Homelessness Partnerships;Maine Statewide Homeless Youth Provider GroupMid-coast Region Homeless & At-Risk Youth Service GroupMaine School Homeless Liaison Regional Committee Portland Emergency Shelter Assessment CommitteePortland Continuum of CarePortland Healthcare for the HomelessCommunity Partnerships & Advisory Groups;Portland Crisis Provider GroupCommunity Partnership for Protecting ChildrenKeeping Maine’s Children Connected Defending Childhood Portland- formerly Portland Safe Kids ProjectCo-occurring Collaborative of Southern MaineUnited Way, Youth Advisory CouncilSTAY CoNectd for Youth in MainePortland Youth Court Advisory BoardBayside Neighborhood AssociationLives In The Balance "What's Next Team"​21 Reasons "for preventing under age drinking"Portland Partnership for Homeless YouthServed in an advisory capacity;A Call to MenProud Rainbow Youth of Southern MaineKennebunk Teen CenterMission Possible Teen CenterBrunswick Skate ParkMerrymeeting ProjectYouth Development Partnerships;Street Law- free legal counsel for street youth (USM Legal Aid, Pine Tree Legal & Kids Legal) Homeless Voices for Justice (youth voting and candidate forums)Mercy Hospital (annual health fair)Portland Refugee ServicesAdverb Productions (stage production & dramatic writing)Portland Stage Company (acting & production, free shows)Ripple Effect (adventure based youth leadership)WMPG BLUNT Youth Radio Project (radio production, news, interviewing, comedy & DJ’ing)SALT Institute (documentary studies)The Telling Room (creative writing)Cultivating Communities (gardening, sustainable agriculture & nutrition)Compass Project (boat building)Maine Youth Activism Gathering (political involvement & youth leadership)

Responsible for all administrative oversight and accountability of the Access and Intake Department for an Agency that serves 10,000 plus unduplicated clients per year. Restructured the Access & Intake departments of The Opportunity Alliance into a unified department. Responsible for the supervision and implementation of the; Cumberland County Homeless Prevention Project, Foreclosure Prevention Program, Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Goodwill Voucher Program, Healthcare Navigator Program, General Assistance Administrators for six towns and the Work Life Advisor Program.Developed and implemented the Cultural Broker Program. Served as a member of multiple leadership teams with a focus on becoming a data-driven, 21st century agency with clearly quantifiable results and performance measures.

Muskie School of Public ServiceOffice of Children Youth & FamiliesMarch 2013- April 2014Developed a pilot program for their Aspen Foundation demonstration grant. Focused on creating community collaborations between agencies that serve transition aged youth in the Portland and Sanford school systems. The intent of this work is to increase the collective impact of the work being done in southern Maine that improves the economic and educational success of youth in their transitions to adulthood.Developed the Symposium "Creating Community Connections for Transition-Aged Youth in Maine" to begin the conversation of how we can improve outcomes for youth exiting foster care, corrections and those at risk of dropping out of high school in Maine by creating connections to post-secondary education, employment training and lasting connections to caring adults.Lives In The Balance September 2013- December 2013Created a seven-year growth strategy for Lives In The Balance to develop a broad statewide impact that will dramatically reduce suspensions, expulsions, restraints and seclusions for youth in schools and treatment facilities. Created a road map for a national advocacy campaign to identify and facilitate the education and training of providers who are over utilizing exclusionary or restrictive practices when responding to youth in crisis. Created a roadmap for their fledgling national advocacy campaign called Join the Movement. New Hampshire DHHS/Child Care Licensing Unit2010-2012Helped them develop licensing standards for their new Youth Shelter System. Worked with both NH DHHS representatives and service providers to help them understand the funding structure of youth shelters in Maine and how that related to policy and licensing concerns, specifically the relationship between shelter providers Maine DHHS and the Maine Housing Authority.

April 4th 2014Presenter/PanelistState of Maine Judicial Branch, 2014 Child Protection Conference; Homeless and Trafficked Youth PanelAugust 2012TrainerRunaway Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers (RHYTTAC) training “Trauma Informed Care Institute”, Salt Lake City UTJuly 2012TrainerRHYTTAC training “Providing Shelter from the Storm: Trauma Informed Care for Direct Care Staff Training of Trainers”, Baltimore MDJune 14th, 2012PresenterNational Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY) webinarAsk NCFY: Getting staff used to the 'low-barrier’ approach at a youth shelterFebruary 2012PresenterRHYTTAC webinar “Harm Reduction What is it and how does it operationalize in RHY Programs”January 2012PresenterUnited States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) webinar “Harm Reduction: Advice from Leaders in the Field”November 2011Presenter RHYTTAC Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Grantee National Conference“Creating a Solid Base of Evidence: The Preble Street Teen Center in Portland, Maine”, Portland Oregon

