Angela Armendariz, LCSW

Angela is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who comes to Thrive from California, bringing a wealth of knowledge to our program. She has over a decade of experience providing individual and family therapy to a diverse population of children, youth, and their families. Her expertise focuses on attachment, sexual abuse, trauma, foster care, and refugees. Read more

Tina McNeal, MS

Tina has a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in Specialized Counseling and Her Doctorate in Theology.  Her background includes in-home therapist, quality improvement and program development of SJ Independent Living Program and she completed her internship at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, holding group sessions to educate parents. Her passion is to assist parents and children, Read more

Demi Borgesi, Certified BA

Demi has her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, is a certified Behavior Assistant, and is beginning her Master’s program in the fall of 2019.  She is also a Certified Crisis Counselor by crisis text line which has given her insight into common issues of teens and young adults, such as gender identity, suicide, and Read more

Julie Sjostrom, MA

Julie has her Master’s in Professional Counseling with a Forensic Psychology certificate.  She specializes in working with children who have experienced trauma and emotional disturbances, and has experience working with many extreme behaviors.  Julie has provided interventions which assist youth to achieve their goals in positive ways. Julie is passionate about the welfare of the Read more

Heather Horvath MA, LAC

Heather Horvath has a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with experience working with children and families in clinical and school settings and is a Licensed Associate Counselor.  She has a strong background in early childhood and adolescent development and has worked with children of all ages, counseling them in areas of trauma, Read more

David Palermo, MS, MT-BC

David Palermo is a Board-Certified Music Counselor who uses music therapy as an effective psychotherapeutic method for individuals of all ages to develop meaningful relationships.  Since the Thrive program is play therapy based, music therapy techniques such as improvisation and songwriting are very effective ways to engage youth in creative play. For four and a Read more

Da’Cole Mincey MSW, LSW

Da’Cole Mincey has her Master of Social Work and is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional.  She has facilitated various groups for children struggling with mental health, trauma, and grief/loss, assisted female youth living in shelters with learning life skills and coping skills and has facilitated activity-based groups for children who have Read more

Sofia Capinha, Certified BA

Sofia comes to Thrive with 10 years of experience as a Behavioral Assistant and teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in German and a Concentration in International Studies and Asian Studies. She is considered an expert in Spanish and Portuguese, proficient in German, and currently is employed as Read more

Nashely Rodriguez, MA in Professional Clinical Counseling, LAC

Nashely is a Licensed Associate Counseler.  She has worked with children ages 3-15, male and female, has conducted family therapy sessions, and worked with autistic children as well.     Nashely is experienced with anger management, bullying, abuse/neglect/poverty, and trauma.  She has utilized Play Therapy, Mindfulness, Family Systems Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy. She is Read more

Taryn Adeyo, MM, MT-BC, NMT

Taryn is a Master’s level clinician, board-certified in Music Therapy. Specializing in trauma-informed care, she loves to support an individual’s integration of self via client engagement in a variety of empowering creative and musical experiences. Taryn’s experience in behavioral inpatient has prepared her well for clients in need of crisis intervention. Taryn prefers a family-systems Read more

Jill Chiciak, MA, ATR-BC

Jill is a Master’s level, Board Certified Art Therapist, offering many valuable skills and interventions to treat and transform trauma into resiliency, including sand play and play therapy, children’s yoga, Cognitive Therapy, and training in Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction. Jill has the belief that every individual, family, group, and community has the capacity for healing through a holistic Read more

Chloe Berger, LSW

Chloe is a Licensed Social Worker who has a strong desire to help others. A graduate of New York University and Rutgers University, throughout her internship, Chloe expanded her knowledge and clinical skills working with youth and families. She is dedicated, tenacious, empathetic, and completed devoted to the field of Social Work. Read more

Dana Powell, MA Marriage and Family Therapy/MA Human Service Counseling

Dana has dual Master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as Human Services Counseling; her Bachelor Degree is in Early Childhood-Elementary Education. She has 17 years experience working in Special Education with children with behavioral difficulties, learning disabilities and those on the autism spectrum. Dana has experience providing therapy to families, individuals, and Read more

Ron Redmond, MSW, LCSW, CCS

Ron Redmond is credentialed by the State of New Jersey as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Mental Health Screener, Disaster Response Crisis Counselor, Emergency Opioid Overdose Responder and a Clinical Supervisor. Ron has been the Clinical Director of Ambulatory & Emergency Services at Legacy Treatment Services since 2015, previous to that he was Senior Read more

Kat Cody, L.C.S.W.

