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The Hub: Behavioral Health Action Organization for Southwestern CT
A division of the Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP)
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About Us
We are the state-designated Regional Behavioral Health Action Organization (RBHAO) serving Southwest Connecticut. We are a regional resource supporting and coordinating mental health, suicide awareness, substance use prevention and problem gambling efforts in the 14 communities from Greenwich through Greater Bridgeport and serving as the liaison between the region and state. We support the Local Prevention Councils in each town to prevent substance use and promote mental health, and we bring consumers and providers together through our Catchment Area Councils to identify needs and recommendations in the treatment and recovery systems.
The Hub is a program of the Regional Youth-Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP).
Scroll down to see our staff & advisory board. To get involved, contact us at info@thehubct.org
Our Staff
Giovanna Mozzo, MSW (She,Her,Hers)
Director
Giovanna is a social worker and substance misuse prevention professional who's been in the prevention field since 2016. She has 20+ years of experience in social work, including 7 years with DSS, 6 years at Chapel Haven and 2 years at Living Waters Therapy, LLC. She has served as an Adjunct Professor for Western CT State University; where she has taught in the Social Work Program and at Housatonic Community College teaching an Ethics course for the Human Services program. She is also a field supervisor for WCSU undergraduate program and Sacred Heart's Master of Social Work program. Giovanna is certified in SIFI as well. She has an MSW from Fordham University, a BSW from SCSU.
Contact Giovanna at: gmozzo@thehubct.org
Kaitlin Comet, MA (She, Her, Hers)
Program Manager
Kaitlin began at The Hub as an Americorps Prevention Corps member working on community-focused solutions in opioid education, awareness, and stigma-reduction. After completing her one-year service term, she was invited to continue working with The Hub as a Program Coordinator. As a Coordinator, Kaitlin led the Region 1 Catchment Area Council (CAC) initiatives and assisted in the management of many other initiatives, including overseeing the Local Prevention Council and State Opioid Response mini grants in many towns. After a few years, Kaitlin is now a Program Manager and has moved on to focus her efforts on cannabis prevention throughout the region. She continues to support all other initiatives of The Hub around mental health, suicide, substance use and problem gambling. She is also a Co-Chair for the Greater Bridgeport Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Behavioral Health Task Force and a Board Member for the NAMI Southwest CT chapter. She is a certified Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) trainer, Naloxone trainer, NAMI SMARTS on Advocacy Trainer and Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainer.
Kaitlin graduated from the Forensic Psychology BA/MA program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and is currently pursuing a second master's degree in social work at Sacred Heart University. She has worked as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Counseling & Human Services at John Jay for three years and continues to work with at-risk youth through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in NYC. She is involved in advocacy for a more accessible and equitable behavioral healthcare system as well as LGBTQIA+ education and rights. Her work is driven by lived personal experiences and a strong passion to contribute to thriving communities.
Contact Kaitlin at: kcomet@ryasap.org
Dena Miccinello (She, Her, Hers)
Program Manager
Dena grew up in Connecticut, she has a degree in Public Health from SCSU and has nearly 7 years of experience in the prevention field. She served in the AmeriCorps program, Prevention Corps with TPAUD, Trumbull’s Prevention Partnership, focusing on the opioid epidemic and spent time working in lead poisoning prevention for The Naugatuck Valley Health District. She was awarded the RYASAP Above & Beyond Award in 2018, is a board member of the Connecticut Public Health Association's Health Education Committee and a board member for CAPP, The Connecticut Association Of Prevention Professionals. Most recently, Dena was the Prevention Coordinator at DMLWC, The Durham Middlefield Local Wellness Coalition, for 4 years, focusing on substance use prevention. Dena was a lifeguard and aquatics director for over 10 years; this is where her passion of helping others started. Prevention is the way she now helps community members live a safe and healthy life. In her free time, she enjoys baking sourdough bread, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her loved ones.
Contact Dena at: dmiccinello@ryasap.org
Kiersten Naumann (She, Her, Hers)
Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative
Kiersten earned her Masters of Public Administration in Health Policy & Management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. After graduation, she worked for the Deafness Research Foundation’s National Campaign for Hearing Health, as Director of Development & Media Relations, in Washington, DC. After returning to Connecticut, she worked as the Development Director at Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport, and then as a Substitute Teacher for the Milford Public Schools. Since 2017, she has been the Program Coordinator for TPAUD, Trumbull’s Prevention Partnership. Kiersten is Treasurer of the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals (CAPP), as well as Co-Chair of CT SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana).
In her free time, Kiersten enjoys reading, kayaking and paddleboarding. She and her husband, Peter, live in Milford with their two sons (Connor, 20 and Reed, 17), and two very spoiled and well-loved cats.
Contact Kiersten at knaumann@ryasap.org
Victoria O’Neill, BA (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator
After completing her AmeriCorps service term at The Hub, Victoria O’Neill joined the team as a Program Coordinator. Her focus lies primarily on suicide prevention and postvention, aiming to reduce stigma surrounding these topics in the region. Victoria holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Services and a minor in Gender Studies from Quinnipiac University. Currently pursuing a Master of Social Work at Fordham University, she aspires to continue empowering and educating individuals with substance use disorder and mental health diagnoses.
Her passions extend to advocating for social, economic, and racial justice, while also combating stigmatization through education and community-based dialogue. Central to her approach is the provision of person-centered care through a trauma-informed lens, as well as utilization of recovery-oriented systems and practices, and person-centered care. In her free time, Victoria enjoys taking in the outdoors with her tri-paw rescue dog!
Contact Victoria at: voneill@ryasap.org
Melissa Perez-Constantine, LMSW (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator
Leads Local Prevention Councils (LPCS) in the 14 towns in SWCT and focuses on efforts around vaping and tobacco/nicotine prevention.
