team

Mental Health Advocates of WNY

board of directors

Officers

Lauren Baynes

Board Chair

Vice President of Operations
Bounce Imaging

Erin M. Moss, LMHC

Vice Chair

Owner
Erin M. Moss Mental Health Counseling Private Practice

Alexander J. Vandenbergh, CPA

Treasurer

Supervisor, Assurance Services
Dopkins and Company, LLP

Christina Pearl

Secretary

Director of Corporate Communication
Horizon Corporations

Members

Melinda DuBois

Executive Director

Mental Health Advocates of WNY

Donna Gatti, R.N.

Jericho Road Community Health Center

Kelly Dumas

Healing Hub of New York

Laura Hunt

Barrantys, LLC

Christine Langenfeld

Director of Marketing & Operations

Amherst Chamber of Commerce

Mark Laurrie

Superintendent of Schools

Niagara Falls City School District

Kyle W. Mack, J.D., Pharm.D.

Special Counsel


Robert McDonnell

Hunt Real Estate

Jennifer Picone

Corporate Wellness Manager

Independent Health

Anne Reif

YMCA Buffalo Niagara

Pete Rizzo

Vice President

GEICO

Melissa Spikes-Archer

Project Coordinator

Buffalo Urban League

Stephen Tyrpak

Director, Quality, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs

Garwood Medical Devices LLC

Jun Wang-Tiedemann

President

Chinese Club of Western New York

Farrah Zidehsarai

Ingram Micro

Agency Staff

Administrative Staff

Melinda DuBois

Executive Director

(716) 886-1242 x314
mdubois@mhawny.org

Ted Zientek

Director of Finance and Administration

(716) 886-1242 x317
tzientek@mhawny.org

Margaret Silvestri

Accountant

(716) 886-1242 x315
msilvestri@mhawny.org

Amy Szefel-Starck

Director of Development

(716) 886-1242 x334
astarck@mhawny.org

Holt Ryals

Development and Marketing Coordinator

(716) 886-1242
hryals@mhawny.org

Kelly Miskovski

Director of Operations

(716) 886-1242 x326
kmiskovski@mhawny.org

Melissa Bellanca

Office Manager

(716) 886-1242 x311
mbellanca@mhawny.org

Pearl Bellanca

Paw-ffice Support Animal


BEST (Basic Emotional Skills Training)

Mary Lou Montanari

Director

(716) 886-1242 x338
montanari@mhawny.org

Brandi Harvey

Education Specialist

(716) 886-1242
bharvey@mhawny.org

Sara Perdue

Education Specialist

(716) 886-1242 x339
sperdue@mhawny.org

Child & Family Support Program

Stacie Dziwulski

Director of Family Peer Advocates

(716) 886-1242 x337
sdziwulski@mhawny.org

Jan Ables-Register

Family Support Partner-ECMC


jables-register@mhawny.org

Cynthia Brauer

Family Peer Advocate

(716) 884-1242 x316
cbrauer@mhawny.org

Susan Fleming

Family Support Partner-ECMC


sfleming@mhawny.org

Tyrone Goodson

Family Support Partner-ECMC


tgoodson@mhawny.org

Ljupka Palavestra

Family Support Partner- ECMC


lpalavestra@mhawny.org

Naomi Taylor

Family Peer Advocate


ntaylor@mhawny.org

Toddie Rogers

Family Support Partner- Outreach

(716) 886-1242 x319
trogers@mhawny.org

Sabrina Timm

Family Support Partner- Intake

(716) 884-1242 x346

Dawn Tisdale

Family Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x321
dtisdale@mhawny.org

Milton Williams

Family Peer Advocate

(716) 884-1242 x332
mwilliams@mhawny.org

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

Jodi Johnson

Director

(716) 886-1242 x318
johnson@mhawny.org

Adrienne Linger

Volunteer Supervisor

(716) 886-1242 x328
alinger@mhawny.org

Bridget McNally

Case Manager

(716) 886-1242 x347
bmcnally@mhawny.org

Information & Referral and Adult Support Groups

Sophie Reese

Information & Referral and Adult Support Group Coordinator

(716) 886-1242 x323
sreese@mhawny.org

Bridget McNally

Adult Support Group Facilitator

(716) 886-1242 x347
bmcnally@mhawny.org

Legal Services

Ed Martnshin

Director

(716) 886-1242 x324
emartnshin@mhawny.org

Nicole Blackwell

Lead Paralegal

(716) 886-1242 x330
nblackwell@mhawny.org

Jo Evelyn Smith

Paralegal

(716) 886-1242 x320
jesmith@mhawny.org

Operation COM (Children Of the Military)

Robin Shipman

Event Coordinator

(716) 886-1242 x310
rshipman@mhawny.org

Sara Applin

Facilitator

(716) 886-1242 x310
sapplin@mhawny.org

Youth Programs

Karl Shallowhorn

Director of Youth Programs

(716) 886-1242 x315
kshallowhorn@mhawny.org

Peg Barrett

School Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
pbarrett@mhawny.org

Doug Hahn

Youth Peer Advocate Coordinator

(716) 886-1242 x345
dhahn@mhawny.org

Julianna Hill

Youth Peer Advocate Coordinator

(716) 886-1242 x 345
jhill@mhawny.org

Katie Bernard

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
kbernard@mhawny.org

Joshua Cuillo

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
jcuillo@mhawny.org

Jack Licata

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
jlicata@mhawny.org

Renata Peiffer

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
rpeiffer@mhawny.org

Jillian McDowell

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
jmcdowell@mhawny.org

Lexington Zeigler

Youth Peer Advocate

(716) 886-1242 x345
lzeigler@mhawny.org

Do You Need Help?

Information & referral specialists are available M-F, 8:30am-4:30pm to help link you to community resources, providers, or treatment services.

Call (716) 886-1242.

Test Your Mental Health

We offer a free, anonymous online mental health screening.