Nev Jones, PhD

Nev Jones, PhD

Jessica Mullins

Jessica Mullins serves as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). In this role, she provides leadership of youth and young adult initiatives and programs within the Office of Children, Young Adults, and Families. This includes direct management of Tennessee’s early psychosis programming, as well as support and oversight of school-based initiatives and transition-age youth programming within the Healthy Transitions initiative. Jessica is passionate about implementing early intervention services and creating trauma-informed spaces for youth, young adults, and families to thrive. She has over ten years of experience working within non-profits and government agencies, and has spent the last nine years working within the community-based behavioral health field. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker who received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from East Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Management, Leadership, and Community Practice from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in Nashville.

Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW

Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Nashville, Tennessee

Global Education Center

Using the arts as a pathway to understanding, the Global Education  Center  creates inclusive and affordable programming in the arts that aids in dispelling myths, dismantling stereotypes, unlearning biases and alleviating fears.

Craigan Usher, MD

Craigan Usher is a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) and the program director for Oregon Health & Science University’s CAP Training Program. He also serves as the Medical Education Consultant for the Early Intervention and Support Alliance (EASA), Oregon’s statewide early psychosis intervention effort and was co-principal investigator of the study Meals, Mindfulness, & Moving Forward, a multimodal lifestyle interventions including mindfulness meditation, yoga, and hands on cooking classes for individuals with first-episode psychosis.

Kayla Mumphrey

Biographical sketch not available at this time. 

In this presentation, Dr. Usher will explore hallucinations in youth examining ways of evaluating and helping supports children, teens and parents to help manage the distress surrounding these. He will offer the audience an examination of the literature on the nature, prevalence, and diagnostic difficulties surrounding hallucinations in youth emphasizing the fact that hallucinations are not tantamount to “having schizophrenia” and that interventions need to be tailored to the unique life experience and sensibilities of each individual and family.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

1. Identify three clinical features accompanying hallucinations in children which would lead evaluators to be more concerned about psychosis;

2. Identity three clinical features accompanying hallucinations in children which would lead evaluators to consider other diagnostic paradigms and causes;

3. List three therapeutic means of addressing hallucinations in children which may lead to young people and families to experience diminished stress and tension about them; and, 

4. Name two tools that can be used to help evaluators better understand the nature and nuance of hallucinations in children.

Session 2A Speakers

Tariq Smith

Tariq J. Smith, the Program Coordinator for CHR-P; a native of Orange Mound, Tennessee. He receives a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Marketing at Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in Community Clinical Psychology at Norfolk State University. He enjoys working with underprivileged youth and their families to be a resource for their personal growth and development.  He is passionate about serving Memphis and the Shelby County communities and looks forward to putting a smile on families' faces after receiving much-needed support.  In lieu of his personal accolades, he believes in the power of teamwork. 

Ashley Pace

My name is Ashley pace and I am the peer support specialist for On Track team at mental health cooperative in Nashville Tn. I have three and half years clean from substance use disorder and work a twelve step program. I support other women as a sponsor and feel very passionate about helping other addicts to stay clean. I have obtained my WRAP 2 facilitator certification and believe that group support is very important for the peers I currently work and as a team we have a wellness group every week. I am just beginning the process of becoming a LADAC in the state of Tennessee and will be continuing my education to get a bachelors degree. I have been working with the FAA and just received my 3^rd class medical certificate which will allow me to start training to be a pilot, which has been a dream of mine since childhood. In order to obtain my medical certificate I had to participate and get thru a very rigorous FAA substance abuse program known as HIMS (Human Intervention Motivational Study). I am extremely grateful for my job and the opportunities it has opened up in my life. I was able to participate in last years conference on a panel discussing how to be more empathetic with my peers. I am currently participating on a team in our state to develop two animated educational videos about clinical high risk and early psychosis with Psychub. When I am not working I enjoy exercising, meditating and spending time with my family.

Dylan Gregory

Dylan Gregory graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor’s in Social Work. He began his career working in residential facilities for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Since then he has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings helping those dealing with psychosis. Currently he works as an Supported Education and Employment Specialist helping young adults succeed and thrive in those areas of life at the On Track Program at Helen Ross McNabb Center in Knoxville.

