McSilver Experts Available for Media Interviews

Michael A. Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH

Executive Director

Dr. Michael A. Lindsey is a noted scholar in the fields of child and adolescent mental health, as well as a leader in the search for knowledge and solutions to generational poverty and inequality. He is the Executive Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University (NYU), the Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work, and an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow. Dr. Lindsey leads the working group of experts supporting the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, which created the report Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America. Also, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in Social Work. Full Bio

child and adolescent mental health suicide depression anxiety social work Black mental health school mental health social determinants of health racial health disparities

Rosemonde Pierre-Louis

Chief Operating Officer

Rose Pierre-Louis is the McSilver Institute’s Chief Operating Officer. From 2014-2016 she served in the administration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and was the Senior Adviser to the NYC Commission on Gender Equity. Previously, she served as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence. From 2006-2013 Rose served as Manhattan Deputy Borough President during the administration of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. She has been a leading advocate and voice for Black girls and boys, men and women, those who are impacted by poverty, as well as the Haitian community. Full Bio

domestic violence/intimate partner violence women’s rights city government and policy

Andrew F. Cleek, PsyD

Chief Program Officer

Dr. Andrew F. Cleek is an expert on the scalable implementation of systems change initiatives, particularly related to healthcare reform, value based payments, Medicaid managed care, and trauma-informed services. He is the Chief Program Officer at McSilver Institute, where he oversees a portfolio of technical assistance offering training and support to all behavioral health, child welfare and intellectual and development disabilities-serving agencies in New York State. He additionally directs a number of initiatives involving trauma-informed prison education, early childhood mental health and the implementation of healthcare reform. Full Bio

child mental health mental health trauma-informed care trauma-informed systems management healthcare reform implementation COVID-19 systems response

Gary S. Belkin, MD, PhD, MPH

McSilver Fellow-in-Residence (2020-2021)

Gary Belkin was formerly Deputy Health Commissioner for New York City, and most recently founded and leads the Billion Minds Institute. The Institute aims to bring policy and practical attention and change for taking on the “social climate” crisis of the climate crisis. He has implemented and advanced innovative approaches to mental health, especially those that integrate with and amplify other social and community capabilities, policies, and goals at scale. That included holding senior management positions in government and in large health and human service providers, advisory roles to US urban settings as well as national and local government partnerships globally, and work as a teacher and researcher. Full Bio

mental health social determinants of health climate policy social consequences of and responses to climate change COVID-19 mental health impacts climate change and mental health system

Henry L. Greenidge, Esq.

McSilver Fellow-in-Residence (2020-2021)

Henry L. Greenidge, Esq. is a 2020-2021 Fellow-in-Residence for the NYU McSilver Institute. His areas of expertise include sustainability, energy, infrastructure, broadband, and autonomous transportation. Previously, he led state and local government affairs, as well as public engagement for Cruise, a GM subsidiary focused on autonomous vehicles. He has been a Program Examiner in the White House Office of Management and Budget during the Obama Administration, a Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and has held positions within the New York City Office of the Mayor and the NYC Department of Transportation, among other roles. Full Bio

transportation equity sustainability energy infrastructure broadband autonomous transportation

Meaghan Baier, LMSW

Assistant Director of Strategic Operations

As the Assistant Director of Strategic Operations at McSilver Institute, Baier is an integral part of the team that manages the ongoing work of the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center (MCTAC), as well as a variety of other projects. Meg helps to oversee the daily operations of MCTAC, as well as numerous on-going partnerships and the development of trainings, tools, and resources to support ongoing healthcare transformation work. Full Bio

trauma-informed organizations COVID-19 responses in New York State trauma-informed prison education

Press

Peer Support Groups for Child Welfare–Involved Families – Journal of Family Social Work

Jayson K. Jones, LMSW

Assistant Director, Clinical Education and Innovation

Jayson Jones is the Assistant Director of the McSilver Institute’s Clinical Education and Innovation Department. He develops and disseminates clinical initiatives and trainings throughout the State of New York, and serves as the Manager of the CTAC-MCTAC Self-Learning Center. Within this role, he oversees the development of all self-paced learning initiatives offered by the Community Technical Assistance Center of New York. He also served as the creator and inaugural host of the Black Boys and Men: Changing the Narrative Podcast Series and as a coordinator and school-lead for the Step Up program. Full Bio

racism racial inequality and disparities microaggressions racial trauma

Press

#TheNewNext: ‘Black Boys & Men’ Podcast Tackles Myths – Philadelphia Tribune

James Rodriguez, PhD, LCSW

Director of Trauma-Informed Services

Dr. James Rodriguez is Director of Trauma-Informed Services at the McSilver Institute. He is a New York State-licensed clinical social worker and psychologist with over 25 years of providing mental health services to children, youth and families. His work at McSilver Institute includes the development and dissemination of training materials to promote trauma-informed care. In addition, Dr. Rodriguez has a private practice that focuses on trauma treatment. As well, he is an adjunct faculty member and teaches cultural competence at the NYU Silver School of Social Work. Full Bio

trauma trauma-informed care resilience coping with stress mental health for children, teens and adults social determinants of health mental health for marginalized populations mental health for BIPOC populations

Press

COVID-19 Has Intensified the Need for Trauma-Informed Care – Prism/Daily Kos
10 Ways to Reduce Stress That Actually Backfire – The Healthy

Anthony Salerno, PhD

Innovation and Implementation Officer

Dr. Anthony Salerno is a New York State-licensed psychologist with over 30 years of public mental health experience in adult inpatient and outpatient settings. He is the McSilver Institute’s Innovation and Implementation Officer. In that role, he assists organizations serving impoverished communities to systematically adopt and sustain practice innovations with an emphasis on implementing trauma-informed and resiliency-supporting practices in a variety of educational, primary care, forensic and behavioral health programs serving children and adults. Full Bio

behavioral health service delivery systems best and evidence-based practice health self-management family psycho-education

Boris Vilgorin, MPA

Health Care Strategy Officer

Boris Vilgorin currently works at the McSilver Institute as the Health Care Strategy Officer. He provides technical assistance to all publicly-funded mental health, substance abuse, foster care and intellectually and development disability agencies in New York State that are transitioning to Managed Care and Value-Based Services. Vilgorin also is an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University Silver School of Social Work and Columbia University School of Social Work. Full Bio

behavioral health operations and business best practices behavioral health Medicaid management value-based payment Medicaid managed care

Yunyu (Kathy) Xiao, PhD, MPhil

Postdoctoral Fellow

Yunyu (Kathy) Xiao is Fellow at McSilver Institute with a PhD from the NYU Silver School of Social Work. Her research focuses on health disparities in suicide and mental illness across the life course. Xiao has studied psychosocial and behavioral determinants (e.g. health behaviors, social networks, and future orientation) of suicide among diverse populations. She is interested in developing culturally-sensitive and network-based interventions to prevent adolescent suicides. Full Bio

suicide mental health mental health policy health disparities Chinese health and mental health

Research

A Latent Class Analysis Of Health Lifestyles and Suicidal Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents – Journal of Affective Disorders