CSPS-MA - Key Persons
Amanda Doster has been providing technical assistance to communities and municipalities since 2012, and was an original member of the CSPS team. She brings a background in youth development, education, coalition building, volunteer & project management to her work, along with a passion for the unique opportunities and challenges of rural communities. She has lived and worked in Franklin County since 2003, and is a Certified Prevention Specialist.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Project Director
Angelica Giardina brings extensive experience leading teams and operations for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Angelica is a highly versatile and dynamic professional with a strong track record in optimizing organizational efficiency and harnessing technology to tackle business challenges. Her diverse skill set encompasses strategic planning, budget management, technology architecture, vendor relations, process enhancement, resource allocation, and leadership. A highly skilled project manager, Giardina specializes in developing and sustaining effective systems to advance the objectives of complex, mission-driven initiatives. She also possesses extensive experience in marketing operations, event planning, and project management, ensuring streamlined operations and efficient resource management for sustainable success across projects and budgets of all sizes. They are deeply committed to achieving equity of opportunity for systemically marginalized communities. Giardina heads up technology solutions and operations management for EDC's Center for Strategic Prevention Support and Strategic Prevention Technical Assistance Center. She also contributes to the success of other EDC health- and behavioral health-focused initiatives. Prior to joining EDC, Giardina spearheaded information technology and operations for a national education nonprofit and held managerial positions for several large retail companies.
Ben is a skilled training and technical assistance provider with more than a decade of experience in substance misuse prevention. He has expertise in communications planning, sustainability planning, strategic planning, product development, project managem ent, event organizing, and developing and facilitating distance-learning events. Ben has served as a TA provider for CSPS since its inception in 2012. He has a passion for incorporating cultural and linguistic responsiveness into his work and helping the communities he works with do the same. He is a certified prevention specialist and has Project Management for Development Professionals (PMD Pro) certification from APMG International.
Job Titles:
- Director of Prevention Services at Bay State Community Services
Briana is the Director of Prevention Services at Bay State Community Services, where she previously coordinated BSAS-funded grants for both youth substance use and opioid overdose prevention. Before joining Bay State, Briana worked in volunteer management, homeless services, and syringe access programs. She is experienced in program development and implementation, strategic planning, community organizing, health promotion, and harm reduction. Briana has a Master's degree in Public Health and Health Promotion.
As an Administrative Coordinator, Consie collaborates with CSPS and Zero Suicide Institute colleagues to provide virtual technical assistance for meetings and webinars. Before joining the CSPS team, she served as a project coordinator with SAMHSA's Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) and as an intermediary between CAPT staff, external consultants, and clients to facilitate good communication and coordinate daily project activities and operations.
Debra, an expert in advanced training and technical assistance, helps build strong systems to promote health and support substance misuse prevention. She brings extensive experience in evidence-based prevention strategies, cultural competency, effective methods to address health disparities, school-based prevention, management of large national public health centers, and systems change. Debra is a lead training and technical assistance specialist for Prevention Solutions@EDC. Nationwide, she provides coaching to engage and mobilize communities to implement environmental prevention strategies. Drawing on a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of the public health workforce, she builds capacity to launch, monitor, improve, and sustain public health initiatives. Debra specializes in guiding agencies in coordinating their services to enhance efficiency and improve outcomes. She has managed and provided training and technical assistance at all levels of government and nonprofit organizations, and uses a wide range of on-site, virtual, and blended methods. She is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist.
Emily has been providing technical assistance to support community-level prevention since 2005. Trained in medical anthropology, she brings a strong focus on cultural appropriateness and health equity as well as an interest in qualitative data to all of her work. She is also skilled in using collaborative art as a tool for health promotion. Emily served as a member of the statewide epidemiological work group that identified the emerging opioid epidemic in 2006, and has partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on multiple initiatives, including a toolkit for the application of culturally and linguistic appropriateness services standards to public health initiatives, a statewide plan to mitigate the harms of expanded gambling in Massachusetts, and a comprehensive workforce development plan for substance abuse prevention practitioners. She is a certified prevention specialist.
