Gretchen A. Pianka, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a graduate of Amherst College and a product of the University of Vermont School of Medicine and the University of Virginia Pediatric internship and residency program. She earned her master’s in public health from the University of New England. Dr. Pianka has practiced primary care pediatrics in Maine since 2004, currently caring for immigrants and children entering the foster care system. She is the author of Coaching Families for Resilience: How Pediatricians Can Support Caregivers and Prevent Burnout and lives in coastal Maine with her family.

Allegra Hirsh-Wright (she/her), MSW, LCSW, is the Clinical and Training Program Manager for MaineHealth’s Community Mental Health and Resilience Programs and has over twenty years’ experience in the field of child trauma, trauma-informed care, professional wellbeing, and systems change. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is a nationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care, secondary traumatic stress (STS), and professional and organizational wellbeing and has worked with organizations both in Maine and nationally to implement trauma-informed, culturally responsive crisis response policies and procedures. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is nationally certified in multiple treatment models for child traumatic stress and has extensive experience facilitating organizational, community, and state-wide change efforts related to evidence-based practices and trauma-responsive care. Ms. Hirsh-Wright sits on multiple state and national committees and Boards that focus on child trauma, trauma-informed care, crisis/disaster response, and professional and organizational wellbeing, and has authored multiple resources on the topics. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is also an adjunct professor in the University of Southern Maine’s School of Social Work, where she has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses for over 10 years, and she lives in Portland with her spouse and their cat and is a lover of all things orange.

Andrea Brooks Dole is a singer, advocate, and restorative practitioner, who has been swimming upstream all her life, seeking to return children to a native habitat that is interdependent, diverse, joyful and expressive. Andrea has travelled around the world singing and teaching music from ancient singing traditions with Northern Harmony, and sung in community choirs and small ensembles from Maine to Miami, Chile to Spain, Boston, Bennington, and the Republic of Georgia. Andrea's advocacy for children and families springs from a deep well of trust in the natural world, and from singing powerful songs from cultures worldwide. Andrea embodies a unique capacity to blend best practices from multiple disciplines and traditions to empower people and systems to thrive; she has the sensitivity to attune to unique individuals, and the intelligence to synthesize information from many sources to apply to effective clinical practice. Andrea has built relationships with legislators, government officials, disability advocates, medical providers, journalists, community members, researchers and academics to help create policy and clinical solutions for children with complex medical needs. She loves to tend to plants in the garden and woods, and helps run Earthways Guide Service, teaching traditional skills and facilitating nature connection. Andrea lives in an off grid solar timber frame home she and her husband Patrick built in Belfast, Maine, with their two incredible children James (9) and Rafe (7), who were both born at home.

Gretchen A. Pianka, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a graduate of Amherst College and a product of the University of Vermont School of Medicine and the University of Virginia Pediatric internship and residency program. She earned her master’s in public health from the University of New England. Dr. Pianka has practiced primary care pediatrics in Maine since 2004, currently caring for immigrants and children entering the foster care system. She is the author of Coaching Families for Resilience: How Pediatricians Can Support Caregivers and Prevent Burnout and lives in coastal Maine with her family.

Allegra Hirsh-Wright (she/her), MSW, LCSW, is the Clinical and Training Program Manager for MaineHealth’s Community Mental Health and Resilience Programs and has over twenty years’ experience in the field of child trauma, trauma-informed care, professional wellbeing, and systems change. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is a nationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care, secondary traumatic stress (STS), and professional and organizational wellbeing and has worked with organizations both in Maine and nationally to implement trauma-informed, culturally responsive crisis response policies and procedures. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is nationally certified in multiple treatment models for child traumatic stress and has extensive experience facilitating organizational, community, and state-wide change efforts related to evidence-based practices and trauma-responsive care. Ms. Hirsh-Wright sits on multiple state and national committees and Boards that focus on child trauma, trauma-informed care, crisis/disaster response, and professional and organizational wellbeing, and has authored multiple resources on the topics. Ms. Hirsh-Wright is also an adjunct professor in the University of Southern Maine’s School of Social Work, where she has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses for over 10 years, and she lives in Portland with her spouse and their cat and is a lover of all things orange.

Across her career, Makin has devoted herself to the mission of public education and has served in numerous roles as principal and innovator to bring supportive methods to help youth who have struggled. She also provides training for educators and mental health professionals and speaks at state and national conferences on topics such as restorative justice, cognitive neuroscience, dropout prevention, organizational culture, and climate.

