Meet Our Team

Lisa is an epidemiologist and public health researcher with more than 15 years of experience in health services research, health care quality measurement, quantitative data analysis and health policy. Additionally, she has extensive experience in project management particularly working with foundations on grants management activities (RFP development, contracting, monitoring and evaluation). She is also an expert in stakeholder engagement with diverse communities of academics, researchers, and patients, community-based health studies, and program evaluation.

Deputy Director, CYC
Founder, NREIC

Matt is a change-maker, facilitator and inclusive, community-driven leader with expertise in program design and implementation science. Matt’s career has been shaped by and continues to hinge on the engagement of diverse voices in the design and implementation of solutions to a diverse range of opportunities and challenges. Matt has served as Deputy Director of CYC since 2014. In this role, Matt oversees the installation and initial implementation of the CYC’s entire portfolio of evidence-based programs and strategies.

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Dr. Anderson is the Assistant Director of the Center for Family Research at the University of Georgia. She provides direct oversight and works closely with the staff who lead and support active research projects. Dr. Anderson also oversees the dissemination of the Strong African American American Families (SAAF) and the Strong African American – Teen Program (SAAF-T), by promoting the program as well as coordinating training and providing technical assistance to organizations that purchase SAAF.

Leon has worked in state, medical, school based, and clinical outpatient & inpatient social work field since 2010 in urban, rural, and Tribal settings serving several populations to include: Native Americans, Hispanics, Immigrants, Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elders, Veterans, Developmentally Delayed, Individuals with TBI, and Reintegrated Citizens with individual, couple, family, and group therapies along with strategic community prevention work as a clinician, case manager, presenter, program director, and grant writer.

Margaret is a founding partner of Mainspring Consulting, a national consulting firm that works with foundations, policymakers, and state and community leaders to design effective investments for families and communities. She has provided training and technical assistance to hundreds of public and private leaders around the country focused on financing and sustaining effective initiatives. Margaret has conducted research and produced publications exploring funding sources and financing strategies to support education, youth development, prevention and child welfare initiatives.

Antonio conducts research on the development and evaluation of interventions in schools and other community settings as well as on the factors that are associated with the development of mental health problems among Latinx and other ethnic and linguistic minority youth. Antonio is the Director of the Culture and Evidence-Based Practice Lab at DePaul University. In that role he is also the Primary Developer and Disseminator of Act and Adapt.

Laurie is the Principal of Pilina Pathways LLC working as a consultant and mediator. “Pilina” is the Hawaiian word for relationship. Laurie is the founder and recently retired Executive Director of EPIC ʻOhana, a nonprofit organization serving families, children and youth in the child welfare system. “EPIC”, which stands for Effective Planning and Innovative Communication, reflects the organization’s goal of breaking down barriers between social workers, families, government systems and others. EPIC is the backbone organization for a network of agencies and foundations called Nā Kama a Hāloa, which seeks to improve outcomes for native Hawaiian children touched by the child welfare system. 

Maya Boustani is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Loma Linda University and a licensed clinical child and adolescent psychologist. Maya has made significant contributions to the field through her research on the “common elements” of prevention programming, which aims to identify shared ingredients across diverse prevention programs for youth. Her work suggests that multiple adverse outcomes may share common underlying risk and resilience pathways, prompting exploration into modular approaches to prevention and intervention. These approaches aim to minimize burdens on communities while promoting mental health strategies that can be delivered by non-clinical providers.

Megan is the Systemic Change Lead at Dartington Service Design Lab, specializing in systems thinking and participatory approaches to drive meaningful change. She brings expertise in community-based system dynamics, qualitative research, and collaborative design to support the development of impactful, empowering services. Megan leads several place-based systems change initiatives in the UK working to create impactful solutions alongside communities and stakeholders.

Tim is CEO at Dartington Service Design Lab and is responsible for shaping the ideas and strategic direction of the organization. Tim has spent more than two decades working with numerous public systems, charities and foundations to help shape a series of bold investments and experiments designed to improve child outcomes. Underpinning all his work is a deep commitment to generating and using evidence, fused with human-centered and systemic design approaches.

Deputy Director, CYC
Founder, NREIC

Matt Billings is a change-maker, facilitator and inclusive, community-driven leader with expertise in program design and implementation science. Matt’s career has been shaped by and continues to hinge on the engagement of diverse voices in the design and implementation of solutions to a diverse range of opportunities and challenges.

Matt has served as Deputy Director of the Children and Youth Cabinet of Rhode Island (CYC) since 2014. In this role, Matt has helped grow CYC from a $200K organization to a $2M organization, overseeing the installation and initial implementation of the CYC’s entire portfolio of evidence-based programs and strategies. Matt has also led the conceiving, designing, and convening of the CYC’s National Race Equity Implementation Center; presents and facilitates/coaches nationally on race, equity, program design and implementation; and always ensures a relentless focus on authentic participant engagement and cultural relevance. Matt was previously the program director at Inspiring Minds (IM). A Providence College grad, he also spent two years as program director for City Year Rhode Island, and respective one-year assignments with AmeriCorps Habitat for Humanity in Durham, North Carolina, and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps in Washington, D.C.

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Amanda most recently served as Vice President of Programs and Implementation at the intermediary Invest in Kids in Denver, Colorado working to ensure the high quality delivery of evidence-based programs in early childhood throughout Colorado. Previously, Amanda worked at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress serving mental health sites nationally through consultation on methods of effective clinical training, and of the implementation of trauma-focused evidence-based programs.
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