Melissa began her professional career with AmeriCorps JumpStart, where she dedicated herself to enhancing kindergarten readiness by reducing the student-to-teacher ratio to a 3:1 in every Jumpstart classroom. She holds a degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University, where her passion for social work and community organizing was first ignited.
During her academic journey, Melissa worked for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich, where she provided intensive case management and trauma-informed care to victims of crimes in the State of Connecticut, fostering her growth into the role of Intensive Case Management Supervisor.
Melissa furthered her education by earning a master's degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, specializing in Policy Practice. There, she played a pivotal role in the CT Coalition to End Homelessness, working closely with housing advocates in Middletown, Meriden, Wallingford, and Litchfield County. Together, they pursued policy changes at both the local and state levels, with a mission to reduce family homelessness by 2020. Melissa excelled in organizing and executing subcommittee goals and action steps, including outreach objectives.
Continuing her focus on policy practice, Melissa collaborated with the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. In this role, she supported the Executive Director in examining the existing criminal sentencing structure in the state, proposing changes, and analyzing criminal justice legislation and sentencing policies and practices.
Recognizing the challenges posed by the school-to-prison pipeline, Melissa transitioned into the field of education, joining RYASAP SEL Community Schools. Here, she offered guidance and technical assistance in implementing and continually improving Social-Emotional Learning across the district and community.
Contact Melissa at: mperezconstantine@ryasap.org
Jacqueline M. Calayag (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative
Jacqueline M. Calayag joined the Hub in late February as a Program Coordinator focusing on the Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative.
She has a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and earned her Master of Science from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.
After working 25 years as a television news producer and entertainment reporter in the U.S. and Japan, Jacqueline put her career on hold to support a family member through his struggle with substance use disorder and other behavioral health issues. He is now more than five years sober and substance free.
The shared experience inspired Jacqueline to pursue a career in service to people in recovery as well as to their families — helping others as she and her family were helped. She most recently worked as a Family Recovery Coach at a treatment center in Bridgeport.
Jacqueline continues to draw on her media experience to produce several large annual recovery events in Fairfield County, including the New Canaan Addiction Awareness Vigil as well as Celebrate Recovery.
This journey has shown her how rebuilding and reconnecting are essential steps on any path to recovery and how stigma, misinformation and lack of accessible resources create unnecessary barriers to recovery. Jacqueline hopes to help recoverees, families and communities find some measure of understanding, comfort, and support.
Thamarlande Onesair, MPH (She, Her, Hers)
Program Coordinator- The Hub, a division of RYASAP, RBHAO Region 1
Thamarlande Onesair is from Norwalk, CT. Her passion within the healthcare space started in high school where she was part of the School-To-Career Program and worked alongside medical professionals who prioritized outside of their duties as physicians to be impactful in the community. She has always been curious about the behaviors of the mind which prompted her to receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Howard University. While in her Undergraduate studies a horrific earthquake in Haiti affected her family and she was then opened to how she can be of need to those who have been affected by natural disasters. She obtained her Emergency Medical Technician Certification where she served as an EMT in Washington, DC for 4 years. Being an EMT she quickly learned the need for access to health education in underserved communities to make a change in improving health equity. Her drive to wanting to do more for the communities we serve led her to join the AmeriCorps St. Louis Emergency Response Team. Her time in AmeriCorps helped shape one of her goals of being a change agent in Public Health. She went on to receive her Master’s in Public Health at New York University where she was able to build on her interests in disease investigation and whole person care implementations. She plans to use this collaborative public health platform to serve and raise awareness to a wide demographic of people and establish profound connections to make positive impact in the lives of the communities she serves, especially those in underserved populations. She hopes to continue the mission towards improving the overall quality of life for our communities’ goals in bridging gaps in health disparities.
June Francis (She, Her, Hers)
Program Assistant
June grew up right here in Connecticut and earned her bachelor's degree from Vassar College in New York, majoring in Biochemistry and Drama. She has a background working in children's education, igniting their passion for learning and ensuring no one gets left behind. She's joined the Hub as a Program Assistant and is so excited about taking part in their mission. She is very passionate about helping others in any way she can! During her free time, she enjoys a good, needlessly complicated board game, coupled with a steaming hot chocolate, no matter the weather.
Contact June at: jfrancis@ryasap.org
Alexa (She, Her, Hers)
Prevention Core Member
Alexa has been reading, creating, daydreaming, and chasing dogs in Connecticut for most of her life. A graduate of Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism, she quickly learned the hard-hitting life of a reporter was not for her. She’s spent the last 9 years as a saleswoman, social media marketer, content creator, energy healer, virtual assistant, and somehow, insurance broker, before joining PreventionCorps. She is a student of Post University’s Master’s in Counseling and Human Services program. When she’s not working, you can find her obsessing over her fur babies, Java (the snuggly pit bull), Merlin (the high-maintenance beagle), and Bucky (the adorable rabbit). She loves listening to her partner James theorize about all things Marvel comics, and loves the thrill of a midnight premier. You can also find her dancing (16 years and counting!), running (blame quarantine), devouring either fantasy or personal development books, or binging bad TV.
Chessie
"Su-paw-visor"
Chessie is a rescue Tri-paw who has been with The Hub for almost three years! She’s loves walks, peanut butter, swimming, and squeaky toys, among many other things. She's a top notch cuddler but can be a little stingy with kisses. It’s sometimes tricky for Chessie to fetch and listen when there are distractions around, but she’s an expert at winning people’s hearts with her puppy dog eyes. Chessie is a proud graduate of the Petco obedience school, class of 2022. Chessie’s work is focused on supervising her colleagues and ensuring a positive and efficient work environment.