Genevieve Lowry began her career as a certified child life specialist working with children diagnosed with chronic and life threatening illness at a major New York Hospital. In 2007 she began a private practice working with families in the community facing a variety of challenges. These experiences and her online platform, The Convenient Classroom where is the co-creator of the Online Child Life Certification Test Preparation course as well as provides professional development to child life and creative arts therapists, led her to consider the work of the child life specialist beyond the hospital. Genevieve has worked at Bank Street College since 2004 as adjunct, Interim Director of the Child Life Program (2015-2016) and currently as Course Instructor and Fieldwork Advisor in the fully online Child Life Program. In these roles Genevieve demonstrates her belief that the philosophical tenets of child life can be applied to other settings and populations leading to innovative programming in communities and coursework at Bank Street. She is particularly interested in the intersection of social justice and health care as well as supporting child life students and professionals to be advocates for social justice. She writes, presents and provides consultation to a variety of organizations both locally and nationally and in 2013 she was recognized by Wheelock College as an alumni fulfilling the college’s mission and philosophy.

Troy is a Certified Child Life Specialist for and has over 25 years of experience in the field of Child Life, including directing several child life programs in the tri-state area. She has served as the Director of the Child Life Masters Program at Bank Street College since 2004, and has taught the following courses: Child Development, Adolescent and Emerging Adulthood, Child Life in Health Care Settings, Children with Special Health Care Needs, and Child Life Administration.

Troy has been an active member of the Association of Child Life Professionals and has held several leadership positions. Patient and Family Centered Care has been an integral part of her work with children, youth and their families for the last 30 years. She is committed to working with families. During her career, she has worked as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Therapist, Special Educator and as a Certified Child Life Specialist. Throughout her career she remains committed to and advocating for the diverse and unique needs of all patients and their family, supporting their growth and development.

Director of Child Life Services
New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital

Rechelle D Porter, CCLS, LSW is the Director of Child Life Services and Creative Art Therapies at New York Presbyterian/ Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. She has been a Child Life Specialist for over 25 years in both inpatient pediatric general medicine and oncology units, Ambulatory Surgery and outpatient Hematology and Oncology. Hospital Liaison for Family Advisory Council,  and Internship Coordinator Rechelle has served ACLP Nominating committee, Education, and Training Committee.  She has presented on cultural competencies for child life specialist at regional conferences.  Facilitator for Zero Harm and Empathy training for New York Presbyterian. 

Deborah Vilas, MS, CCLS, LMSW is a faculty advisor and instructor in the Child Life Program at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City, where she teaches graduate students how to provide meaningful and therapeutic play experiences for hospitalized children. Deborah has worked with children as a child life specialist, preschool teacher and social worker. An author, consultant, blogger and international public speaker, Deborah has presented and taught in Australia, The Philippines, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Mexico, the Palestinian Territories, and Japan. In 2016, she participated in a panel presentation about child life and technology at the United Nations. In 2014, Deborah represented her profession and her country as a keynote speaker at the first global summit on pediatric psychosocial care in hospitals, addressing delegates from 46 countries on the importance of play for sick and injured children. Her blog www.pediaplay.com reaches followers in 89 countries.

Divna Wheelwright is the current Manager of Child Life & Creative Arts Therapy at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University, and former Director on the ACLP Board of Directors. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force and as a member of the Child Life Focus Review Board. Divna believes that leadership begins with one's own world view and hers hinges on social justice. 

