Our Team

Director of The National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services

Mary Boylen Wichansky, MSW, LCSW-C

Mary Wichansky is the Director of the National Center. A seasoned and passionate human services professional, she brings over 30 years of experience serving children and families. In strategizing and supervising all operations of the National Center’s Technical Assistance, Evaluation, Leadership, and Administrative teams, Mary provides the roadmap that guides our work. Her visionary leadership is backed by a strong commitment to transforming child welfare and mental health systems to create lasting, meaningful change.

Before joining the National Center, Mary cultivated a unique blend of direct clinical practice, clinical administration, program development, training and fidelity coaching, curriculum writing, research, systems change efforts and consulting. She has worked at the local, State, and National level. Most recently, she served as the Chief Program Officer for the Mental Health Association of Maryland overseeing all the association’s mental health programs and services. Previously, she served as the Director of Program Operations at C.A.S.E. As the Director of Mental Health First Aide (MHFA), an international training initiative that trained 2.5 million people. In this role, she spearheaded teen curriculum revisions and partnership development across the country. For over a decade, Mary has provided consulting services including focusing on the strategic growth of nonprofits.

CEO and Adoption-Competent Therapist, C.A.S.E.

Debbie Riley, LCMFT

Debbie is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.). Her commitment to providing resources, support, and advocacy for children and families who have experienced adoption and foster care is the bedrock and impetus behind the National Center grant award. Debbie serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) of The National Center.

Since C.A.S.E.’s inception in 1998, Debbie has grown the organization into a national and international mental health resource for foster and adoptive families and the professionals who support them. Alongside a multitude of achievements in the field, Debbie also serves as the PI to the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) to build adoption competency in the child welfare and mental health workforce. She also founded the TAC (Training for Adoption Competency Curriculum) currently taught in 20 states. In 2024, Debbie was recognized by the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) and inducted into the Adoption Hall of Fame.

Community Engagement Team

Arnold Eby

As one of five partners collaborating with the Center for Adoption Support and Education in the development of the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services, NFPA represents foster, adoptive, and kinship parents ensuring their involvement, needs, and expectations are included in this much needed effort to improve availability and accessibility of mental health services. 

Arnie currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA). NFPA is a non-profit organization representing thousands of foster, adoptive, and kinship parents, established to provide opportunities for advocacy, networking, and education. He serves on multiple national, State, and local government committees, and strives to provide one voice in advocating for core needs for family-based care. Arnie and his wife Donna have been foster parents for over 20 years and are the parents to three daughters and three sons, four of which are adopted from the foster care system. 

National Center NTI Coach

Carla Felten

Carla brings 15 years of experience working in child welfare, mental health, and foster care/adoption agencies to her role at the National Center. As the NTI Mental Health Coach, Carla develops and facilitates live coaching support for mental health professionals enrolled in the National Adoption Competent Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) to integrate best practices of adoption and permanency concepts in their work with individuals and families. 

Before joining the National Center, Carla was a social worker supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families in various public and non-profit agencies. She currently provides therapy for transracial and mixed-race adoptive individuals and families. She has also been an educator for caregivers in the areas of trauma-informed and attachment-focused parenting strategies, while including the unique perspective of adoption and placement loss and trauma. She provides clinical trainings to treatment professionals to enhance their understanding of adoption and permanency implications and integrate various therapeutic practices to support BIPOC individuals and families. 

Tribal Child Welfare Consultant

Becky Main

Becky is a tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs who comes to the National Center bringing in experience working with tribal child welfare programs from across Indian Country. Becky will assist and support services in both Universal and Intensive Technical Assistance for Tribes who are interested in obtaining information to build bridges between child welfare and mental health or seeking to enhance or develop program services.

Becky was employed with her Tribe as the Tribal Child Welfare Director and began working with the National Resource Center for Diligent Recruitment, National Resource Center for Tribes, and the Capacity Building Center for Tribes to assist Tribes with the development or enhancement of their Tribal child welfare programs. Becky’s interest in Tribal child welfare work is the knowledge and recognition of Tribal sovereignty as it is important to ensure we are all paving a road towards meeting the needs of our people and most importantly being intentional about the future of our Native children.

Youth Lived Experienced Specialist

Betty B. Rivers

With 15 years of experience in child welfare, Betty Rivers brings a wealth of knowledge and dedication to her role at the National Center. As the Youth Lived Experience Specialist, Betty ensures that youth lived experiences inform both Intensive and Universal Technical Assistance efforts. By evaluating State-specific data; assessing current engagement of youth in various sites; and building relationships with States, Tribes, and territories as well as State and national organizations, Betty is committed to amplifying the voices of youth who have experienced child welfare. 

