994 as St. Joseph's Villa Employee of the Year.

Barbara Jean received a master's in business administration from St. John Fisher College and a master's in social service administration from the University of Chicago.

Cindy is also a regular performer in community theater. Her most recent performances have been as Mabel Normand in Mack and Mabel and as Becky in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? She was also recently in Portraits, a muscial revue by local composer Mark Alan DeWaters.

Cindy also enjoys regular vocal performances with Nik Entertainment.

Maria Cristalli, M.P.H., Project Manager, Hillside Family of Agencies Maria currently manages projects for Hillside Family of Agencies. Her professional interests include mental health services research and evaluation, business process improvement, and community building initiatives. She has a master's degree in public health from the University of Rochester's School of Medicine and Dentistry. Maria is a graduate of Leadership Rochester, Class of 2001.

Wyn P. Frechette, Family Life Education, Hillside Children's Center As a member of the Family Life Education Team at Hillside Children's Center, Wyn works with children, youth, and families in appropriate age groups to educate on a variety of topics. She is currently working with a group of teenagers, helping them to learn about the history of the Rochester community and the opportunities that it offers and helping them to develop a sense of civic pride. With another group of children aged 5 to 7, Wyn is focusing on family literacy. She also meets with two groups of parents that are learning basic parenting skills and working on anger management and conflict resolution.

Before coming to Hillside earlier this year, Wyn worked at the Family Resource Centers of Rochester as Parent Education Director. In this position, Wyn linked families in need of services to the appropriate source and acted as advocate and support. She facilitated parent support groups, taught parent education and life skills classes, and worked one-on-one as a self-help counselor. Wyn is a New York State Family Development Credential Trainer.

Vincent Pandolfi, Ph.D., Psychologist, Hillside Children's Center In his current position, Dr. Pandolfi is responsible for the supervision of behavioral services for children aged 6 to 18 in residential treatment at Hillside Children's Center. His duties include designing and implementing group therapy curricula, supervision of master's level clinicians, developing behavior management milieus, staff training, psychological assessment, conducting treatment conferences, incident review, development of agency clinical protocols, and grant writing. Dr. Pandolfi is currently an adjunct faculty in the School Psychology Program at the Rochester Institute of Technology, teaching a course in psychological assessment to graduate students.

Prior to joining Hillside in 2000, Dr. Pandolfi accumulated experience working as a psychologist in schools, in a private practice, and in residential and day treatment settings. He has made numerous presentations on his research at conferences for the Association for Behavior Analysis.

Dr. Pandolfi is a licensed psychologist in New York State. He received his Ph.D. and master's degree from Hofstra University's School of Psychology. He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Lafayette College. Dr. Pandolfi is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Behavior Analysis.

Tamara D. Pineda, Staff Development and Training Specialist, Park Ridge and Unity Child Care Centers Tamara provides new staff at Park Ridge and Unity Child Care Centers with 15 hours of orientation on policies, procedures, behavior management, developmental guidelines, curriculum implementation, and health and safety. She also implements ongoing training plans for individual staff, trains staff on early childhood practices, presents workshops to staff and parents, and completes aspects of NAEYC accreditation.

Prior to joining Park Ridge and Unity Child Care Centers, Tamara worked as a program coordinator, associate director, and director of Mulberry Child Care and Preschool in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has also worked as program coordinator for The Children's Center of Brighton in Rochester.

Tamara is currently a part-time student at the University of Rochester.

Anne Sherman, Clinical Mentor, Hillside Children's CenterAnne has supervised and mentored clinical social workers at Hillside Children's Center for the past nine years. She worked as a family counselor at Hillside prior to her current position. She also has a private practice in her home for individual, couple, and family counseling. She also works at Easthouse Corporation, a community residence for people in recovery from chemical addictions.

Anne is a certified social worker and has a master's in social work. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Amy Hollen, Education Director, Hillside Children's Center In Amy Hollen's current role as education leader for Hillside Children's Center, she provides leadership to, consultation with, and coordination of all education services provided through Hillside Children's Center. Hollen served as Education Director of Hillside Children's Center's Henrietta Day Treatment and the Halpern Education Center in Rochester from1991 to 1998. Before that position, Hollen worked as assistant director of the Elementary Day Treatment School Program at Halpern Education Center. Before becoming an administrator, Amy Hollen was a special education teacher for eight years, working at Halpern Education Center, BOCES, and Haverling Central School District in Bath.

