THRIVE Mentors
2023-2024 THRIVE Mentors
Yolanda D. Johnson
Yolanda D. Johnson, EdD, is the executive officer for Student Services for Springfield Public
Schools, a cabinet-Level position where she oversees school counseling and social work
services, dropout prevention and graduation improvement strategies, college access and success
initiatives, and implements a variety of multifaceted programs that enhance excellence,
scholarship, achievement, and equity for all students. She has worked for the Springfield Public Schools for the past 24 years as a school counselor, teacher, principal, and district administrator. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Westfield State College (now University), a Master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut, a Certificate of Advanced Study from Springfield College, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts. Johnson was born and raised in Springfield and is a graduate of the Springfield Public Schools. She has a passion for leadership development, scholarship, service, and helping students envision their postsecondary future. Further, she is a champion for educational equity and opportunities for underrepresented students in college and career pathways.
Annery Lola Brown
Annery Lola Brown, LICSW, received her master’s degree in Social Work from Springfield
College. Brown is currently the assistant director of Diversity Education and Training at Amherst
College. Her broad clinical work encompasses community mental health and inpatient with a
specialty in substance use disorders. Her theoretical orientation integrates psychodynamic,
developmental, cognitive behavioral, narrative, multicultural, and systems theories.
Brown has been teaching as an adjunct professor for more than eight years. Fluent in Spanish and
English, she provides clinical services in both languages. Brown enjoys working collaboratively
with individuals to self-advocate, build resiliency, and explore an individual’s infinite potential to
author and narrate their own stories.
Carlton Smith
Carlton Smith is director of residential programs at Way Finders in Springfield,
Mass. Smith leads a team of managers and frontline staff that provide case management and
support services for families experiencing housing instability.
In his previous role with Chrysalis Domestic Violence Services (Meriden, Conn.), Smith served as
the director of programs and helped to provide emergency shelter and advocacy services for
survivors of domestic violence. He also served as the community organizer of “Real
Strength,” the primary violence prevention division at Chrysalis. Real Strength was one of the
first programs in the state that aimed to raise awareness and inspire leadership that will help end
the culture of men's violence against women. Smith’s passion is working with and mentoring men. For more than 20 years, he has served as a volunteer and member of the Salvation Army Hartford North End Corps (Hartford, Conn.) where he facilitates a weekly men’s ministry program which focuses on health fitness, and self-improvement. Smith received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut and his Master of Social Work from Springfield College. He is currently pursuing his master’s in Business Administration at Springfield College.
Jenise Katalina
Jenise Katalina, LICSW, serves as the vice president of the board of directors and executive leader for the Women of Color Health Equity Collective, a movement building nonprofit organization based
out of Western Mass. that is focused on building community capacity to support women and girls
of color. In addition to offering anti-oppressive training and consulting and career coaching to
women of color through Rise Leadership and Coaching, Katalina is also the founder of Kindred
Healing Counseling Services, a mental health private practice focused on supporting
individuals experiencing intergenerational trauma, racial trauma, and perinatal mood disorders
utilizing a liberation approach. Her experience includes the role of healthy families resource specialist at the Children’s Trust, a statewide agency focused on stopping child abuse in Massachusetts, where she provided training and technical assistance to program management across the state with a focus on implementing policies and practice with a racial equity lens. Before joining the Children’s Trust,
Katalina served as the vice president of Family Services at Square One. Within this role, she designed, implemented, and managed multiple home visiting and family support programs serving
multigenerational families. Katalina’s prior experience includes management roles within
residential programs for latency-age children and gang aversion programs for teen youth in
Springfield. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Westfield State University and her Master of Social Work from Springfield College. She has studied under the founders of the Culturally Humility Framework. Katalina serves on multiple interdisciplinary workgroups and initiatives focused on racial equity, health equity and maternal health at the state and community level. She provides clinical reflective supervision, coaching, and mentorship to women navigating their careers. She also serves as an adjunct faculty for multiple master-level Social Work programs.
Melissa Blissett
Melissa Blissett is the vice president of Family Services at Square One, where she oversees
home-based family support and coaching programs, and supporting parents by helping them create
stable, nurturing environments for their children. The mission of her department is to break
cycles of domestic violence, opioid addiction, and promote nurturing and attachment, practice
effective parenting skills, and ensure parents have a solid understanding of healthy child
development. Blissett graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and developmental disabilities. She earned her Master of Social Work from Springfield College in 2015, where she was very active with the student organization as vice president and a graduate fellow. She currently serves as an advisory board member and is proud to be an adjunct professor for the Master of Social Work program. She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and actively volunteers in her community to promote early literacy. Some of Blissett’s notable achievements include being a 2019 Reading Success By 4th Grade Early
Literacy Champion, a member of the Leadership Pioneer Valley Class of 2020, and being named to the BusinessWest 40 Under Forty Class of 2022. She is inspired daily by her husband and their two children. In her free time, she likes to travel, hike, exercise, read, and take care of her plants.
Anthony Hill
Anthony (Tony) C. Hill, EdD, MSW, is the former chair of the Department of Social Work
and is currently a tenured, associate professor at Springfield College School of Social Work and
Behavioral Sciences. Hill earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services and Administration from Springfield College, his Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts. Hill has extensive experience in both the fields of social work and education and has worked as a clinician, adjunct faculty member, school social worker, assistant principal, principal, and college administrator. He was recognized as the Springfield College Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics for the 2018-19 academic year, and his project focused on healthy masculinity. He is very active in the community, including as a leader in his faith community. He participated for several years in
a community outreach ministry to The Springfield Rescue Mission. Hill has engaged in years of
community service to the Martin Luther King Charter School, the Frank H. Freedman Elementary School, William N. DeBerry Elementary School, and multiple other public schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Hill has also served as a board member for the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, was a founding board member of Veritas Prep Charter School, and currently serves on the African Hall Subcommittee of the Springfield Library and Museums in which he participates in the annual selection of the Ubora Award and Ahadi Award. Hill's experiences provide him with a unique perspective to work with professionals in addressing ways to improve academic, social, physical, mental, and emotional health and wellness.
