Jeff Levy, LCSW, CTRS
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Jeff brings with him almost 30 years experience as a recreation therapist and social worker. This unique combination of training creates a foundation for practice that emphasizes creativity, strengths, experiential learning, and a firm belief in the body-mind connection. He has provided training locally and nationally and has authored numerous articles addressing a broad range of issues including psychotherapy practice, training, and diversity. His training efforts were twice recognized nationally, receiving the Psychotherapy Networker's "Innovations in Training" award. Jeff is also a Part-Time Lecturer at the School of Social Service Administration/University of Chicago.
In the past, Jeff has taught at University of Illinois-Chicago/Jane Addams College of Social Work, Aurora University, Chicago State University, and The University of Toledo/Ohio. He was also Associate Faculty with The Chicago Center for Family Health. Prior to private practice and his work with Live Oak, Jeff was the Associate Executive Director and Clinical Director for Teen Living Programs, Inc. in Chicago, the Director of Program Development at the Center for Contextual Change in Skokie and Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Staff Development at Lawrence Hall Youth Services in Chicago.
Jeff's volunteer experience has included:
- Board Member, National Runaway Switchboard
- Board Member, American Therapeutic Recreation Association
- Associate Editor, Families in Society
- Triennial Reviewer, United Way of Chicago
- Grant Reviewer, Dept. of Health & Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families
- Trainer/Group Facilitator, Horizons Community Services (now known as the Center on Halsted)
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Bruce Koff, LCSW
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
As a seasoned professional who has been in the field of mental health since 1976, Bruce has presented both nationally and locally on a wide range of LGBTQ issues including clinical practice with individuals, couples and families, working with youth, ethical issues, HIV, domestic violence, and recovery from trauma, including childhood sexual/physical abuse He is a Lecturer at The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and an Associate Faculty member at the Chicago Center for Family Health, an affiliate of The University of Chicago. He has also served as Executive Director of The Center on Halsted (formerly Horizons Community Services), Clinical Director of the Evelyn Hooker Center for Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, a program of The University of Chicago Department of Psychiatry and Adjunct Faculty member at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.
Bruce is the co-author of Something To Tell You: The Road Families Travel When A Child Is Gay (Columbia University Press, 2000), and writes an online column for Windy City Media Group. A member of the American Family Therapy Academy, Bruce has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, and is the recipient of the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Award, the HUMAN FIRST Award, the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force Human Rights Achievement Award, the Gay Chicago Magazine Hall of Fame Award, and the Grinnell College Alumni Award. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelors degree from Grinnell College and a Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Live Oak Associates
Cal Calvird, MA, LPC
Clinical Associate
Cal has a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He strongly believes in a strength-based, collaborative approach to therapy and in the creative potential of each person to realize constructive, meaningful change. Particular areas of interest include creativity, chronic wellness, mind-body integration, substance misuse, and compulsive or unhelpful behaviors. Cal is a creative process group facilitator at the Open Studio Project in Evanston, and received his Master's in Interdisciplinary Art from Columbia College Chicago in 2006. As a 2009-10 Schweitzer Fellow, Cal initiated intuitive art-making and writing workshops with older adults at The Center on Halsted.r adults
Heidi Coleman, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Heidi has over 10 years of experience working with late adolescents and draws from a theater background in both professional and academic contexts. In addition to her work at Live Oak, she is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago and the head of the undergraduate program in Theater and Performance Studies. She has extensive experience with group work and a firm belief in the possibilities of strength-based, process-oriented individual and group practice. Particular areas of interest include trauma, non-traditional families, depression, and anxiety arising from life transitions.
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Chris Cotten, PhD, LCSW, ACSW
Trainer and Consultant
Chris is a clinical social worker with more than 15 years of clinical and supervisory experience -- primarily in residential treatment and child welfare settings. He has worked with Jeff Levy, Live Oak CEO, since 1993, conducting staff and in-service training with such organizations as The Night Ministry, Teen Living Programs, Rainbow House, the Salvation Army, Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois, Lawrence Hall Youth Services, and Uhlich Children's Advantage Network. As a trainer for CESO (formerly known as the Community Emergency Shelter Organization, now renamed the Center for Excellence in Training Organizations), he conducted sessions on case management, counseling, communication skills, and documentation (among other topics) for service providers in Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford. In addition to his work with Live Oak, Chris is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Work at Indiana University Northwest, in Gary. He received his MSW from New York University, his PhD in social work from UIC's Jane Addams College of Social Work (in 2006) and has been adjunct faculty both at UIC and at The University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.
