Workforce Solutions Jam | Bridging the Gap

Melissa Blackwell, MSW has over 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field; and initially starting her career as a case manager for adults with Serious Mental Illnesses. Melissa served in various roles with Department of Juvenile Services, Psychotherapeutic Services, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and Department of Health & Human Services. Ms. Blackwell dedicated 10 years of Federal service as a Treatment Specialist who ensured each client received a thorough assessment and treatment referral for their behavioral health needs. Melissa is currently a Project Officer for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; overseeing the Minority Fellowship Program and Historically Black Colleges and Universities grants. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Morgan State University and Master of Social Work at University of Maryland, Baltimore. Melissa enjoys reading, hiking, and creating memories with family and friends during her spare time.

Ebony Chambers is the Director of Equity-Grounded Leadership for The College for Behavioral Health Leadership. In this role, she oversees the delivery, facilitation, content, and progress of the Equity-Grounded Leadership (EGL) Fellow Program.  Ebony has over 18 years of experience working with issues of social justice, equity, education, mental health and diversity.

Terence Fitzgerald, PhD, EdM, MSW, who specializes in trauma-informed, resilience-oriented, equity-focused systems (TIROES), was previously a clinical associate professor of social work at the University of Southern California’s Suzanne Peck-Dworak School of Social Work. Dr. Fitzgerald grew up in Champaign, Ill. He earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, master’s degrees in school social work and educational leadership and a doctorate in education policy studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As both a social worker and a race and gender scholar, for 12 years, Dr. Fitzgerald worked through K-12th grade levels as a school social worker, and then later as a special education equity coordinator in racially and economically diverse settings in Central Illinois. He has worked with social justice grassroots organizations that focus on marginalized children and families, aligned for the purpose of meeting state and federal requirements, and helped organizations and corporations work toward meeting the needs of culturally and socially just organizations and environments. Professionally, he has utilized his program and curriculum evaluation talents to enable public schools in Illinois to make financial, efficient, ethical, racially just policy, program and curriculum changes. His expertise as a racial scholar is spotlighted in numerous international and national media outlets, peer-reviewed journals, and collaborative and independently published books, including “The Reality of Diversity, Gender and Skin Color: From Living Room to Classroom,” “White Prescriptions? The Dangerous Social Potential for Ritalin and other Psychotropic Drugs to Harm Black Males” and “Black Males and Racism: Improving the Schooling and Life Chances of African Americans.”

Brandon Jones is the CEO at Triad, a leading provider of education, community, and career resources for behavioral and mental health students, professionals, and organizations. Before joining Triad in 2019, Brandon spent nearly two decades at Kaplan Test Prep: he started his career as an SAT instructor, and then advanced through a series of roles leading various field and home office functions, with the last several spent as the President of the largest business unit at Kaplan. Brandon is passionate about the transformative power of education; and as an advocate of grit and growth mindset, he believes that just about anyone can do just about anything. Brandon has an A.B. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University, and lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.