Amy Hollen received her bachelor's degree in Education of Exceptional Children from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She received her master's degree in Developmental Disabilities from University of Rochester. She also achieved a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from State University of New York at Brockport.

Debbie Larrabee, President, Brighton Teachers' Association Debbie taught elementary and middle school students for 33 years in Brighton schools. She has served as president of the Brighton Teachers' Association since 1983.

Patricia Markus, Educational Consultant, MATCH (Medical Management and Assistive Technology for Children) Team, Rochester City School District Patricia participates within a team of therapists to manage children with medical needs that impact their education, providing assistive technology for children with severe learning disabilities. Prior to her current role, Patricia worked as a special education teacher for four years at Jefferson Middle School.

Patricia holds a master's degree in special education and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Nazareth College.

Amy Silbert, Educational Advocate/Coordinator of Community Training and Education, Learning Disabilities Association of the Genesee Valley Amy currently serves as an advocate for parents and children with learning disabilities. Her responsibilities include reviewing educational evaluations, assisting in Individualized Education Program (IEP) review and development, and preparing for and participating in school meetings. She strives to promote and support parents in exercising their rights and opportunities under federal and state education laws and regulations, furthering their understanding of learning disabilities and alternative programs and placements. Amy also collaborates with school district personnel to ensure appropriate and effective plans are developed and implemented for children with special needs.

Amy also works as a trainer for Arncraft, leading workshops for students and adults with specialized learning needs. Her workshops are multi-sensory and highly interactive, exploring issues surrounding workplace and scholastic transitions.

Prior to advocating with the Learning Disabilities Association of the Genesee Valley, Amy worked as a learning specialist at Rochester Institute of Technology's Alternative Learning Department (ALD). In this capacity, she advocated for and counseled on behalf of post-secondary students, aged 18 to 60, with special learning needs.

Amy is currently working on a doctorate in law from the British-American University School of Law in Palo Alto, California. She holds a master's degree in education from Nazareth College and a bachelor's degree in psychology from SUNY Albany.

Christy Woodard, National Education Association (NEA) of New YorkChristy currently works as an NEA UniServ intern in the Rochester office. She has 10 years of elementary and middle school teaching experience in Illinois.

David Kaufman, M.D., Psychiatrist, Crestwood Children's Center Dr. Kaufman has worked at Crestwood Children's Center as the chief psychiatrist since 1982. Prior to his role at Crestwood, he completed a fellowship in child psychiatry at New York University Medical Center's Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Dr. Kaufman completed a residency in adult psychiatry and an internship in pediatrics at the Health Science Center in Syracuse. Before becoming a doctor of psychiatry, Dr. Kaufman worked at Pfizer, Inc. as a lab technician.

Dr. David Kaufman received his medical doctor degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla. His bachelor's degree in pre-med was earned at SUNY Albany.

Stuart L. Loeb, M.D., Medical Director, Hillside Children's Center Dr. Loeb has served as Hillside Children's Center's medical director since 1996. Prior to joining Hillside, he was a psychiatrist at Rochester Mental Health Center's Children and Youth Division for 15 years. Dr. Loeb also operates a private practice of child and adolescent psychiatry in Pittsford. He is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at University of Rochester and has served as a consultant for several local and statewide agencies.

Dr. Loeb's professional interests include: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Conduct Disorder; learning disabilities, adaptation, compensation, and interaction with emotional stress; family and divorce issues; childhood depression and anxiety; adolescent adjustment reactions and suicide; and, psychological factors in physical illness. Dr. Loeb has participated in research on childhood depression, follow-up studies of Day Treatment, pharmacological treatment of aggressive and ADD children.

Dr. Loeb recently received the 2001 Lyman C. Wynne Award for Oustanding Service to Families, presented by the Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. He received his medical doctor degree from University of Oregon Health Center and his bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Loeb completed a post-graduate fellowship in child psychiatry and a residency in general psychiatry at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Donna Palumbo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester; Director, Strong Hospital Neurology ADHD Clinic; Director, Pediatric Neuropsychology Training Program Dr. Palumbo has been teaching neurology and pediatrics at the University of Rochester since 1993. She has served as director of both Strong's Neurology ADHD Clinic and Pediatric Neuropsychology Training Program since 1995.She has conducted extensive research and written articles for several scientific journals on the topics of neurology, clinical psychology, pediatrics, and psychiatry.