Jennifer Griffin, MA, LPC
Director of Administration
Jennifer received a Master's degree in Community and School Counseling from Roosevelt University. She is a licensed professional counselor and holds a Type 73 certification. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings. Jennifer operates from a strengths based and solution-focused perspective and is committed to building collaborative relationships. Her clinical interests and experience include: domestic violence, trauma, depression, anger management, adult children of alcoholics, life transitions, and anxiety. In addition to providing psychotherapy at Live Oak, Jennifer coordinates the intake process with new clients and manages the office and other administrative responsibilities.
Erich Heintzen, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Erich is a psychotherapist and trainer at Live Oak. His extensive experience with families and with at-risk youth -- including 6 years as a family therapist in the Child and Adolescent Program of Counseling Center of Lakeview in Chicago-- inform both his training expertise and clinical practice . Utilizing a framework of strengthening client's resiliencies, Erich employs systemic and solution focused approaches in his work with individuals and groups. He specializes in trauma, couples therapy, youth and family issues, gay affirmative treatment, and providing consultation and supervision to other health professionals.
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Jaime Henry-Juravic, LMFT
Psychotherapist
Jaime is a graduate of the Family Institute at Northwestern University. Her clinical work is informed by her training as a Marriage and Family Therapist as well as her background in movement and the arts. She has a firm belief in the healing nature of the therapist/client relationship as well as the importance of integrating both mind and body approaches. In addition to her work with individuals, couples and families, Jaime also facilitates a skill-development group for trauma survivors called "Becoming Safely Embodied”, as well as an ongoing process group for graduates of the Becoming Safely Embodied group. In addition to her work at Live Oak, Jaime is an Affiliate Therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Her practice includes individuals and couples.
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Mark Hodar, MA
Clinical Associate
Mark holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has spent nearly fifteen years working with Chicago's LGBTQ community, particularly around issues of identity, sexual health, harm reduction, grief & loss, and HIV/AIDS. He has worked with high schools and universities throughout the Midwest, training students and faculty on issues of diversity and the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ individuals. In addition to his work at Live Oak, Mark works at Howard Brown Health Center, counseling groups and individuals. In 2009, Mark received the State of Illinois' Red Ribbon Award, given for his dedication, compassion, and effectiveness.
Lee Jacobs Riggs, MA
Post Graduate Fellow
Lee is a graduate of The Adler School of Professional Psychology Marriage and Family Therapy Program. She has worked for many years with immigrant communities, survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and youth and their families. She takes a strength-based, feminist, family systems-oriented approach to therapy and draws inspiration from disability justice, healing justice, and transformative justice movements. Lee is particularly interested in trauma, depression and self esteem, sexual health and pleasure, LGBTQ and other marginalized sexual identities, and supporting families and individuals through transitions.
Nikki Lively, LCSW
Trainer and Consultant
Nikki has over ten years of clinical experience providing individual, couples, and family therapy, and specializes in the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and the impact of these mood disorders on partner and parent-infant relationships.
Nikki is a key team member of the Illinois Perinatal Mental Health Project at UIC, a statewide initiative to train and provide consultation to providers caring for pregnant and postpartum women in the screening, assessment, and treatment of perinatal depression. Nikki also provides training and consultation to mental health professionals on the unique aspects of providing psychotherapy to families transitioning into parenthood.
Nikki maintains a private practice where she works with adolescents, adults, and couples, and provides clinical supervision and consultation to developing therapists. Nikki received her training at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration from which she holds a Masters degree in Social Work, and the Erikson Institute from which she completed the certificate program in Infant Mental Health.
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Alisa Messana, LCSW
Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Consultant
Alisa is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked with youth and families as a therapist and supervisor for 15 years. She has primarily focused on providing individual, couples and family therapy, along with case management and outreach services, in community based mental health settings. Alisa also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Elmhurst College and continues to guest lecture there. Alisa believes in engaging clients from a strengths-based, family systems perspective through a trauma informed lens.
