Our Team
Andrea Colliton
Executive Director, MS, CCLS
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Tracey Kaplan
Director of Operations
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Tracey has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and managing a practice for over 15 years. While she enjoyed the practice of law, it was the management side that she enjoyed the most, and is pleased to apply those skills to her work at Jeff’s Place. Tracey has always admired Jeff’s Place and its vision, and is incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing team.
Liz Millette
Clinical Director, LICSW
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Liz received her Master of Social Work from Boston College and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. She earned her undergraduate degree from Simmons University with a dual major in Human Services and Sociology. She has spent her professional career working as an administrative social worker at a local nonprofit hospice, where she developed a deep passion for end-of-life care and creating space for meaningful conversations about death and dying. She currently serves as Clinical Director, providing clinical leadership, oversight, and support to a dedicated team of clinicians. She feels most at home in nonprofit settings and thrives in creative-minded environments. An avid music lover, she values creativity as an essential part of connection, reflection, and healing.
Fern Mendez
Clinician, MA
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Fernanda is a registered Dance/Movement Therapist who received her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Dance/Movement Therapy from Lesley University. She holds a BM in Music Therapy and Composition and has experience working with burn survivors, children, young adults, psychiatric populations, and elders with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Fernanda is also the founder of El Bonche in Boston, a Cuban dance group celebrating the culture and traditions of Cuban music and dance. She believes in the power of music and dance to connect mind, body, and spirit, build community, and promote healing.
Fluent in three languages, Fern is piloting Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking groups at Jeff’s Place.
Jenny Silverberg
Clinician, MA
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Jenny holds a master’s degree from Lesley University in Expressive Arts Therapy with a specialization in Dance/Movement Therapy. With a history of working in a trauma-based program, Jenny is experienced in individual and group therapy, trauma-informed yoga, and integrating mindfulness into everyday life. She has used these modalities with children, teens, adults, and elders. She believes that we already have everything we need inside of us to heal and utilizes the wisdom of the body and nonverbal communication to empower us from within.
Michele Dillon
Education Coordinator
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Michele has a BA from FSU and studied Thanatology at The National Center for Death Education, Mount Ida College. She received her Grief Support Specialist Certificate from the University of Wisconsin and is a Certified Grief Educator. Prior to Jeff’s Place, Michele worked for 20 years supporting special education students in the Natick and Framingham Public Schools. In addition to her classroom role, Michele held Professional Development workshops for teachers which focused on children’s grief. She volunteered as a grief group facilitator for 17 years. Michele was honored by the Myra Kraft Charitable Foundation and awarded the Community Volunteer MVP Award in 2015 for her volunteer work at Jeff’s Place.
Jennifer Kaplan
Founder and Director of Research, PhD, LICSW, FT
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Jenny was awarded the second annual Excellence in Service Award at the 2018 Symposium for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief for her contributions to the field in both practice and research. She is the Founding Director of Jeff’s Place, FRIENDS WAY in Rhode Island, and Founding Clinical Director of Experience Camps. Jenny has worked extensively with bereaved children, teens, and families in various settings over the past 25 years providing counseling, professional training and education, and crisis response.
Jenny’s publications include You Are Not Alone: Young Adults Coping with Death, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles. She is a graduate of Simmons College School of Social Work, where she has taught as an adjunct faculty member. Jenny developed the Inventory of Youth Adaptation to Loss (IYAL), a strength-based outcome instrument, through her partnerships with dozens of children’s bereavement programs around the country and Canada. Jeff’s Place is proud to be the lead organization for a two-year national research study to inform program development and implementation, policy development, and standards of prevention and care for youth experiencing traumatic loss.
Joanna Marcus
Master’s Level Intern
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Joanna is a graduate student at Lesley University pursuing her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Expressive Arts Therapy. She holds a BA in music and violin performance. She is a member of the Me2 orchestra, an ensemble that focuses on opening up conversations about mental health. Prior to her graduate work, Joanna taught music to students in special education classrooms in elementary, middle, and high schools. She has also worked with elders living with dementia. She believes that music and art, throughout the lifespan, open up new possibilities for self-expression, storytelling, community-building, and healing.
Kenzie Huot
Master’s Level Intern
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Kenzie is a social work graduate student at Boston College with a background in human development and elementary education. She recently received her End-of-Life Doula certificate from the University of Vermont. She has held a variety of roles in programming supporting families impacted by cancer. Kenzie is humbled by the opportunity to be a part of the Jeff’s Place team this year.
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