Team NHSA

With nearly 50 years of experience, research, and advocacy work, The Academy Team at NHSA has used the highest standards to create this course to support the professional growth and development of Head Start and Early Head Start staff and leadership across the country.

Jennifer Drake-Croft

Jennifer Drake-Croft, MSSW, IECMH-E®, is the Project Director of the Infant and Early Childhood (IECMH) Technical Assistance Center at Georgetown University and a Faculty Director for the Georgetown Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Certificate Program. Her expertise includes Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, child trauma, child abuse prevention, and child-centered systems and policy. Jennifer’s personal and professional passion is to partner with communities and systems in advancing policies and practices that support all children to thrive.

Neal Horen

Neal Horen is a Research Instructor at the Center for Child and Human Development and Director of the H.O.Y.A. clinic at the Center for Child and Human Development. He is interested in clinical and policy aspects of the emotional development of young children. He works on policy issues at the National Center on Children’s Mental Health and leads efforts for social skills development and violence prevention in rural communities. He is also the leader of a State Infrastructure Grant (SIG) Project, School-Based Mental Health, Early Childhood Mental Health, Program Sustainability.

Lauren Rabinovitz

Lauren Rabinovitz, MPH, MSW, LCSW-C is an Academic Program Officer at the Georgetown Center for Child and Human Development, Early Childhood Division. Lauren is the Program Director for the SAMHSA funded Center of Excellence on Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and Co-Director of the Certificate Program in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. Lauren brings a unique perspective to policy, research and technical assistance based on many years of clinical and community mental health provision. Lauren is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training and experience in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Amy Hunter

Amy Hunter is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who earned her Masters of Social Work degree at Boston University. Amy has a post graduate certificate from the University of Maryland School Of Medicine in Early Childhood Mental Health. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development. In her capacity at Georgetown she co-leads the post-graduate Clinical Certificate program on Infant Early Childhood Mental Health and co-directs the mental health work of the Head Start National Center on Health, Behavioral Health and Safety, a training and technical assistance center for Early Head Start and Head Start. Additionally, Amy serves as a lead on the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, a training and technical assistance center funded by the Office of Special Education. Amy has worked in the field of infant early childhood mental health for over thirty years. She has provided training and technical assistance on infant early childhood mental health to a variety of audiences around the country.

Kisha McCray

Kisha is the vice president of community impact at the Maryland Food Bank and manager of effective practice at The National Head Start Association. In 2005, she began her journey working as an early childhood teacher and in 2007 she discovered her love for Head Start. McCray has spent years advocating for early childhood education and early intervention services through working for Early Head Start, Head Start, and other agencies that support pregnant mothers and the birth through five population and their families. Within the last few years she has completed Head Start University’s Program Design and Management Credential, Yale School of Management Women’s Leadership Program and UCLA’s New Director Mentor program.