BIOGRAPHIES

Faculty Spotlight

Lee Savio Beers, M.D., has been an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center since 2003, where she is the Director of the Healthy Generations Program (a "teen-tot" program providing comprehensive medical care, social work and mental health services to adolescent parents and their children) in the Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health and the Medical Director for Municipal and Regional Affairs in the Child Health Advocacy Institute. Dr. Beers received a Bachelor of Science from The College of William and Mary and her Medical Degree from Emory University School of Medicine. She completed a pediatric residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. Before coming to Children's Hospital, she worked as a general pediatrician at Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a graduate of the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development Master Teacher Certificate in Medical Education Program. She has held numerous leadership positions in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and is currently the Chairperson of the Committee on Residency Scholarships and is the President of the District of Columbia Chapter of the AAP. She is on the Editorial Board and writes a regular column entitled "Practical Parenting" for Pediatric News, and serves on numerous other advisory boards and committees.

M. Victoria Bellard is a program coordinator for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Office of Youth Engagement’s (OYE) New Heights Teen Parents Program (NHTPP) at Anacostia Senior High School. A lifelong educator, with a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision, Ms. Bellard is responsible for the coordination of support services to Anacostia’s expecting and parenting students in this school-based service delivery program.

Since becoming the program coordinator, Ms. Bellard has worked tirelessly to revamp the New Heights Teen Parents program, with the goal of ensuring that teen parents enrolled in the program beat the odds and graduate from high school. Under direction and leadership of the DCPS Office of Youth Engagement Health and Wellness Team and in collaboration with the D.C. Department of Human Services, a federal grant was secured to expand the New Heights program from its original two sites to a total of fifteen (15).

Ms. Bellard is passionate about removing the barriers that prevent teen parents in the program from participating fully in school, reducing secondary pregnancies amongst this population, and making sure they graduate with a viable post secondary plan.

Tanya M. Jones-Bosier, J.D., is an Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG) assigned in the Department of Human Services Office of the General Counsel, where she provides legal advice and guidance to public benefit programs, child care administration, homeless services system, and the Adult Protective Services Agency. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Jones-Bosier served as Chief of the Policy, Outreach and Training Section of the Child Support Service Division (CSSD) of OAG. Ms. Jones-Bosier’s enthusiasm for family law and community development is demonstrated in past positions as an Assistant Attorney General in the Child Protection (formerly named the Abuse and Neglect Section) and the Domestic Violence Sections litigating all phases of child abuse and neglect, guardianship, termination of parental rights, civil protection, and intervention proceeding cases. Upon graduation from law school, she served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Zoe A. Bush of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to her work as a public servant, Ms. Jones-Bosier unselfishly commits her time to serving in the District of Columbia Bar and Maryland State Bar Associations, her alma maters, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and in the community. She has she garnered a host of awards, scholarships, and recognitions for her service and work with these entities. Ms. Jones-Bosier received her Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Syracuse University.

Sarah Brown is the CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a private and independent non-profit organization working to promote values, behavior, and policies that reduce both teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy, especially among single young adults. The National Campaign began in 1996 with a crisp focus on preventing teen pregnancy and, over the last decade and more, has successfully helped the nation to reduce teen pregnancy by one-third. Its new goal for teen pregnancy is an additional one-third reduction by 2015. In 2007, the National Campaign expanded its mission to include young adults, where rates of unplanned pregnancy remain high.

Before helping to found the Campaign, Ms. Brown was a senior study director at the Institute of Medicine, where she directed numerous studies in the broad field of maternal and child health. Her last major report there resulted in the landmark book “The Best Intentions: Unintended Pregnancy and the Well-being of Children and Families.” She has served on advisory boards of many influential national organizations, including the Guttmacher Institute, the Population Advisory Board of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the D.C. Mayor’s Committee on Reducing Teenage Pregnancies and Out-of Wedlock Births, and Teen People magazine. She holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina. Ms. Brown has received numerous awards, including the Institute of Medicine’s Cecil Award for Excellence in Research, the John MacQueen Award for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, the Harriet Hylton Barr Distinguished Service Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Martha May Elliot Award of the American Public Health Association.

Adia Burns, M.S.W., is the New Heights Coordinator for expectant and parenting students attending the District of Columbia Public High Schools (DCPS). She received her Master’s in Social Work degree from Howard University. As a licensed social worker for over a decade, she has served children and youth involved in the District of Columbia child welfare system, and provided mental health services in various settings to include schools, community organizations, and home-based organizations.

Danielle Goodman Dooley, M.D., M.Phil., F.A.A.P., is a full time, general pediatrician for Unity Health Care, Inc., a non-profit organization in the District of Columbia. She is the Medical Director of Adolescent Health Services and the School-Based Health Centers operated by the Unity. Her special interests include health services for immigrant children, teen pregnancy prevention, pregnant and parenting teens, childhood obesity, and school health.