Before joining the National Center, Betty was a Program Coordinator at the Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative with the Children’s Bureau, leading quality service reviews and acting as a liaison for child welfare programs. At Casey Family Programs’ public policy office in Washington, DC, she co-developed a mental health group to address over-prescribed psychotropic medications to youth in foster care. As a Legislative Correspondent with former Senator Mary Landrieu, she successfully advocated for an amendment to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, demonstrating her commitment to improving child welfare systems and ensuring proper mental health support. 

Director of Technical Assistance (TA)

Sheila Corrigan, M.Ed.

Sheila joins The National Center For Adoption Competent Mental Health Services as the Mental Health Implementation Specialist, bringing over 25 years of experience in child welfare from the combined perspectives of former agency caseworker, community organizer, foster sibling, collaborative director, and national consultant. She is committed to the belief that every child and family connected to adoption, foster and kinship care deserves safety, stability, and lifelong connection. Perfectly aligned with the National Center’s mission, vision and values, Sheila’s passion to ensure transformation of child serving systems is centered on the voices of those with lived experiences.

Project Manager

Akshay Donthi

Akshay joins The National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services as a Project Manager who leads team coordination, strategic planning, and data-driven quality improvement initiatives. He ensures seamless communication across internal and external teams, develops workplans and reports, and leverages data systems to enhance efficiency and maintain high standards of accuracy and timeliness. He plays a key role in aligning meeting agendas with organizational goals, synthesizing research for decision-making, and implementing tools that drive operational excellence.

Child Welfare Implementation Specialist

Lindsay Holden

Lindsay serves as a Child Welfare Implementation Specialist with the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services. Drawing on over 13 years of experience in the field, she supports child welfare systems in implementing trauma-informed, adoption-competent practices. Lindsay is passionate about building stronger supports for foster and adoptive families and is deeply committed to improving the experiences of children, youth, families, and the professionals who serve them.

Before joining the Center, Lindsay held multiple leadership roles at Oklahoma Human Services, including Assistant Deputy Director of Foster Care and Adoptions. She led statewide program improvements, facilitated trainings and audits, and collaborated across agencies to strengthen outcomes for children in care. Her career spans front-line casework in child protection, foster care, and adoption, as well as mentoring emerging professionals. Lindsay is a strong advocate for system transformation rooted in adoption-competent care, continuous learning, and the lived experiences of families. She believes in meeting families and children where they are and building solutions that reflect their unique needs and strengths. She is especially passionate about ensuring professionals feel equipped, supported, and valued in the work they do every day.

President & CEO at PolicyWorks, Ltd.

Anne J. Atkinson, Ph.D.

Dr. Atkinson has conducted and continues to update jurisdictional scans and to compile current studies and reports containing STT-specific information used in selecting and developing workplans for STTs that receive technical assistance. She also serves on the Editorial Committee, reviewing and contributing to the National Center Knowledge Hub, and the measurements workgroup, reviewing and providing feedback on instruments and methods to evaluate National Center implementation and outcomes.   

PolicyWorks, Ltd. is an independent program evaluation and policy research firm founded by Dr. Atkinson in 1995, after more than two decades experience in juvenile justice and education at both local and state levels. She has also developed numerous publications and curricula designed to strengthen front-line practices in child welfare, criminal justice, education, and prevention. She conducts the ongoing comprehensive evaluation of Training for Adoption Competence and has conducted two related family outcomes studies; her most recent focus is on building the body of empirical evidence supporting adoption competence of mental health professionals. She is a 2024 National Adoption Excellence awardee.   

Director of Knowledge and Dissemination

Erin Bader, MSW, LCSW

Erin brings 20 years of experience working in child welfare to her role at the National Center. As the Director of Knowledge and Dissemination, Erin collaborates with National Center partners, and consultants to create and compile editorial content to maintain the National Center Knowledge Hub. As the driver of Universal Technical Assistance, Erin orchestrates the broad dissemination of National Center content through monthly webinars, editorial content, conference presentations, and more. 

Before joining the National Center, Erin was a child welfare and adoption subject matter expert at Child Welfare Information Gateway and oversaw National initiatives such as National Adoption Month. Prior to this, Erin led child welfare programs at Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska. Her background also includes direct practice work as a Children’s Social Worker in Los Angeles and Protection and Safety worker in Nebraska, enriching her expertise across child welfare and adoption services. 

Conferences and Events Coordinator

Jessica Brandon

Jessica brings more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, event management, and organizational leadership to her role at the National Center. In her role as Conferences and Events Coordinator, she develops innovative and educational platforms to strengthen engagement, oversees mission-driven events that inspire action, and supports collaborative initiatives. Jessica’s expertise in balancing strategy with creativity ensures that the National Center’s programs and events achieve both impact and sustainability.