Gabrielle is a Technical Assistance Liaison at Bay State Community Services. Before joining Bay State, Gabrielle worked on Covid-19 prevention and response for Massachusetts and Vermont. Most recently she co-led the Covid-19 outbreak prevention and response team in Vermont. She is experienced in training development, health prevention and promotion communications, as well as epidemiological interviewing and data collection. Gabrielle has a Master's degree in Public Health and a Master's degree in Social Work with a focus on violence and injury prevention from Washington University in St. Louis.
Job Titles:
- Technical Advisor
- Public Health Expert
Gisela is a public health expert and highly skilled trainer who has led multiple programs dedicated to improving outcomes for vulnerable populations through the use of evidence-based strategies. For over 15 years, she has managed award-winning training programs, integrated trauma-informed approaches into prevention, designed successful social marketing campaigns, advised state agencies and community coalitions, and developed cross-sector partnerships to improve services. Areas of expertise include substance misuse prevention, youth risk prevention, building resilience, and addressing the needs of children experiencing opioid misuse in their homes. She is a certified prevention specialist and holds a certification in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.
Ilana Gerjuoy worked for over 15 years as a crisis counselor and trainer on trauma, abuse, violence prevention, and risk assessment, before shifting her career focus to public health. Since joining the Partnership for Youth at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments in Greenfield in 2016, Ilana has served as a Drug-Free Communities Coalition Coordinator, a staff member for The Communities That Care Coalition, and a member of the MassTAPP team, providing technical assistance for BSAS-funded prevention coalitions. She is passionate about the power of collaboration and about using an equity-centered and resilience-focused approach in substance misuse prevention work. Ilana has a Masters in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ivy has provided training and technical assistance on the promotion and prevention of behavioral health issues with nonprofit, state, and community-based organizations, faith-based agencies, and school districts for more than 15 years. Her capacity-building sk ills include formative and summative program evaluation, program design and implementation, organizational development, and partnerships/collaborations. In addition to working with CSPS, Ivy provides TA to substance misuse prevention providers as part of SAMHSA's Prevention Technology Transfer Center system and has assisted both urban and rural school districts with implementing and sustaining school and community interventions to prevent youth violence and promote social-emotional and mental health. She is a certified prevention specialist.
Lauri has fifteen years experience in public health, providing training and technical assistance on substance misuse, teen pregnancy, and HIV/STD prevention. Most recently, Lauri was an Emergency Preparedness Planner for the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
Job Titles:
- Products and Communications Advisor
Melanie is a skilled writer, instructional designer, and marketing manager with more than 20 years of experience developing and disseminating innovative materials and learning products that support the use of data to inform and improve prevention practice. With her capacity to translate complex concepts into practical ideas, combined with extensive knowledge of prevention science, adult learning principles, and keen analytic and organizational skills, she has produced hundreds of high-quality, engaging products-toolkits, online courses, stories, and videos-for a diverse range of audiences. She is an expert at creating innovative, nationally-accredited e-learning courses, as well as brief, user-friendly tools, to build the capacity of practitioners to better assess, monitor, and evaluate their prevention efforts. A prolific public health author, she has published in the areas of substance misuse, cancer risk management, violence prevention, HIV, and change management.
Job Titles:
- Community Health Program Manager for the Franklin Regional Council of Governments
Rachel is the Community Health Program Manager for the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. She plays several community health roles, including co-coordinator of the Communities That Care Coalition, a regional public health coalition focused on youth health outcomes, and Mass in Motion coordinator for Franklin County, where she focuses on equitable access to opportunities for healthy eating and active living. For the CSPS team, she provides technical assistance to prevention coalitions throughout western MA. She also plays a lead role in Welcoming and Belonging Franklin County, a community of practice comprising workplace leaders interested in dismantling white dominant culture in area workplaces and community, and an active role in the Community Health Improvement Planning (CHIP) process. Rachel has lived and worked in Franklin County for 17 years.