Board of Directors

Norbert A. Belliveau, MSW, LICSW, CIT (he/him): Board President

Norbert was recently approved by the EMDRIA as a consultant.

He is a 2001 graduate of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC where he earned his MSW specializing in School Social Work with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Since then, Norbert has spent the bulk of his career working in Deaf education, Child Protection, Adult Vocational Services, and finally the local public school system before retiring very early in 2020. Norbert has worked in solo private practice since 2010. He describes that move as “the best decision I ever made.” He has a deep commitment to evolving personally and professionally, and has participated in many of the great local EMDR Advanced Training & Distance Learning opportunities over the last five years. Norbert has a deep sense of pride and gratitude for the work he does with clients, many of whom are from the LGBTQIA+ community. He writes “I am grateful to assume the role of president of the Western Massachusetts EMDR Network Board, and to have this continued opportunity to contribute to the EMDR community that has given me so much personally and professionally.”

Carol Ostiguy-Finneran, LMHC (she/her): Board Clerk

Carol graduated with her MA from Antioch New England in 2007 where she majored in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy. She has worked as a sexual assault crisis counselor, as a correctional counselor and forensics clinician, in substance abuse treatment, in residential programs for adults with disabilities and in community mental health clinics. She has training and experience evaluating and treating both survivors and perpetrators of sexualized violence. She completed her EMDR basic training in 2016. She is most drawn to Feminist/Empowerment and Client Centered models of care along with the application of EMDR for trauma recovery.She is currently in full time private practice in Easthampton MA.

Sarah Burnham, LICSW (she/her): Board Treasurer

Sarah received her MSW from University of Maryland in 1993. Since 2012 She has worked at the VA on a Residential Unit for Veterans with PTSD. Prior to that she had many years experience working in Community Mental Health Centers in New Mexico and Massachusetts. She was trained in EMDR and Acceptance Commitment Therapy in 2012. She has since gotten certified in EMDR and in the Trauma Resilience Model, a somatically based trauma approach. She believes in empowering clients by helping them to understand and befriend their nervous system through a Polyvagal lens, helping them to understand that they are not broken.

Yesselis Rosario, LICSW (She/Her/Ella)

Yesselis obtained her MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 2023. She believes in empowering individuals to identify and challenge oppressive barriers and systems. She finds purpose in supporting veteran families (like her own), women, children, and diaspora communities. Yesselis specializes in complex trauma and has a particular interest in disaster-related trauma, cultural trauma, and cultural dislocation. Her approach is rooted in intersectionality, social justice, and decolonial frameworks, and she integrates relational, person-centered skills, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Hanna Vaughn, LICSW (she/her)

Hanna (she/her) is a dedicated psychotherapist that specializes in treating disordered eating, OCD, complex trauma, and works extensively with the kink/queer/polyamorous community. She integrates person-centered and eclectic therapeutic approaches, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She upholds the belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all bodies, advocating for Health at Every Size (HAES) principles to navigate disordered eating and promote holistic well-being.

Jennifer Wright, LMHC (she/her)

Jenny received her first Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation and Counseling with a focus on Pervasive Developmental Disorders from Springfield College in 2008. From there she worked in Early Intervention in Springfield for over ten years evaluating and providing in-home therapy to infants and toddlers and their families. This work encouraged her to continue on in 2018 to attain a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and move into community and private practice in 2021. Jenny is trained in EMDR and Somatic Experiencing Intermediate Level. She is passionate in her work with individuals of all ages experiencing disability, trauma, perinatal and post-partum adjustment, neurodivergence, and attachment.

Devon Ruesch, LCSW (he/him)

Devon graduated from the Smith College School of Social Work in 2022. He received EMDR training at the Trauma Institute in 2023. Devon works at the Post-Traumatic Growth Group in Northampton. As a queer biracial clinician, Devon particularly enjoys working with LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC folks. He has been on the board since 2023 and loves the community.

Michelle M. Marchese, Ph.D., LICSW: Racial Equity Education Officer

Michelle is a licensed independent clinical social worker, certified trauma therapist, and clinical supervisor. After serving as director of the counseling service at Smith College, she founded the Post-Traumatic Growth Group, a trauma-focused group practice centering support for queer and historically marginalized communities. Earlier roles include clinical supervisor at The Trauma Institute, therapist in an inpatient VA PTSD unit, and an outpatient community mental health therapist. She recently successfully defended a mixed-methods pilot randomized controlled trial on EMDR for race-based traumatic stress. She has presented nationally and internationally on EMDR, dissociation, and gender, and published two book chapters on gender and trauma treatment. At Smith College she teaches on trauma and disability justice in the M.S.W. program, on psychodynamic theory in the Ph.D. program, and previously taught in the Supervision Certificate Program. She is sustained by dogs, live music, vegan cheese, and all bodies of water.

Past Board / Steering Committee Members

Cheryl Case, LICSW
Joanna Vaughn, LICSW
Joel Coburn, LICSW
Jacquelyn Olmeda, LMHC
Jim Helling, LICSW
Stephanie Baird, LMHC
Gary Loomis, LMHC
Anna Kogan, LICSW
Jason Rose-Langston, LICSW
Lee Paddy, LMHC
Jane Laskey, LICSW
Elizabeth Barron, LMHC
Sandra Stephenson Murphy, LICSW/ACSW
Melysa Friedman, LICSW
Stephanie Baird, LMHC
Desiree Lowit, LICSW
Christine Catania-Rachlin, MSW, LICSW
Michelle Marchese, LICSW
Chloe Rovitz, LICSW, LMSW

Contact the Board of Directors