Opioid ECHO

She has been on the board of the Indiana School Social Work Association for 5 years as legislative chair and president. She has provided professional development to other school social workers on advocacy strategies and Indiana's legislative process. She is passionate about helping students reach their goals and change the world.

A thus far 18-year career in education as a middle school teacher and secondary administrator has led to a profound understanding of just how intricately woven mental health concerns are with the day-to-day of public education. Gaelyn is married to her supportive husband Adam, and mother to Owen, who is a collegiate distance runner. As a family, they love to travel, try new food, watch sports, and see live music.

He also coached track and cross country and served as Athletic Director. After moving to the Indianapolis area, Jeff taught at Crispus Attucks High School, where he was Freshman Team Leader. He is currently teaching at Fall Creek Valley Middle School as an 8th grade English teacher once again, and he serves as Team Lead, Advisor Lead, New Teacher Mentor, and as a D3 Department Lead.

Before starting the Neurodiversity Specialist position, Laura was a special education teacher for 12 years. She spent her first six years as a resource teacher at Central Elementary in South Vermillion Community Schools and the next six years as a self-contained teacher at Center School. Center School is a behavioral day treatment program serving students in the Covered Bridge Special Education District. She has been married to her husband, Patrick, for seven years. They were foster parents for four years and adopted their beautiful 2-year-old daughter, Hannah, in 2023. Laura is passionate about trauma-informed practices and figuring out the why behind student behavior.

When in the hospital, she primarily works in the emergency room performing crisis evaluations. When in clinic, she sees general psychiatry patients and specializes in adolescent substance use and medication assisted treatment. Prior to working in psychiatry, she worked on the pediatric ICU at Riley for 7 years. When she’s not working, she loves trying new restaurants and traveling.

She sees children/adolescents with mood disorders, suicidal ideation, and OCD/anxiety disorders. She also serves in a teaching role with third-year medical students during their psychiatry preceptorship rotation.

She conducts most of her work in collaboration with community organizations and individuals across the state. Dr. Zapolski is also a clinician working in both the pediatric and adult clinics through IU Health, with clinical expertise in substance use, emotion dysregulation, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for both youth and adults. Additionally, she is and the Founder and Director of the Indiana University School of Medicine's Youth Coalition (YoCo), which provides mentorship, training, and leadership opportunities related to youth mental health to individuals aged 13-18 of diverse backgrounds in the Indianapolis area. To learn more about Dr. Zapolski's work, visit her lab's website https://www.iusmprismlab.com

Most recently, Terri has been involved with developing crisis response protocols in many school districts in Indiana. Terri completed the certification in Applied Educational Neuroscience through Butler University. This certification addresses the importance of human relationships, understanding our stress responses and strategies to build resilience. She is an Emotional CPR Trainer and NASP-PREPaRE School Related Crisis Response Trainer. Terri is interested in all areas of prevention in regards to academic, social and emotional skill development. Terri is on the Board of Noble of Indiana, Allies of Indiana and the School Board for the Indiana School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Terri has been a classroom teacher, resource teacher, special education department chair, and school psychologist. She earned her Ph.D. from Ball State University in the areas of school psychology and counseling.

He has conducted several trauma-informed care workshops for school districts and educators. Before entering academia, Chavez functioned as a school-based practitioner in New Orleans, Louisiana. He also worked with the Louisiana Public Health Institute to ensure youth had access to quality community behavioral health services. Currently, he serves as a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Government and Professional Relations (GPR) Committee.