Katie Dillard, CCLS, PMH-C graduated from The University of Alabama and has been a child life specialist for 12 years. She is also a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Specialist. Katie has experience working in inpatient and outpatient settings including NICU, NICU follow up clinic and Labor and Delivery with an emphasis on maternal mental health support. She is a volunteer coordinator for Postpartum Support International and a Resolve Through Sharing perinatal loss coordinator.

Jessika Boles, PhD, CCLS is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and a Certified Child Life Specialist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from Rhodes College, a Master's degree in Applied Child Studies from Vanderbilt University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology with a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research from the University of Memphis. She has been a practicing child life specialist for fourteen years, the first 8 of which were spent in pediatric and adolescent oncology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with the following years dedicated to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dr. Boles is known for her research on the concept of legacy as it is perceived by various stakeholders and translated into clinical practices with children and families. Additionally, as the leader of the CHILL (Children's Healthcare, Illness, Legacy, and Loss) lab at Vanderbilt University, her research brings together multidisciplinary collaborators and student researchers to study the psychosocial needs and experiences of children and families in multiple contexts: pediatric critical care, medical complexity, developmental disabilities, adverse childhood experiences, and grief and bereavement. She has held multiple posts in the Association of Child Life Professionals, and currently serves as Lead Fellow for the Association of Child Life Professionals and as a voting member of the Institutional Review Board at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center. In her spare time, she enjoys punk rock, her family's home and menagerie of pets in Montana, and spending time with her children and husband.

Emily Boulos, MEd, CCLS completed a Master's in Child Studies at Vanderbilt University and is currently a Child Life Fellow at Golisano Children's Hospital Southwest Florida. She  co-designed a study to examine caregiver perceptions of ICU-to-acute-care patient transitions and is involved in several research projects addressing legacy and sibling bereavement. Emily is involved in several nonprofit organizations such as Make-A-Wish Foundation Southern Florida. 

Bridgette Danielson has been a Certified Child Life Specialist II for five years in an inpatient behavioral health facility at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She received her Masters of Art in Family and Consumer Sciences with a Child Life Concentration from Western Michigan University in 2017. Throughout her professional career, Bridgette has presented on the topic of child life and mental health to over a dozen conferences, child life departments, and collegiate programs. She is certified in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), has provided mentorship and guidance to several child life students and professionals, and is currently planning to collaborate with the ACLP regarding meet-ups for CCLSs working with patients with behavioral needs. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, spending time with her family, reading, and baking.

Jessica has been a CCLS for 11 years, the last 7 of which have been at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital where she works with the pediatric transplant population. Prior to that she worked at the HSC Pediatric Center in Washington, DC and completed her internship at the UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center in Worcester, MA. Her special areas of interests include: chronic populations, medical trauma, children with special needs, palliative care, and medication adherence. 

Kathleen has worked at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital since 2009. She  primarily worked with the pediatric small bowel and liver transplant population from 2011 until 2014. Today, Kathleen works primarily with the hematology/oncology, general pediatric and procedural sedation team, in addition to coordinating the child life program at Medstar Georgetown. Her interests include chronic populations, adolescents and young adult patients, and pediatric transplant. 

Dana Kim has been a music therapist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt for 6 years and uses her advanced trainings in guided imagery and music, neonatal intensive care music therapy, and therapeutic songwriting to provide care for patients across all the inpatient units.  Dana completed the hospital’s Quality Academy in 2019 and continues to lead a team of interdisciplinary colleagues in an improvement project focused on reducing patients’ anxiety in the hospital.  Currently, Dana is also collaborating with child life colleagues to complete a research project focused on enhancing infant attachment/bonding and caregiver empowerment in the hospital.

Dee Baddley is a Certified Child Life Specialist II at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in the outpatient Orthopaedic clinic. Dee has been employed there for 4 years and has used her Bachelor’s degree in Family Relations and Master’s Degree in Child Life to provide patient and family centered care in the hospital setting, to facilitate research projects within the department, to educate students in the community, and to partner in committee work with team members. Dee is currently leading her own research study pertaining to pain management in infants undergoing care for clubfoot in the outpatient Orthopaedic clinic setting, as well as, continuing to collect data during the implementation of an anxiety assessment tool.