Faculty

Jessica Gonzalez joined SchoolTalk in 2022. She is the director of SchoolTalk’s InclusiveDC initiative, which supports youth with disabilities and their peers in D.C. schools and the community organizations and systems that serve them. InclusiveDC programs are focused on College and Career Readiness and Arts to Advocacy and designed to elevate youth voice and promote inclusion.

Since 2012, Jessica has worked in Washington, D.C., and New York City to serve students with disabilities and students identified as Multilanguage learners to gain the academic skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond. As a bilingual leader, Jessica is passionate about language acquisition and the value it offers. In 2019, Jessica joined The Sojourner Truth Montessori Public Charter School as one of the founding design team members. Jessica became the founding special education coordinator and served the community for three years. Jessica has been a special education and Spanish language teacher for D.C. Public Schools and a middle school liaison at the Flamboyan Foundation. She is also experienced in implementing restorative justice practices in schools.

Jessica also serves as a travel ambassador, exposing students to studying abroad, gaining global competency skills that enrich students’ lives beyond the traditional classroom, and preparing students to become global citizens. Jessica earned an M.S. in School Leadership and Administration from Trinity Washington University and a B.S. in Special Education with a minor in Romance Languages from Dowling College.

Yazid Jackson joined SchoolTalk’s RestorativeDC team in 2018 and currently leads as the Restorative Justice Senior Program Director, overseeing all elements of their programming. With 14 years of experience, Yazid has implemented restorative justice practices in various urban schools and residential settings, significantly reducing suspension rates and improving school climates. He has successfully led over 100 schools in embedding restorative justice principles, working closely with school leaders to develop and execute comprehensive plans for change. Under Yazid’s leadership, RestorativeDC’s network of partner schools has more than doubled, showing evidence of improved school climate, student engagement, and reduced suspensions.

Yazid Jackson, Restorative Justice Senior Program Director at SchoolTalk’s RestorativeDC, has 14 years of experience implementing restorative justice in urban schools and residential settings. Since joining in 2018, he has led efforts to reduce suspensions and improve school climates in over 100 schools. Under his leadership, the network of partner schools has more than doubled, showing improved school climates and student engagement.

Olga Acosta Price, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with postdoctoral training in school mental health, is director of the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS), a national applied research and TA center at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and is an associate professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health. Dr. Acosta Price has dedicated herself to promoting prevention and early intervention programs that address the mental health needs of children and their families and has developed, implemented, and evaluated programs promoting mental health and resilience conducted in school and community settings. In her current capacity as director of CHHCS, she advocates for the expansion of school-connected and community-based prevention and intervention public mental health approaches across the US, with a focus on strengthening systems to ensure quality education and health equity for vulnerable populations. Dr. Price is providing instruction in the Public Health Model of School Mental Health.

Dr. Mariola Rosser is an Associate Director of Practice at the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at George Washington University. She manages a grant-funded program, DC Community of Practice (CoP) on School Behavioral Health (SBH), focused on improving provider and school readiness in implementing a multi-tiered model of school-based mental health prevention, early intervention, and treatment services.
Dr. Rosser is one of only 12 social learning leaders certified worldwide through the Wenger-Trayner Fellowship Program established in 2014, and she has nearly 25 years of experience facilitating successful CoP to improve academic and behavioral health outcomes. Previously, Dr. Rosser worked at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) supporting several projects, the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) and the IDEA Partnership. She was also involved in building cross-system capacity in states and co-facilitating national communities of practice (CoPs) around school behavioral health and transition from school to college and career. Dr. Rosser holds a Master’s Degree in Therapeutic Pedagogy and a Doctorate in Education (George Washington University, Washington, DC). Dr. Rosser is providing instruction in the Public Health Model of School Mental Health.

Dr. Georgette Saad is an experienced psychotherapist with over a decade of dedicated practice. Her extensive background includes evidence-based practice, formalized training programs, advanced supervision, teaching at the graduate level, and specialized training in psychoanalysis. Holding a doctoral degree from Smith College, Dr. Saad is deeply committed to advancing clinical practice and serving diverse communities in community mental health settings. As a bilingual, cisgender woman of color, Dr. Saad’s passion lies in nurturing growth and development in clinicians, empowering them with the skills and insights necessary to make meaningful impacts in their work.

