Convention 2023 Speaker Bios

David Black, Ph.D., is a pediatric neuropsychologist and director of the Center for Assessment And Treatment (CAAT). He is an internationally recognized expert in autism spectrum and related disorders. Dr. Black’s work has focused on the transition to adulthood and unique challenges inherent in that transition, and on the role stress and anxiety have in autism as well as intervention that may reduce their impacts. Prior to founding the Center for Assessment And Treatment, Dr. Black was a researcher in the Pediatrics and Developmental Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, NIH. His research examined factors that contribute to the best outcomes among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. His clinical and research interests have focused on the neurocognitive and psychological underpinnings for effective navigation of the social world. Dr. Black has published works in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Avi Edelman (he/him/his) creates environments of warmth and empathy for transformational dialogue about the forces that shape how we see the world and how the world sees us. He has over a decade of experience as an experiential educator, dialogue facilitator, and equity and inclusion trainer. He recently served as Columbia University’s Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs/Manager of Diversity Education, where he led intercultural dialogue programs for students and developed and implemented trainings for thousands of students, staff, and faculty. His areas of expertise include mitigating unconscious bias, understanding privilege and oppression, LGBTQ solidarity, antiracism, building socially just practices, disability justice, exploring whiteness, and challenging antisemitism. For ten years, he has led an annual civil rights pilgrimage for teens through the U.S. south to explore the history of social justice in Black and Jewish communities. As an independent trainer, he has worked with individuals and organizations across the country to develop inclusive practices, build spaces of trust and understanding, and foster a culture of dialogue. He was featured in National Geographic's documentary series America Inside Out, leading a workshop convened by Katie Couric. He is an above-average juggler with waning professional circus aspirations.

Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH, is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she is a core faculty member with the Center for Gun Violence Solutions. At the School Dr. Frattaroli teaches courses in Public Health Policy Formulation, Implementation Research and Practice, and Qualitative Research Methods. Her research focuses on policy strategies for preventing injury and violence -- particularly firearm injuries. She is committed to assuring interventions are well-implemented once in place. Her work to advance policies designed to temporarily remove guns from people who are behaving dangerously through Extreme Risk Protection Orders and Domestic Violence Restraining Orders is one example of her implementation research and practice work. Dr. Frattaroli’s work advances the translation of research findings to policy and practice. She mentors students and early career scientists who are interested in the intersection of research and practice. She holds a PhD and an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Becca Hofrichter, LCSW-C (she/her/they/them) graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a Master’s degree in Social Work in 2010. She is a consultant at Collaborative Pathways Counseling and Consulting, LLC.  They are committed to providing intersectional, non-condemning, strengths-based care. Becca believes in advocating for and collaborating with their community by attempting to minimize interactions with gate-keeping systems and by identifying the oppressive impact of systems on individuals and families. Along with Jessica, they regularly provide continuing education and training on LGBTQ affirming care for mental health and allied professionals. In particular, they both have expertise in working with gender diverse youth and their families, transgender adults, and making workplace settings LGBTQ affirming for both employees and individuals who are receiving care.

Jeffrey Lating, Ph.D. earned his B.A. in psychology from Swarthmore College in 1985 and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1991 from the University of Georgia. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in medical psychology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1993. He was the Director of Clinical Training at the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore from 1993 to 1996, and the Chief Psychologist there from 1996 to 1998. He is currently a professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland and was the Director of Clinical Training of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Loyola from 2000 to 2013. He has co-edited and co-authored seven books in the areas of stress, posttraumatic stress, and psychological first aid. He has been an instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) since 1994, and in 1999 became Managing Editor of the newly formed International Journal of Emergency Mental Health (IJEMH). From 2005 – 2009, he served on the Maryland State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. Dr. Lating has also served as a clinical consultant and crisis-management trainer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the United States Senate Employee Assistant Program, the U.S. Department of State, the United Steelworkers (USW), the Swiss Air Navigation Services, the World Bank, and the Danish Military. He also consulted and provided clinical interventions and training with the United States Secret Service’s Employee Assistance Program in New York City in the days following September 11.

Paul Nastadt, MD, specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly in behavioral interventions such as exposure-based therapies. Since completing residency, he has served as the primary supervising psychiatrist for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Anxiety Disorders Clinic, seeing patients from all over the US and worldwide for one-time consultations resulting in revised diagnosis and treatment recommendations. He also attends on the inpatient Motivated Behaviors Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he treats patients suffering from comorbid psychiatric and behavioral crises.  Dr. Nestadt’s research focuses on the epidemiology of suicide. He is interested in the role of practical factors, such as firearm access and opiate use, in the risk of suicide death. His methodological expertise includes large scale regression based data analysis, post-mortem clinical evaluation, and evaluation of determination of manner of death. He also works with the Doubt/ OCD genetics group and the broader suicide prevention workgroup at Johns Hopkins.

