Advancing a culture of child and family-centered care by partnering with clinical teams, staff, leaders, young patients and their families in research, education and safety to improve the overall patient and family experience. Recruit, train, supervise and lead up to 80 volunteers and staff supporting them to engage in quality improvement initiatives, advisory councils, and to shape their healthcare narrative to teach new nurses, residents and other healthcare professionals how to… Show more Advancing a culture of child and family-centered care by partnering with clinical teams, staff, leaders, young patients and their families in research, education and safety to improve the overall patient and family experience. Recruit, train, supervise and lead up to 80 volunteers and staff supporting them to engage in quality improvement initiatives, advisory councils, and to shape their healthcare narrative to teach new nurses, residents and other healthcare professionals how to improve their practice and communication skills, as well as programs to support inpatient pediatric families. Facilitate Council meetings with sensitivity and compassion. Produce, host and launch events ( in person and remote) for as many as 100 attendees, including honoring receptions, patient and parent panels, and other educational and inspiring activities.Creating a structure and vision for Child and Family Education throughout pediatrics by creating hundreds of family-centered, health literate handouts, booklets and engaging welcoming materials and videos that serve to inform, support and inspire patients and families. Launched utilization program to improve distribution of educational resources to families throughout Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, quadrupling the usage of targeted resources. Chair, New York State Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) Family Engagement Committee, 2021.Graduate of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Anderson Center Intermediate Improvement Science Series 2017.Innovated and implemented The Sala Knowledge Library, an archive of videos clips featuring young patients and parents who discuss tips, coping and shared wisdom regarding their healthcare experience. Ensured integration with EMR and hospital technologies. Over 25,000 views. Show less

Leading therapeutic group Zoom sessions and private one on one coaching for women seeking to date and love again after divorce, loss, a breakup, or other pause - with a special focus on women over 50. Facilitate profound and thoughtful group or 1:1 discussions, helping participants clarify what they bring to relationships, what they seek in a partner and how to avoid repeating negative patterns in romance from the past. Explore challenges of looking for love after 50 and how to overcome… Show more Leading therapeutic group Zoom sessions and private one on one coaching for women seeking to date and love again after divorce, loss, a breakup, or other pause - with a special focus on women over 50. Facilitate profound and thoughtful group or 1:1 discussions, helping participants clarify what they bring to relationships, what they seek in a partner and how to avoid repeating negative patterns in romance from the past. Explore challenges of looking for love after 50 and how to overcome them.Known as The Love Coach of the UWS, travel the neighborhood offering dating and relationship tips to interested passersby and author a biweekly column in the West Side Rag based on the discussions and street interviews. Show less

On a volunteer basis, provide leadership and direction to New Friends of Metro Theater Board of Directors toward the reopening of the iconic, historic Metro Theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

On a volunteer basis, I conceived and launched extensive social media and marketing campaign entitled Metro Dreams to rescue, restore and reopen an iconic, historic movie theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Recruited, engaged and provided creative direction to local artists to build a beautiful website/suite of graphic assets and to develop a captivating portrait series, capturing images of community residents depicted graphically with their respective memories and dreams for… Show more On a volunteer basis, I conceived and launched extensive social media and marketing campaign entitled Metro Dreams to rescue, restore and reopen an iconic, historic movie theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Recruited, engaged and provided creative direction to local artists to build a beautiful website/suite of graphic assets and to develop a captivating portrait series, capturing images of community residents depicted graphically with their respective memories and dreams for the Metro Theater space. Rolled out campaign on social media, garnering thousands of likes, comments and engaged followers. Continue to provide leadership, strategic direction to the Friends of Metro Theater Board, engage stakeholders, media and ensure progress toward our mission. Show less

Teaching "The Health Care System: Health, Mental Health, and Disability Policy, Practice, and Programs" to forty-five graduate social work students.

Created unique, multi-media materials, resources, workshops and environments to support patients and families and to engage mission constituents, including providing oversight of national online community: www.shareyourstory.org. Developed and launched innovative, multi-media professional education, including the design/conducting of conferences, seminars, enduring webinars, and videos for nurses, social workers, and other health care providers. Conducted numerous presentations… Show more Created unique, multi-media materials, resources, workshops and environments to support patients and families and to engage mission constituents, including providing oversight of national online community: www.shareyourstory.org. Developed and launched innovative, multi-media professional education, including the design/conducting of conferences, seminars, enduring webinars, and videos for nurses, social workers, and other health care providers. Conducted numerous presentations at national conferences (including Gravens, NAPSW, and VON) and hospitals on patient and family-centered care. Member, Board of Directors, National Association of Perinatal Social Workers (2012-2014). Show less

Created, launched and directed national education and support program, NICU Family Support(R) , providing information and comfort to more than 300,000 families and partnering with more than 100 hospitals across the U.S. over a decade. Served as national media spokesperson and family-centered care expert, conducting numerous presentations to advance family-centered care at national conferences (including NANN, AWHONN, IPFCC, NPA, AAP, NAPSW, Gravens) and hospitals. Created… Show more Created, launched and directed national education and support program, NICU Family Support(R) , providing information and comfort to more than 300,000 families and partnering with more than 100 hospitals across the U.S. over a decade. Served as national media spokesperson and family-centered care expert, conducting numerous presentations to advance family-centered care at national conferences (including NANN, AWHONN, IPFCC, NPA, AAP, NAPSW, Gravens) and hospitals. Created unique programs for NICU families to enhance health outcomes, parent-infant bonding and patient/caregiver satisfaction. Show less

Provided psychotherapy, including bereavement counseling to NICU parents and to families throughout pediatrics, and developed and implemented innovative support and education programs for families. Mentored and supervised medical students and social work interns.

Provided psychotherapy to pregnant women addicted to heroin, crack and cocaine. Led family and group counseling for addicted mothers, their partners and children.

Provided psychotherapy to high-risk pregnant women throughout the perinatal period. Provided bereavement counseling for families coping with pregnancy or newborn loss.