Seth Laucks, MA, MT-BC, LPC, is a certified music therapist and licensed counselor. He believes in the healing and connecting power of music, and is passionate about sharing the joy of music and the arts with older adults. He knows the right song can unlock a door to everything from a treasured memory, to relaxation and pain relief, to overall well-being and happiness. Seth shares this passion in his role as Creative Arts Therapy Coordinator for Living Branches senior communities, which serve nearly 1300 senior-citizen residents in Montgomery and Bucks counties outside of Philadelphia. Seth provides music therapy and counseling services to residents and also supervises creative arts therapy interns from local universities. These interns provide music therapy sessions and other services to Living Branches residents, specifically those with dementia or other emotional, cognitive, and physical conditions that may make it difficult for them to participate in traditional activities. Seth lives in Philadelphia with his wife Kate and son Olin.
Current title: Creative Arts Therapy Coordinator, Living Branches senior communities
Discipline when participating in BTG: Music Therapy & Counseling - Creative Arts Therapies Department
School attending when participating in BTG: Drexel University
Year of BTG: 2013
Stacey Abraham, MSS, LICSW, LCSW-C, Stacey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Maryland (LCSW-C) and The District of Columbia (LICSW). She has obtained over 25 years of clinical experience with working with juveniles, adults, couples, children, and their families. Her specialty is working with clients who are subject to, adjustment disorders, grief and loss, depression, PTSD, bipolar and anxiety disorders. Stacey currently holds a LLC, Abraham Therapeutic Concepts. She currently serves as a Supervisor for the Behavioral Health unit at Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA). In her clinical tenure, she served as a Day Reporting Coordinator and a Treatment Specialist. Her clinical training includes but not limited to conducting assessment evaluations and utilizing diagnostic tools. Facilitation of relapse prevention groups while implementing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing practices as it relates to illicit substance use, dual diagnoses and the sex offender population while working in the Criminal Justice system. Moreover, she earned national certification as a Clinically Certified Sex Offender Treatment Specialist through the National Association of Forensic Counselors. Stacey received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina and a Master’s degree in Social Services (social work) with a concentration in Management from Bryn Mawr College for Women in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Current title: Supervisory Coordinator in the Behavioral Health Division @ Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA)
Discipline when participating in BTG: Social Work
School attending when participating in BTG: Bryn Mawr
Year of BTG: 1998
Amanda A. Lyons, OTD, OTR/L, Amanda graduated from Thomas Jefferson University in 2010 and participated in the Bridging the Gaps program during the summer of 2009. Upon graduating, her clinical experience as an occupational therapist included working in the acute care setting for 4 years. She transitioned into working in outpatient traumatic brain injury with a specialization in remedial vision rehabilitation. Amanda’s career in academic began in 2019 and I am now fortunate to work at my alma mater in the OT department.
Current title: Assistant Professor & Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for the OT Department at TJU
Discipline when participating in BTG: Occupational Therapy
School attending when participating in BTG: Thomas Jefferson University
Year of BTG: 2009
Marjorie Dejoie-Brewer, MD, Dr. Marjorie Dejoie is the owner of MAD Fit, a medical consulting and Wellness & Health business and a Medical Consultant for the National Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. She most recently held the position of Patient engagement Lead in rare Disease for Pfizer and Clinical Research Outreach Liaison for Hydroxyurea and Transition at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her groundbreaking work as a primary medical consultant for the Mayor’s “Fun, Fit, and Free” program, a key part of the Mayor’s Commission for Health, Fitness and inclusion, allowed her to apply her training in medicine, exercise physiology, and alternative medicine in an integrative, community based, preventative format with the primary goal of making Philadelphia a healthier city. From there, she molded a career in Functional Medicine, which utilizes a fusion of the principles of medicine, prescribed exercise, bio-psychosocial elements, stress reduction, nutrition and alternative medicine in the holistic treatment and care of patients and clients. Herself a patient of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), Dr. Dejoie is a firm proponent and practitioner of comprehensive and preventative health and wellness planning. This became the mission behind her consulting firm “M.A.D. fit" established in 2002. Building on this foundation, Dr. Dejoie opened a wellness center, “Bonne Santé” in the fall of 2003, dedicating herself to making this world a better place by making it healthier, one person at a time.
