Phil Arkow is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, author and educator and is President & Secretary of the National LINK Coalition – the Global Resource Center on The LINK between Animal Abuse and Human Violence – and edits the monthly LINK-Letter, with over 5,500 subscribers. He chairs the Latham Foundation’s Animal Abuse and Family Violence Prevention Project. He teaches at the University of Florida and Harcum College. He has presented over 400 times in 17 countries, 38 states and 9 Canadian provinces, and has authored over 100 key reference works on human-animal interactions and violence prevention. He co-founded the National Link Coalition, the National Animal Control Association, and the Colorado and New Jersey Humane Federations. He has served with the American Veterinary Medical Association, the ASPCA, American Humane, the Delta Society, the Animals & Society Institute, the National Sheriffs Association’s National Coalition on Violence Against Animals, the National District Attorneys Association, the Academy on Violence & Abuse, and the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from New Jersey Child Assault Prevention.
Dr. Maria Blaze graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Auburn University in 2014. After graduation she completed her PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency with a focus in mental health at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System in San Antonio, TX. She then went on to complete a PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency at the VA Western NY in Buffalo, NY. She is a board-certified psychiatric pharmacist and currently serves as an outpatient Mental Health Clinic Pharmacy Practitioner at the Memphis VA.
Tammi Broadus is a Master level Licensed Mental Health Practitioner at Indianapolis Counseling and Mentoring. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Indiana Tech and her master’s in social work from Indiana University. She enjoys helping teens, women and mothers recognize their strengths and find their way back to a fun and enjoyable life. She has been a speaker at several state and regional conferences and thrives in educating others. Tammi has been working in K-12 schools across the country for over 20 years. She has held numerous positions including: a special education instructional assistant, a reading specialist, a parent classroom helper, a bully educator and a school social worker. In 2022, Tammi won Administrator of the Year from the Simon Youth Foundation, after being twice nominated for the prestigious award. In 2017, Tammi was nominated for and won the Peer Appreciation award while working at Eden Elementary. Most recently, in 2023 Tammi opened up ICM alongside her husband of 30 years. Together they work with youth, adolescents, teens and couples to help them find strength and clarity. When she is not counseling and coaching, Tammi enjoys hanging out with her husband and family, being outdoors in nature, traveling, organizing, decorating, reading, watching movies and getting together with friends.
Teri L. Cardwell, LCSW, ACSW, PMH-C is a clinical social worker with vast and varied experience in behavioral health in outpatient, medical and inpatient settings. Her practice has included individuals, groups and couples therapy here in Indiana as well as five years working in the Washington, DC area. She has a wealth of experience in program development and leadership, clinical supervision, and as an adjunct faculty at IU School of Social Work. Her clinical interest areas include addiction treatment, anxiety, grief, mood disorders, perinatal mental health, personality disorders, and trauma. Ms. Cardwell earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Anderson University and her MSW degree at IUPUI School of Social Work. She is currently employed at Harmony Bay Wellness as a clinical therapist.
Christian Deck, MSW, a Lecturer at the Indiana University School of Social Work joined the faculty in January 2020. He is a licensed clinical social worker and certified in telebehavioral health clinical practice in Indiana. He enjoys teaching telebehavioral health practice courses and the foundational Social Work courses for new MSW students. He is interested in enhancing e-Social Work distance education through program development and technology design. He also serves on the IUSSW Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Kristin Fouse, LCSW is a social worker at the Marion County Public Defender Agency. She graduated from the Indiana University School of Social Work with a Master of Social Work degree in 2014. In her capacity as a social worker in the Youth Justice Division, her job responsibilities include interviewing youth and their family members, conducting biopsychosocial evaluations to assess clients’ strengths and needs, developing and coordinating alternative sentencing options on behalf of respondents, and collaborating with attorneys to defend against waiver of jurisdiction. Kristin also teaches in an adjunct capacity undergraduate and graduate level courses for the Social Work Department at Ball State University. She has prior experience working as a School-Based Therapist, a Care Coordinator for Cross-Systems of Care, and a Residential Coordinator at an Emergency Youth Shelter. Through these roles, she has gained extensive knowledge and experience working with youth and their families that have experienced trauma, loss, and mental health challenges. She has now been employed with the Marion County Public Defender Agency since March 2016.