Before joining the National Center, Jessica built a career leading nonprofit events and fundraising initiatives, developing strategies that connected donors to mission-driven causes and supported long-term organizational growth. She has produced large-scale galas, capital campaigns, and community events that raised critical resources while inspiring collective action. Beyond her professional work, Jessica is a foster and adoptive parent, experiences that have shaped her deep commitment to supporting children and families. Her personal journey informs her belief in the power of resilience, compassion, and community connection.

Information and Operations Manager

Molly Clement

As the Information and Operations Manager at the National Center, Molly oversees the systems, processes, and partnerships that keep the National Center’s work moving forward. With over 16 years of experience advancing child welfare through direct practice, program development, and system leadership, she is dedicated to building efficient, collaborative systems that strengthen outcomes for children, youth, and families.

Before joining the National Center, Molly served as Assistant Deputy Director with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, where she led statewide initiatives focused on kinship engagement and mobilization, workforce development, and provided operational oversight to foster care and adoption field services. Prior to that, Molly served as a Bureau Chief specializing in youth transitional services with the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department. Earlier in her career, Molly worked in direct practice roles that broadened her expertise across child welfare and social service systems. Molly is committed to strengthening organizational effectiveness, cross-system partnerships, and amplifying the voices of those with lived experience to drive sustainable, meaningful change.

Content Specialist

Asia Huggins

Asia Huggins is a skilled Technical Writer and Editor with more than a decade of experience in content development, mental health, and report creation for government, corporate, and nonprofit sectors. Asia has served as a technical writer and content editor for over a decade, complemented by a strong foundation in mental health counseling and program management. She previously worked with adopted and foster youth in her role as a mental health counselor, which fuels her passion for the National Center’s mission and goal of improving the well-being and permanence of children and their families by providing adoption-competent mental health services.

Asia holds a Master of Science in Counseling & Human Behavior from Capella University, where she also earned certificates in Social and Community Services and Theories in Mental Health. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Gender Studies from the University of South Alabama.

Jacquin K. Savoy

Jacquin brings over 15 years of administrative experience and 8+ years as an Executive Assistant to the National Center, where she supports the National Center Director Mary Wichansky. She expertly manages the Director’s calendar, curates meeting agendas and minutes, and provides logistical support for meetings. Additionally, she oversees conference registrations, shipping logistics, and inventory control, maintains contract files, and supports external partners of the National Center.

Jacquin has a strong background in non-profit organizations, having served as Executive Assistant to the Regional Director of Refugee and Immigrant Programs at Bethany Christian Services and as Executive Administrative Assistant at the Paralyzed Veterans of America. At the National Center, she reconnects with her passion for non-profit missions, supporting individuals who empower others to find strength, their voice, and joy in their impactful journeys within the community.

Research Assistant Professor

Brittany Brakenhoff, Ph.D.

Brittany is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln-Center on Children, Families, and the Law (UNL-CCFL) Evaluation team for the National Center.  As part of the evaluation team Brittany collaborates with National Center partners to develop robust evaluation processes and measures for all National Center activities. She is also part of the evaluation team for the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI).   

Brittany received her PhD in Couples and Family Therapy. She is a Research Assistant Professor at UNL-CCFL. Her research has focused on at-risk populations such as youth experiencing homelessness and families impacted by substance use disorders. She has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to her research work with marginalized populations. Brittany enjoys utilizing qualitative research to gain a richer and deeper understanding of intervention participants’ experiences and perspectives of the intervention/treatment being evaluated. 

Director

Eve Brank, Ph.D., JD

As a member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center on Children, Families, and the Law (UNL-CCFL) evaluation team, Eve participates in the National Center’s continuous quality improvement (CQI) process. Her work mainly focuses on two areas: evaluating the Knowledge Hub’s effectiveness and managing UNL-CCFL staffing requirements. 

Eve, Director of UNL-CCFL and Professor of Psychology with a Courtesy Professor of Law appointment, specializes in the intersection of psychology and law, particularly focusing on legal interventions in family decision-making. She served as Co-Principal Investigator for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Family and Policy Services Training and evaluated the Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation of Private/International Adoptions. Her research has received National Science Foundation funding, and she authored an award-winning book on the psychology of family law. Eve’s expertise has established her as a nationally recognized leader in und

Research Assistant Professor

Dawn Davis, Ph.D.

Dawn is on the evaluation team for the National Center and supports the development of the customer relationship management (CRM) system. She collaborates on the creation and implementation of evaluation measures, data analysis and reporting, and the use of evaluation findings for continuous quality improvement. She also co-leads the evaluation of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI). 