Kat has worked for many years with youth and their families providing support and resources as well as therapy. Kat has an interest in movement and sensory integration to help children alleviate their symptoms and process their experiences. Kate believes that “children are not “defiant” and “oppositional”, but a product of their experiences and learned Read more

Atiya Woodall, MHS

Atiya has over 17 years of experiences working with children and their families. She has a passion for helping others and utilizes a strength-based model. She has experience working as a Youth Advocate, Behavioral Assistant, and IIC Therapist. Atiya took part in the development of the Family Support Organization (FSO) of Atlantic County. She has Read more

Kate McGinley, MS, LAC

After graduating from Stockton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Behavioral Neuroscience Minor, Kate worked on an eating disorder unit and lab. She then continued her education and received her Master’s Degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. With education in behavioral neuroscience, Kate’s understanding of the brain Read more

Marilyn Henderson, M.A.

As a Masters Level Therapist, Marilyn’s passion for teaching has brought her to supervising youth development programs. She earned her Master’s Degree in Community Psychology from Springfield College. She has assisted parents, children, and individuals with job-readiness, social skills, and vocational skills. Marilyn has also counseled pregnant women and educated them on child development. Her Read more

Bianca Price MA, Ed.S.

Bianca is a compassionate and dedicated Master’s level community mental health counselor who has extensive background in individual and family therapy, behavioral intervention, and research studies related to individuals with attachment disorder as well as a certified Education Specialist in Counseling Services, Ed.S. Bianca is dedicated to assisting Thrive youth achieve their fullest potential and Read more

Robin Hancock, MS, LAC

After graduating from Jacksonville University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Robin started working with the Youth Advocate Program as a mentor and a Behavioral Assistant. She later attended Monmouth University and received a Master’s of Science degree in Mental Health Counseling. While attending graduate school, her internships included AtlantiCare’s Acute Partial Care Program Read more

Jennifer Tapley, M.Ed (PhD in process)

Jeni’s background includes extensive experience working in education advocating for students with special needs, writing IEP’s and 504 plans, curriculum development, diversity in learning styles, classroom management as well as accommodations for the DD/ID population.  Jeni has completed coursework for her Ph.D. in educational leadership.  Clinically, Ms. Tapley specializes in the DD/ID population (Autism Spectrum Read more

Thomas Santone M.A.

As a therapist, Thomas has worked with children from 4-21 years old who were struggling with a variety of challenges including bullying, obesity, domestic violence, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, drug addiction, abuse, anger management and more. Being familiar with the school systems, he has been able to successfully help families navigate through Individual Education Plan Read more

Jamie Martino, M.A, L.A.C.

Jamie attended  Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (now Stockton University) for four years where she obtained her degree in psychology, a minor in gerontology, a minor in behavioral neuroscience, and completed a senior Project for Distinction. She graduated magna cum laude and earned membership into three Honor Societies. After graduation, she attended William Paterson Read more

Tara Will, MAT, MS

Tara has been a pre-school teacher for the past ten years, in addition to serving as an adjunct professor at a local college.  While teaching college classes on health, safety, and nutrition, Tara has broadened her knowledge of both mental and physical health.  Her varied teaching experiences have shaped her understanding of the need for Read more

Beth Beal-Williams, MA

Beth’s experience with young people spans more than 30 years.  For 27 years, she has served as a senior probation officer working with juveniles in an effort to redirect their lives in a more positive direction.  During her tenure with the court system, Ms. Beal-Williams has completed extensive trainings in mediation/conciliation, supporting individuals with intellectual/developmental Read more

Aminah Yusuf, MS, MBA, LCADC, (PhD in process)

Aminah has a combined 32 years of experience working in social services, the justice system, addictions, community-based mental health and clinical supervision.  She has been trained in a variety of modalities including CBT, Stages of Change, ASAM (Dr. David Lee), trauma, relapse prevention, and family systems.  Her approach in working with youth and families promotes Read more

Lorenzo McFadden

Director of Operations/Co-Founder

Lorenzo’s experience spans multiple industries including business & consulting, education and healthcare.  During his early career at Towers Perrin (Watson), his team did work for some of the top companies in the world such as Coca Cola, American Express, Nortel Networks, and the Nations Bank/Bank of America merger.   During his time in the corporate Read more

L. Michelle Codington, MS, LMFT, Executive Director/Co-Founder

Michelle is a dynamic clinician with 20 years of experience in counseling, mediation, leadership and consulting. She is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in NJ. Her diverse roles have included: therapy with families, children and couples; international adoption consulting; mediating for family court; and consulting/training for various businesses and non-profit organizations. Prior to founding Read more