Elizabeth Manley - Keynote Speaker

Elizabeth Manley is nationally recognized for her expertise in children's behavioral health, intellectual/developmental disability and substance use systems design, policy and financing. Elizabeth has a specific focus on innovation and evidence-based practice implementation with states and communities. Her 30 years of executive leadership at the national, state, and provider levels in both the public and private sectors have given her a unique understanding of the complexity of systems in these areas.

Elizabeth is a Senior Advisor for the Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. In this capacity she is a thought partner for leaders in service systems design.

Elizabeth is the former Assistant Commissioner for NJ's Children's System of Care. In this capacity, Ms. Manley led transformation and implementation of system innovations including integrating individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities, substance use and integration of physical health into the Children's System of Care. She had direct oversight of the statewide child behavioral health; substance use and development/intellectual disabilities systems. This includes a wide range of home and community-based services, outpatient and residential interventions. Elizabeth was the DCF representative on the NJ Board of Social Work Examiners and the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse; the Principal Investigator on NJ's Promising Path to Success, a SAMHSA System of Care Expansion Grant with the focus on improving care for youth in need of a residential intervention; Vice Chair of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD); and has presented at several national conferences.

Drew Martel

Drew Martel, LISW, CADC, is a nationally recognized expert in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, with extensive experience developing and leading crisis response programs. As the Chief Clinical Officer at CommUnity Crisis Services, Drew oversees clinical operations on crisis helplines, mobile crisis outreach, youth crisis stabilization services, and suicide prevention initiatives. In addition to his leadership in direct crisis services, he serves as a trainer and site surveyor for the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), conducting accreditation reviews and supporting crisis centers in maintaining national best practices. He has played a key role in shaping crisis response policies, securing state grants for suicide-specific training, and authoring national standards for mobile crisis outreach. Drew has presented at national and state conferences on crisis intervention, ethics, and suicide prevention. With a background in direct clinical care, program development, and quality assurance, Drew brings a wealth of expertise to his work supporting children and families in crisis.

Ashley Nichols-Kaye

Ashley Nichols-Kaye MS, MHP, CHCO, Program Manager-Human Services Quality Management/HIPAA Compliance Officer at Venango County Human Services will be presenting “Cultivating a Calling in Your Community”. Ashley was born in New Jersey and raised in Southwest Florida. She then spent nearly a decade overseas where she obtained her Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Ashley moved to Venango County in 2005, where she began her career within the Mental Health field. She has experience working as a Clinician, a Program Director for Family Based Mental Health, a Unit Director for Venango County's Protective Intake Crisis Unit, as well as Quality Management and Compliance Program Manager. Ashley has spent the last two decades working within various roles of the Mental Health field and hopes to bring a systems perspective to creating environments that facilitate growth and promote change.

Heather Distin

Heather Distin is the Project Director of the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, at Case Western Reserve University. Heather has 20 years of experience in various community based and inpatient behavioral health clinical settings serving families, children, adolescents, and transitional age youth. Heather has a special interest in and expertise working with youth who have complex needs that cross multiple systems. In her work with multi-system youth, Heather has been a change leader, promoting inter-agency collaboration and best practices across the various child-serving systems. Heather has served as a county board behavioral health administrator monitoring the fitness of the children's behavioral health continuum of care, ensuring access to high quality care while also leveraging resources to promote system sustainability. Heather has spearheaded several county-wide, multi-discipline system of care initiatives and county-wide quality assurance efforts specific to intensive home-based programs, youth crisis services, transitional age youth services and juvenile justice involved youth with behavioral health needs. Heather holds a master's degree from John Carroll University and is an independently licensed clinical counselor with supervision designation.

Amanda Gillespie

Amanda Gillespie is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with Supervision designation. She has over a decade of experience in various community-based settings serving families, young adults, children, and adolescents. Amanda has a special interest in crisis intervention and previously managed a youth crisis program that provided risk assessment, safety planning, and intensive care coordination to successfully link youth and their families to supportive services. Currently, Amanda is the Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) Coordinator with the Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University. She is also a certified Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) trainer through LivingWorks.

Jennifer C. Foxworthy

Jennifer served our country proudly for 21.7 years. She is a retired U.S. Navy veteran, who is pursuing her second career as the Founder and CEO of Inspirationally Speaking, LLC, and the Founder and CEO of Unstoppable You Ministries, Inc. Jennifer continues to be of service to others through her purpose and passion as an award-winning motivational speaker, international published author of “Tomorrow My Sunshine Will Come: Memoirs of Women Who Survived Domestic Violence,” event organizer and host of Unstoppable You Conference, television show host of Living Unshackled ON Purpose, corporate trainer, public speaking coach, as well as prolific blogger of “G.U.M.B.O.”

Dr. Rhonda Boyd

Dr. Rhonda Boyd (she/her) is a faculty member at PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and an associate professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She is also the associate director of CHOP's Child and Adolescent Mood Program, where she specializes in evaluating and treating youth with depression and suicide risk. Her research focuses on risk and protective factors for urban children and mothers, as well as developing interventions for racially and ethnically diverse populations. She has led and collaborated on multiple federally funded studies, including grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Beyond her clinical and research work, Dr. Boyd has been deeply involved in efforts to address mental health disparities. She co-chaired a task force for the Society for Prevention Research and contributed to the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide & Mental Health. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and a member of the National Scientific Council on Adolescence. Dr. Boyd earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, along with a federal policy fellowship in child development and mental health.

Jennifer Poole

Jennifer Poole is a Blended-Age Mental Health Consultant for PA Keys. As a consultant, Jenn supports childcare programs and families in developing age-appropriate accommodations to best support a child who has behavioral and/or mental health needs. She currently holds a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Wilmington College, and a Master's degree in Educational Policy and Leadership from Ohio State University. In her 20+ years of service in the educational field, Jenn has held positions as a kindergarten teacher, childcare director, career coach, and as a mental health consultant. Jenn's greatest passion rests in supporting caregivers in building their skills and understanding of age-appropriate, trauma-informed care and supports.

Lauren Walter

Lauren Walter is a Blended Age Mental Health Consultant dedicated to supporting the social and emotional development of children. In her role, she collaborates with teachers and families to establish strength-based goals and strategies that foster positive learning environments. Lauren is dedicated to helping teachers recognize their strengths and appreciate the invaluable impact they have on each child in their classroom.

Lauren holds a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education and a Level 2 Teaching Certification for Pre-K through 6th grade. With 11 years of experience teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten, she transitioned to her current role as a Mental Health Consultant in June 2022.

She resides in Snyder County with her husband, three sons, and their family dog, Nittany.