Carla Kmett Danielson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Program Director

Dr. Danielson is an Assistant Professor and licensed Clinical Psychologist at the NCVC whose clinical and research activities have primarily focused on reducing risk for substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, and mental health problems among adolescents.  She has been awarded a NIDA K23 grant, a Young Investigator NARSAD Award, and Early Career Investigator Awards from College of Problems of Drug Dependence and NIDA.  She oversees all activities of the EMPOWERR Program.

Ben Saunders, PhD
Professor
Program Co-Director

Dr. Saunders is a Professor and the Associate Director of the NCVC.  He is a widely published researcher who serves on editorial boards for several journals.  In addition, Dr. Saunders was co-coordinator of TF-CBT Web, and served as co-chair of the NCTSN Training Technology Workgroup. He regularly is invited to present at regional, national, and international meetings related to mental health needs of at-risk youth. In addition to assisting Dr. Danielson in overseeing all EMPOWERR activities, Dr. Saunders also supplies expertise in the development of EMPOWERR's web-based services.

Alyssa Rheingold, PhD
Associate Professor
Case Manager Co-Director

Dr. Rheingold is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor at the NCVC.  Her expertise includes treatment of health-risk and mental health issues as well as the prevention of health risk behavior and interpersonal violence.  She is also the Principle Investigator (PI) on a CDC funded grant examining the effectiveness of an abuse-prevention program with child-care professionals.  In addition, she is the PI on a VOCA-funded grant examining ways to improve resources for survivors of homicide.  She is responsible for overseeing case management services for the EMPOWERR Program as well as assisting in recruiting participating agencies.

Jenna McCauley, PhD
Genius

Michael de Arellano, PhD
Associate Professor
Case Manager Co-Director/ Director of Cultural Competence

Dr. de Arellano is Associate Professor and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at the NCVC. His clinical work and research focus on developing and evaluating treatment services for children from traditionally underserved population groups (e.g., AA, Latino, rural, economically disadvantaged). He is the director and founder of the Community Outreach-Program Esperanza (COPE) Clinic, which provides community-based clinical services, advocacy, and intensive case management to underserved children and families.  His current projects include adapting evidence-based interventions for the use with youth from ethnic minority backgrounds. Dr. de Arellano oversees case management and transportation services for the EMPOWERR Program.  He is also responsible for ensuring that all staff members remain culturally competent in their interactions with the youth and families being served.

Ken Ruggiero, PhD
Associate Professor
Director of Web-Services/ Evaluator

Dr. Ruggiero is an Associate Professor at the NCVC, with a joint faculty appointment at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston. He is well published in the areas of epidemiology of adolescent substance use and health-risk behavior.  Currently he is also PI on two NIMH grants and Co-Investigator on three other grants to develop and evaluate Internet-based resources for at-risk populations.  Dr. Ruggiero is hands on in the development of EMPOWERR's web-based delivery of programs. He also oversees the evaluation EMPOWERR"S services and data collection.

Virginia King, B.S.
Community Education Liaison

Virginia King is the Director of Prevention Services at Lowcountry AIDS Services. She is a graduate of Talladega College with a degree in Sociology, and a Masters candidate at Strayer University.  She is a Fellow of the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) HIV Leadership Institute class of 2002. She is the recipient of the Unsung Heroes and Heroine award for the state of South Carolina and a member of the S.C. HIV Planning Council.  As a valued EMPOWERR team member, she is responsible for helping with coordinating programs and training adult and near-peer volunteers.  She also coordinates EMPOWERR's HIV testing and counseling services.

April L. Borkman, M. A.
Program Coordinator     

Ms. Borkman is the Program Coordinator for the EMPOWERR Program at NCVC. April has worked for the past six years as a health educator and program coordinator on multiple teen pregnancy prevention programs focusing on minority youth in both Charleston County and Beaufort County.  In Beaufort County, she served as co-chair of the Together for Beaufort's Reducing Births to Teens Alliance.  She currently serves as a co-chair of the Charleston County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Council.  Ms.Borkman is also a trained facilitator of evidence-based interventions. She is responsible for the day to day functions of the EMPOWERR Program.  

Paige Green, B.S.
Health Educator

Paige Green is a native of Charleston, SC and the Lead Health Educator for the Empowerr Program at the NCVC. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice at South Carolina State University. Ms. Green previously worked with Charleston County Department of Juvenile Justice as a Community Specialist and Probation Officer. Ms. Green is a trained facilitator for Girl’s Circle, Making Proud Choices, and SiHLE—all of which are evidence- based interventions.  She is responsible for leading and coordinating all community groups as well as training volunteers who assist with our program. Paige has a passion for working with youth and enjoys the opportunity to give back to her community through health education.

Andrea Jones, PhD.
Health Educator

Dr. Andrea M. Jones earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University, and completed her pre-doctoral internship in Clinical Psychology at the Medical University of South Carolina. She currently is completing her first year of NIMH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her research interests include the investigation of high risk sexual behaviors and delinquency in relation to sexual abuse in adolescents and young adults. She also is interested in health care disparities as it relates to access to trauma-focused treatment and cultural factors influencing psychopathology after trauma exposure. At the NCVC, Dr. Jones conducts research in relation to these topics of interest, and provides trauma-focused treatment to children, adolescents, and adults who have been exposed to violence.