- Getting a Grip on Guilt
- Kid-Friendly Foods
- Home, Poison Free Home
- Pregnancy 101
Roseann Kraus is the Family Talk Program coordinator at Family Resource Centers at Crestwood, where she helps facilitate a program to help parents discuss sexuality with their children. She is also director of the Brighton Parent Resource Center for the Brighton Central School District, where she facilitates a group that provides support and education for parents.
Carol Ahl is team leader for Hillside Children’s Center’s Genesee-Orleans Team. She is a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor and has a Masters Degree in Education. She also co-parents her two children with her ex-husband.
Pam Brannan is a parent advocate with Hillside Children’s Center’s NiGlow Waiver program and Family Support Programs, where she helps parents access services they need to strengthen their families and avoid residential placement for their children.
Dr. Christopher Dehon is a psychologist at Hillside Children’s Center. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Development Psychology from the University of New Orleans. He has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and families.
Heather Alexson is a Registered Nurse and manager of employee health for Hillside Children’s Center, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection and Snell Farm Children’s Center, where she is responsible for infection control and employee health.
Janel Welch is a Registered Dietician and director of food services for Hillside Family of Agencies. She is responsible for maintaining balanced, nutritious content for the thousands of meals served to Hillside clients and staff each week.
Nancy O’Connor is a Registered Nurse and director of nursing for Hillside Family of Agencies.
Jane Andrews is a Registered Dietician and corporate nutritionist for Wegmans. She helps Wegmans customers choose and prepare healthy, nutritious meals through the Eat Well Live Well program and by providing information about nutrition, food allergies, and other topics on the company’s Web site.
Michelle Gallant is a Registered Dietician, NYS Certified Nutritionist, and a Certified Diabetes Educator. She provides nutrition counseling at Syracuse University Health Services and the Onondaga Nation Health Center in Nedrow, NY. She also has a private practice in Syracuse and serves as a Media Representative for the New York State Dietetic Association.
Jessica Garay is director of the Cookshop program at the Food Bank of Central New York. The program aims to help families make healthy food buying choices. Jessica goes into Syracuse-area schools monthly to teach children how to prepare and cook healthy vegetable dishes. A contest encourages the children to take the recipes home and prepare them with their family.
Nancy Warburton is Health Educator for the Ruth A. Lawrence Poison and Drug Information Center, where she plans, implements and assesses poison prevention and education programs within a twelve-county region.
Al Odorczyk has been a firefighter for the Gates Fire District for more than 20 years and is also responsible for their Fire Safety Education program. He works with students and staff of the Gates-Chili Central School District, as well as businesses, industry and community groups to deliver fire prevention education. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from S.U.N.Y. Brockport.
Pete Corrigan is a Senior Public Health Sanitarian for the Monroe County Health Department in the Indoor Air and Toxics Section of the Bureau of Public Health Engineering. He has a Bachelors degree in Geology and has been with the Health Department since 1996. He helps County residents handle problems such as carbon monoxide, asbestos, radon, sewer gas, “sick buildings,” and mold.
Dr. Elizabeth Cooper is director of the Strong Health Midwifery Group, as well as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She received her MS degree from Columbia University and her EdD degree from the University of Rochester.
Sue Groth is Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She received her BSN degree from Roberts Wesleyan College and a PhD in nursing from the University of Rochester.
Andrea and Tanya are expectant mothers providing their personal perspective on pregnancy.
Nancy O’Connor is a Registered Nurse and health care leader at Hillside Family of Agencies.
- The Colorful Landscape of Today's Family
- The Truth About Teeth
- Planning the Perfect Party
- Sports Sense
- Learning Styles and Your Child
- Trends in Children's Health
- Positively Social
- Legal Literacy
Nora Rodgers has been with Hillside Family of Agencies for more than 20 years and is currently project manager Strategic Planning/Quality Assurance Department. She is the HFA Customer Satisfaction Representative and facilitates training and activities related to partnering
with families, customer service, diversity, and cultural competence.
Joe Brown is a diversity consultant with extensive experience in teaching and government. He has served as a government compliance consultant to various public and private organizations. He has also served as Director of Monroe County’s Department of Affirmative Action and Human Relations. He was recently elected President of Greater Rochester NAACP. He is a graduate of Elizabeth City State University and North Carolina Central University.
Angel Vazquez is a youth advocate for Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection. He works extensively with a diverse group of Rochester City School District students at risk of dropping out of school. He also brings personal diversity experience to Hillside Family Forum.
Frank Kaiser is chief organizational development and human resources officer for Hillside Family of Agencies. Prior to joining Hillside, he had his own human resources consulting company and served as executive vice president of human resources for Pittsburgh-based Genco Distribution System. He has an M.B.A. from the University of Houston and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Iowa.
Gary Lewis, D.M.D. is a general dentist practicing at Family Dentistry Center at Elmwood Dental Group. He provides general dentistry and Invisalign* orthodontic treatment for patients of all ages.
Holly Barone is senior operations administrator for Eastman Dental Center’s Division of Community Education and Oral Disease Prevention, which provides preventive and basic dental services for under-served inner city and rural children. Barone has received the Healthcare Association of New York’s State Community Health Improvement Award for outstanding initiatives to improve the health and well-being of communities.
Mary Pistilli is a dental hygienist in Eastman Dental Center’s Division of Community Education and Oral Disease Prevention. She provides dental hygiene services for children at Hillside Children’s Center and teaches them the basics of good dental care.
Peter Rivoli, D.D.S. is an orthodontist practicing at Rivoli & Rivoli Orthodontics. He received his D.D.S. from the School of Dental Medicine SUNY Buffalo and his Certificate of Orthodontics from Eastman Dental Center at the University of Rochester.
*Invisalign is a registered trademark of Align Technology
Nicola Adimey operates Party Paradise, a party planning service in Williamson, NY. She plans and manages a range of themed children’s parties.
Dave Jeffers of Mr. J. Entertainment offers party entertainment including magic, clowning, puppetry, story telling, magic classes, clowning classes and puppetry classes. Mr. Jeffers has more than 15 years of experience in party entertainment.
Ashley Ellis is a sales associate at The Toy Soldier in Fairport, NY, where she helps customers select unique toys for gifts, party prizes and goodie bags. Ms. Ellis is working on a Masters degree in education and is especially knowledgeable about toys for children with developmental disabilities and other special needs.
Lisa Hereth is the mother of two young children. She uses items around the house and inexpensive purchased materials to produce themed parties her children love.
Jeff Dorfman is the owner of the My Gym franchises in Syracuse and Rochester and an expert on fitness for children. He helps children develop coordination and fine motor skills through programs that foster a lifelong love of physical activity.
Corey Foster and James Potter are recreation therapists at Hillside Children’s Center. They help youth develop skills, increase self-esteem and learn teamwork, responsibility, and respect through a range of sports, games, and craft activities.
Brooke de Lench is publisher and president of the online publication MomsTeam.com, executive director of Teams Of Angels and a 2002 International Institute of Sports Ethics Fellow. She is a past ranked squash athlete and has been a youth sports parent for over 16 years. She has also been a coach and board member of various sports-related non-profit organizations.
Ellen Arnold, Ph. E. is Director of ArnCraft: Helping Learners Unlock Their Potential, where she provides workshops, trainings, and consultations for schools and agencies, to help their staff develop the skills of empowering all learners. She received her M. Ed. in Special Education from Duke University and Her Ph. E. from Nova University.
Margaret (Midge) Steigerwald has more than forty years of experience in education. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from SUNY Brockport and taught for several years before joining Hillside Children’s Center (HCC). She developed and coordinated Hillside's Resource Program to provide educational support services for students attending public and private schools. She has also functioned as a liaison between the school and HCC and served as a trouble shooter and advocate for students.
Kara Stadt is a special education teacher in the Rochester City School District. She graduated from Nazareth College and received her Masters degree from Walden University. She is also the mother of two children.
Douglas Bennett, M.D. practices pediatrics at Irondequoit Pediatrics and is affiliated with Strong Memorial, Rochester General, Highland and Park Ridge Hospitals. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Golisano Children’s Hospital. He received his B.S. from Tufts University and his M.D. from SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.
Stuart L. Loeb, M.D., is medical director at Hillside Children's Center and private practitioner of child and adolescent psychiatry. He is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at University of Rochester and has served as a consultant for several local and statewide agencies. He received his M.D. from University of Oregon Health Center and completed a post-graduate fellowship in child psychiatry and a residency in general psychiatry at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
Holly Brown is a nurse practitioner at the University of Rochester Medical School and a primary faculty member at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She has been instrumental in the development of new School of Nursing programs to train nurses in the specialty area of child and adolescent mental health.
Dr. Christopher Dehon is a psychologist at Hillside Children’s Center. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Development Psychology from the University of New Orleans. He has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and families.
Mary Therese Friel is a former Miss USA, Ford Model, national spokesperson and goodwill ambassador. She and her husband/partner Kent offer modeling and self development coaching for children, teens and adults.
Ann Sartwell is Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley, a council chartered to deliver Girl Scouting to five counties in western New York State. Prior to accepting the leadership position at Genesee Valley in April of 2001, she was the Executive Director of Girl Scouts of Mississippi Valley for 11 years. Ms. Sartwell graduated from Eastern Illinois University, and began her Girl Scout career in central Illinois
Attorney Greg Franklin 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 has also authored articles and edited legal textbooks on adoption-related topics. He has been an expert witness in adoption-related trials. He 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 Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center. Greg and his wife are the adoptive parents of a son who was born in Chile.
Attorney David Murch practices family and matrimonial law at Murch & Wise. He is a proponent of Collaborative Law and works with clients to achieve a sane and peaceful resolution of issues. He listens to client needs and interests, brings in outside resources to assist, and provides a framework and legal contest in which clients can make the best choices. www.murch-wise.com.