Certified Child Life Specialist and Momentos Therapy LLC founder, Kia Ferrer, has a passion for treating children with respect and without condescension by providing them with honest information about challenging life events. She uses therapeutic art, dramatic play, and developmentally appropriate education to promote healthy interpretations of difficult circumstances through detailed examinations of these pivotal life-moments. In 2018, Ferrer founded Momentos Therapy LLC in Chicago, Illinois, to fill a need she identified in her work with hospitals, wherein child life services typically stop at discharge. She believes children undergoing medical treatment are entitled to psychosocial support in all the various contexts of their lives. Ferrer has a particular interest in helping children reintegrate into their schools, homes and communities after experiencing illness, medical trauma, and grief. Born and bred in Chicago by two public school teachers, Ferrer has over 12 years of experience working in urban early childhood education, in palliative and hospice settings, in private practice, and as a child life specialist at several children’s hospitals in the Chicagoland area. In addition to her work with Momentos, Ferrer is Adjunct Faculty and a Doctoral Fellow at Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development, and Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education. She co-authored “Transforming the Pediatric Experience” and has presented on several child development topics including “Virtualizing Therapeutic Interventions” at Mayo Clinic and “Communicating with Empathy and Compassion” at Make-A-Wish®. She is currently involved in research to strengthen professional standards of child life practices to serve marginalized pediatric populations. Most recently, Ferrer supervised a new child life practicum volunteer program at San Jorge Children and Women’s Hospital in Santurce, Puerto Rico, through an international child life organization called Child Life United. Ferrer also teaches several online distance learning courses and offers workshops in schools, hospitals, and professional conferences around the world. Kia currently resides in Chicago with her two sons, Diego (6) and Marco (4) and therapy dog, Lola (1).

Director of Child Life Services
New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital

Rechelle D Porter, CCLS, LSW is the Director of Child Life Services and Creative Art Therapies at New York Presbyterian/ Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. She has been a Child Life Specialist for over 25 years in both inpatient pediatric general medicine and oncology units, Ambulatory Surgery and outpatient Hematology and Oncology. Hospital Liaison for Family Advisory Council,  and Internship Coordinator Rechelle has served ACLP Nominating committee, Education, and Training Committee.  She has presented on cultural competencies for child life specialist at regional conferences.  Facilitator for Zero Harm and Empathy training for New York Presbyterian. 

Child life specialist for 14 years, living and practicing abroad for 5 years, certified infant massage instructor, bachelor's in psychology, master's in clinical social work focusing on health, mental health and disability

Child life specialist for 6 years, living and practicing abroad for 3 years, special education teacher and early intervention specialist; master’s in learning disabilities, bachelor’s in psychology

Katherine Bennett, MEd, CCLS has worked as a Certified Child Life Specialist at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital since 2001. She has worked with children and families in the areas of operative surgery, community outreach/education, PICC, inpatient medicine with all age groups, and in the burn center. Currently, she serves as the educator for Child Life & Volunteer Services, planning and coordinating the clinical training experiences for emerging child life professionals, onboarding new employees, working with the department's clinical advancement program and providing education about the needs of children in healthcare settings to colleagues both in and outside the Vanderbilt community. She has written and presented at international conferences and in several published outlets about such topics as medical play and its impact, developmental theory applied to hospitalized children, and teaching child life in the clinical and university settings.

Ashlie Woodburn, M.Ed., CCLS, CIMI is currently working as a child life specialist in the CVICU at Phoenix Children's and has been practicing as a CCLS for five years. Ashlie has experience implementing a wide range of child life interventions that meet the needs of diverse patients and families across outpatient clinic, inpatient acute and critical care settings. Ashlie is particularly interested in meeting the developmental needs of infants with chronic medical conditions and has worked to implement programs to increase the utilization of child life support during infant procedures and encourage developmentally appropriate sensory support in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Ashlie is a contributing author for the child life value proposition statement and is passionate about evidence-based practice in child life. Her academic training includes Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Family and Human Development from Arizona State University and a Master of Education degree in Child Studies from Vanderbilt University. 

Katy Hoskins, CCLS is a Certified Child Life Specialist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. Her interests and advocacy centers around infant mental health, non-pharmacological pain management/procedural support for infants, prenatal psychosocial support for parents and siblings in Maternal Fetal medicine, preterm developmental needs, program development in Neonatology, and family-centered end of life care. Katy has been a child life specialist for almost five years with previous clinical experience in the emergency department and inpatient neurology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. She graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Ecology with a concentration in Child Life and will begin pursuing her Masters degree in Early Childhood and Family Development at Missouri State University this fall. Katy serves on many hospital committees, including chair of the NICU Bereavement Committee, and is also an ACLP Bulletin committee member.

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.