Mapping Project
Decoration with abstract blue and purple waves

Coalition Members

Current Coalition Members

Headshot of Courtney Baker
Dr. Courtney BakerDr. Courtney N. Baker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Tulane University. Dr. Baker is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in child clinical psychology. She received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2012. Dr. Baker’s research program, Project DIRECT, aims to diminish disparities in mental health and academic achievement by improving the delivery of high-quality evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. In addition to her active research program, Dr. Baker also directs the APA-Accredited School Psychology doctoral program, co-directs the Tulane University Psychology Clinic for Children and Adolescents, directs the Project DIRECT Early Childhood Consultation Service, and serves as the Faculty in Residence in Greenbaum Residence Hall.
Tulane University
Headshot of Berre Burch
Berre BurchBerre Burch, a native Arkansan, is the Director of Project LAST at the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans, where she leads a program that provides no-cost, high quality mental health services to children and adolescents in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. She is the proud mom of Wren (Garden Room) and Gus (Rabbit Burrow). Her son Elliott attended Abeona House in 2012, before the family relocated to Maryland. Berre earned a PhD in school psychology at Tulane in 2014. She previously received a Master’s degree in art therapy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Hendrix College.
Children’s Bureau of New Orleans
Headshot of Laura Danna
Laura DannaLaura Danna, LCSW-BACS is the Project Director of Project Fleur-de-lis (PFDL), an intermediate and long-term school-based mental health service model which now serves over 60 New Orleans area schools. Laura provides professional development in schools to administrators, teachers, and staff as well as to local and national mental health professionals. She is a certified trainer in school crisis prevention and responds to crises at PFDL schools when needed. She is also a certified trainer in Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and has conducted trainings in this evidence-based intervention both at the local and regional levels. In addition, Laura provides ongoing consultation to the Project Fleur-de-lis team of interns, externs and school based clinicians who are implementing CBITS in schools. Laura is also the Principal Investigator for an ongoing CBITS research study.
Project Fleur-de-lis, Mercy Family Center
Headshot of Kellie Jordan
Dr. Kelli JordanDr. Kelli Jordan is the Chief School Support and Improvement Officer and oversees the School Support Team and the Office of Student Support and Attendance. She serves as the liaison for engagement and communication with our charter school leaders and leads the district’s school support in a variety of areas such as system-wide programming, school improvement and school partnerships. Prior to joining NOLA Public schools, Dr. Jordan served in various capacities in school leadership and support roles for diverse learners. Dr. Jordan is published in peer-reviewed journals and presents on a variety of topics related to special education, trauma-informed practices and mental health at national conferences and local leadership training programs. She is a graduate of Hampton University (B.A. Psychology) and the University of Tennessee (M.S. Applied Educational Psychology and Ph.D. School Psychology).
NOLA Public Schools
Travers KurrTravers Kurr, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is the Manager of Behavioral Health Programs at the New Orleans Health Department. The Behavioral Health Unit oversees community-based programs supported by federal and local funding which include: the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Initiative, the New Orleans Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit (MCIU), a Sobering Center, and Opioid Settlement Funds. Travers began with the Health Department in 2017 as the LEAD Program Coordinator tasked with implementing and overseeing the operations of the pre-booking diversion program which allows NOPD to divert non-violent, low-level crimes related to underlying and unmet behavioral health needs to intensive case management rather than making an arrest. From 2009 to 2015, Travers worked for UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the lead agency of the continuum of care for homeless services in Orleans and Jefferson Parish. In 2011, he joined their abandoned building outreach team with the goal of finding permanent housing solutions for people squatting in buildings left vacant from Hurricane Katrina. In 2016, he received a Master’s in Social Work from Tulane University and a Master’s in Public Health from Tulane University the following year.
New Orleans Health Department
Shantell LeeBio coming soon
Beloved Community
Headshot of Tanisha Moore
