MHM Youth Panelists

Mental Health Matters: Youth and Mental Health Speakers

Dr. Chamakalayil

Simon Chamakalayil, MD, Psychiatry, Lakeland Regional Health

Simon Chamakalayil, MD is a psychiatrist at Lakeland Regional Health. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and completed his Residency in Psychiatry at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was Chief Resident. Dr. Chamakalayil also completed a Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and served as the Clinical Chief Fellow. His professional interests include treating children, adolescents and adults in a variety of settings, as well as community outreach for mental health. Dr. Chamakalayil is double board certified in General Psychiatry and Child/Adolescent Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Tiffani Fritzsche

Tiffani Fritzsche, LMHC, CBHCMS, Director of Children’s Services, Peace River Center

Tiffani Fritzsche joined Peace River Center in 2012 as a graduate intern while earning her master’s degree in Professional Counseling at Southeastern University. In her role as Director, she manages daily operations for the Children’s Services department consisting of Therapeutic Behavioral On-Site Therapy, Targeted Case Management, Home to Stay reunification program, and Community Action Treatment (CAT) Team.

In addition to providing Trauma-Informed Care training for every Peace River Center new hire, she is a very active community advocate for mental health awareness. Tiffani is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer and partners with local law enforcement through the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program. She is trained in EMDR, Trauma-Focused CBT, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Brief Strategic Family Therapy, and Adoption Competency. Passionate about improving and shaping children’s mental health, Tiffani is the Circuit 10 Facilitator for the Statewide Inpatient Psychiatric Program and sits on several Circuit 10 Committees including the Youth at Risk Committee, Child Abuse Death Review, Welfare Creating Connections, and Juvenile Justice Circuit Advisory Board. She also serves as Chair of the Circuit 10 Child Abuse Prevention and Permanency Local Task Force.

Scott Good

Scott Good, MSIA/MBA, Crescendo Consulting Group, Managing Principal

Mr. Good has provided quantitative research, qualitative assessment, and strategic planning consulting services to behavioral health and community health organizations for over 20 years.

Mr. Good is skilled at streamlining decision processes and maximizing the value of community opportunities for clients. He is an expert at conducting quantitative and qualitative research and administering the Delphi Technique (an advanced prioritization and consensus-building technique). He has authored empirical models that estimate behavioral health medication use in high-need communities, as well as a new model projecting the incidence of high levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences among adult populations. Mr. Good is skilled at working with challenged or historically underrepresented communities to build consensus around strategies designed to improve community health and well-being.

Mr. Good formerly served as a university faculty member, and he regularly conducts public speaking events – typically on community health topics, including a recent set of meetings constructing integrated medical and mental health care strategies.

He earned his BA degree in Social Economics from New College of Florida and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University; he continued his studies in Healthcare Innovation at Harvard University.

Christy Olson

Christy Olson, EdD, LMHC, Senior Coordinator of Mental Health Services, Polk County School Board

Christy Olson currently serves as the Senior Coordinator of Mental Health Services with Polk County Public Schools. Dr. Olson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer, and a certified trainer in NASP’s PREPaRE model for school-based crisis intervention. Dr. Olson assists in delivering various training, including suicide and threat assessment, to Polk County School staff. As Senior Coordinator, she supervises 35 mental health facilitators who support students at risk throughout Polk County.

Teri Saunders

Teri Saunders, Chief Executive Officer, Heartland for Children

Teri Saunders is the Chief Executive Officer of Heartland for Children. Heartland for Children is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the local lead agency for Community Based Care and is responsible for managing the foster care system in Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties. Ms. Saunders holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Florida.

Ms. Saunders has 21 years of executive leadership experience in child welfare services. Additionally, she served as a Faculty in Research at the University of South Florida’s Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute for nine years. During her tenure at USF, she conducted program evaluation and outcomes research on Florida’s publicly funded mental health and substance abuse services.

Ms. Saunders has spearheaded local efforts to raise awareness of the impacts of adverse childhood experiences and integrated trauma informed care and trauma focused treatment into the local child welfare system.

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