Supporting families is integral to providing educational stability to all students including students in foster care, highly mobile students and students from refugee and immigrant families. This conference explores how school staff can work collaboratively with families and state agencies, including the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Children and Families. Presenters will share clinically, culturally, and linguistically appropriate resources, services and best practices for collaborating with families to help all students succeed in school.
Registration: 8:15 – 8:45 am
Conference: 8:45 am – 2:30 pm
To receive PDPs, participants must attend this conference and the conference, Recent Research Regarding Neurodiversity and Autism, on March 4, 2027 (Registration opening soon). Participants need to register for each conference individually. Members can participate in-person, virtually or by viewing the recording.
Speakers
- Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D., Co-Founder, Senior Clinical Consultant, Riverside Trauma Center
- Shannon Bischeff, MSW, LICSW, DESE Principal/Director, District Coordinator for Social Emotional Learning, Chelmsford Public Schools
- Sarah Brooks, Education Coordinator, Department of Children and Families (DCF)
- Lisa Gurdin, M.S., BCBA, LABA, Founder, LSGurdin Consulting
- Julie Hopkins, LMHC, Child and Family Social Worker, Chelmsford High School
- Steven Magno, M.Ed., CAGS, Director of Student Services and McKinney-Vento Liaison, Peabody Public Schools
- Chris Pond, M.S. Ed., Behavioral and Mental Health Specialist and Foster Care Point of Contact at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
- Ryan Sherman, Ph.D., Director of Wellness, Medway Public Schools
- Jeffrey P. Winer, Ph.D., Attending Psychologist, Trauma and Community Resilience Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
About the Speakers
Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D.
Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D., (he/him) is Co-Founder and directed Riverside Trauma Center for 19 years, where he currently is a Senior Clinical Consultant. He provides disaster response services and post-suicide intervention for individuals, schools, workplaces, and communities, and conducts trainings on suicide prevention and postvention. Dr. Berkowitz holds a doctoral degree from Harvard University and is a licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention and an Adjunct Instructor in the Clinical Psychology Program at William James College. He presents on issues related to suicide prevention and postvention and responses to traumatic events at state, national and international conferences. Dr. Berkowitz has led 3 FEMA-funded Crisis Counseling Programs for the state of Massachusetts.
Sarah Brooks, LCSW
Sarah Brooks, LCSW, (she/her) is the Education Director for the Department of Children and Families, where she leads the department’s work on education for DCF-involved students, ages 3-22, including policy development and practice guidance. With over 20 years’ experience between both work in public education and the child welfare system, Sarah specializes in data driven education stability for school age youth by identifying barriers and guiding solutions for DCF involved youth.
Lisa Gurdin
For over 20 years, Lisa Gurdin (she/her) has been working with students, families, and school-based professionals with students from preschool to age 22 with a range of special needs and complex profiles. Ms. Gurdin supports educational professionals through consultation, student evaluations, and staff training. She works collaboratively with parents and school professionals to facilitate integrated support across settings thereby maximizing behavior change and skill development. Ms. Gurdin also provides parent coaching to help parents implement behavioral strategies to improve behavior, encourage independence, and build stronger family relationships. Ms. Gurdin is a Part-Time Lecturer and supervisor in the Master’s in ABA Program and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University.
Steven Magno, M.Ed., CAGS
Steven Magno, M.Ed., CAGS, has nearly 30 years of experience in public education with extensive experience in serving non-traditional student populations, developing programs that support the success of all learners, and school safety and security. Steven joined the Peabody Public Schools in 2020 as Principal of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School and transitioned to his current role as Director of Student Services in 2022. As the district’s McKinney-Vento Liaison, Steven works collaboratively with district and community partners to connect highly mobile students and families experiencing housing instability with resources and services that promote student stability, engagement, and success. Prior to working in Peabody Public Schools, Steven spent 22 years in the Revere Public Schools, Revere, MA having served as a special education teacher, team chairperson, assistant principal, principal, and lacrosse coach.
Chris Pond, M.S. Ed.
Chris Pond, M.S. Ed., (she/her) is a Behavioral and Mental Health Specialist and Foster Care Point of Contact at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In her role, she manages several efforts that support behavioral and mental health (BH/MH), social and emotional learning (SEL) and educational stability. She also collaborates with state agencies and vendors to support school districts to build integrated, multi-tiered systems of support that are culturally responsive to meet the needs of students.
Ryan Sherman, Ph.D.
Ryan Sherman, Ph.D., (he/him) has been Medway School’s Director of Wellness for over a decade. Ryan is the author of several peer-reviewed behavioral health research studies and a senior professor of social and emotional learning at Bay Path University. Dr. Sherman was the recipient of the MIAA Wellness Coordinator of the Year Award and the Massachusetts General Hospital Innovation Award. Ryan resides in Massachusetts with his wife, two children, and boxer.
Jeffrey P. Winer, Ph.D.
Jeffrey P. Winer, Ph.D., (he/him) is an Attending Psychologist within the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Winer’s work is primarily focused on developing, disseminating, and implementing culturally responsive and trauma-informed psychological interventions for youth and families of refugee and immigrant backgrounds. The values of equity, anti-racism, and structural systems change are at the center of this work. Along with his colleagues at the TCRC, he is deeply involved in the continued development, dissemination, and implementation of Trauma Systems Therapy for Refugees (TST-R), a clinical and organizational model for the efficient and effective delivery of psychosocial services for youth of refugee and immigrant backgrounds. He is the recipient of a Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award and is co-author of Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth, published by the American Psychological Association in 2019. Outside of his work at Boston Children’s Hospital, he continues to work at the McLean Hospital 3East Adolescent DBT Partial Hospital Program and maintains a private practice.
Membership Information
Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.
PDPs and CEUs
MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.
To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz. The PDP quiz will be made available only to participants who have registered for and attended both conferences.
Event Cancellation Policy
If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.
For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen with any questions regarding registration.