Alexandra Russell

Lexie Russell is the Case Manager for the OnTrack program in Hamilton County, TN. As a Case Manager, sheI helps participants schedule their appointments, locate and utilize community resources, and cope with stressful situations. She loves her job because she loves being able to see and be a part of each participant’s recovery journey. She also enjoys baking, listening to podcasts and playing with her dog, Sarge.
 

Tonya Drewry

Mrs. Drewry is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and received her Master’s degree in Social Work through The University of Tennessee. She began her career as an adult mobile crisis responder and continues to serve as an on-call crisis team supervisor and mandatory pre-screening agent. She has provided individual and group psychotherapies in a community mental health setting, serving the severe and persistently mentally ill population of all ages. Currently, Mrs. Drewry serves as the Team Leader and Primary Clinician of OnTrackTN at Carey Counseling Center, Inc. in rural Northwest TN.

Kaelin Large

Kaelin Large is a Licensed Masters Social Worker based in Memphis, TN. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Union University in 2018. She has worked in a variety of settings, including housing, school social work, private practice, and community mental health clinics. She has a passion for treating trauma and working with youth and young adults to develop their identity and realize their full potential. She currently serves as the Team Lead for the OnTrack Team at Alliance Healthcare Services in Memphis, TN. When not at work, she can be found playing with her dogs or outside with a good book.

Sharletta Wentworth

Shar Wentworth, LPC-MHSP currently holds the Team Lead position for the OnTrack TN First-Episode Psychosis program through Helen Ross McNabb Center in Knoxville, TN. Shar has previous work experience with both adults and adolescents in acute crisis providing both assessment and stabilization, clinical treatment for adolescents struggling with substance abuse and trauma experiences, and at the inpatient level of care treating adults. Shar has been a part of the OnTrack TN program for over 3 years. Shar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from University of Maine and a Master of Education in Counselor Education also from the University of Maine. 

Dabble Food Company

Our studio in downtown Nashville, near the Nashville Sounds stadium in the Germantown neighborhood, is the perfect place for your next outing. It is the site of our public cooking classes and paint & sip events, and the launching point for many of our food and sightseeing tours offered by van, electric trikke, or bus.
https://dabbleevents.com/

Michelle Hammer

Michelle Hammer is a Schizophrenia Activist and created and founded the company Schizophrenic.NYC. She is an NYC native and was featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018. Michelle has also been featured in Mashable, The Daily Mail, Stylist, and Buzzfeed to name a few. Michelle was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at 22, after a misdiagnosis of Bipolar at age 18.  At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents, and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community.  In May 2015, she founded the company Schizophrenic.NYC, which is a clothing line with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health. 

Brandy Thomas-Wade

Biographical sketch not available at this time. 

Nina Ayala, MA, ATR-P

Nina Ayala, MA, ATR-P is an Art Therapist with a Master’s of Art in Art Therapy with a concentration in counseling from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Nina works as an Art Therapist for TriStar Centennial Medical Center Parthenon Pavilion and Integrative Life Center with adults and seniors.

Nina believes in the power of creative expression to transform and heal. Nina incorporates mindfulness, positive psychology, and a strengths-based approach into her art therapy practice. When Nina is not working she can be found creating her own art, practicing yoga, walking through nature trails, or exploring new places.

Marc Fagan, PsyD

Vice President of Clinical Operations
Youth & Young Adult Services, Thresholds

Marc has over 18 years of experience in developing, implementing, and sustaining comprehensive programs for vulnerable youth and young adults with mental health challenges, including those with complex trauma and child system involvement histories, emergent serious mental health conditions, and at high risk for psychosis. These nationally recognized multidisciplinary programs are featured in several books and journal articles. Locally and nationally, Marc advocates and partners with policy makers, researchers, and practitioners to develop effective practice and policies that support the transition to adulthood. Marc is a certified consultant and engaging trainer in key evidence-informed practices for young people, including the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) Model. Marc conducts numerous webinars, workshops, and multi-day trainings with youth service providers, adult-serving providers, executives, leaders, schools, and other consortiums across the country.
 

Jessica Mullins

Jessica Mullins serves as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). In this role, she provides leadership of youth and young adult initiatives and programs within the Office of Children, Young Adults, and Families. This includes direct management of Tennessee’s early psychosis programming, as well as support and oversight of school-based initiatives and transition-age youth programming within the Healthy Transitions initiative. Jessica is passionate about implementing early intervention services and creating trauma-informed spaces for youth, young adults, and families to thrive. She has over ten years of experience working within non-profits and government agencies, and has spent the last nine years working within the community-based behavioral health field. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker who received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from East Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Management, Leadership, and Community Practice from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in Nashville.