Tanisha MooreTanisha Moore came to New Orleans in 2006 to attend Tulane University School of Social Work. In her time in New Orleans, she has worked with the New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center, Family Services of Greater New Orleans, and for the last 14 years she has been in Orleans Parish schools working as a School Social Worker. Ms. Moore is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that has specialized training in working with those who have experienced complex trauma. She has recently moved from the school building to the district as the new Director of Behavioral Health for New Orleans Public Schools. It is her hope that her years of working with families can be used to assist in making systemic change in New Orleans Public Schools.
NOLA Public Schools
Dr. Stacy OverstreetDr. Stacy Overstreet is a Professor of Psychology at Tulane University. Over the course of her career her research has focused on how sociological, cultural, familial, psychological, developmental, and biological processes influence and interact with one another over time to shape child adaptation to trauma. Over the past ten years, she has translated that research to inform the implementation and evaluation of trauma-informed schools. She has published several empirical and conceptual papers related to these areas and she was co-editor of a 2016 special issue on trauma-informed schools in the journal, School Mental Health. Dr. Overstreet is a founding member of the New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative. Her work through the Collaborative includes a grant from the National Institute of Justice to determine whether a multi-component implementation strategy for trauma-informed schools improves school safety as well as a grant from the Department of Justice to develop and evaluate a Train the Trainer model for the implementation of trauma-informed schools.
Tulane University
Morgan ShannonBio coming soon.
New Orleans Children and Youth
Planning Board
Dr. Denese Shervington Dr. Denese Shervington has an intersectional career in public health and academic psychiatry. She is the President of The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES), a community-based translational public health institute in New Orleans. She is also the Chair of Psychiatry at Charles R. Drew University. Dr. Shervington has held Clinical Professorships in the Departments of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Tulane University. A graduate of New York University School of Medicine, she also received a Masters of Public Health in Population Studies and Family Planning from Tulane University School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco and is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. A Fellow of the American Psychiatry Association, in 2018 she received the Award for Excellence in Service and Advocacy; prior to which she received the Jeanne Spurlock Minority award. Dr. Shervington is also a member of the American College of Psychiatrists. In July 2019, Dr. Shervington testified before the Congress of the United States House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform on Childhood Trauma. She also co-chairs the New Orleans City Council (R-18-344) Children Youth Planning Board Taskforce on Childhood Trauma. She has authored several papers in peer-reviewed journals addressing health disparities, the social determinants of health and resilience in underserved communities. Her recent publication is Healing Is the Revolution, a guide to healing from historical, intergenerational, interpersonal and community trauma. She also hosts a podcast on trauma. She is the proud parent of two amazing children, Kaleb and Iman, and grandchildren Ayelet and Haddassah.
Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
Headshot of Kathleen Whalen
Kathleen WhalenKathleen Whalen M.Ed., MSW is the principal/owner of Strategies for Youth Development, LLC, which provides consulting to youth-serving organizations and professionals who work with youth. Previously, Kathleen was the Director of Professional/Program Development of Partnership for Youth Development. Kathleen has worked in many roles with New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS), including elementary school teacher, school social worker, lead team member in a day treatment center, and school representative in juvenile court. In addition to her 30-year tenure with NOPS, Kathleen was the Psychosocial Program Director with Save the Children in New Orleans, through which she supervised a staff of school-based social workers who worked to build resilience and coping skills addressing stress and trauma associated with Hurricane Katrina. She has also co-authored a social emotional learning curriculum for New Orleans youth called Journey of Hope.
Tulane University
Ladonya WilliamsBio coming soon.
New Orleans Youth Alliance

Former Members

Kristie Bardell
Representing Louisiana Public Health Institute

Karen Evans
Representing New Orleans Children and Youth Planning Board

Paulette Carter
Representing Children’s Bureau of New Orleans

Alpha Gebrie
Representing Louisiana Public Health Institute

Charlotte Cunliffe
Representing Children’s Bureau of New Orleans

Chris Guenther
Representing New Orleans Health Department

Torrie Harris
Representing New Orleans Health Department

Teddy McGlynn-Wright
Representing Tulane University

Taslim van Hattum
Representing Louisiana Public Health Institute