Dr. Dejoie’s research interests include best practice models to enhance the health care, treatment protocol, and quality of life for individuals who suffer from chronic illnesses with an emphasis on sickle cell disease. Specific areas of focus include SCD as a public health initiative, patient advocacy, the use of prescribed exercise in treatment of multiple disease processes and comprehensive health equity for everyone.
Current title: COO of M.A.D, F.I.T.
Discipline when participating in BTG: Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: University of Pennsylvania
Year of BTG: 1993
Roopali Kulkarni, DMD, MPH, Dr. Roopali Kulkarni hails from the great state of Virginia! She completed her undergraduate education at Northwestern University (Go 'Cats!) in 2014 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 2019. She is currently serving as the Chief Resident of the postdoctoral Oral Medicine residency program at Penn. Throughout her time in dental school, she completed her Master of Public Health as a dual-degree student. She was actively involved in organized dentistry, most notably serving as the 2018-2019 national President of the American Student Dental Association, service and outreach efforts, and community health initiatives. Participating in the Bridging the Gaps program combined all of her interests in public health, community service, and interdisciplinary approaches to care. Roopali's additional passions lie in music, wellness, and travel. She plans on pursuing a career in dental academics following her residency.
Current title: Chief Resident, Department of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine / Health System
Discipline when participating in BTG: Dental Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: University of Pennsylvania
Year of BTG: 2016
Abby S. Letcher, MD, Faculty Associate/Medical Director of Caring Place Family Healthy Program, was a lecturer for the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine, prior to moving to the Lehigh Valley area. Dr. Letcher earned her bachelor’s degree in English and African studies from Yale University. She completed a doctorate degree in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1995. Dr. Letcher is an alumna of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. After graduating, she participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and was also a NIMH/Measey Fellow. She is a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and the North American Primary Care Research Group. Her special interests include adolescent health care and healthy communities.
Current title: Faculty Associate/Medical Director of Caring Place Family Healthy Program
Discipline when participating in BTG: Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: University of Pennsylvania
Year of BTG: 1991
Joshua S. Coren, DO, MBA, FACOFP, As chair and professor of the department of family medicine at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Joshua Coren is responsible for the predoctoral, post-doctoral and clinical activities from the department. Dr. Coren has been PI on numerous state and federal grants including the Department of Health Services Office of Women's Health and HRSA. As Director of the Continuing Medical Education department at RowanSOM, he designs, lectures and implements both online and on-site educational content for international programming. He is also a co-director of the International Primary Care Educational Alliance in which I have been involved since 2007 in training and preparation of physicians from China in the field of family medicine. He enjoys mentoring faculty to succeed in academia and foster a collaborative learning environment for students, residents and faculty.
Current title: Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, and Professor
Discipline when participating in BTG: Osteopathic Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Year of BTG: 1998
Nancy Brisbon, MD, is a family physician who was a BTG intern in the summer of 1998. She was also the first BTG clinical scholar in 2001. Dr. Brisbon is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University School of Medicine. Since 2017, she has practiced at Mazzoni Center, an LGBTQ health and wellness organization and is also the Chief Medical Officer. Mazzoni is a site for the BTG summer internship program.
Current title: Chief Medical Officer, Mazzoni Center
Discipline when participating in BTG: Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: University of Pennsylvania
Year of BTG: 1998
Mohammed Bu Saad, MS, is a physician from Saudi Arabia whose pursuing his DrPH degree in Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. Mohammed believes that promoting communities’ health is not limited to the clinical work, but it should also be coupled with the community-based initiatives and efforts to bridge the gaps between two critical practices; the traditional practice of medicine and public health. Mohammed has an interest in global health work and has participated in several international medical relief campaigns. Mohammed holds a BA in Medicine and Surgery from King Faisal University and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
Current title: DrPH Student, Department of Epidemiology
Discipline when participating in BTG: Medicine
School attending when participating in BTG: University of Pittsburgh
Year of BTG: 2018
Ashley Steinberg, RN, BSN, Ashley is a Registered Nurse on a Neuroscience/Stroke Med-Surg unit at Reading Hospital for almost two years now. She is a leader in the unit's SWAN team. Ashley has completed preceptor and leadership training to become a facilitator. She received the Daisy award and Quality Award for her patient care. Ashley aspires to get more involved in the community and public health nursing in the future while she continues to strive in furthering her career as an acute care bedside nurse.
Current title: Registered Nurse
Discipline when participating in BTG: Nursing, Public Health minor
School attending when participating in BTG: Moravian College
Year of BTG: 2018