Dawn is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center on Children (UNL-CCFL), Families and the Law. She has a Ph.D. in Human Sciences with a focus on Child, Youth, and Family Studies from the University of Nebraska. Her research focuses on program evaluation, cross-system collaboration, and workforce development. In addition, she has consulted for the World Bank and served as a technical advisor to ECD Measure on studies of early childhood development and education systems, quality improvements, and data-informed practices in preschool programs in developing countries.

Database Development & Programmer Specialist

Spencer Gowin

Spencer is a skilled full-stack developer with web design, database management, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud solutions expertise. As a Programmer Specialist, Spencer excels at gathering business requirements and translating them into robust, scalable components. With a strong focus on delivering user-friendly designs and reliable back-end systems, Spencer ensures seamless integration of technologies, driving innovation and efficiency to meet evolving customer relationship manager needs for the National Center.  

Before joining the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Spencer worked on multiple application systems ranging from dry cleaning tracking to grain fumigation coordination. Before his current position, Spencer specialized in cloud development, focusing on AWS. He has also worked with the State of Nebraska to help modernize applications for the DMV, Nebraska Supreme Court, and State Fire Marshal.  

Research Professor

Michelle Graef, Ph.D.

Michelle co-leads the evaluation of the National Center and is involved in the planning, development, implementation, and integration of the results of evaluation for continuous quality improvement. She collaborates on the development of the customer relationship management system and is responsible for administrative functions of the sub-award to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center on Children, Families, and the Law (UNL-CCFL), including the semi-annual report of evaluation activities and results. She is also part of the evaluation team for the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI).   

Michelle is a Research Professor at UNL-CCFL, with 32 years of experience in child welfare workforce, implementation of systemic change, and the evaluation of human services agency programs and functioning. In addition to evaluation of the National Center/NTI, she is a systems change consultant for the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY). Previously, she was the Director of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), led evaluations of Nebraska’s Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration and the implementation of the Quality Improvement Center on Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG), and was co-director of the Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center. 

Research Associate Professor

Megan Paul, Ph.D.

Megan co-leads the evaluation of the National Center and is involved in the planning, development, and implementation of the evaluation as well as use of the evaluation results for continuous quality improvement. 

Megan is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center on Children, Families and the Law (UNL-CCFL). She is an industrial-organizational psychologist who has worked exclusively in child welfare for over 24 years, addressing workforce challenges and conducting program evaluation. In addition to evaluating the National Center, she co-leads the evaluation of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative, is the lead workforce specialist for the Quality Improvement Center on Workforce Analytics, and is a systems change consultant for the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency.  

Senior Research Associate

Sarah Stepanek, M.A.

Sarah is a member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center on Children, Families, and the Law (UNL-CCFL) evaluation team for the National Center, focusing on the development of evaluation instruments and surveys, as well as the analysis and reporting of results derived from those instruments. She also helps with evaluation for the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI). 

Sarah is a Senior Research Associate at UNL-CCFL. She has an MA in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology and is in the final phase of finishing her PhD in the same subject area. Sarah is passionate about helping the child welfare workforce and the children and families they serve using the principles of I/O Psychology, especially through harnessing the power of data to guide workforce decision making and intervention. She is a workforce specialist for the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Analytics and previously worked on the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development. 

Graphic Designer

Sam Paciello Jr

Sam is a seasoned creative professional with over 20 years of experience in the field of visual communications, graphic design, and marketing. He utilizes his creative expertise to elevate the National Center’s brand and amplify its reach. By crafting visually compelling materials and strategic campaigns, he not only helps to build awareness but also communicates the importance of adoption competent mental health services to States, Tribes, and territories.  

Throughout his career, he has successfully managed creative teams and delivered award-winning art direction, photography, and design across a wide range of projects. He consistently produced innovative and visually striking designs for brands and organizations in the private, public, and federal sectors. His expertise spans print and digital media, branding, photography, marketing collateral, publications, social media, and integrated marketing campaigns. 

Senior Marketing Manager

Alisa Greenwood

Alisa is the Senior Marketing Manager for the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services, where she leads marketing and communications strategy to expand awareness of the Center’s offerings, strengthen credibility, and grow engagement of professionals and systems that serve adopted children and their families—equipping the field to improve outcomes for children and families nationwide.

She brings a proven track record of leading research driven, integrated marketing strategies that have driven national impact across healthcare, nonprofit, and B2B sectors. Known for her ability to connect data, strategy, storytelling, and execution across diverse audiences with distinct needs, she leads marketing and communications efforts with the goal of advancing measurable program impact. She joined the Center to apply her experience to mission driven work with meaningful, real-world outcomes.

Alisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Ohio University and is currently pursuing her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.