Became the senior Program Coordinator for Preble Street as part of the agency management team.Responsible for the daily operations of the Preble Street Teen Center, the Joe Kreisler Teen Shelter and Street Outreach for Homeless Youth serving over 300 youth ages 12-20 years old each year. This includes program development, staff hiring & training, insuring quality supervision of 13 case managers and 5 shelter staff and 2 supervisors. Led staff meetings, clinical case planning and quality assurance for all services provided to youth within Preble Street. Developed intake and discharge protocols, documentation and reporting standards.Oversaw on site interagency collaborative relationships to provide: education, healthcare, mental health & substance abuse counseling, psychiatry, intensive case management and housing support to youth struggling with issues around homelessness, hunger, poverty, neglect, trafficking and abuse. Developed and implemented low barrier client centered programming for homeless youth in a nationally recognized Drop-In center. Created and maintained community collaborations within Portland, Cumberland County and statewide to support and enhance services to homeless youth. Responsible for budget accountability, grant and funding negotiation with DHHS, state and federal grant writing, licensing accountability, data collection/reporting & compliance. Developed and led agency wide trainings and professional development activities. Led agency wide initiatives including Restorative Practice, experiential trainings and all staff training events. Acted as a resource to other providers and community partners on issues of youth homelessness, hunger, poverty, neglect and abuse.

March 2013 Dr. Ross Greene, Lives in the Balance Issues in Children’s mental health radio show“Homeless Youth: Who They Are and What They Need From Us” Dec 11th, 2012 Portland Press Herald“New Portland teen shelter 'so much better'”Jun 21st, 2012 MaineWatch (MPBN)“Aging out of foster care”Mar 13th, 2012 Bangor Daily News“Preble Street Teen Services Earns National Attention”Feb 19th, 2012 Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & PodcastTeen Services coordinator Chris Bicknell featured on Dr. Lisa Radio Show & PodcastNov 11th, 2011 Portland Press Herald“Shelter by next summer?”

Developed and implemented a two-year long comprehensive, outcomes based employment-training/post secondary education pilot program at the Long Creek Youth Development Center to reduce recidivism. Modified the pilot program based on outcomes data and input from the Long Creek administration and education teams to become an effective permanent program that was integrated into the educational philosophy and the rehabilitative structure of the facility.Developed and implemented a work placement program for students who met the Department of Corrections standards for work release. Successfully negotiated with the administration of the Long Creek Youth Development Center for broader interpretations of who was eligible for employment. Collaborated on the review and development of a revised Department of Corrections juvenile work release policy. Developed and implemented a second Learn To Earn program at the Mountain View Youth Development Center in northern Maine. Trained the Program Manager for the Mountain View facility.Integrated the Learn To Earn program with the Maine Learning Results and within the changing educational philosophy (Learning for Life) of the A.R. Gould School.Became the only outside contractor in the history of the Long Creek Youth Development Center/Maine Youth Center to be elected to the Design Team (a group of administrators responsible for policy review, development and implementation). Served two terms on the Design Team.Founding member of the “Maine Operating Approach” Steering Committee. The Steering Committee was responsible for the development and implementation of all programmatic aspects of resident life based on a therapeutic, rehabilitative model within Long Creek Youth Development Center as it made the transition from being the “Maine Youth Center” and its punitive approach to a more rehabilitation based model.

Developed recreational programming for a population of 60 consumers with developmental disabilities ranging in age from 13- senior citizen. Was responsible for all program development, budget development, staff interviews and hiring, fundraising and grant writing, special event development and planning, special program development.

Responsible for interviewing and hiring staff, parent and student assessment interviews, intakes, all collateral agency contact and coordination, supervision of special education teachers, supervision of clinical staff, liaison between the school and parents, program organization, scheduling, special event planning, led staff and unit meetings, supervision and implementation of the behavior management system, administrative duties, budget planning, fund allocations, and overall responsibility for the program as a whole.

In the absence of either the Clinical Director or Educational Director of the Upper School. Assumed the responsibilities of both the clinical and educational directors in their absence. Responsibilities included supervision of both clinical and educational staff and interns, supervision and implementation of the behavior management system, crisis intervention, led staff and unit meetings, being a liaison between the school and parents, and supported mediation with staff and students in conflict or crisis.

Individual therapist and art therapist with a case load of nine to eleven special needs students ages 13-21. Responsibilities included case management, administration of individual assessments, evaluation of collateral involvements, outside referrals, contact and collaboration with parents, testimony in court and consultation with lawyers and court representatives, developed, maintained and implemented individual treatment plans, participated in treatment team planning, supervision of graduate school interns, led transition therapy groups, led enrichment activity groups, led classroom therapy groups, supervised the dismissal room and implemented the behavioral management system. Member of an integrated treatment team that included teachers, therapists, vocational counselors, and specialists who worked within the psycho-educational model.

Therapist for a class of ten special needs students ages 12-16, ran daily counseling groups, did crisis intervention, supervised the time out space, coordinated and led group activities at the Boston Rock Gym, and acted as a student work program supervisor.

Provided fee for service supervision of graduate students in the Expressive Therapies program. Provided expressive therapy and clinical supervision to practicum and intern students off site, direct observation of students on site, and formal written and verbal evaluations of students’ performance submitted to the Office of Field Training.

Crisis intervention, supervised the time out space, and was a student work supervisor for children ages 6-16.

Developed and implemented a Visual Art Therapy Clinic and Therapeutic Workshop for an adult mentally ill inpatient population, conducted long term individual art therapy treatment, led daily group therapy in the modalities of art, music, stress management, and creative writing on locked psychiatric units, participated in individual treatment team planning.