Leadership & Staff
Center for Trauma & Embodiment is a growing, global program.
We believe that a leadership model that vests decision-making in only a few people would be detrimental to the long-term development of the work. Though trauma infiltrates all communities, we recognize that some are impacted more than others due to predominant systems of power and oppression. Therefore, any truly trauma-informed program would be modeled on shared systems of power through which communities most impacted by trauma would share a role in the development of approaches that seek to restore healing.
So, we created a Leadership Team that benefits from the input and scrutiny of multiple individuals with different identities, lived experiences, and professional competencies. As a global program, our multi-cultural and intersectional composition is our greatest strength. We expect our team to continue to grow and diversify along with our program.
Leadership Team
Jenn Turner • she/her/hers
Co-Director & Founder • LMHC, RYT, TCTSY-F
Jenn has had the honor of working with survivors of trauma for all of her career. Along with working in private practice as a trauma-informed therapist, Jenn is the Co-Director of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment where she works to oversee training and supports the development of body-first interventions for healing from trauma. Jenn also leads trainings in Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) throughout the U.S, provides consultation to organizations on how to become more trauma informed at all levels. In 2021, Jenn edited the book Embodied Healing: Survivor and Facilitator voices from the practice of Trauma Sensitive Yoga.
Dave Emerson • he/him/his
Co-Director & Founder • YACEP, TCTSY-F
Dave is the founder of Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) for the Justice Resource Institute in Massachusetts, where he coined the term “trauma-sensitive yoga”. from 2009-2011 he was responsible for curriculum development, supervision and oversight of the yoga intervention component of the first of its kind, NIH funded study to assess the utility of yoga for survivors of trauma. Dave has developed, conducted, and supervised TCTSY groups for rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, residential programs for youth, active duty military personnel, survivors of terrorism, and Veterans Administration centers and clinics and more. He is the co-author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, released in 2011 by North Atlantic Books and Author of, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy (Norton, 2015). In 2018, Dave Emerson co-founded the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI.
Sydney Spears, PhD • she/her/hers
CFTE Leadership Team • LSCSW, RYT, TCTSY-F
Sydney is a licensed clinical social worker. She has worked in schools, mental health agencies, and private practice providing support and psychotherapy to adults, couples, and families. Her areas of interest and research have included brain-based mindfulness, trauma interventions, diversity, equity and inclusion, grief and loss issues, holistic wellness, and professional self-care. Sydney is committed to advancing social justice through providing more opportunities for diverse and underrepresented populations to gain more access to the healing power of yoga, sensorimotor practices and mindfulness. Sydney has completed intensive training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, and a certification in Mindful Self-Compassion training from the University of California. Sydney has also completed a mindfulness leadership training developed at Google to foster peak performance for employees called “Engage” from the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute in San Francisco. Currently, Sydney is a professor at The University of Kansas-Edwards Campus. Through her business, The Insight Studio, she offers trainings, workshops and programs in workplace mindfulness, brain-based mindfulness for stress relief, social justice yoga/movement and trauma-sensitive yoga with at-risk children in the schools. She provides trauma-sensitive yoga classes at the Kansas City VA for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, trauma-sensitive yoga/movement private and group sessions, and yoga for stress-relief group and individual sessions.
Tiffany Johnson, PhD • she/her/hers
Leadership Consultant • PhD, TCTSY-F
Dr. Tiffany Johnson resides in Atlanta, GA and is a work, equity, and wellness researcher, writer, and teacher. She teaches Organizational Behavior at Georgia Tech and she does research related to work(places), equity, and wellness. Tiffany is also a registered yoga and meditation teacher. Having been trained by Octavia Raheem and Meryl Arnett in 2018-2019, she specializes in offering “chill” yoga classes – classes that honor and infuse movement and stillness-based practices. Her deep conviction for integrating research and practice(s) is embodied through her work consulting organizations on work and wellness related topics, guiding trauma-informed contemplative practices within organizations, and leading retreats, workshops, etc. for Black and Brown women in academia. Tiffany completed her TCTSY Certification in Fall 2020, and she looks forward to integrating all that she learns into her current and future work.
CFTE & TCTSY STAFF
Sandy Mazur • she/her/hers
Director of Development
Sandy is the Director of Development at the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI in Boston. She leads its development and marketing efforts, procuring philanthropic resources to advance the organization’s mission. Additionally, she provides support to the Metropolitan Boston Complex Trauma Treatment Initiative (MB-CTTI), an NCTSN Category III community treatment and service center, delivering evidence-based trauma interventions to high-risk and underserved complex trauma-exposed children and youth living in the Metropolitan Boston region.
