Our Current Youth Representatives

Our Current Youth Representatives

Eric Lulow  Rockville, Maryland

(click the name for a full bio and resume)

Biographical Sketch

"My name is Eric Lulow and I am the Youth Involvement Associate for the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, and Spokesperson for Youth M.O.V.E. National. I hold a bachelors degree in Social Work from Middle Tennessee State University. In addition to my professional involvement working with youth that have experienced systems, I also have many years experience being one. I’m an Alumnus of the foster care and mental health systems. I spent eight years in foster care before being adopted at the age of fifteen. I had a failed adoption and lived with various relatives and friends until I finished high school and went to college. I was homeless at the age of eighteen and through the support of my community I was able to finish college with my degree. During my time in school I became involved in youth voice advocacy work, and I have continued in that work ever since."

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Brianne Masselli  Lewiston, Maine

(click the name for a full bio and resume)

Biographical Sketch

Brianne Masselli is the Director of Training and Continuous Quality Improvement for THIRVE, an independent nonprofit federally and state funded system of care in Maine. Ms. Masselli coordinates in state and out of state training and technical assistance to providers, organizations and communities seeking to become trauma informed in order to better serve the needs of family and youth who are experiencing challenges with behavioral and emotional health issues. THRIVE has been the transformational training organization for Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services and the creator of a trauma informed agency assessment that is now a contract expectation for all child serving agencies in Maine. Ms. Masselli has been an advisor in the creation of the System of Care Trauma-Informed Agency Assessment and was one of the key authors of this assessment.

Prior to becoming Director of Training and CQI, Ms. Masselli was the Youth Coordinator for THRIVE and was instrumental in the promotion of youth guided care and youth advocacy. Under her leadership, THRIVE’s youth committee successfully completed local, state and national tasks which resulted in the youth committee becoming a Youth Move chapter in Maine. In addition to this, Ms. Masselli has also received recognition as a consumer advocate who has first hand experience as a former youth consumer of mental health services. This experience allows her to connect with youth, families, and service providers who struggle to create bridges to one another and become Trauma-informed.

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Tyrus Curtis  Brooklyn, New York

(click the name for a full bio and resume)

Biographical Sketch

Coming Soon!

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Lacey Kendrick  Hattiesburg, Mississippi

(click the name for a full bio and resume)

Biographical Sketch

After serving for a year as a youth consultant, Lacy Kendrick joined the staff of the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development in October 2008 where she worked with youth and adults around issues concerning youth engagement and served as the lead for the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) project. She has served on several boards addressing adoption and foster care issues, including the Missouri State Youth Advisory Board, the ABA-Bar Empowerment Project National Advisory Board and the Multicultural Advisory Committee for the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Adoption. Ms. Kendrick Burk also recently joined the youth committee of the International Foster Care Organization. She also participated as an intern for U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts through the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Foster Youth Internship Program where she testified at a congressional briefing on the needs of foster youth. Her focus areas include youth engagement in systems change, youth adult partnerships, youth leadership development, and evaluation.

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Cindy Juarez  Los Angeles, California

(click the name for a full bio and resume)

Biographical Sketch

Currently, Cindy serves as the Director of Youth MOVE National, a subsidiary of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. She has led positive development groups, served as a mentor, developed trainings, workshops, keynote speeches, and taught leadership skills directly to youth, families, and professionals. She credits her evolving passion and desire to work for youth on the vast training and learning she has received from family, youth, and advocacy organizations nationwide.  The different lessons she has learned, and now assists others in learning, range from cultural competence, child and adolescent needs and strengths, training on youth engagement and empowerment, managing school violence, immigration, youth and gangs, social activism, developing youth groups, prevention and intervention, and much more. Cindy looks forward to continuing learning from youth, families, and professionals; while doing her part to educate and empower our youth and families who desire to use their voices for positive personal and systematic change.