Dr. Saad is providing Clinical Group Supervision for The MOMENTUM Residency.

Megan Polanin, PhD, is Co-Director of the Clinical Training Program and a school-based Licensed Clinical Psychologist with WISE at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She earned her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at Loyola University Chicago and completed postdoctoral training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Polanin has extensive experience working with children, families, and educators within schools, medical clinics, and community mental health centers. She is interested in human- and healing-centered therapeutic practices that honor strengths and aspirations, co-creating learning environments that facilitate meaningful growth for developing mental health clinicians, and empowering others to trust and utilize their voices to advocate for themselves, their families, and their communities.  Dr. Polanin provides training for clinical supervisors of MOMENTUM.

Olga Acosta Price, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with postdoctoral training in school mental health, is director of the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS), a national applied research and TA center at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and is an associate professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health. Dr. Acosta Price has dedicated herself to promoting prevention and early intervention programs that address the mental health needs of children and their families and has developed, implemented, and evaluated programs promoting mental health and resilience conducted in school and community settings. In her current capacity as director of CHHCS, she advocates for the expansion of school-connected and community-based prevention and intervention public mental health approaches across the US, with a focus on strengthening systems to ensure quality education and health equity for vulnerable populations. Dr. Price is providing instruction in the Public Health Model of School Mental Health.

Shamara Howze, a dedicated Licensed Professional Counselor and Play Therapist, with nearly a decade of experience. Throughout her career, Shamara has focused on serving children and their families, employing the transformative power of play therapy. She believes in the holistic approach of therapy, recognizing that working with children often involves supporting the entire family unit fostering deeper connections in the home and improved school outcomes.

Shamara Howze is a Clinical Supervisor for The MOMENTUM Residency

Vanessa León, LICSW, LCSW-C (she/ella) is the founder and therapist at Dos Olas Therapy PLLC, a mental health practice providing individual therapy and immigration evaluations in English and Spanish for adults in Washington, DC and Maryland. With a decade of experience working with parents, immigrants, and trauma survivors in school and community mental health settings, Vanessa knows how pivotal it is to balance flexibility and sustainability as a helping professional supporting individuals work towards wellness. Vanessa’s clinical and supervisory practice is further informed by her lived experiences as a first-generation daughter of Peruvian immigrants and mother of two. In her downtime, Vanessa enjoys picnic-ing in DC parks, splashing in the nearest body of water, and hanging out on her balcony.

Vanessa Leon is a Clinical Supervisor for The MOMENTUM Residency

Dr. Georgette Saad is an experienced psychotherapist with over a decade of dedicated practice. Her extensive background includes evidence-based practice, formalized training programs, advanced supervision, teaching at the graduate level, and specialized training in psychoanalysis. Holding a doctoral degree from Smith College, Dr. Saad is deeply committed to advancing clinical practice and serving diverse communities in community mental health settings. As a bilingual, cisgender woman of color, Dr. Saad’s passion lies in nurturing growth and development in clinicians, empowering them with the skills and insights necessary to make meaningful impacts in their work.

Dr. Saad is providing Clinical Group Supervision for The MOMENTUM Residency

Dr. Niani Smith is a Clinical Social Worker in the DC metropolitan area and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional who supports multiple work streams within the social work realm. Supporting agencies that range from the education sector to outpatient mental health, Dr. Smith has served thousands of children in the local area. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness for Redemptions Global, an agency that supports human service organizations in Africa, and provides clinical supervision to multiple outpatient mental health clinics in Maryland. Dr. Smith has led various trainings and workshops regarding trauma informed practices and healing, stress management and resilience and other topics that support wellbeing and improved emotion management. Dr. Smith’s professional goal is to influence and change systems to support the healthy development and advancement of individuals by increasing awareness on the impact and effects of trauma and shifting systems to promote healing.