Laurie Goggins has been a staff attorney at the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, Inc. for approximately 15 years. Laurie holds a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law, an M.A.P.A. from St. Louis University, a Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Policy from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.S.W. from Boston University. Laurie is a registered mediator, a volunteer GAL, and is collaboratively trained. At Legal Aid, Laurie has represented clients in a variety of family law matters including divorce, custody, parenting time, child support, and guardianship. She focuses her practice on helping clients find peaceful and practical measures to resolve their legal issues.
Alyson Grider is the Co-founder and Clinical Supervisor for Limelight Recovery; a virtual mental health and substance use treatment program that takes Medicaid. She is passionate about making treatment accessible to all. She includes harm reduction in treatment offered to clients dealing with the criminal justice system and seeks to help folks take back their personal power and decide for themselves the type of relationship to a drug they want to have to honor their highest values. Alyson also is a consultant and harm reduction therapist for folks at the Indiana Recovery Alliance. She works on various grants to expand access to harm reduction treatment in Monroe County. Alyson is also an associate professor to the IU- Bloomington School of Social Work where she instructs on mental health and substance use for the bachelor’s program.
Ashley Hart, JD, LSW, MSW, is an attorney and social worker licensed to practice in the State of Indiana. She is the Deputy Director of the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP). JLAP provides confidential, compassionate support to all judges, lawyers, and law students by promoting well-being, improving lives, fostering connection, and thereby elevating the competence of the profession. Ashley has traveled her journey as a suicide survivor after losing her sibling 21-years ago. She is passionate about working with individuals and groups navigating grief and loss, and the unique grief of suicide survivors. Ashley serves the legal community with her faithful certified therapy dog, a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois, the Honorable K9 Judge. When she is not lawyering, she is singing, as she has been a professional musician for 30+ years, and you can always count on her to leave you with a song.
Leslie Inlow, LCSW, LCAC has been a practicing social worker since 2016, beginning her career as an outpatient addictions treatment therapist. She started private practice in 2019 and has created a group practice in Noblesville, IN called Cracked Open Therapy. They serve adolescents and adults and with specialties in couples and trauma. She is EMDR certified and trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and her dominant theoretical orientation is attachment theory. She recently became trained in Reiki and has begun to develop skills that have opened a new door and perspective as a therapist. She truly enjoys working with couples, and believes we heal within relationships, not alone. Her mission is to create a healing center where they not only practice clinical talk therapy, but a wide array of approaches and practices including reiki, massage therapy, yoga, somatic therapy, and energy work.
Ciera Jackson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and the founder of Healing HER 365. She provides clinical supervision, training, and mental health counseling. Her niche includes providing counseling to kinship placements, pastoral care, and counseling survivors of narcissistic abuse. She also serves as a Clinical Director at a non-profit in Indianapolis. Ciera earned her bachelor’s degree from Anderson University in Criminal Justice. Afterwards, she received her MSW from IU Indy, formerly IUPUI, with a focus in Leadership. Ciera has over 15 years of diverse experience in the social services field. This includes volunteering as a CASA, providing services to those involved with DCS or juvenile probation, working in psychiatric hospitals, domestic violence centers, and community mental health agencies. She’s also committed to DEIA work and served on many committees to educate and train staff. Ciera presented to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), TeenWorks, Hoosier Families, Anderson University, Syngenta, and at the 2023 Indiana NASW Annual Conference. Training topics included Racial Battle Fatigue, Prioritizing Mental Health, and Trauma Informed Care.
