Dr. Cassandra Kisiel is a clinical psychologist and a research associate professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Dr. Kisiel also serves as a primary trauma consultant for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Dr. Kisiel has almost 20 years of experience specializing in complex, developmental trauma, dissociation, and child trauma assessment and evaluation and has written and lectured extensively on the assessment and treatment of children exposed to complex trauma across child-serving settings. She is the primary developer of Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)-Trauma which has applications in numerous child welfare and other child-serving settings across the country.

Dr. Tracy Fehrenbach is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor with the Mental Health Services and Policy Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She is the Clinical Director for the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning, where she provides training and support in the use of the CANS-Trauma and empirically based approaches for assessing and treating the developmental effects of trauma. Dr. Fehrenbach has specialized in research and clinical work with child and adult trauma survivors since 2002. She has a particular interest making trauma interventions more accessible to and culturally sensitive for traditionally underserved populations.

Dr. Nicole St. Jean is a clinical psychologist and a research associate at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She is currently the Project Manager for the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning, where she is responsible for the oversight and management of center activities. Dr. St. Jean has close to 10 years of experience working in the field of traumatic stress in both clinical and research settings, including medical and psychiatric hospitals, residential facilities, and outpatient treatment settings. She has specialized in understanding and working with youth and families who experience complex trauma in urban, underserved settings.

Nicole is responsible for overseeing, organizing, and implementing the evaluation, clinicalresearch and training activities for the Center. Nicole aids the team in planning and coordinating activities related to the project including communication with partnering organizations and coordinating day-to-day project activities. She is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Gary McClelland is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Northwestern University Medical School where he has worked as a methodologist, epidemiologist and policy analyst. He serves as the Director of Data Operations at the Mental Health Services and Policy Program and his current work focuses on child trauma in the Illinois child welfare system. As part of the CCTASI, he is responsible for oversight of all data analytic activities with an expertise in working with large scale systems data. He contributes to the development and implementation of data-driven of trauma informed practice in conjunction with this project and throughout the Illinois State child welfare system.

Tracey is a graduate from Loyola University Chicago and is the newest member of the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning. As a member of the team, Tracey analyzes and reports project data, manages the CCTASI website and newsletter development, and works with project managers and collaborators in a variety of other coordination capacities. Tracey’s background includes research experience primarily on psychosocial adjustment and coping in emerging adults, and work experience in child welfare as an Intact Family Case Manager. In her free time, Tracey enjoys volunteering for hospice and a youth runaway hotline.

Lindsey is currently a second-year doctoral student in the Mental Health Services and Policy Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. As part of the CCTASI team, Lindsey supports the CANS/FANS assessment collaboration, as well as projects related to dissociation education and research. Lindsey’s research interests include: childhood trauma and chronic illness, placement stability and permanency, and protective factors among youth in the child welfare system.

Faith is a graduate research assistant on the CCTASI team. She is currently a clinical psychology doctoral student in the Mental Health Services and Policy Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research interests include placement outcomes, complex traumatic experiences and symptoms, and protective factors among racial minority youth in the Illinois child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Domenico currently offers training and support to clinicians and child welfare professionals in Illinois in trauma-informed assessments and the implementation of evidence-based practices. He is a psychotherapist with extensive experience assessing and treating children in the foster care system who have been exposed to trauma.

Andrea is a volunteer research assistant who helps to coordinate and implement a range of CCTASI project activities. She has experience in direct clinical service, program design, intervention and treatment. As a director of psychology services for a Clinic of the government of Costa Rica in a marginal, urban community, she developed the psychology program while treating child and adolescents under stressful situations.