Sarah Piscitelli,LP-MHC

Sarah Piscitelli, LP-MHC, is a mental health counselor and the Fidelity Specialist for OnTrackNY, a Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) program for first episode psychosis. As Fidelity Specialist, she heads evaluation and reporting for over twenty OnTrackNY programs in New York State. In addition, she has provided state and nationwide clinical training and technical assistance on the OnTrackNY model to clinicians providing CSC services. She has a background in research and has worked on initiatives and NIMH protocols focused on improving care for individuals with serious mental disorders, with a particular emphasis on family services and pathways to care. 

Kayla Mumphrey

Biographical sketch not available at this time. 

Benjamin Smith

Founded in 2008 based on successful spoken word youth development and education strategies; educators, youth development professionals, writers, and poets built Southern Word from the ground up without substantial institutional or investor backing at the start. We have grown to be a national, non-profit leader in the spoken word education field, serving more than 6,000 youth, 43 schools, and 8 Tennessee counties last year.

Due to our passion for helping youth develop their voices and map their own futures, we have extended programming into music production and writing of all genres. In a culture which aggressively markets products and lifestyles to youth, Southern Word equips youth with the tools to transition from passive consumers into active thinkers, creators, and projectors of their own positive identity.

From guiding and hearing the stories of tens of thousands of youth, Southern Word understands our society’s shortcomings as they relate to youth engagement, literacy, diversity, and mental health. We are responding effectively to some of our most entrenched educational and youth development challenges.

Eshawn Spencer

Eshawn is a certified IPS trainer and fidelity assessor and is nationally recognized expert in implementing IPS Supported Employment and Supported Education with transition-age youth. She has over 15 years of direct practice experience with transition-age youth with serious mental health challenges including those aging out of the child welfare system, involved in the juvenile and/or criminal justice system, homeless or in residential care, pregnant or parenting, and those that are experiencing their first psychosis illness.  During her time as a Supported Employment & Education Supervisor at the Thresholds Youth and Young Adult program, E-Shawn helped to design and implement an adaptation to the Individual Placement and Support Supported Employment (IPS) for young people in residential care. As the Program Director at Thresholds, E-Shawn oversaw 10 IPS teams, two of which specifically serve transition-age youth. E-Shawn has been instrumental in partnering with stakeholders in order to address barriers to IPS implementation on multiple levels (e.g., system, program, team, family, and individual). E-Shawn, herself, was a witness to hundreds of individuals securing competitive employment with the right supports in place. E-Shawn has championed the integration of peer support in both youth and adult IPS services and collaborates with new research initiatives in order to study new virtual reality and computer-based intervention add-ons to IPS.  E-Shawn has partnered with the Chicago Public School system to bring IPS to high school students and has been invited to share her experiences in engaging at-risk young people in supported employment and supported education with mental health providers, state-level workshops, and conferences across the country. For the last few years, E-Shawn has provided technical assistance and consultation with many agencies locally, nationally, and internationally in their efforts to successfully implement IPS.

Caty Davis

Biographical sketch not available at this time. 

Session 2C Panelists

Nybelle Caruso

Nybelle Caruso is one of the co-chairs of the EASA Young Adult Leadership Council, supporting the development and improvement of EASA services since 2015.  Additionally, Nybelle works as Coordinator of Peer Delivered Services at LifeworksNW, offering mentorship to Peer Support Specialists at the agency and contributing to program development related to the unique discipline of peer support. Nybelle has shared her lived experience and contributed to conversations around peer values, EASA, and psychosis through co-authoring multiple articles and participation in public speaking.      

Nicholas Buekea,, PhD

Dr. Nicholas Buekea is a member of the EASA Young Adult Leadership Council. He is the recent recipient of a doctorate in occupational therapy and is currently studying for his licensing exam. Dr. Buekea is also a gifted artist and musician. 

Monica Shahine

Peer Specialist for OnTrackNY, Access Supports for Living 

Monica Shahine is the peer specialist for OnTrackNY through Access Supports for Living in Middletown NY. She is currently working on her peer specialist certification and is finishing up her associates in human services this fall. Her lived experience gives her the drive to help others and she plans to combine her experience with school training in order to initiate innovative techniques as a future LCSW. 