Sandy was previously employed as the Director of Operations for the Trauma Center at JRI, where she managed the financial reporting, payroll, technology and human resource responsibilities for the Center and their satellite clinic, Metrowest Behavioral Health Center, in Acton. She played an integral part in the center’s mission to help victims of trauma rebuild and reclaim their lives. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, she was Vice President at the Bank of America, where she provided systems support for modification, enhancement, and conversion of business systems for the Global Wealth and Investments Division.
Karen Schwartz • she/her/hers
Director of Operations, Certification Program Mentor • LMSW, C-IAYT, TCTSY-F, RYT-500
Karen has more than 25 years of experience facilitating mind-body integration with individuals and groups. With a gentle, warm, empathic approach infused with humor, Karen’s main objective is to help people feel empowered to forge their own path and reach their highest potential. She has utilized her unique, holistic approach with people recovering from addiction, eating disorders, trauma, domestic violence, depression and anxiety, as well as those seeking personal growth and a deeper expression of their spirituality. Karen holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and a postgraduate certificate in Contemplative Clinical Practice from Smith College School of Social Work. She is a certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, a certified Yoga teacher with advanced training from White Lotus Yoga Foundation, an IAYT certified Yoga therapist, and a certified meditation teacher trained by senior Shambhala teacher David Nichtern. She is also a freelance writer whose work has appeared in a variety of online and print publications.
Stefan Piscitelli • he/him/his
Director of Communications • MA, E-RYT 500, TCTSY-F
Stefan’s mission as an educator and human is to inspire and empower mindful living through yoga and creativity. Having experienced a great loss in his immediate family in 2012, he spent the next 10 years exploring life’s greatest questions. He studied classical yoga with the Sivananda community, earning his 200-hour yoga certification in 2013. He then earned his master’s degree in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University while teaching English abroad in Italy. After returning to the U.S., Stefan went on to complete a 300-hour training in classical yoga philosophy, again with the Sivananda community. He completed the TCTSY Certification Program in 2020. Stefan is also the director of Outermost Yoga, a yoga studio and community in Provincetown, MA, which he founded in 2016. He moonlights as a web designer, writes a weekly astrology column for Out.com, and is the director of Bhaktistock Sacred Music Festival. He lives between Cape Cod and Washington, DC with his husband Samuel and their dog, Bravo.
Angelica Emery-Fertitta • she/her/hers
Intake Coordinator • LCSW, RYT-500, TCTSY-F
Angelica is dedicated to bringing accessible movement experiences to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. She strongly believes in the importance of the inclusion of the body in the process of post-traumatic healing and growth. Angelica has experience facilitating for both youth and adults, in groups and individual sessions. She has taught at residential treatment facilities for youth; a teen parenting program; universities; and other local non-profits. When Angelica is not facilitating TCTSY, she works with young people and families in the Greater Boston Area and Worcester Area with a focus on providing trauma-informed, culturally responsive therapy and therapeutic care. Angelica was a contributing author to Embodied Healing: Survivor and Facilitator Voices from the Practice of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga. Angelica received her Master's in Social Work (MSW) from Bridgewater State University. She is a certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, a mentor in the certificate program, as well as a registered yoga teacher. Angelica trained with Yoga Garden San Francisco for both her 200-hr training and her Kids Yoga training. She has also completed a Yoga for Teens Training with Christine Miele.
Email: aemeryfertitta@gmail.com & aemeryfertitta@jri.org
For info on zoom based drop-in sessions with Angelica, please see: https://jri.org/get-involved/tctsy-classes
Krystal Pérez Mercado • she/her/hers
Certification Program Coordinator, Licensed Trainer • MA, TCTSY-F, RYT
Krystal is a sociologist with a Master in Social Communication dedicated to work with domestic violence and sexual abuse victims with more than a decade of experience. She is also a graduate student of Counseling in Mental Health. In 2017 she co-founded a psychotherapy and body-based project for trauma survivors in Latin America integrating TCTSY as a complementary therapy. Krystal has experience working in prisons, domestic violence + women trafficking shelters and bringing embodiment practices into mental health spaces. In her time off she loves traveling, natural spaces and social interactions. Krystal collaborates with the CFTE as a TCTSY facilitator, mentor and trainer.
Email: kperez@jri.org • Website: movimientosensible.com