Meet the Presenters

Keynote Speaker
Claire Bien, MEd, is Associate Director of Communications at The Connection, Inc., in Middletown, Conn., a nonprofit organization that address problems facing families and communities. She is a writer, grant writer, mental health advocate, educator, and survivor. She began hearing voices at age 31, was hospitalized, and placed on medication. Thanks to compassionate therapy and the support of family and friends, Claire learned to regain control of her mind and her life without the need for ongoing medication. She has become a passionate advocate for reform, calling for a change in the medical-psychiatric profession’s approach to diagnosis and treatment of people with mental health conditions. Her memoir, Hearing Voices, Living Fully: Living with the Voices in My Head, was published in June 2016.

Iruma Bello, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, and has been the Clinical Training Director of OnTrackNY and Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center since 2015. Dr. Bello received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She has a broad background in public-sector clinical psychology with specialized training in evidence-based practices and cognitive behavioral therapy. Over the last six years, Dr. Bello has focused on research and practice aimed at improving outcomes for individuals diagnosed with first episode psychosis. More recently, as the Clinical Training Director of OnTrackNY, she is responsible for effectively disseminating the OnTrackNY and OnTrackUSA treatment model.

Jenna Bernhardt, LCSW, is a New York state licensed clinical social worker and graduate from the SUNY Albany School of Social Welfare Master’s program. Over the last eight years, she has worked with many individuals with lived experience of psychosis. She finds it rewarding to support other people on their journey for holistic wellness and a fulfilling life. Ms. Bernhardt is currently the Primary Clinician and Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator with the OnTrackNY first episode psychosis program at Northern Rivers Family of Services in Albany, N.Y.

Harvey Rosenthal serves as the executive director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS), a peer-provider partnership that has been a state and national change agent for the past 3 decades. Harvey has over 40 years of experience working to promote public mental health policies and practices that advance the recovery, rehabilitation, rights, and full community inclusion of individuals with psychiatric disabilities and/or diagnoses. His advocacy has helped to transform state and national mental health systems, increase access to community-based housing, employment and peer support services, and advance numerous recovery and criminal justice related mental health reforms. His interest in his work is personal, beginning with a psychiatric hospitalization at age 19.

Albert Powers III, MD, PhD, is a schizophrenia research fellow at the Yale University Department of Psychiatry in Stamford, Conn., and Medical Director of the Psychosis Prodrome Research (PRIME) Clinic at Yale. In addition to treating individuals who suffer from the symptoms of early psychosis, he uses computational approaches to understand how sensory systems might go awry to produce hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. Dr. Powers earned his MD and PhD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and his bachelor’s degree from Yale University. He and colleagues recently published the paper “Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum” in the Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Gary Scannevin Jr., MPS, CPRP, has provided vocational and educational services in the mental health field for 29 years. He is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and currently a research project manager at Columbia University’s Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) in New York City. At CPI, Gary trains supported education and employment specialists within the early intervention programs OnTrackNY and OnTrackUSA. He earned his Master of Professional Studies in labor management from Stony Brook University and bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology at Texas A&M University and Sam Houston State University, respectively.

Brendon Smith, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, the Behavioral Health Clinical Director at Better Health for Northeast New York, and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Albany Medical College. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Miami University, completed his clinical internship at the Albany Psychology Internship Consortium, and was a Senior Fellow in the University of Washington’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. In his current role, Dr. Smith is working to implement the behavioral health initiatives associated with the New York State Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program. These include the integration of primary care and behavioral health services, and strengthening regional behavioral health community crisis stabilization services.