Dr. Palumbo received her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from New School for Social Research in New York City. She completed an internship at Cornell Medical Center. At the University of Rochester, she completed two fellowships, one in adult neuropsychology, the other in pediatric neuropsychology.

Gregory A. Franklin, Attorney at Law, Goldman, Newman, Shinder & Franklin, LLP Adoptions comprise approximately 90 percent of Greg Franklin's law practice. He represents adoptive parents and birth parents in both domestic and international adoptions and Adoption Services International, an adoption agency. He has represented families in more than 700 adoptions, of which approximately 25 percent have been international adoptions. He has also represented more than 125 birth mothers in domestic adoptions. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York and in Federal courts.

He has lectured on adoption-related topics to a wide variety of groups, including professional Continuing Legal Education seminars, bar associations, parent groups, doctors, social workers, and other professional and parent organizations. He has also authored articles and edited legal textbooks on adoption-related topics. He has been an expert witness in adoption-related trials.

Greg Franklin received his degree in law from Fordham University and is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. He is also a founding member of, and legal counsel to, Adoption Resource Network, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based adoption information resource organization. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and its Adoption Subcommittee. He also holds membership at the Monroe County Bar Association, chairing its Ethics Committee.

Greg and his wife are the adoptive parents of an 11-year-old son who was born in Chile.

Lisa Maynard, Program Director, Co-Founder, Co-President, Adoption Resource Network, Inc. (ARNI)Adoption Resource Network, Inc. is a non-profit organization providing information, education and referral on all aspects of foster care and adoption. As co-president, Lisa Maynard's duties include: administering and developing programs on adoption and foster care-related issues; organizing conferences, workshops, trainings, and social events for all members of the adoption triad and for the professional community; and, coordinating and managing administrative assistants and corps of volunteers for the many activities and events throughout the year. Among other activities, ARNI presents workshops at New York State and national adoption conferences and gives presentations to local schools, agencies, and county and state-held public hearings. ARNI also collaborates with other agencies and organizations and participates in inter-agency meetings held by Children Awaiting Parents.

Lisa has an active history of volunteering. She has worked on several committees and projects for Pittsford Central School District. She has also served several volunteer positions for Love of Children of Rochester, Inc. and been a literacy volunteer.

Lisa Maynard is currently pursuing a degree in social work. She has two adopted children from South Korea.

Sarah Smith, adoptive mother Sarah Smith is the adoptive mother of two children from the Ukraine.

Marge Stevens, Hillside Chaplain and Director of Adoption Services For over 20 years, Marge has been working for Hillside Children's Center. She was a foster mother for Northaven before it became part of Hillside. In addition to working in adoption services, Marge has adopted 13 children in addition to her 4 biological children.

Angie, mother of two children

Joe Brown, Diversity Consultant, Hillside Family of Agencies

Donna Mancuso, Librarian, Greece Public Library Donna has worked as a professional librarian in the Monroe County Library System for 21 years. She is currently the librarian for Collection Development at Greece Public Library. She has also worked in Children's Services, Young Adult Services, and Adult Services within the library system.

Donna graduated from the University of Buffalo with a bachelor's degree in English. She received her master's degree in Library Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She has served on the board of the Youth Services Section of the New York Public Library Association and on the Advisory Committee for BOCES 2 School Library Systems. Donna is currently a member of the American Library Association and the Public Library Association.

Gillian Phillips, Educational Consultant, Penfield Village Nursery School and Kindergarten As an educational consultant for Penfield Village Nursery School and Kindergarten, Gillian assists teachers and families of children who have special needs. Previous to her current position, Gillian was a classroom teacher and school administrator.

Gillian received a bachelor's degree in Public Policy and African Studies from University of Rochester. She hold's a master's degree in Elementary and Special Education from Nazareth College.

Venora Rodgers, Project Manager, Hillside Children's Center Venora has worked with Hillside Children's Center for 15 years, working with parents, children, foster parents, and staff in several job positions. For the past two years, Venora has helped to plan and facilitate Parents as Partners and cultural competence trainings. She is also a customer service representative for Hillside. Previously, Venora worked with Hillside's Family Life Education, developing curricula, planning, and facilitating parenting and other educational groups. She also worked with Hillside's training department for six years, developing curricula and facilitating training for foster parents and diversity training for Hillside staff.

In her spare time, Venora enjoys working on her storytelling skills as a member of the Rochester Black Storytelling League and participating in volunteer projects.