Makin is charged with leading the state agency that administers both state education subsidy and state and federal grant programs; coordinates the authoring of the rules for Maine State education statutes passed by the Maine State Legislature; provides professional development, information, supports, and resources, as well as a system for educator credentialing; and leads many collaborative opportunities and partnerships in support of local schools and districts.

Makin grew up in Saco and graduated from Thornton Academy. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and her M.S. in School Leadership from the University of Southern Maine. She received her teacher certification from the University of New England’s Department of Education in 1996. She lives in Scarborough and enjoys spending time on the beach and with her rescue animals.

Briella Ntungane is a passionate Public Health student at the University of Southern Maine and currently serves as a Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Coordinator at Maine CDC. As an immigrant and advocate for equitable care, Briella brings a deeply personal and culturally grounded perspective to her work, with a strong commitment to bridging health gaps in diverse communities across Maine.

Her work focuses on co-designing and implementing community-based programs that foster dialogue, connection, and culturally responsive approaches to public health—particularly in the realm of maternal and child health. She has partnered with various nonprofit organizations to address systemic barriers, challenge stigmas, and create safe spaces for conversations that are often considered taboo.

At the core of Briella’s approach is cultural humility. She believes that the people she serves are the experts in their own lives and cultures, and she centers their voices in all aspects of her work. Whether facilitating workshops for Somali youth, collaborating with Spanish-speaking families on health education materials, or engaging one-on-one with mothers from Burundi, Briella begins by asking questions, listening with intention, and building solutions together.

Briella is pursuing her MPH with the goal of continuing to co-create sustainable, inclusive public health initiatives that reflect the lived realities of the communities they aim to serve. Her vision is to amplify every community voice in the pursuit of health equity and justice.

Axels is a dedicated healthcare professional specializing in public health, community health, and epidemiology. As a Program Associate at MCD Global Health, Axels supports key initiatives like the U.S. Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Project in Gabon and the U.S. Presidential Malaria Initiative in Niger, ensuring efficient program coordination, reporting, and communication.

Previously, Axels advanced Maine’s Community Health Worker programs as a Project Coordinator, fostering workforce development, designing training curriculums, and promoting health equity among underserved populations. Axels also conducted epidemiological investigations into infectious disease outbreaks, including Hepatitis C and COVID-19.

With certifications in Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Leadership, and Multilingual Communication, Axels excels in collaborating with diverse stakeholders to drive health improvements. Their dynamic career reflects a commitment to global and community health through innovation, outreach, and the strengthening of health systems. Axels is passionate about making a meaningful impact on public health initiatives.

R.J. Gillespie, M.D., M.H.P.E, is a general pediatrician with The Children’s Clinic in Portland. From 2007 through 2010 he worked as the Medical Director of Quality Improvement for the Children’s Health Alliance, and from 2010-2016 he was the founding medical director for the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership. He is the co-author of The Trauma-Informed Pediatric Practice: A Resilience-Based Roadmap to Foster Early Relational Health from the AAP Press. He currently conducts clinical research in parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and does training and consultation in screening and referral for trauma in pediatric practices. He has been active in multiple state and national advisory committees, most recently for the American Academy of Pediatrics Addressing Social Health and Early Childhood Wellness (ASHEW) and the Trauma Expert Leadership Team. He attended medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University, graduating in 1997, and completed his residency and chief residency at Rush Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois in 2001. He also earned a Master of Health Professions Education from University of Illinois – Chicago in 2007.

R.J. Gillespie, M.D., M.H.P.E, is a general pediatrician with The Children’s Clinic in Portland. From 2007 through 2010 he worked as the Medical Director of Quality Improvement for the Children’s Health Alliance, and from 2010-2016 he was the founding medical director for the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership. He is the co-author of The Trauma-Informed Pediatric Practice: A Resilience-Based Roadmap to Foster Early Relational Health from the AAP Press. He currently conducts clinical research in parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and does training and consultation in screening and referral for trauma in pediatric practices. He has been active in multiple state and national advisory committees, most recently for the American Academy of Pediatrics Addressing Social Health and Early Childhood Wellness (ASHEW) and the Trauma Expert Leadership Team. He attended medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University, graduating in 1997, and completed his residency and chief residency at Rush Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois in 2001. He also earned a Master of Health Professions Education from University of Illinois – Chicago in 2007.

Amy Barrett has been a pediatrician in the Bangor area for over 20 years. She currently serves as Medical Director for Penobscot Pediatrics. She has a special interest in medically complex children and the healthcare of those in the foster care system.

Joe Anderson is a pediatric hospitalist and is the Director of Pediatric Hospital Medicine for Central Maine Healthcare. He also serves as the chair of the advocacy committee for the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He attended medical school at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed his Pediatrics residency at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ.