Expert Panel

Our Expert Panel of leaders in mental health, parenting, and child development from around the world play a critical role in advancing the work of JFCS’ Center for Children and Youth, ensuring that programming and advocacy efforts are deeply rooted in the latest research and knowledge in the field.

Image of - Dianne Ehrensaft, PhD
Dianne Ehrensaft, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist in the Bay Area, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco, and a Founding Member of the Child and Adolescent Gender Center Clinic (CAGC) at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. As Director of Mental Health for CAGC, Dr. Ehrensaft provides comprehensive interdisciplinary services and advocacy to gender nonconforming/ transgender children, youth, and their families. Her research focuses on child development, gender, parenting, parent-child relationships, and psychological issues for families using assisted reproductive technology. She has published several books and articles in these areas and lectures, serves as an expert witness, and makes media appearances nationally and internationally on these topics.
Image of - Igor Galynker, MD
Igor Galynker, MD is the Founder and Director of the Richard and Cynthia Zirinsky Center for Bipolar Disorder and Associate Chairman for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Dr. Galynker is also a Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. His clinical and research interests include behavioral addictions, bipolar disorder, suicide prevention, and the role of family in psychiatric illness. He has published on these topics in professional journals and in the lay press, and has authored a book on family involvement in psychiatric treatment.
Image of - Ken Ginsburg, MD, MSEd
Ken Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, is a Pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine, and the Co-Director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The theme that ties together his clinical practice, teaching, research, and advocacy efforts is that of building on the strength of teenagers by fostering their internal resilience. He is the author of Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings (4th Edition).
Image of - Madeline Levine, PhD
Madeline Levine, PhD has been working for over 35 years as a Psychologist, Educator, and New York Times bestselling author of The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well. Dr. Levine’s most recent book, Ready or Not, focuses on how to best prepare our children and ourselves for an uncertain and rapidly changing world. She is a frequent keynote speaker for schools, parents, and business leaders. Dr. Levine is a co-founder of Challenge Success, a project of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Challenge Success provides families and schools with the practical research-based tools they need to raise healthy, resilient, motivated kids, capable of reaching their full potential.
Image of - Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD
Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD is the Irving Harris Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health, Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry. She is the developer of Child-Parent Psychotherapy, an evidence-based trauma-informed treatment for young children and their caregivers, and has published extensively on attachment and trauma. As a tricultural, trilingual Jewish Latina, she is committed to promoting an understanding of cultural issues and diversity to interventions on behalf of children and families.
Image of - David Oppenheim, PhD
David Oppenheim, PhD is the Head of the Center for the Study of Child Development, Professor, and former Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel. Dr. Oppenheim studies parent and child attachment, the role of parental Insightfulness, and parent-child open communication throughout childhood. Dr. Oppenheim studies these questions in longitudinal studies including typically developing children, children at high risk such as those in foster care, those whose parents experienced trauma, and children with atypical development such as Autism and Intellectual Disability.
Image of - Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD
Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD is Principal of The Neurosequential Model Network, LLC and Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, a Community of Practice based in Houston, TX. He is also Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dr. Perry is the author of over 500 journal articles, book chapters, and scientific proceedings. His clinical research over the last ten years has been focused on integrating emerging principles of developmental neuroscience into clinical practice. This work has resulted in the development of innovative clinical practices and programs working with maltreated and traumatized children, most prominently the Neurosequential Model©, a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology-informed approach to clinical work (NMT), education (NME), and caregiving (NMC).
Image of - Dan Siegel, MD
Dan Siegel, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Founding Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. An award-winning educator, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and recipient of several honorary fellowships. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization that focuses on how the development of mindsight in individuals, families, and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes. Dr. Siegel has published extensively including his New York Times bestselling books Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, The Whole-Brain Child, and No-Drama Discipline co-authored by Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
Image of - Elizabeth Warner, PsyD
Elizabeth Warner, PsyD is a Licensed Psychologist with 40 years of experience working with children and families in psychiatric inpatient and outpatient settings, schools, mental health clinics, and residential treatment. Dr. Warner is on the Board of The Trauma Research Foundation, and maintains a private practice for adult psychotherapy and parent consultation in Brookline, MA. As Project Director at the Trauma Center at JRI, she oversaw training and consultation in Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART) in the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong. She helped develop SMART applications for in-home therapy and created two videotape coding systems for studying regulatory processes in treatment. As a partner in SMARTMoves LLC, she continues to train and consult for therapists.

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