Tegan Waring

creative coordinator

Tegan is the eye behind our design and marketing efforts. From our graphics to our website to social media and marketing campaigns, she keeps us looking and feeling good! After graduating from Smith College, she worked in the public sector for seven years and now, she helps other business owners with their creative needs. Whether it’s social media, graphic design, website management, or project coordination — she's a Jill of All Trades: www.modcreativeco.com

Community Relations Manager

Alena Labhart

Alena, our Community Relations Manager, is a dedicated relationship-builder with over fifteen years of experience in education and social services. Passionate about fostering connections, she has made community building the centerpiece of her personal and professional life. Alena is committed to creating safe and strong relationships, always ready to be of service and support to others. Outside of work, she can be found cheering on her daughters in various sports or enjoying the sun, laughter, music, and quality time with friends and family through activities like camping, wine tasting, concerts, workouts, cooking, and entertaining.

THE In-House DREAM TEAM

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Allison Whisenhunt, LCSW

Allison is an Associate Consultant and provides consultative support to organizations seeking trauma-informed resilience trainings and resources. She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Oregon, has dedicated over 15 years to behavioral health, earning her degree from Portland State University's School of Social Work in 2005. With a wealth of experience in medical settings, she currently serves as the Director of Behavioral Health & Care Management at Columbia Memorial Hospital. In this role, Allison oversees, develops, and expands behavioral health services across various clinics, providing crucial support to organizational staff. She's a recipient of the CARES Spirit Honorable Mention Award and the Katherine Clark Award for Excellence in Clinical Social Work Practice. Beyond her professional achievements, Allison contributes as a Governor-appointed member of the Rural Health Coordinator Council. As an Associate Consultant, I am fortunate to have Allison's expertise in supporting and training medical organizations on staff resilience and trauma-informed practice.

Our PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS

Violeta Rojas Ponce

Violeta works with Spanish-speaking children and their families, building a communication bridge to meet their intellectual, emotional, and social needs. She supports interpreting and translating in the classroom, as well as offers essential support to non-English-speaking students so they can thrive. Violeta is originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico, and Oregon has been her home for over 25 years. She is the mom of two beautiful girls and when not working, she loves to travel with her family, sing, and discover new places, food, and people.

bilingual CONSULTANT

Michael Schwartz, Ph.D.

Michael Schwartz, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in Oregon that specializes in working with children and their parents to promote resilience and well-being. Coming from a School Psychology background and having trained in an outpatient mental health setting for his postdoctoral fellowship, Michael feels at home consulting with a wide variety of professional providers to incorporate evidence-based practices to support children experiencing behavioral difficulties. He is certified as a Parent-Child Interaction Therapist (PCIT) and co-facilitates a group for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE). When not working, Michael likes to take his dog, Colby, swimming, play disc sports, play board games, ski, and sample Oregon beers and wine.

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Alyson VanAhn, PhD

Dr. Alyson VanAhn is a behavioral health consultant with over 25 years of experience helping children, families, individual adults, and couples work toward improving their quality of life using evidence-based practices for lasting change. Her training as a psychologist with family and educational systems emphases has been the platform for her consultant roles in early childhood, primary and post-secondary, and well as mental health and geriatric care systems. She specializes in first identifying organizational and interpersonal dynamics as well as clinical factors that perpetuate challenges for individuals and organizations, then making collaborative, sustainable adjustments to initiate and preserve long-term positive change. She guides leaders and direct care professionals to collaborate for effective care and leadership that honors diversity while maintaining progress toward strategic goals. 

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Dr. Denise Palke, MD

Dr. Denise Palke is a board-certified family medicine physician in the Portland, Oregon area. After more than 10 years in practice, she has seen her interests delve much more into health promotion and disease prevention. She is trained in lifestyle medicine and working on her functional medicine certification. This led her to Dr. Amy’s teachings as a way to get upstream of childhood stress and trauma and enjoys using the tools in both pediatric and adult care. In her free time, she enjoys CrossFit, walking her dog in her SE Portland neighborhood, whale-watching, and spending time with her family and friends.  

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Dr. Amber Nelson, Psyd

Dr. Amber Nelson is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatrics and chronic medical conditions. She earned her degree in Clinical Psychology from George Fox University, where she later served as an Associate Faculty member and Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Dr. Nelson completed her pediatric psychology internship at Harvard Medical School and a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Passionate about supporting under-resourced children and families, she uses a patient-centered, culturally specific approach to care. Certified in ADHD treatment and Ecopsychology, Dr. Nelson blends traditional and natural interventions for holistic healing. Outside of work, she's a Disney fan, holiday sweater enthusiast, and enjoys movies, cultural events, and spending time with her nonprofit, For Us, By Us Kinship Coalition.