Hope Galyon

Hope Galyon, HS is currently the Peer support specialist  for OnTrack TN First-Episode Psychosis program through Helen Ross McNabb Center in Knoxville, TN. In October Hope will have 6 years in recovery from substance abuse and Methamphetamine induce psychosis. Throughout her recovery she learn to trust in her own instincts and also trust in the ones she loves. Hope has made a lot of accomplishments by going back to work and focusing on pushing herself towards a job she is very passionate about. Hope has worked in juvenile residential programs and gained some counseling experience working in the state prison system as a NLADAC. Hope plans on continuing her education to grow her credientials to LPC and also LADAC 1 then LADAC 2.  

Jules Wilson

Jules is the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. They graduated with their BA in English from Vanderbilt University in 2017 and obtained their Certified Peer Recovery Specialist certification in 2018. Jules was an original member of the Statewide Young Adult Leadership Council, a collaboration between TDMHSAS and TN Voices, and now serves as the facilitator for the council. They serve as a representative at the state level for young adult peers who are on a journey of recovery with mental illness and substance abuse. In their role, they oversee the development of the Certified Young Adult Peer Support Specialist certification and provide training and technical assistance to the Department’s youth-serving programs, specifically System of Care Across Tennessee and Healthy Transitions. Through the System of Care Across Tennessee Training and Technical Assistance Center, Jules is available to create individualized trainings on Y/YA engagement, development of Y/YA councils, and cultural responsiveness for Y/YA.

Jason Schiffman, PhD

Professor and Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
UMBC
http://youthfirstlab.weebly.com/

Jason Schiffman is Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he has been since 2009. Graduating from USC in 2003, Dr. Schiffman is currently the Co-Director of the Maryland Early Intervention Program’s Strive for Wellness clinic, a research, training, and services program designed to improve the lives of young people at risk for psychosis, as well as their families. Prior to UMBC, Dr. Schiffman was a professor at the University of Hawaii, Department of Psychology, where he was the Director of the Child and Adolescent Thought Disorders Program. Dr. Schiffman has held numerous grants from NIMH, state departments of health, private foundations, and SAMHSA, including a SAMHSA CHR-P award to run a community mental health clinic for people at risk for psychosis. He has published over 130 scientific articles related to the identification and treatment of early psychosis. Dr. Schiffman's research seeks to refine the identification of young people at risk for psychotic disorders, better understand the effects of psychosocial interventions for adolescents with psychosis, uncover mechanisms that can reduce stigma against people with serious mental health concerns, and address issues of racial inequity and health disparities for those in the early phases of psychosis.

Jules Wilson

Jules is the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. They graduated with their BA in English from Vanderbilt University in 2017 and obtained their Certified Peer Recovery Specialist certification in 2018. Jules was an original member of the Statewide Young Adult Leadership Council, a collaboration between TDMHSAS and TN Voices, and now serves as the facilitator for the council. They serve as a representative at the state level for young adult peers who are on a journey of recovery with mental illness and substance abuse. In their role, they oversee the development of the Certified Young Adult Peer Support Specialist certification and provide training and technical assistance to the Department’s youth-serving programs, specifically System of Care Across Tennessee and Healthy Transitions. Through the System of Care Across Tennessee Training and Technical Assistance Center, Jules is available to create individualized trainings on Y/YA engagement, development of Y/YA councils, and cultural responsiveness for Y/YA.

Cameron Clark, LMSW, ERYT

Cameron Clark is a therapist and yoga teacher in Nashville, TN. Cameron's teaching style is invitational in nature, welcoming students to move inward and get curious. She believes in the power of gentle, restorative movement and supported stillness in deepening our capacity to be with ourselves lovingly. 
 
In her counseling practice, Cameron strives to create an environment of non-judgement and acceptance. Her therapeutic style is rooted in experiential and integrative practices as well as the belief that in order to make meaningful change we've got to bet on ourselves. Cameron has a passion for working with folks in the helping professions looking to address secondary trauma, burnout and restore balance into their lives. 
 
Cameron's offerings also include somatic and EMDR therapy, trauma sensitive yoga sessions and private yoga instruction. You can learn more about Cameron's practice at www.cameronclarkwellness.com. 
 

