ELIZABETH DEVANEY, MM
Director, Whole Child Connection

Elizabeth Devaney is the Director of the Whole Child Connection at Children’s Institute in Rochester, NY. In that role she coordinates research andcapacity buildingrelated to social and emotional learning (SEL)in out-of-school-timeprograms, schools, and early childhood centersacross the state of New York. Devaney co-chairs Rochester’s Expanded Learning Time Collection Action Network and its subcommittee focused on developing an SEL framework for the ELO community. Devaney has over 15 years of experience in implementing and studying programs designed to support youth outside of schools hours as they grow and develop socially, emotionally and academically. Prior to the Children’s Institute, she was a researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) where she studiedthe implementation and impact of highquality afterschool programs with a particular emphasis onthe intersection between research and practice. Devaney has co-authored several guidesfor afterschool and school-based practitioners, includingBeyond the Bell®: Atoolkit for creating effective afterschool and expanded learning programsandSustainable schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL): Implementation guide and toolkit. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the Providence After School Alliancewhere she developed and implemented aquality improvement system for the state of Rhode Island and oversaw the organization’s research and evaluation activities. She was also aproject director at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Devaney was a William T. Grant Foundation Distinguished Fellow recipient in 2009. She received her masters degree in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University. 

TASHA POTTER
Director for Equity and Family and Community Engagement

Tasha Potter has served as an educator for 27 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and director. She is currently working as Director for Equity and Family & Community Engagement in the Greece Central School District. Tasha is pursing an Educator Doctorate in Executive Leadership, at St. John Fisher College.

AMY SCHEEL-JONES, MS Ed
Senior Consultant, CCSI

Amy Scheel-Jones brings depth and breadth of experience to capacity building and change management strategies. In her work as a School Counselor, Amy spent 10 years developing expertise in practical approaches to prevention, resiliency and fostering well-being.  A committed youth and family advocate and systems thinker, Amy has consistently applied these core principles to accelerate practice transformation efforts   in educational settings, behavioral health system planning, and cross-sector community impact efforts.  The core of her work includes sustainable system transformation grounded in trauma-responsive principles, positive youth development, and resilience enhancement.  Specifically, Amy oversees the Consortium on Trauma, Illness & Grief in Schools (TIG), a regional collaboration of comprehensive training and integrated crisis response network serving participating districts for over 18 years.  Areas of focus include training and consultation on the impact of childhood adversities (ACEs), trauma-responsive practices, resilience development, behavioral health system transformation, suicide, strategic planning for crisis response, and change management for school-based initiatives. She received her BS in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University followed by her MS in Education in Counseling from SUNY Brockport.