Lifeline for Families Leadership Team
Lifeline for Families leverages synergies between the fields of perinatal and child mental health. Our center brings together pioneers in the fields of:
▪ Obstetrics and gynecology (ob/gyn)
▪ Pediatrics
▪ Psychiatry
▪ Psychology
By leveraging this collective expertise and deep relationships with community partners—including medical societies and policymakers—we’re impacting millions of families and informing national policies.
Meet the rest of our team: Lifeline for Families faculty and staff
Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, FACLP
Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms Program Executive Director
Dr. Byatt is a perinatal psychiatrist and physician-scientist focused on improving health care systems to promote perinatal mental health. She is a professor with tenure of psychiatry, ob/gyn, and population & quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School.
She developed the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) for Moms. MCPAP for Moms is a statewide program that has:
▪ Increased access to mental health care for millions of perinatal individuals
▪ Become a national model for perinatal mental health care
▪ Impacted state and national policies and funding
Dr. Byatt’s research focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating scalable interventions that aim to improve parental and child mental health services and outcomes. With more than 10 years of continuous federal funding for her research, her achievements have led to:
▪ More than 80 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters
▪ More than 250 presentations
▪ Numerous national awards
Dr. Byatt’s love is her family, especially her two teenage boys. Her passion is increasing access to mental health care. Her mission is to redefine health care to include mental health care.
Email: Nancy.Byatt@umassmemorial.org
Learn more about Dr. Byatt's work.
Heather Forkey, MD
Lifeline for Kids Program Medical Director
Dr. Forkey is a pediatrician, as well as vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School. She also directs UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center’s Child Protection Program and Foster Children Evaluation Service (FaCES).
Dr. Forkey is particularly interested in meeting the health and developmental needs of children who have experienced traumas. In collaboration with colleagues, she has trained thousands of professionals and parents about the impacts of childhood trauma. She has also developed innovative resources to make that work easier.
Dr. Forkey has published the first textbook on trauma-informed care for pediatrics. She also presents nationally and internationally on the topic. In addition, she serves in leadership roles for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and American Academy of Pediatrics.
As a mom of 5 kids, she appreciates that life is busy and unpredictable—and that ways to support kids needs to be practical and fun!
Email: Heather.Forkey@umassmemorial.org
Learn more about Dr. Forkey's work.
Jessica L. Griffin, PsyD
Lifeline for Kids Program and Resilience Through Relationships Initiative Executive Director
Dr. Griffin is a clinical and forensic psychologist and associate professor in psychiatry and pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School. She has expertise in childhood trauma, resilience, and relationships.
Dr. Griffin is a nationally recognized expert and certified national trainer in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). She developed the UMass Child Trauma Training Center (now Lifeline for Kids), which has trained thousands of professionals in trauma, trauma-informed care, and trauma sensitive practices.
In 2012, Dr. Griffin created LINK-KID, a highly innovative access solution for trauma-exposed youth. LINK-KID is recognized by the U.S. government as a promising practice to address childhood trauma. Dr. Griffin has more than 10 years of continuous federal funding to support her work in service delivery. She has also served in leadership positions in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and routinely consults with policymakers and legislators on trauma-informed care.
Dr. Griffin is a highly sought-after public speaker and go-to expert for national media. She co-authored the first textbook on trauma-informed care for pediatrics and has also published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and other outlets; she has provided hundreds of national and international presentations. As a mother of 3 kids, Dr. Griffin’s first love is her family—and her role as a mom often influences her work!
Email: Jessica.Griffin@umassmed.edu
Learn more about Dr. Griffin's work.
Tiffany A. Moore Simas, MD, MPH, MEd, FACOG
Lifeline for Moms Program Medical Director
Dr. Moore Simas is an academic specialist in general ob/gyn, physician-scientist, and educator. She aims to improve the health of mother-child dyads and their families by using adult education and public health principles that inform patient, provider, practice, health system, and population-level improvements that focus on integrating obstetrics and mental health care, and advancing equity.
Dr. Moore Simas is chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and professor of ob/gyn, pediatrics, psychiatry, and population & quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. She is the founding obstetric engagement liaison of MCPAP for Moms.
Dr. Moore Simas has a federally funded research portfolio and her academic achievements have led to well over 100 peer-reviewed publications and hundreds of international and national presentations. She serves her profession nationally through organizations that include:
- The Society for Academic Specialists in Academic Ob/Gyn (President-elect)
- American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- The Alliance on Innovation in Maternal Health
Dr. Moore Simas’ passion is her family—she became a parent through biology, reproductive technology, fostering, and adoption. This informs her approach to caring for mothers, parents, children, and families, no matter how they came to be.
Email: TiffanyA.MooreSimas@umassmemorial.org
Learn more about Dr. Moore Simas' work.
Linda Brenckle, MS, RD, PMP
Lifeline for Families Center, Project Director for Research
Ms. Brenckle is a Lifeline for Moms project director who directs research operations for multiple perinatal mental health studies. She directed the PRogram in Support of Moms (PRISM) research study, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded award. PRISM aimed to develop and evaluate a protocol for integrating depression care into obstetrics practice. This effort involved:
- Development of data collection measures and study databases
- Management of regulatory requirements, research activities at 10 study sites, and data collection by staff completing some 35,000 contact attempts with 10,051 women
- Coordination of data analyses
“Leave it better than you found it” is a philosophy that Ms. Brenckle tries to live by every day. She has applied it in her career by working to improve the lives of women and children.
Ms. Brenckle’s life is centered on her family, which includes her husband, 3 sons, and extended family. Their role in her life helps her maintain an intense appreciation of the support family life provides. This appreciation drives her desire to make those relationships possible for others through mental well-being.
Email: Linda.Brenckle@umassmed.edu
Jennifer Malcolm-Brown, LICSW
Lifeline for Kids Program Director
Ms. Malcolm-Brown is an LICSW with more than 10 years’ experience in community mental health systems, supporting and directing projects to improve care and outcomes for youth and families who have been impacted by trauma.
Ms. Malcolm-Brown is also the program director for Lifeline for Kids and its Resilience Through Relationships Initiative at UMass Chan Medical School. In her role, she offers trauma-informed care trainings and oversees LINK-KID, an innovative centralized referral system.
LINK-KID increases access for youth and families seeking trauma-focused evidence-based treatments. Ms. Malcolm-Brown is a skilled clinician and supervisor in:
- Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC)
- Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral (TF-CBT)
Ms. Malcolm-Brown is also a nationally certified lead ARC trainer with the Center for Trauma Training (CTT). At the CTT, she supports organizations in bringing the ARC Framework into their child serving local and national systems. As a parent of 2, she personally understands the importance of being seen and understood as integral to the well-being of youth, caregivers, and whole families.
Melissa Maslin, MEd
Lifeline for Families Center, Project Director for Operations
Ms. Maslin is the project director of operations for Lifeline for Families. She also directs Lifeline for Moms’ consultation services and its Network of Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs.
Ms. Maslin brings more than 15 years of research-related project management and leadership experience to her role. In it, she enjoys making connections among the various Access Programs, advocates, and others working to improve perinatal mental health across the U.S.
Ms. Maslin earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Deaf Studies and a master’s degree in Education of the Deaf from Boston University. There she learned the critical importance of elevating the voices of those with lived experience in decisions about their own lives.
Her commitment to lifelong learning and growth fuels her desire to create and enhance systems that improve work and home life. Her recognition that mental wellness is essential to overall wellness—for individuals, families, and communities—inspires her work to promote mental health for all.
Email: Melissa.Maslin@umassmed.edu