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Prem Pahwa, LCSW
Trainer and Consultant
Prem has worked with LGBTQ youth and adults for the past 10 years in a variety of settings including community-based and residential group care settings. As the former Director of Youth Services at Horizons (now the Center on Halsted), Prem provided individual and group psychotherapy to LGBTQ youth, as well as training and consultation to agencies looking to provide services to this population. With Live Oak, Prem continues to provide training and consultation on issues related to LGBTQ individuals and their families, as well as on topics of cultural competence in clinical practice. In additional to his work with Live Oak, Prem consults with Vital Bridges, the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, and the Asian Health Coalition and has recently done collaborative work with Test Positive Aware Network and The Pride Institute. He also maintains a full-time private psychotherapy practice. Prem received his MA degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
Mark Petroelje, MA, LPC
Clinical Associate
Mark takes a relational approach to psychotherapy, helping people gain greater self-acceptance. To assist in facilitating personal growth, Mark encourages holistic and process-oriented ways of thinking, integrating mind, body, brain, and spirit. Some of his clinical interests include: coping with traumatic experiences, gender and social identity development, same-sex relationships, process addictions, and living with HIV. Mark received a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Counseling at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Rachel Rilinger, MA, MT-BC, NMT
Music Therapist, Trainer, and Consultant
Rachel is a board certified music therapist with a masters degree from The University of Iowa. She has had experience using music therapy with many different populations including those in hospice, adults with developmental disabilities, children with conduct disorders, geriatric psychiatry, older adults with dementia, and bilingual populations. Rachel is classically trained on the piano with 20 years of experience and a music degree from the University of Illinois. Rachel also plays guitar, percussive instruments, sings, and has knowledge of different indigenous instruments such as the mbira, kalimba, tarka, sikuri, talempong, and saz. Rachel believes in using music for health, personal empowerment, and as an avenue to achieve personal goals.
Erica Rumpel, MA
Trainer and Consultant
Erica holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Counseling from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) and has been a yoga and meditation instructor for 7 years. Her psychotherapy practice is informed by eastern philosophy, body-mind integration, and the premise that an individual is continuously unfolding to greater self-awareness, acceptance and an expression of authenticity. She has worked extensively with diverse teens and adults and specializes in the use of yoga techniques, mindfulness, and meditation for anxiety, depression, trauma and addictions. Particular areas of interest include: health psychology, yoga, mindfulness, stress reduction, and training clinicians to incorporate these techniques into clinical practice. In addition to her work at Live Oak, Erica owns Nature Yoga Sanctuary and is a Service Learning Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
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Carolyn Schneider, M.A., LCPC
Director of Professional Development
Carolyn is a psychotherapist and trainer at Live Oak. She has over 15 years experience as a clinician, trainer and administrator. Carolyn has served as the Mental Health Services Director at the Center on Halsted and Director of The Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, the outgrowth of Carl Rogers' Counseling Center at the University of Chicago. She is also an adjunct trainer at the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network where she provides basic skills training and ongoing consultation to domestic violence and sexual assault counselors. Her clinical work is informed by her training as a client-centered therapist, focusing on the individual's right to self-determination and the provision of a therapeutic environment emphasizing acceptance, self-awareness, and growth. She is particularly experienced in working with couples in discord or transition, as well as working with individuals coping with identity, career, and relationship concerns, sexuality and sexual dysfunction, and depression. She is also experienced working with individuals exploring gender identity and pursuing gender transitions.
Laurel Spindel, MA
Clinical Associate
Laurel completed her graduate studies in social work at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. She has worked with adolescents and adults providing individual and group therapy as well as individuals coping with job loss and other life transitions. Laurel believes therapy can provide a healing space for individuals to overcome barriers in order to fully engage with the possibilities of life. She is particularly interested in creative approaches to therapy, including dream work, and believes in the importance of tending to mind and body for overall wellbeing. In addition to her work at Live Oak, Laurel works in child and family policy research and holds masterÕs degrees in history and public policy from the University of Chicago.
Matt Spitzmueller, MA, MSW
Clinical Associate
Matt has over five years of direct practice experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. At four Chicago-based agencies, he has led numerous groups in topics that include substance abuse, advocacy, and art therapy. He has taught a variety of courses on literature, philosophy, and psychology in the at-large program at the G. G. Jung Institute in Evanston. In addition to Matt's work at Live Oak, he is currently a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, where he researches community mental health policy and practice. He has two masters degrees from the University of Chicago, one in history of religions and another in social work with a clinical emphasis.
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Colleen Stiles-Shields, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Colleen is a licensed clinical social worker with a master's degree from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. Colleen's psychotherapy practice is informed by a systems-oriented and strengths-based philosophy. She has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and families in school, court, and hospital settings. In addition to her work at Live Oak, Colleen is a therapist at the University of Chicago Medical Center's Outpatient Eating and Weight Disorders Program. Particular areas of interest include LGBTQ issues, depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, obesity, couples, adolescents, and families.
