Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: Different Lenses and Practices for Concerning Behavior

• Ross Greene, Ph.D. Creator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model and the author of The Explosive Child
  

  Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, Raising Human Beings, and The Kids Who Aren’t Okay: The Urgent Case for Reimagining Support, Belonging, and Hope in Schools. He also developed and executive-produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose, released in 2018. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and now oversees the non-profit he founded in 2009, Lives in the Balance, which advocates legislatively on behalf of kids with concerning behaviors and their caregivers and provides vast free resources on the CPS model. He is also currently adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. Dr. Greene has worked with several thousand kids with concerning behaviors and their caregivers, and he and his colleagues have overseen implementation and evaluation of the CPS model in countless schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, with dramatic effect: significant reductions in recidivism, discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, and use of restraint and seclusion. He has been featured in a wide range of media, including The Oprah Show, Good Morning America, The Morning Show, National Public Radio, Dateline, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, and CNBC. Dr. Greene lectures throughout the world and lives in Freeport, Maine.

Pediatric Nutrition, Malnutrition, and Psychological Effects of Food Insecurity

• Janina R. Galler, MD Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, MassGeneral Hospital for Children

BREAK

In Betweenness: Suicide Risk at the Margins of Identity

• Melissa Johnnidis, DO Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
  

  Melissa Johnnidis, DO, is a child, adolescent, adult, and family psychiatrist. She is originally from Texas, where she grew up and completed both medical school and psychiatry residency. She later moved to Portland, Maine to complete her fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry and continues to practice there. Dr. Johnnidis’s clinical interests include early intervention in youth mental health, family-centered care, and teaching and mentoring trainees.

• Alyssa Goodwin, MD Pediatrician, Stellar Pediatrics
  

  Alyssa Goodwin, MD is a pediatrician, expert in school health, and pediatric mental health advocate. She earned her BA in Neuroscience from Amherst College and her MD from George Washington University. Before founding Stellar Pediatrics, Dr. Goodwin trained at Children’s National Medical Center and spent two decades practicing primary care pediatrics in Maine, where she developed a deep commitment to child and adolescent mental health.

  Dr. Goodwin serves on the Board of Directors for the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), where she co-created and chairs the School Health Committee. In this role, she advances initiatives at the intersection of school health and preventive wellness to better support students statewide. She served as the Maine Learning Ambassador for the AAP’s “Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention” and as faculty for the AAP and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Clinical ECHO. Dr. Goodwin now serves as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Healthy Mental Development Champion for Maine.

  In addition, Dr. Goodwin serves on the Board of Directors for the Kita Center, where she is also the medical advisor and a volunteer at their flagship program, Camp Kita.

How to talk to Kids and Families about Cannabis

• Amy Mayhew, MD, MPH Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Maine Medical Center
  

  Dr. Mayhew completed her Master’s Degree in Public Health from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. She earned her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester NY. She completed a residency in Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston TX, then a fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry from Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, MA. She is Board certified in both Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

  Dr. Mayhew moved to Maine Medical Center from Massachusetts where she was Medical Director of the Psychiatry Access Program. She has participated in funded research, currently on a SAMHSA-supported project for integrated models of pediatric psychiatry. She is also a dedicated educator, teaching and supervising students and pediatric residents. She is also the clinical director for PIER, an early psychosis coordinated specialty care program. At MMC, Dr. Mayhew teaches and supervises TUSM medical students as well as residents and fellows in Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry.

The Gut-Brain Axis and Contemporary Environmental Exposure: Ultra-Processed Foods, Plastics, and Mental Health

• Grace Mueller, MD Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, MaineGeneral
  

  Grace Mueller is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at MaineGeneral in Augusta. She is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Maine Medical Center. Originally from southern Illinois, she loves exploring Maine with her daughter. 

Supporting Youth in a Changing Climate: A Climate-Aware Perspective on Mental Health

• Jon Gorman, PsyD. Owner of Townson Therapy Group & Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Loyola University Maryland
  

  Dr. Jon Gorman is a licensed clinical psychologist in Maryland. He is the owner of Towson Therapy Group, a group psychotherapy practice in Towson, MD, and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Loyola University Maryland.

  Dr. Gorman’s professional focus is the psychological impacts of climate change and what to do about it. He is an active member of Climate Psychology Alliance of North America and Healthy Climate Maryland, and he is listed on the Climate Aware Therapist Directory. 

  Dr. Gorman has testified in front of the Maryland General Assembly in support of climate legislation and has presented on the topic to legislators around the United States. He has also given many presentations on mental health and climate change to students, therapists, and the general public, and his climate therapy work was featured in Maryland Matters. In addition, he taught Loyola University’s first course on the Psychology of the Climate Crisis. Dr. Gorman is the author of the book Facing Climate Anxiety (2025).

Youth Violence, Bullying, and LGBTQ+ Mental Health

• Alex Keuroghlian, MD, MSc, MPH Chief of MaineHealth Behavioral Health & Chair of Psychiatry at Maine Medical Center