At POETIC, we prioritize: teamwork, a non-judgmental stance, self-awareness, and most of all, putting youth first. Meet our dedicated staff that encourage POETIC girls to persist forward

Alina Cho
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Maria Flores-Akinwunmi
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Rosalind Funderburgh
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Janice Rose-Gill
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HeaSung Han
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Jennifer Tinker
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Chelsea Robertson
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OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stacy Blank
Community Leader, Letot Center

Rosalind Funderburgh
Community Leader, Founder of the Vanguard School

Dr. Michele Galietta
Associate Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Dr. HaeSung Han
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, POETIC

Julie Quick
SVP, Strategy, Shoptology

Dr. Terry Smith
Former Executive Director, Dallas County Juvenile Department

Jennifer Tinker
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, POETIC

Yulise R. Waters, JD,
Assistant City Attorney and Community Courts Prosecutor

CLINICAL ADVISORY BOARD

Kirsten Byrnes, PsyD.
Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Audrey Hepburn Children’s House, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ.
Clinical and Research Focus
Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA), Forensic Child Maltreatment Assessments, Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) profile of CSA and Polyvictimization, Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) and Race, Assessment of Problematic Sexual Behaviors and Delinquency.

Jessica Linick, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, New York, NY.
Clinical and Research Focus
Neurobiology of trauma and attachment, psychotherapy within forensic settings, links between trauma and disruptive behavior disorders.

Chelsea Robinson
Teacher

Chelsea is an educator of twenty years, teaching both locally and internationally. She is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University. She has spent a significant amount of time in Early Childhood Education and Special Education Services. She served on the team at Plano Family Literacy as part of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, serving both children and adults. She spent several years as an educator at Santiago Christian School in the Dominican Republic. It was there on the North Coast of the DR where she fully grasped the complexities and social variables that contribute and fuel the sex trafficking industry. She has a heart to create a safe and encouraging space for her students to explore and pursuit their highest aspirations. Most recently, Chelsea has been teaching and residing in Richardson, Texas with her husband and four rambunctious children.

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Maria Flores-Akinwunmi

Parent Advocate & Case Manager

Maria Flores-Akinwunmi is a bilingual mentor and advocate for youth and parents in crisis, connecting them to resources and collaborating with social services agencies, local government agencies, private entities and the faith community to serve their needs. Maria coordinates POETIC’s weekly Parent-led Support Group and provides case management support to POETIC parents. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has served with social services agencies for more than 15 years as a crime victim’s liaison and family advocate for children, youth and adults. A proud graduate of Lubbock Christian University, she is a Texan at heart and is married with two inspiring daughters. She has a strong faith in God and believes that God has a purpose for everyone: “It’s not our past that defines us; it is where we are going that defines us!”

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Alina Cho, M.A. candidate

Music Therapy Intern

Alina is a music therapy intern providing individualized and group music therapy programs at POETIC. She is currently a candidate for her M.A. in Music Therapy at Texas Woman's University and holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. As a student-music therapist, Alina worked with children and adults of various ages and in numerous settings, but her experience with youth in the foster care system ignited her passion for music therapy and its application in addressing trauma. At POETIC, Alina delivers creative opportunities for girls to enhance their self-awareness and discover a new, empowering outlet for self-expression.

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Janice Rose-Gill, MS, ATR-BC, LCAT

Mental Health Clinician & Board Certified Art Therapist

Janice Rose-Gill is a Board Certified, Nationally Registered Art Therapist and a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (NY). She received her Masters of Science in Art Therapy and Counseling from the College of New Rochelle in New York. Janice will complete her second Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University in February 2019. She also holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees, one in Mass Communications and the other in Fine Arts.
Janice has specialized experience in the treatment of acute and complex trauma of pediatric oncology, hematology, and bone marrow transplant patients, having worked at the Cancer Center Institute located in the greater New York City area. In addition to this work, she provided therapeutic individual, family, and group interventions for patients with cognitive and/or developmental delays in various non-profit organizations.
Janice utilizes art therapy and evidenced-based counseling techniques to encourage youth to visually and/or verbally express themselves. Her goal is to support youth as they discover their individual and unique "voice" to tell their story. Janice strives to meet girls where they are at to build rapport and provide a safe environment to promote self-expression as a tool for recovery and for fueling their passion to "create" their own future.

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Candice Sims

Licensed Professional Counselor

Candice holds a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology from UT Southwestern Medical Center and has spent the past five years working with youth who have experienced complex trauma in the form of neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. A firm believer in using evidence-based practices, Candice has received extensive training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. She is also trained in working with children with sexual behavior problems and was part of a clinical team that developed Dallas County’s first residential treatment program for male youth ages 10-13 who where adjudicated on sexual offenses.

A skilled mental health clinician who truly cares about her clients, Candice has worked in a variety of settings including children’s hospitals, community mental health clinics, children’s advocacy centers, and juvenile detention centers. Working with children, adolescents and their families through sexual abuse and behavior issues has shown Candice the importance of looking beyond labels. She is passionate about working with underserved and high-risk populations.

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Jennifer Tinker

Programs and Clinical Leadership

Jennifer spent the first decade of her career working in corporate business development and client relations with Fortune 500 companies. Prior to co-founding POETIC, she had the privilege of being the first employee at Shoptology, a creative start-up, and worked for three years to help build the successful agency working with a client roster including Walmart, PepsiCo and Dean Foods. She entered the anti-trafficking space full-time in 2016. Along with her experience in business management and storytelling, Jennifer is an award-winning grant writer and led a record-breaking Dallas luncheon event raising over $1MM+ in net proceeds. Jennifer holds a B.A. in English Literature and Interdisciplinary Writing from Colgate University.

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HaeSung Han Psy.D

Co-Founder and Co-CEO

Dr. HaeSung Han is a Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and a Board Certified, Nationally Registered Art Therapist. She received her master's and doctoral degree in clinical psychology from George Washington University and also received a master's degree in art therapy from New York University. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at Audrey Hepburn Children's House, Hackensack University Medical Center in the field of child maltreatment. She completed two post-graduate certificate programs: one in international trauma studies from Columbia University and the other in civil and criminal forensic psychology from Montclair State University.

Dr. Han has extensive experience working with individuals exposed to complex trauma including domestic violence, child maltreatment, and commercial sexual exploitation/sex trafficking. She has worked in forensic, hospital, outpatient and school-settings in NY, NJ, VA, DC, MA, and TX. She is certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). She has also received training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and DBT-PE (Prolonged Exposure for the treatment of PTSD) and offers both comprehensive DBT and DBT-PE to youth and adult clients.

In addition to her work at POETIC, Dr. Han sees clients in private practice in Plano, Texas. Prior to co-founding POETIC, Dr. Han was the clinical director at Dallas County Juvenile Department, Letot Girls Residential Center.

For a list of therapists trained in DBT-PE: Click Here
For a list of TF-CBT certified therapists: Click Here

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