She received a B.S. degree in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a M.Phil. in Community Health from the University of Edinburgh as a British Marshall Scholar, and her M.D. degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons as a National Health Service Corps Scholar. She completed her residency in 2004 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was awarded a 2007 Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics and a 2008 grant award from the Mayor’s Commission on Food and Nutrition. She designed and implemented an innovative nutrition education program for Eastern Senior High School entitled CHARM School – Choosing Healthy and Rewarding Meals. In September 2008, she received a Community Champion Award from the Surgeon General of the United States for her work on obesity prevention in the school setting. She is the Treasurer of the D.C. Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. From September 2009 to November 2010, she was a member of the Mayor’s Commission on Food and Nutrition. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Milbank Memorial Fund in New York City. In 2012, she was named a Top Doctor in Pediatrics by Washingtonian Magazine.

Allison Green, J.D., is a Supervising Attorney at Children’s Law Center. Ms. Green has served as a guardian ad litem in both neglect and persons in need of supervision (PINS) cases, as well as a stated-interest attorney for teen parents in custody, child support, and domestic violence matters. Ms. Green leads trainings for attorneys, mediators and social service professionals working with teen parents, and has helped develop resource materials for practitioners in the D.C. area. Prior to law school, Ms. Green worked as a counselor at a group home for runaway and foster youth and as a Youth Advocate at Legal Services for Children in California.

Safiya Harvey is the New Heights Coordinator for Expectant and Parenting Students at Ballou Senior High School in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). She worked for Baltimore City Department of Social Services as a Social Worker in foster care for two and one-half years prior to joining DCPS, Office of Youth Engagement Health and Wellness team. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Religion with a Minor in Spanish from Florida A&M University. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work at University of Maryland Baltimore. Ms. Harvey is a native Washingtonian.

Vera Johnson has worked at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc. since 1977 and began as an intern from American University. She currently serves as this premier organization’s Managing Director of Community Programs and Engagement. Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc. has 19 programs serving runaway and homeless youth, teen mothers and their babies, youth involved in the juvenile justice system, and other youth and their families that find themselves in at-risk situations. During her tenure, she has contributed many of her skills which include management, supervision, program development, providing individual, group, and family counseling and training. She has served on many boards and committees including the Consortium for Child Welfare, the Consortium for Youth Services, the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, the South Washington Family Strengthening Collaborative, DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Committee, and the Mayor’s Anti-Bullying Task Force. She has a Master’s degree in counseling and LGSW accreditation. Additionally, she is an American Sign Language interpreter.

Kyle Lafferty is the Senior Manager of State Support at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. In this role, she provides technical assistance to state and community organizations in their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy, including federal grantees running evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. In addition to her work at the Campaign, Ms. Lafferty is an adjunct professor at George Mason University, teaching undergraduate level courses in Human Sexuality. Prior to joining The National Campaign, Ms. Lafferty served as the Director of HIV Education for the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education, building the capacity of state and local education agencies to prevent HIV infection among youth. Ms. Lafferty is originally from Philadelphia, PA area and earned her B.A. in Child Welfare from Brown University. Following graduation, Ms. Lafferty joined the Teach for America Corp as a Special Education teacher in Bronx, NY and earned her M.S. in Teaching from Pace University. After teaching middle school students for three years, she continued her work with youth as a Project Manager with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit that facilitates community-led playground builds across the country. Ms. Lafferty returned to New York to attend Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, earning her M.P.H in sexuality and health while working as a health educator, HIV prevention counselor, and HIV/STI testing provider. Ms. Lafferty is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Cathy L. Lanier was named Chief of Metropolitan Police Department by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, Adrian Fenty. She officially assumed the leadership position on January 2, 2007. On April 3, 2007, members of D.C. Council approved confirmation.

Chief Lanier has spent her entire law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Police Department, beginning in 1990. Most of her career has been in uniformed patrol, where she served as Commander of the Fourth District, one of the largest and most diverse residential patrol districts in the city. She also served as the Commanding Officer of the Department's Major Narcotics Branch and Vehicular Homicide Units.

Chief Lanier served as Commander of the Special Operations Division (SOD) for four years, where she managed the Emergency Response Team, Aviation and Harbor Units, Horse Mounted and Canine Units, Special Events/Dignitary Protection Branch, and Civil Disturbance Units. During her tenure as SOD Commander, she established the agency’s first Homeland Security/Counter-Terrorism Branch and created an agency-wide chemical, biological, radiological response unit known as the Special Threat Action Team.

In 2006, the MPDC's Office of Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism (OHSCT) was created, and Chief Lanier was tapped to be its first Commanding Officer. A highly respected professional in the areas of homeland security and community policing, she took the lead role in developing and implementing coordinated counter-terrorism strategies for all units within the MPDC and launched Operation Terrorist Incident Prevention Program (TIPP).

Chief Lanier is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Unit Commanders Academy. She holds Bachelor's and Master’s Degrees in Management from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master's Degree in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. She is certified at the technician level in Hazardous Materials Operations.

Ashley J. McDowell is a Staff Attorney in the Domestic Violence/Family Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. Ms. McDowell represents clients in child support matters as a member of Legal Aid’s Child Support Community Legal Services Project. Through the Project, Ms. McDowell serves parents involved in paternity and child support cases in the Paternity and Support Branch of the D.C. Superior Court. She also regularly engages in legislative advocacy to reform the District’s child support system and conducts outreach in D.C. communities to educate parents about their rights in support cases.

