Faculty

  

R. Timothy Kearney, PhD, joined the Community Health Center in October 1998 and has served as the Chief Behavioral Health Officer for the past 20 years. In that role he provides direct clinical care across the age span, with a focus of children and families, supervises residents in the American Psychological Association accredited Postdoctoral Residency program, and leads a diverse staff of over 225 staff who provide care in outpatient clinics, school based health settings, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and primary care centers throughout Connecticut. He is also Senior Faculty at the Weitzman Institute. Dr. Kearny earned his BA with a combined major in Psychology and Spanish Literature at Yale University and pursued graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary where he earned his MA (Theology) from the Graduate School of Theology and his PhD (Clinical Psychology) from the Graduate School of Psychology. He has also completed the post graduate Primary Care Behavioral Health training program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. He is a licensed psychologist in Connecticut. He is the author of Caring for Sexually Abused Children: A Handbook for Families and Churches (Intervarsity Press, 2001) and more recently has contributed to articles in the areas of resident training and the provision of school based behavioral health care. Dr. Kearney received the 2019 Distinguished Contribution for Psychology in the Public Interest award.

Stacy Hankey-Mangini, DSW, LCSW earned her BSW at Western New England University, her MSW from Springfield College, and her DSW from Capella University. She is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Connecticut. She joined the Community Health Center’s School Based Heath Center staff in 2010 as a Behavioral Health Clinician in an elementary school, and has been one of the Regional Directors of School Based Behavioral Health since 2018. Dr. Hankey-Mangini’s clinical work focuses on using CBT, play therapy and mindfulness interventions with children, adolescents, and families. She has experience working in a variety of settings including schools, hospitals, residential facilities, and juvenile detention centers.

Robert Dudley, MD, MEd, FAAP, joined the Community Health Center of New Britain, CT as a National Public Health Scholar in the summer of 1996 after completing his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He has been involved in the New Britain community as the school district’s medical advisor for the past twenty five years. He has held multiple rolls at the state and national level with the American Academy of Pediatrics, currently as the Connecticut Chapter’s Immediate Past President and as the Chair of the Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) grant program. He is a member of the national and state AAP School Health Committees. Dr. Dudley has championed quality improvement initiatives in the areas of substance abuse screening, developmental screening, depression screening, immunizations, asthma, and STD screening. He has been actively involved in pediatric obesity and community based participatory research projects for the past thirteen years, with presentations of Healthy Tomorrows, RWJF Salud America, and Invest Health grant program data at the AAP Future of Pediatrics, Weight of the Nation, and NICHQ conferences, where he was honored with NICHQ’s 2010 Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award. He serves as the medical advisor for Klingberg Family Center’s Webster House, which serves medically and behaviorally complex teens from across Connecticut. He is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

Alex Munro, PsyD, is the On Site Behavioral Health Director at CT Pediatrics at Community Health Center where she works with children and families providing individual and family therapy. Additionally, she supervises psychology trainees at the practicum and post doctoral levels. Dr. Munro earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fairfield University, and went on to earn her doctorate in clinical psychology from Antioch University New England. Dr. Munro has had the privilege of completing her training in various pediatric settings including a therapeutic day school, an adolescent inpatient unit, as well as community mental health clinics. Dr. Munro’s clinical interests include adolescent care, family systems, and attachment and trauma informed interventions.

Reese Ramponi, APRN, PMHNP-BC, is a white, queer, ADHD- Autistic person raised in Alaska (unceded Dena'ina Athabaskan land). After moving to the East Coast in 2009, Reese studied Religion and Psychology at Dartmouth College and worked as a wilderness adventure guide before returning to graduate school. They completed Yale's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program and have been working with queer and neurodivergent youth since 2018. Reese is dedicated to creating accessible, decolonized spaces where clients are given agency to make informed decisions about their health. Trained in ketamine assisted therapy, they are passionate about helping people, especially those who have been traditionally excluded from evidence based medicine models, find therapeutic practice both within and outside of mainstream Western medicine. Reese has been involved in queer and neurodiversity advocacy for the past 8 years as a photographer, healthcare educator, and change facilitator, beginning with the development of a peer support program at Yale School of Nursing. They have presented at Yale Medical School, Dartmouth College, The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, and the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy, and provided professional development through Teach for America, the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. They were the recipient of the Dartmouth Journalism Award for socially conscious journalism and the New Haven City Wide Open Studios Artist in Residence Grant. Some of their other passions include roller skating, travel, and existential therapy.

Renée Reopell, LCSW, is a queer/ genderqueer, Boricua decedent (Puerto Rican/ Taino), born and raised in mainland US in Washington D.C. (unceded Piscataway, Pamunkey, the Nentego (Nanichoke), Mattaponi, Chickahominy, Monacan, and Powhatan land). They hold a master’s degree in social work from NYU, with a focus in sexuality and gender, and have been privileged to support LGBTQ+ youth for over a decade through trauma-informed and harm-reduction care practices. A ceramicist, cat parent, and mushroom hunter, Renée is also in private practice from a health equity framework, and believes in the power of trans youth.

Addie Van Zwoll, MJ, MSW, LCSW, has worked in the school-based healthcare field at the local, state, and national level since 2011. As a clinical social worker and manager of behavioral health services at a local SBHC, she was able to provide direct clinical services and expand behavioral health programming, including the introduction of alternative to suspension programs and a calm room. Ms. Van Zwoll also served on the Illinois School-Based Health Alliance Steering Committee for several years. Ms. Van Zwoll is passionate about working with adolescents and increasing access to mental health care. She joined the SBHA in 2023 and is currently working on a variety of projects, including both program and consulting work. Ms. Van Zwoll is a graduate of Western Michigan University (Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Arts-Criminal Justice, 2006), University of Michigan (Master of Social Work, 2007), Loyola University Chicago (Master of Jurisprudence in Children’s Law & Policy, 2014), has a certificate in School Discipline Reform also from Loyola University Chicago, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago.

Paula Fields, MSN, BSN, RN, is the Vice President of Programs & Technical Assistance at the School-Based Health Alliance. She has worked in the school-based health care field for over 25 years. Paula exudes passion for children's well-being. She joined the School-Based Health Alliance in 2016. Her current work at SBHA includes programs, the development of tools and resources, technical assistance and training, educational offerings, planning and implementing school-based health centers, and building school and community partnerships to work towards student success. Paula has a wealth of experience in building school-community partnerships, leading quality initiatives, grants management, and consulting to promote, plan, and implement health and social supports provided by the community. She enjoys working with existing school-based health centers on service expansion, improvement, and fiscal turnaround and has a diverse background in outpatient clinic administration, quality improvement, and grants management. Before coming to SBHA, Paula oversaw an extensive outpatient clinical provider practice, including planning, starting, and sustaining a school-based health center, providing state-wide SBHC technical assistance and training, and serving as the first state-level community school coordinator. Paula recently served many years on a board of directors for a Federally Qualified Health Clinic. She holds a Masters degree in nursing education and administration, a Bachelor degree in nursing, and an active Registered Nurse license.

Weitzman Institute Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of the Weitzman Institute to ensure that Continuing Education (CE) activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure educational content is objective, balanced, and guarantee content presented is in the best interest of its learners' and the public, the Weitzman Institute requires that everyone in a position to control educational content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples can be found at accme.org.

Faculty participating in a Weitzman Institute-sponsored activity must disclose to the planning committee and audience all financial or other relationship(s) with ineligible companies.

Faculty Disclosures

No faculty disclosed a relevant financial relationship for this program.