School-Based Behavioral Health

Dr. Lateshia Woodley has over 20 years of experience in education, counseling and leadership. Her educational background includes a specialist degree in educational leadership and a doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology. Since 2008, she has worked as a turnaround leader helping to bring about positive changes schools in Georgia and Missouri. She is an award-winning educator and author specializing in turnaround leadership, trauma informed schools, social and emotional learning, dropout prevention, comprehensive school improvement, alternative education, and change management.

Monica Nandan is a Professor of Social Work with expertise in interprofessional collaboration, mental health access, and addiction policy. She has secured over $5.5 million in grants for research, training, and serving the communities for behavioral health, as well as private funding for youth prevention programs.

Dr. Kirk is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker whose professional experience includes active duty in the US Air Force Medical Corps, Director of Out-Patient Mental Health Services at the Albany New York VA Medical Center, full-time private practice in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami Metropolitan area, and academic positions at Barry University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Southeastern Louisiana University, Clark Atlanta University and Tulane University

Lorraine Cole Stokes has a professional background that includes experience in the areas of education, communications, and social work. She earned a bachelor’s of science degree in mass communications from Norfolk State University and a master’s of social work from Clark Atlanta University. She is also an author/writer who has had her work published in local, regional, and national publications. Soon after graduating from her social work program, she became a licensed master social worker and followed that by becoming a licensed clinical social worker. She is the Field Director for the Mental Health Demonstration Grant-HHS.

Dr. Virginie Jackson is an assistant professor of literacy education and concurrently serves as a program coordinator within the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Kennesaw State University’s Bagwell College of Education. She was recently awarded the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award. In her instructional capacity, she teaches in undergraduate and graduate contexts, encompassing courses in reading methods, reading assessments, and preschool curricula. Dr. Jackson’s research pursuits are firmly anchored in culturally responsive literacy practices, specifically, while nurturing foundational literacy and critical literacy development among young learners. Her scholarly undertakings involve equipping pre-service teachers with the necessary skills to adeptly instruct all students using immersive, multi-modal, and multifaceted approaches.

Victoria Corrigan is a licensed social worker with 20 years of direct practice and administrative experience in various nonprofit and public settings. She is the MSW Field Director for the Master of Social Work program in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State University. Her service interest includes behavioral health access for communities, integrated behavioral health care, and leadership development in social work education. Ms. Corrigan received a Master of Science in Social Administration at the Mandel School at Case Western Reserve University.

Jennifer A. Wade-Berg, is the Assistant Dean of Student Success and Program Director of Human Services in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services. Her focus lies in diversity, inclusion, equity, and student success, and she has secured over $5 million in federal and private foundation grants, including a notable $3.2 million U.S. Department of Education First in the World Grant.

Allison Garefino has over 20+ years of experience in psychosocial interventions for children. Conducts research, including randomized controlled trials, and secures grants for trauma-informed, resiliency-based Two Generation programs.

Irene S. McClatchey researches child and adolescent mental health in particular in relation to suicide ideation. She is the founder of Camp MAGIK (Mainly About Grief In Kids), a healing camp for bereaved children and adolescents. She has published extensively on camp’s effectiveness. She is skilled in community partnerships and grant acquisition, having secured close to $6 million dollars for community behavioral health purposes.

Megan Adams specializes in preservice teacher recruitment, mentoring, and curriculum alignment with MSW faculty. In WRITE@KSU, she prepares MSW and PST student pairs for school internships and manages school system relationships and training.