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Anthony Verdino, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Anthony holds a Master's degree in social work with a mental health concentration from Loyola University Chicago, as well as a Master of Arts degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. He has varied experience working with both youth and adults in community-based mental health, social service and residential settings. Anthony maintains a fundamental belief that the therapeutic relationship involves enhancing self-awareness and building on existing strengths. It is through this collaborative effort that people learn about themselves and begin to feel empowered and motivated to make meaningful decisions toward change and growth. His areas of focus and particular interest are LGBTQ issues, trauma and violence, depression, anxiety, substance use, adolescence and grief/loss. In addition to his work with Live Oak, Anthony is also the Manager of HIV Care Services at Howard Brown Health Center.
Jacquelyn Vincson, PhD
Trainer and Consultant
Jacquelyn has over 20 years experience as a social worker, educator, researcher, and program developer. Her professional experience concentrates within the areas of family and child development. She has worked with numerous human service organizations to build capacity in the areas of the administration of clinical services, maternal child health, leadership, and supervision. Jacquelyn has provided evaluation, technical assistance and consultation to such organizations as Chicago Public Schools Early Childhood Services, Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, and Children's Home + Aid. She advises organizations on management and leadership principles to coalesce theory and practice and to build organizational capacity.
Jacquelyn has conducted training on child development, motivational interviewing, human and family development, communication, writing and documentation, team building, and strategic planning. She coordinated the maternal child health program at the School of Social Service Administration, and directed the family support program at La Rabida Children's Hospital for children with chronic illness and their families. She has taught graduate courses in health, social policy, team effectiveness and decision-making, and social work practice. Jacquelyn's research on literacy outcomes for young children helps inform parents how to strengthen their child's cognitive and social emotional readiness for school.
Live Oak Graduate Interns
Kelly Cook-Ginn, MS
Kelly is completing her graduate degree in the evening program at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. An advocate for several years in the Chicago LGBTQ community, Kelly has worked with young people, those experiencing substance abuse and homelessness, and people with chronic illness. Kelly is particularly interested in gender and identity development, collaborative and client-centered care, and working with people who have experienced trauma. Kelly also holds a Master's degree from King's College London in Cities, Culture and Social Change, and currently works at Howard Brown Health Center as the Program Coordinator for the adult case management department.
Anne Daly
Anne is completing a Masters degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in counseling at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Anne has five years experience working in the non-profit sector where she organized mentoring programs between college students and elementary school children and coordinated educational training conferences. She has also worked with homeless adults leading discussion on topics including decision-making, healthy relationships, and self-esteem. Anne takes a humanistic strengths based approach to help clients meet their goals. She is particularly interested in group counseling, life transitions, identity development, and mind/body connections.
Alissa Eischens, MPH
Alissa is completing her graduate degree in clinical social work at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. ÊShe has provided counseling to child, adolescent, and adult survivors of sexual assault and abuse. ÊShe sees therapy as a healing relationship that promotes acceptance, growth, and change. ÊHer particular areas of interest include trauma and abuse, depression and anxiety, relationship issues, life transitions, self-esteem, and sexual orientation and gender identity issues. Alissa also holds a Master of Public Health degree and worked for several years in violence and substance abuse prevention.
Sara Hays
Sara is pursuing a Masters degree in social work with a concentration in mental health at Loyola University of Chicago's School of Social Work. Sara believes that a safe therapy relationship with collaborative exploration can allow people to grow more fully and live more mindfully in the present. Prior to pursuing a career as a therapist, Sara worked in the music industry and has a unique understanding of the challenges creative professionals face in maintaining balance in their lives. Additionally, she has a strong interest in helping individuals cope with job stress, career transitions, and difficult workplace dynamics. Other interests include gender and sexuality, relationship issues, addictions, depression, anxiety, trauma and loss.
Ryan Maher, CYT
Ryan is completing a graduate degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in counseling at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. His approach to therapy integrates breathing, relaxation, dream work, mythology, archetypes, personal narrative, and an appreciation for the relationship between mind and body. Ryan is a certified yoga teacher who believes life experiences, emotions, and memories leave powerful impressions that the body retains. His clinical interests include grief, loss, addiction, gender, sexuality and identity issues, life transitions, trauma, anxiety, and health concerns.
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