Carol Juergensen Sheets is a licensed social worker and personal life coach. She is a Certified Sexual Addictions Therapist and a Certified Clinical Partner Specialist and is a faculty member of both training organizations. She is a lead trainer for APSATS on the Multidimensional Trauma Model educating professionals about trauma & partner betrayal. She has developed a training and certification Program: ERCEM–The Early Recovery Couples Empathy Model for professionals to help couples heal. She has trained over 250 professionals on the ERCEM Model and is currently training all over the world. Carol has two internet radio podcasts for clients who are affected by compulsive problematic sexual behavior and partner betrayal. Carol’s books include Help. Her. Heal. An Empathy Workbook for Sex Addicts to Help Their Partners Heal and Unleashing Your Power: Moving Beyond Sexual Betrayal. Her new book Help. Them. Heal Teaching You Both How to Navigate Your Relationship After Sexual Betrayal teaches ERCEM skills to help couples heal. Her new book on infidelity will be coming out in Spring 2025.
Samantha Mishne is the Director of DBT Adherence at Bellefaire JCB and an adjunct faculty at Case Western Reserve Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences for 14 plus years. Samantha, since earning her master’s degree in clinical social work, she has spent the past 20 years focusing on the implementation of evidenced based treatment primarily, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to get clients back to their life worth living as quickly as possible. Her primary focus is the treatment of suicidal in self-harming adolescents and adults. Samantha’s life worth living includes spending time with her children and collecting prints.
Chris Peiffer LSW graduated with his bachelor’s in social work from Purdue university in 2012 and his maters in Social Work from Indiana University in 2016. Chris has worked with youth and families in varying capacities throughout his professional career. He has worked with youth and families as a case manager for Adult and Child providing services to parents involved with the Department of Child Services. He has provided substance abuse services for adults that are on adult probation. Currently Chris works with the Marion County Public Defender Agency in the Youth Justice Division. He assists with the legal representation of young people who are involved with the court, providing referrals for community services, advocating for release from secure detention and providing expressed interest representation to young people who are involved with the courts.
Julie Quigley is a full-time professor at Butler University in the counseling program and a clinical supervisor with Harmony Bay Wellness. She has eight years of teaching in the counseling field and fourteen years of professional clinical work. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) and holds Indiana and Ohio licensures in Mental Health and School Counseling. She has experience counseling in rural and urban schools, higher education, private practice, and community mental health agencies. Her research interests include suicide prevention and training in schools, clinical supervision techniques, and interprofessional education.
David Sneden received his Juris Doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. He began his legal career as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney before transitioning to corporate litigation. David later shifted his focus to youth services, working with various nonprofits nationwide to develop youth programs with an emphasis on operations and impact. In 2023, he joined the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society as Chief Operating Officer.
Dr. NaKaisha Tolbert-Banks, LCSW, LCAC is a Doctor of Social Work, dedicated to advancing mental health and wellness through her private practice. As a passionate grassroots activist, she advocates for equitable mental healthcare through education and services across diverse communities, with a particular focus on supporting Black women. Her work involves researching and developing sustainable programming that fosters empowerment and healing within minoritized communities. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. NaKaisha has served as an adjunct faculty member, is a published author, and contributes to the profession and community with her expertise and commitment to social justice. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, springtime, and tacos.
Christine Turo-Shields, LCSW, LCAC owns & operates Kenosis Counseling Center, Inc., which is a community-based private practice in Greenwood, IN. With 30+ years of professional experience, her clinical specialty includes treating suicide, trauma and grief as well as depression, anxiety/panic and addictions. She is also certified in EMDR, which is a highly effective trauma therapy. She is an Indiana State Board Member for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). She conducts school and community trainings regarding suicide to raise awareness about how to identify and intervene with those struggling with suicidality as well as she is a team member for the “You Are Not Alone” retreat, which is a faith-based experience for survivors of suicide loss. Additionally, she is a member of the Family Advocacy Outreach Network, with specific trauma training, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Samantha Wolfe-Taylor, PhD Candidate, MSW, LCSW, CTH, is the Associate Director of the Office of e-Social Work Education and Practice for the IU School of Social Work. She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified as a telehealth clinician in Indiana. Her primary role is in education, practices, and research that relates to e-social work, telebehavioral health practices, course development, distance education, and simulation-based learning. She also oversees the management and implementation of the e-Social Work Practice Graduate Certificate program, developing and revising online courses, and working as a liaison with faculty content experts in course design. Samantha is also a practicing telebehavioral health clinician for Timely MD in the State of Indiana.