Jennifer L. Hartstein, PsyD is currently in private practice in New York City, specializing in the treatment of high-risk children and adolescents. Dr. Jen has received intensive training in adolescent suicide assessment and has specialized in this population for several years. She is a frequent psychological contributor for NBC’s The Today Show and was a Mental Health Core Expert for The Dr. Oz Show, the psychological/lifestyle contributor on CBS’ The Early Show, and the mental health contributor for Yahoo! Lifestyle and Yahoo! News. Prior to running her full-time private practice, Dr. Jen was the Clinical Director of the Discovery Center at the Child and Family Institute (CFI) of St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, a short-term substance abuse prevention and early intervention program for adolescents. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University.  Before working at CFI, Dr. Jen was the Director of the Group Psychotherapy Program, Intake Coordinator for the Adolescent Depression and Suicide program, and an Attending Psychologist in the Child Outpatient Psychiatry Department of Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

Dini Peterson, LMSW is the Chief Program Officer of Family and Community Services. In her 10+ years at JFS, Dini has focused her career in the areas of case management and poverty alleviation in the Detroit Jewish community. She currently oversees JFS safety net and mental health services.

She has also enhanced JFS’ outreach initiatives to local Orthodox Jewish communities. Dini received the Meyerhoff Early Career Professional Fellowship and currently serves on local boards addressing food insecurity and other basic needs throughout Oakland County.

Dini lives in Oak Park with her husband and three young children.

Kendra is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field supporting individuals and families dealing with crisis and mental health challenges. Kendra is the Director of Teen Talk App, a program of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters Los Angeles, where she oversees app operations and supervision of the 200 volunteer teens working to support their peers through the app.

Kendra is a certified trainer in Trauma Informed Care and QPR and has a passion for helping young people find self-care that works for them.

Kendra is the mother of two teens and stepmom to two more teens.

Katelyn Bleiweiss is a 4th generation native Houstonian who is proud to be serving her community in the Department of Behavioral and Mental Health Services at Alexander JFS. After living in Israel for one year, she went home to Texas to receive her BA in cultural anthropology from UT Austin, followed by her Masters of Public Health in community health practice with a focus in program planning, implementation, and evaluation from the UT Health Science Center Houston. Katelyn did her intensive graduate school internship at Joan and Stanford Alexander Jewish Family Service and was fortunate to join the team as a full employee after graduating. Katelyn is the only Sources of Strength suicide prevention program trainer for the Houston Jewish community and beyond, providing mental health and wellness presentations and programs. She believes that sharing stories of hope, help, and strength can counter the overwhelming negativity we are all exposed to daily. She encourages all who are reading this to send a thank you note to someone who has been helpful in life, as gratitude is a core spiritual practice.

Dr. Cohen earned her B.A in psychology at McGill University and her M.A and Ph.D in clinical psychology, health emphasis from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. She is the founding director of Cognitive Behavioral Health Psychology, LLC, a private practice which specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy with offices in NY and NJ, as well as a faculty support and efficacy consultant on social emotional issues relating to faculty and students. Dr. Cohen lectures nationwide on topics related to education, psychology and religion.

Demian Laudisio has been working at Jewish Community Services of South Florida as a Coordinator, Referral Specialist and Lead Trainer since 2017 as part of a county-wide federally funded Mental Health Awareness Training Grant. The grant provides free training to local organizations, community members and first responders to raise awareness and response to mental health concerns and suicide. Demian is a certified instructor in four evidence-based trainings: Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid, the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, and the Question, Persuade, Refer suicide gatekeeper training. Demian has worked in suicide prevention services in Miami-Dade County since 1994, most recently serving as supervisor for the crisis hotline at Switchboard of Miami. He also managed two federal SAMHSA grants, including the Miami setting of the Florida Youth Suicide Prevention Grant and Project Aware Grant to raise community awareness on provide community training on mental health.