Jonathan Perle, Ph.D., ABPP, is a board-certified clinical child and adolescent psychologist, Associate Professor, and Director of Telepsychology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. In addition to his current responsibilities that include trainee education, specialty clinic management, and conducting research, Dr. Perle provides both face-to-face and virtual psychological care. Beginning in his graduate education and spanning his ongoing career; Dr. Perle has studied, written about, and taught about telehealth. Combined works have resulted in peer-reviewed publications, a videoconferencing-focused book, articles in national periodicals, professional presentations, expert interviews for media, consultative services, and his design and implementation of one of the first recognized telehealth-specific doctoral-level courses for clinical psychology students. Dr. Perle has also been recognized as a psychological innovator by the American Psychological Association’s Monitor for his work designing an evidence-based and HIPAA-compliant smartphone application related to parent management training. In addition to serving as a reviewer for multiple journals, he serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Sciences.

Bibinaz Pirayest, Ed.D.,  holds a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Education from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University where her work focused primarily on children’s development of mathematical thinking and cognitive neuroscience. She has worked as a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice for over a decade. While the emphasis of her work is on remediating learning disabilities in a one-on-one setting, she is also a sought after speaker and community advocate for children and families around learning rights. She works with children grades 1-12 and covers a wide range of learning difficulties including dyslexia, ADHD, and spectrum disorders. In 2020, Dr. Pirayesh launched The Difference is Not Deficit Project to help promote the importance of seeing learning disability as a social justice issue. In addition to her private practice and advocacy work, Dr. Pirayesh is also adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University and is involved with a number of service organizations including The Association of Educational Therapists.

Rebecca Resnik, Psy.D., specializes in neuropsychological assessment in her group practice, Rebecca Resnik and Associates. Dr. Resnik served as the 2022-23 President of the Maryland Psychological Association. She trained in pediatric psychology and neuropsychology at Mt Washington Pediatric Hospital and did her two year post doctoral training in assessment in private practice. She serves on the Carlat Psychotherapy Report's Board of Advisors. In 2014, she co-founded and has served as Workshop Organizer for the Computational Linguistics and Clinical Psychology Workshop (CL-Psych), which continues at the North American Association for Computational Linguistics National (NAACL) annual conference.

Jessica R. Rothstein, Psy.D. is the owner of Collaborative Pathways. Dr. Rothstein is a graduate of Loyola University in Maryland, earning her Master’s degree in 2006 and her Doctorate in 2009. As a white, Cisgender female, she is dedicated to operating from a culturally humble perspective. She aims to provide patients an environment where they are seen as a whole, and can learn to identify their strengths, along with the aspects of self they wish to change. Along with Becca, they regularly provide continuing education and training on LGBTQ affirming care for mental health and allied professionals. In particular, they both have expertise in working with gender diverse youth and their families, transgender adults, and making workplace settings LGBTQ affirming for both employees and individuals who are receiving care.

Rebecca Sachs, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and an expert in the top recommended treatments for Anxiety, Autism, and OCD. She believes in empowering individuals and their families with knowledge and skills they can use to not only manage current challenges, but to also be ready to handle new problems when they may arise. Dr. Sachs brings warmth, sensitivity, and a strong sense of humor to her work. Board Certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, Dr. Sachs is a sought-after clinician and speaker, regularly presenting at conferences. Along with colleagues, she was recently awarded a federally funded grant through the New York State Office of Mental Health, aimed at helping train community-based service providers better serve children and youth who are dually diagnosed with mental illness, like OCD, and a developmental disability. She has a private practice in New York City (and virtually in the state of NY) and is co-Director of Successful School Transitions, a comprehensive program for school refusal. In addition to these roles, Dr. Sachs is a single mother to an energetic and determined kindergartner. 

Max Wilson (they/them) is finishing up their BS in psychology before (hopefully!) heading to graduate school to pursue their PhD in either clinical or developmental psych. Their ultimate career goal is to research topics prevalent to the Autistic community, especially: the relationship between autistic individuals and gender variance and the impact of age at diagnosis and depression levels as an adult. Max has presented at more than 10 panels at the International OCD Foundations annual conferences since 2017, including collaborating on panels with world renowned experts.

 Wilson, Sachs, Rothstein, Resnik, Pirayest, Perle, Nastadt, Lating, Hofrichter, Frattaroli, Edelman, Black