Brenda Rhodes Miller is the Executive Director of D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. She has over 25 years of senior level experience in nonprofit management. Before founding D.C. Campaign, Ms. Miller was the Deputy Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Senior Vice President/COO for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., where she launched a family planning clinic in an African Methodist Episcopal Church and a sexuality education project for public housing residents in a Baptist Church. She has also worked in local government, mental health and public education.

Melva Mullins is a Program Director with Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc. She manages the Teen Outreach Program in Washington, D.C. in four schools (Ballou Senior High School, Ballou Stay, Maya Angelou Public Charter School, and Hart Middle School - all in Wards 7 and 8). Her work reflects an invested career serving youth and families that spans over 15 years in community based organizations, city government, and a hospital setting. She has dedicated her passion and skills in areas of homelessness, HIV/AIDS, parenting and teen pregnancy prevention. Consequently, she has developed and thrived in her roles as a group facilitator, direct service social worker, and program manager. Ms. Mullins has a B.S. in Health Science with a concentration in school and community health from Towson State University, a MSW from University of Maryland with a concentration in youth and families, and she is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker.

Marisa Nightingale, Senior Media Advisor at National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, leads key Campaign partnerships with entertainment media executives who create television, magazines, digital, and social media content, and helps them address teen and unplanned pregnancy in their work. She has collaborated with hundreds of writers, producers, editors and executives to integrate prevention messages into pop culture. She also develops discussion guides to help families, educators, and youth use popular media to spark conversations about their own views and approaches to preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy.

Abayea Pelt is the Manager of the After Care program at Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children of D.C. which provides support to youth who have aged out of foster care. Before joining CASA D.C. in 2012, Ms. Pelt worked with FAIR Girls, assisting survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and facilitating educational programs for teens at risk for recruitment into commercial sex work. Ms. Pelt has written articles for national publications, including Sojourners magazine. She has also conducted workshops with teen parents in D.C. Public Schools in connection with the New Heights program. Ms. Pelt’s devotion to working with at risk youth, especially those who are pregnant and parenting, stems from her own experience as a teen mother.

Katherine Suellentrop, Director of State Support at National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, leads the Campaign’s efforts to support states and communities in conducting effective teen and unplanned pregnancy prevention programs. This includes reaching out to parents, caregivers, and leading local and national organizations to help strengthen their work on these issues. Ms. Suellentrop has expertise in leading workshops, trainings, webinars, and other efforts to put research into practice.

Belinda Tilley, J.D., is Legal Services Section Chief for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG), Child Support Services Division. She earned a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, her Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health degrees from George Washington University, and her Master of Business Administration degree from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to accepting her position within District of Columbia Government, Ms. Tilley was a solo practitioner litigating divorce, contested custody, and child support matters in Maryland and in Washington, D.C. In 2004 and 2009, Ms. Tilley was recognized by the Montgomery County Bar Foundation for her pro bono service to indigent clients in Family Law matters.

Tonya Turner, J.D., is an Assistant Attorney General in the Domestic Violence Section of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG). Prior to joining OAG, Ms. Turner was the Director of Legal Services at Break the Cycle. In that role, Ms. Turner oversaw the legal services program that provides direct, holistic legal services to young survivors of dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. She also trained police officers and youth-serving adults on how to better help young people experiencing abuse. Ms. Turner served on the advisory board for Show Me Love- a local campaign to raise the awareness and to inform survivors in D.C.’s LGBTQ communities about their legal rights and maintaining healthy and violence-free relationships. She received her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.

Damian Waters is the Fatherhood Coordinator of the Healthy Generations Program-a program that provides medical and support services for teen parents at Children's National Medical Center. As the Fatherhood Coordinator, he conducts workshops for pregnant and parenting teens, particularly fathers, in various public schools around the District of Columbia. Mr. Waters is also a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Maryland. His research has examined the processes and contexts shaping the transition to adulthood among low-income, young men, fatherhood readiness among young, low-income men, as well as how intergenerational relationships impact young men's health caregiving. Currently, he is engaged in a project exploring how young fathers care for the health needs of their children. Additionally, Mr. Waters is a licensed marriage and family therapist who works in a private practice in Maryland.

Kristal Wortham believes that adolescence is a very significant period of transition. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for youth in foster care, Ms. Wortham helps youth identify resources that will improve their quality of life in foster care while providing intensive coaching and tools of empowerment to explore the impact of their own development and transition. Drawing on her own experience with tremendous care, concern, and guidance of dedicated adults including her mother, grandfather, career guidance counselors and several teachers, Ms. Wortham was able to return to school and resume her college-preparatory classes just six weeks following her childbirth when she was a high school freshman. Additionally, discrimination and isolation from friends, classmates, family, and even teachers has compelled her to dedicate the last 30 years to advocate for greater sensitivity, guidance, compassion and encouragement for adolescent parents. Her work as a Court Appointed Advocate has been highlighted in workshops; interviews, including WUSA-9’s Hero Central (2013); Empower Magazine (2013); the National CASA Blog; the Michael Eric Dyson Show (2011); and in other various outlets.