NYS TINRC staff are a unique group of licensed professionals, educators, and community leaders committed to elevating the network and creating responsive, more expansive communities across New York State.
Joanne Trinkle is a mission-driven executive leader with over 25 years of experience in child welfare, behavioral health, and systems reform across New York State and Nationally. After receiving her master’s in social work from Syracuse University, Joanne oversaw residential programs for transition aged youth at The Salvation Army, Syracuse Area Services. Decades and many roles later, Joanne attributes most character lessons in her career to the leaders of The Salvation Army who exemplified a core belief that service is the heart of leadership, all people have value and that difficult conversations are part of caring in action. After living in Schenectady for 20 years, then a stint of 5 years in Austin, Texas, Joanne now lives in Farmington, NY with her spouse of many years, Beth. Their little dog, Sam, loves to make his presence known in virtual meetings!
Elizabeth Meeker, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma. She is a seasoned consultant working with a broad range of organizations to implement and integrate practice change initiatives to improve outcomes and sustain change. As the Interim Director for Workforce Wellbeing, Elizabeth partners with organizations to ensure that they are best positioned to create workplaces in which everyone can thrive in order to provide high impact services and supports for those they serve. As Senior Advisor to the New York State Trauma Informed Network and Resource Center works with the team to make trauma-responsive practices a living, breathing part of systems, organizations, and daily work.
Elizabeth has enjoyed growing her professional skills through the course of her career. She is a Qualified Teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with a particular focus on enhancing staff wellness and collaborating on a Somatic Leadership Experience pilot project. Elizabeth has a private clinical practice specializing in working with children, adolescents and young adults and their families who have experienced grief, loss, and trauma.
Elizabeth’s personal and professional work is guided by the belief that “you transform the world by transforming yourself” and she is on a continuous journey of discovery, learning and unlearning. She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband Chris and enjoys traveling especially to visit her children, Ilana in Oregon and Jordan in Vermont.
Margarita is the Project Coordinator for the New York State Trauma Informed Network and Resource Center. Margarita has completed previous internships focusing on Adverse Childhood Experiences, adversity screening tools, and resilience practices. She received her BA in Anthropology and Psychology and Master of Public Health from St. John Fisher University.
Josh Higgins is currently the Community Provider Engagement Specialist with the NYS Trauma-Informed Network and Resource Center (TINRC). Bringing over 20 years of experience in the human services industry, Josh will be working with trauma-informed champions statewide to expand membership and active participation in the TINRC.
Josh received a B.S. in Psychology from SUNY Cortland in 2009. Josh’s most recent professional experiences have centered around program and project management, specifically in the development and integration of peer-focused, community-based mental health programs within not-for-profit organizations. This includes marketing and promotion, quality assurance, data analysis and reporting, as well as serving as a lead representative and advocate in various local, regional, and statewide mental health collaboratives and leadership consortiums.
Additionally, Josh is an accomplished musician and producer, and is currently a member of the Ithaca, NY based socially conscious hip-hop collective Gunpoets.
Gwen Olton (she / they) is a Senior Consultant with the New York State Trauma-Informed Network and Resource Center (TINRC) where they’ll be leading technical assistance, training and content development, and implementation support throughout the network. Before returning to CCSI, Gwen was the co-Executive Director of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. She considers herself a lifelong student of nonviolence and brings a unique background in geological and health sciences, philosophy, and creative practices to their work. Gwen is passionate about communication models and group processes that call forth our whole-selves, bring people together, and leverage for systemic and liberatory change. They love to draw and write and published a book on conflict transformation last year.
Myesha Heard is an experienced Executive Assistant based in Rochester, NY, with a proven track record of supporting executive leadership in both non-profit organizations and public-school districts. She is passionate about creating efficient systems, building strong relationships, and contributing to mission-driven teams that make a meaningful impact.
Currently, she supports the NYS TINRC at CCSI, helping to drive program success through coordination, communication, and behind-the-scenes support.
Beyond her core role, she served as Chair of the Internal Employee Culture & Engagement Committee, leading initiatives to foster a vibrant and inclusive workplace. In this capacity, she planned health and wellness events, managed budgets, coordinated vendor logistics, and gathered employee feedback through surveys to enhance engagement efforts.
Myesha holds an associate’s degree in science with a concentration in Health Studies from Monroe Community College. Her academic background has strengthened her analytical thinking, problem-solving, and attention to detail—skills she applies to every project and interaction.
She thrives in fast-paced environments and takes pride in keeping teams organized, connected, and aligned with their goals.
Marie Gillum is the Director of DEI Transformation for CCSI where she leads Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) opportunities in their Consulting and Technical Assistance Division. Within this role she works alongside organizations as they actively aim to incorporate philosophies that highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organizational structures. Marie has experience facilitating DEI workshops, dialogues, and presentations within the local Rochester, NY community and across the nation. Marie has experience recruiting and retaining employees in the field of academia as well as experience leading and facilitating programs that foster inclusion and belonging for employees of diverse backgrounds. In addition to Marie’s work in the field of DEI, she also is fluent in American Sign Language and has a background in Nursing. Marie received her Masters Degree in Professional Studies, with concentrations in Human Resource Development and Diversity and Inclusion from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Marie is currently a Visionary Practice & Regenerative Leadership doctoral student at the South Western College and New Earth Institute in Santa Fe, NM.
Bri is a Consultant on CCSI’s Research & Evaluation team. Within this role, she manages projects supporting government agencies and community-based organizations focusing on areas of health care system transformation, needs assessment, performance improvement and implementation support, and evaluation. Bri has experience conducting needs assessments, focus groups, and improvement plans at a county-wide level that play a pivotal role in driving transformative change through data-driven insights. Bri received her Master of Public Health from Binghamton University and strives to empower individuals through strategic implementation of impactful programs and policies.
Jenna Velez, LCSW, serves as the Senior Director of Government Partnerships and Business Strategy at CCSI. She cultivates trusted partnerships with state and local government agencies and oversees business strategy engagements that advance meaningful, values-aligned systems change across behavioral health and human services. Jenna brings deep experience leading complex change initiatives that honor organizational mission, culture, and community context, moving beyond surface-level strategies to address the underlying root causes that shape performance and outcomes. Her business strategy work is intentionally integrated with CCSI’s full team of experts, reflecting a belief that sustainable change is powered by the interconnectedness of strategy, structure, operations, and culture. Grounded in trauma-responsive and equity-centered practice, Jenna partners with public-sector leaders to align strategy, operations, and workforce approaches with core values, ensuring change efforts are both effective and enduring. She is known for building strong, trust-based partnerships that bring partners across perspectives into shared purpose and vision, enabling collaborative action and lasting, high-impact change. Jenna holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.
Amy Fassold, MPH, is a Senior Consultant on CCSI’s Research & Evaluation team. In her role, Amy manages projects supporting government agencies and community-based organizations to perform impactful evaluations with actionable insights through a public health lens. Amy has experience in emergency planning, emergency support functions, training needs assessments and data-driven evaluations on county-wide levels. She strives to empower communities by forging partnerships with community members, stakeholders and key partners to address social determinants of health and make meaningful contributions to supporting healthier communities. Amy received her Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University and went on to earn a Master of Public Health from SUNY Binghamton.
Brian Lam is an IT Project Manager with CCSI providing project management, business analysis, training, and support for various client technology initiatives.
Brian has over a decade of experience with full cycle software development and implementation for customer relationship management (CRM) and other service operations systems. He also worked with governmental essential and human services as a community liaison for a New York State Assembly member. Brian earned his BS in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University and his Project Management certification from New York University.
