National Advisors

NTI Trainings were developed based on competencies that were identified and vetted by a broad range of nationally recognized experts including young adults and parents with lived experience in foster care, kinship care and adoption. Advisors provided valuable guidance in the development of competencies and curricula, and dissemination of NTI training: 

  • Uma Ahlawalia, MSW Former Director Montgomery County (MD) Department of Social Services, Maryland 
  • Carol Bishop, MA, LMFT Co-founder, Kinship Center, California 
  • David Brodzinsky, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of clinical and developmental psychology at Rutgers University, forensic psychologist, author and consultant, California 
  • Terry Cross, LCSW Founder & Senior Advisor, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Oregon 
  • Joe Crumbley, DSW Family therapist, trainer, and consultant, Pennsylvania 
  • Jan Dick, LCSW Director of Child and Family Permanency, Family & Children’s Services (Retired), Tennessee 
  • John Johnson, MA Former Director of Foster Care and Adoption Services, Tennessee Dept. of Children & Families; Former President, National Association of State Adoption Programs, (Deceased) 
  • Nicole Dobbins Child Welfare Partnership, Casey Family Programs, Washington DC 
  • Jetaine Hart Consultant, Foster Youth in Action, Washington DC 
  • Rebecca Jones Gaston, MSW Director of Child Welfare, Oregon Department of Human Services; Former Deputy Executive Dir., Social Services Administration, MD Department of Human Services, Oregon 
  • Darla Henry, Ph.D. Trainer, Consultant, Author of 3-5-7 Model©, Pennsylvania 
  • Jodi Hill-Lilly, MSW, Former Co-Director, Dept. of Children and Families, Academy for Workforce Knowledge & Development, Connecticut 
  • Sarah Gerstenzang, LCSW Clinical Social Worker; Birth, Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parent, New York 
  • Cassandra Kiesel, Ph.D. Research Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Illinois 
  • Traci LaLiberte, Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota, Minnesota 
  • Ruth McRoy, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Boston College School of Social Work 
  • Tracey Parker, Adoption Program Manager, Iowa Department of Human Services, (Retired) Iowa 
  • Susan Rich, MD, MPH Child/Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist, Maryland 
  • Derrick Riggins, Consultant, Former foster youth, Florida 
  • Marty Shannon, Adoption Program Administrator, Utah Department of Human Services; NASAP Board, Utah 
  • Susan Smith, LCSW, Professor Emerita, School of Social Work, Illinois State University, North Carolina 
  • Nicki Steinhoff, Director of Training & Community Support, Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition, Missouri 
  • Karri Vasquez, Consultant, Foster/Adoptive Parent, Virginia 
Funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Grant #90CO1121.
The contents of this website do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funder, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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