Frank Picone, LCSW, joined The Center for Great Expectations (CGE)—a leader in the prevention and treatment of substance use and mental health disorders—with 30 plus years’ experience, creating trauma-attuned environments in residential treatment programs, schools, and juvenile justice programs throughout New Jersey and the country. Frank earned his Masters of Social Work from the Rutgers School of Social Work, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified School Social Worker and an Advanced Trainer in the Nurtured Heart Approach®.

Frank has served as a Therapist, Clinical Supervisor, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, in two large residential treatment settings for at-risk youth. He also served as the Director of the Placement Services Unit in New Jersey’s Children’s System of Care (CSOC), where he was responsible for managing the care of high-needs youth in residential treatment. Frank worked as a Senior Training and Consultation Specialist at Rutgers University, providing coaching and training to residential providers as part of a four-year SAMHSA grant to transform New Jersey’s CSOC to be trauma-informed and reduce the need for seclusion and restraint.

In the last two decades, as Founder and Director of Positive Culture Change, Frank has provided transformational training and consultation in the areas of leadership, workforce development, creating positive and motivating work cultures, and trauma-attuned approaches for residential treatment programs and school systems throughout the country. Frank is also an instructor for Rutgers University.

In January 2019, Frank was a vital force behind the launch of The Institute—CGE’s expansion of its uncompromised continuum of care to create education and prevention services for the community, directly informed by the same relational, trauma-attuned approach, guiding all CGE programs. As The Institute’s Chief Training Officer, Frank has assembled a team of expert trainers and has been consulting and training at schools, social impact organizations, and corporations and businesses across the tristate region, to great successes and positive, measurable culture change outcomes. Frank’s development and application of The Institute’s curriculum nurtures the adoption of our Attuned Community Model™ to provide education about the impact of stress, teach emotional regulation and de-escalation strategies to optimize the brain for learning and effective decision-making in any workplace and  enable a growth mindset to facilitate resilience and strong relationships—ultimately empowering communities.

Debra Ruisard is currently the Project Director for the NCTSN Category III Grant for The Center for Great Expectations and Senior Trainer for The Institute. Over the last 10 years at CGE she has held positions as Program Manager, Clinical Supervisor and Chief Clinical Officer. She obtained her MSW and DSW at Rutgers University where she is currently an adjunct professor. She has a Post Graduate Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute and is rostered as a Child Parent Psychotherapist. Dually-licensed as an LCSW and LCADC, Dr. Ruisard has extensive clinical experience in treating clients with complex trauma and substance use issues and has a private psychotherapy practice in Skillman, NJ.

Carolyn Flynn, Program Director, START, is a Early Relational Health (formerly Parent-Infant Mental Health) Specialist. Carolyn earned her Master’s in Counseling from Kean University. Carolyn’s passion for working with pregnant persons began with her work as a certified labor doula, providing education and support during pregnancy and childbirth since 2006. Carolyn is a strong advocate for changing childbirth practices to become more family-centered and trauma-informed, and has delivered numerous presentations on early relational health and the impact of neonatal trauma on maternal mental health and the mother-child dyad. Carolyn is rostered in Child Parent Psychotherapy and currently a fellow in the UMASS Infant-Parent Mental Health post-graduate certificate program.

Erica Pulliam is the Site Manager for START, The Center for Great Expectations’ community-based home visitation program. Erica is a graduate of Pillar College with an Associate in Arts degree in Biblical Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling and Psychology with a marriage and family concentration. Erica is a certified Domestic Violence Response Team member and a trained perinatal doula. Erica has worked at The Center since 2012, with advancing experience in our Adolescent Residential program and as a Case Manager. Erica is a demonstrated change agent for populations, who are marginalized, rejected, mistreated, and subjected to silence. Erica values her self-care and prioritizes spending time with her husband and two children.