Session B1D Panelists

Melinda Jones

Melinda Johnson-Jones is The SOAR Regional Coordinator for Region 6 and 7 of Tennessee and an employee at CMI Healthcare Services in Memphis, TN. She has a Master's Degree in Human Services in Counseling and Studies, Certified Family Support Specialist with Tennessee Voices for Children and Certified Life Coach, and NAMI instructor.  Melinda has worked as a Behavior Specialist, Children and Youth Mental Health Case Manager, Therapeutic Foster Case Manager, and a Program Service Director for the intellectual Disable. Melinda is very open about living with a mental illness and having a child that has a mental illness and is passionate about helping others who seek mental health services.   Her motto in life is, "You are not alone, and you are not your diagnosis."  She strongly believes in who is better to help you through something than someone who has lived through it. 

LaKeshia Oliver

My name is Lakeshia Oliver I am a Family Support Specialist with the Clinical High Risk for Psychosis program in Shelby County, Tennessee. In my role as a Family Support Specialist I provide counseling services to individuals families to assist their needs and eligibility for various types of public aids, educations ,employment training or counseling. The compassion I have for this is above and beyond it goes a long way in helping with the connection with the client's trust and honesty.  

Brenda Donaldson

Brenda Donaldson completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and obtained her MA from Bethel University. She has over 20 years of experience in mental health. Brenda currently works for the TN Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services in the Office of Children, Young Adults and Families as the Family Engagement Program Manager. 

Vinod Srihari, MD

Dr. Srihari's scholarly activities fall under two domains. He is the Director of the Program for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) that is active in a range of research projects across the translational continuum from studies relevant to the etiology and pathophysiology of psychotic illnesses to efforts to improve the clinical treatment, and design of systems of care for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. STEP is also focused on 3 other missions of workforce development, best practice care and policy toward an overall mission to improve the capabilities of young adults with psychotic disorders. In his curricular work, he has led the development and implementation of an Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) based approach to enabling psychiatrists in training to ask, access, appraise and apply the best available scientific evidence to their practice and to audit the health of the populations they are responsible for. More information at: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/vinod_srihari/

Caty Davis

Biographical sketch not available at this time. 

Dabble Food Company

Our studio in downtown Nashville, near the Nashville Sounds stadium in the Germantown neighborhood, is the perfect place for your next outing. It is the site of our public cooking classes and paint & sip events, and the launching point for many of our food and sightseeing tours offered by van, electric trikke, or bus.
https://dabbleevents.com/

General Session B2F

Brittany Quagan

Lab Manager, Powers Lab
Clinical Therapist, Yale PRIME Clinic
Yale University School of Medicine

My name is Brittany Quagan and I am a psychic/medium, licensed therapist and life coach. My history of struggling with mental illness and of overcoming those distressing obstacles has shaped my practice and my passion for helping others to heal.
 
There’s a huge stigma in the world of psychiatry (and the world in general) leading to people who have experiences such as ours being labeled or diagnosed. We have consistently have had to fight the notion that we are actually severely mentally ill because our experiences are atypical. My mission as a healer and as a therapist for years has been to infiltrate psychiatry and start to make changes from within the system.
 
Today my work has brought me to the role of therapist at the PRIME Clinic, working with youths who are at risk of developing psychosis to work with their experiences rather than against them, and as co-director of the Yale COPE Project where we are learning from others’ perceptual experiences to inform treatment we wish to develop.I believe that the standard process of care for those with lived experience with voices, visions, and feelings can be changed and I strongly feel that, in working together, we can truly make the change that is needed in the world of mental health and help so many along the way. 

Al Powers, PhD

My name is Al Powers, and I’m a psychiatrist and neuroscientist.  I am passionate about understanding human experience and building bridges to help us empathize with each other’s experiences.  The way I choose to build these bridges is by viewing experiences like hearing or seeing things other people don’t as on the same spectrum with everyday perceptual experiences.  By understanding perception, I think we can begin to help normalize experiences and begin to decrease the stigma and dysfunction they sometimes carry. 
 
My work, funded by a K23 Career Development Award from the NIMH and a Career Award for Medical Scientists from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, focuses on applying the computational tools we have developed toward early detection and novel treatment development in psychosis.  My clinical work is focused upon treatment of patients experiencing the very first signs of psychosis, as Medical Director of the Yale PRIME Psychosis Prodrome Research Clinic.

