Multiplying Connections’ Staff

Leslie Lieberman, MSW,  directs the Special Initiatives and Organizational Development for the Health Federation of Philadelphia, including Multiplying Connections and Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC). Leslie has more than 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating award-winning health care programs for children and families and in providing organizational development from a trauma-informed framework. Her work includes creating a multi-level program for childhood injury prevention, directing the "Born Free Project" in Contra Costa County, California, one of the nation's first perinatal substance abuse intervention program which integrated substance abuse services with routine prenatal care, and building and leading Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Early Start Program, a nationally recognized model of care for pregnant women at risk of substance abuse.Leslie has presented at numerous national conferences, provided training and published on topics ranging from building effective coalitions to integrating behavioral health and primary care. Leslie has a masters degree in social welfare planning from the University of California at Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Carleton College. She is delighted to apply her passion and expertise for moving programs from vision to reality through collaboration and coordination to the Multiplying Connections initiative.

Khaliah D. Pitts, MPH, has a Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Temple University, with experience in community intervention, curriculum design and development, and training facilitation. She has a broad spectrum of skills in the areas of self-care and resilience. Her work at Health Federation is part of the Organizational Development Team where she is working as a Training Specialist on a Home Visitation project.

Carolyn Smith-Brown, is the Administrative Manager of Special Initiatives and works in that capacity with the Multiplying Connections Training Institute, the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, with the Philadelphia ACE Task Force, whose purpose is to expand the understanding and application of the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences study. She also works with the Family Violence Clinical Network. She received her bachelor's degree in physiology, with a focus on the biological basis of behavior from the University of Illinois, and has worked during her professional career in administration and management of non-profit health services. As a volunteer,she has worked as a community organizer in Philadelphia in the development of the neighborhood association, community planning and greening.

Monica Sullivan, MEd, is the Training Program Manager for the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Since 2007, she has led training sessions for organizations throughout the Greater Philadelphia region that integrate brain science, the principles of trauma-informed care and mindfulness. As a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) facilitator and certified yoga teacher, she seeks ways to encourage reflective practices in her work with organizations. Monica’s goal is to help organizations develop a culture that builds staff and client resilience.

Marcy Witherspoon, MSW, LSW, is a senior training specialist for the Health Federation of Philadelphia and the family violence specialist for the Ambulatory Health Services division of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. She has been a pillar of the Philadelphia social work community for almost forty years, focusing on family violence prevention, parenting education, child protection and the long-term effects of toxic stress on individuals and families. Marcy works both locally and nationally with teachers, health care providers, social workers and community-based organizations to integrate trauma-sensitive practices into the workplace. She teaches on topics related to verbal de-escalation, conflict resolution, motivational interviewing, reflective supervision, child abuse, intimate partner violence and resilience.  She also teaches at Penn State Brandywine and the Community College of Philadelphia.  Marcy’s goal is to improve the health, safety and the well-being of the local community through coaching, training and the provision of support.