Jules Wilson

Jules is the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. They graduated with their BA in English from Vanderbilt University in 2017 and obtained their Certified Peer Recovery Specialist certification in 2018. Jules was an original member of the Statewide Young Adult Leadership Council, a collaboration between TDMHSAS and TN Voices, and now serves as the facilitator for the council. They serve as a representative at the state level for young adult peers who are on a journey of recovery with mental illness and substance abuse. In their role, they oversee the development of the Certified Young Adult Peer Support Specialist certification and provide training and technical assistance to the Department’s youth-serving programs, specifically System of Care Across Tennessee and Healthy Transitions. Through the System of Care Across Tennessee Training and Technical Assistance Center, Jules is available to create individualized trainings on Y/YA engagement, development of Y/YA councils, and cultural responsiveness for Y/YA.

WSC Session Panelists

Melissa McKnight

Melissa McKnight aka Graceful Honeybeeaka Dainty Brown is one of those multiple-creative-outlet-chasing-bohemians you may have heard about. She’s been doing standup for 5 years now; her work highlights the absurdity of meta modernist living. Her foundation of Performing and Visual Arts was established in her hometown of Miami, Florida, and a family relocation to Tulsa, Oklahoma when Melissa was 9 cemented her sense of irony! Since graduating from The University of Oklahoma in 2011 she’s worked as a backup singer, sang in an award winning Sweet Adelines Show Chorus, and worked as an organizer on Barack Obama’s incumbent Campaign in 2012. She hopes to inspire others to think critically about their existence within a society where few profit from the suffering of many.

Cortney Warner

Cortney Warner was born in Seoul, South Korea; raised in Cleveland, Ohio; and now calls Nashville, Tennessee her home. Cortney blends observational comedy and storytelling, relating stories of her unconventional upbringing and relating them to her adult life. She travels around the southeast and midwest performing stand up in clubs and bars, and performs regularly in Nashville.

She has performed in clubs such as Zanies, Stand Up Live, The Laughing Skull, The Punchline, Crackers Comedy Club, and SouthStreet. She has opened for headliners such as Dusty Slay and Dwight Slade. She has participated in the inaugural Chattanooga Comedy Festival and the inaugural Midwest Queer Comedy Festival in 2018. Currently, she is getting ready to produce a new monthly stand up show at The Crying Wolf in Nashville, starting this fall.

In addition to stand up, Cortney also writes sketch comedy and performs frequently in improv troupes in Nashville. For sketch, she has worked with Rich Talarico (SNL, Key and Peele, MadTV) and Kerpatty! (The Second City). For improv, she is a founding member of Murder She Joked, and improvised true crime podcast show.

Thomas E. Smith, MD

Chief Medical Officer, NYS Office of Mental Health\
Special Lecturer, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Jessica Mullins

Jessica Mullins serves as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). In this role, she provides leadership of youth and young adult initiatives and programs within the Office of Children, Young Adults, and Families. This includes direct management of Tennessee’s early psychosis programming, as well as support and oversight of school-based initiatives and transition-age youth programming within the Healthy Transitions initiative. Jessica is passionate about implementing early intervention services and creating trauma-informed spaces for youth, young adults, and families to thrive. She has over ten years of experience working within non-profits and government agencies, and has spent the last nine years working within the community-based behavioral health field. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker who received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from East Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Management, Leadership, and Community Practice from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in Nashville.

Ashley Beck, MS

Cheryl M. Corcoran, MD

Dr. Corcoran received her MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed her internship and residency in adult psychiatry at The Cambridge Health Alliance, a research fellowship in Schizophrenia Research at Columbia University, and a master’s degree in biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health. She is currently associate professor of psychiatry and program leader in psychosis risk at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Corcoran has research funding to study disturbances in sensory processing, language, and social cognition across stages of schizophrenia using MRI, EEG, and automated natural language processing analysis to measure semantic coherence and syntactic complexity. She has used non-invasive brain stimulation for cognitive mapping and to identify targets and circuits for therapeutic neurostimulation. Dr. Corcoran has also studied the role of stress and drug use in onset and symptom expression in schizophrenia, as well as stigma and paths to prevention and recovery. Her current research focuses on risk states and identifying brain mechanisms that underlie language disturbance and emotion recognition deficits in this population.

Brandy Thomas-Wade

Biographical sketch not available at this time.