Advisory Council
Ms. Manewitz, is Principal and Executive Director of Manewitz Weiker Associates, LLC, (“MWA”), a women owned advisory firm established in 2008 that specializes in the management and resolution of challenged investments. MWA’s practice concentrates on Corporate Governance, Constituent Advocacy, and Risk Management.
Sharon began her career in finance at Bankers Trust Company, where she learned the workout, restructuring and distressed investing business. Sharon worked for TIAA-CREF, the world’s largest private pension fund, managing its workout and distressed investment unit.
Sharon’s volunteer activities include acting as Chair of the Advisory Council of FamilyKind LLC, a not-for-profit organization that serves families experiencing separation and divorce. Her professional activities include membership on the Corporate Governance Committee of Turnaround Management Association (TMA) New York, and she is Co Chair of the Annual TMA Global Turnarounds and Transactions Awards Committee.
Sharon has a BA in Art History from Hunter College and an MBA in Corporate Financial Management from Pace University. She earned a certificate in Corporate Governance from NYU School of Professional Studies.
Dr. Lauren Behrman is on the FamilyKind advisory council, and co-chairs the Adult Children of Divorce Committee. She is a clinical psychologist in independent practice for over 34 years. She is a trained mediator, parenting coordinator and mental health professional on collaborative divorce teams, and trains professionals in Basic Collaborative Divorce Practice. Dr. Behrman has written numerous articles and chapters on various topics related to divorce. She guest lectures in law school classes on Collaborative Divorce and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and teaches workshops on conflict resolution internationally. Dr. Behrman is a frequent presenter at IACP, NYACP, AFCC, FDMCGNY, local bar associations, and APA on a variety of divorce-related topics.
Dr. Behrman is co-author of:”Loving Your Children More Than You Hate Each Other” published May, 2018 by New Harbinger Press. Dr. Behrman has a private practice in midtown Manhattan and Katonah, NY.
John is a trained and certified mediator and family law attorney in New York City. After a decade of experience in both private and government practice, John launched Cappiello Law & Mediation in 2025 to provide individuals & families with highly personalized, cost-effective and accessible mediation and family law services.
John's mediation and litigation practice areas of expertise include: Assisted Reproductive Technology Law (ART); Foster Care proceedings; Custody, Guardianship & Visitation proceedings; and OCFS Administrative Hearings. Apart from serving on FamilyKind's Advisory Council, John is a proud member of the LGBT Bar NY (former co-chair of the Family & Matrimonial Law Committee) and the Family & Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York. John also serves as Of Counsel to Rosin Steinhagen Mendel, PLLC, a boutique family law firm in Manhattan. John is a graduate of the Loyola University Maryland (B.A.) and the Northeastern University School of Law (J.D.). He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York. A Connecticut native, John lives in New York City with his husband, William, and their dog, Ripley.
Tonya worked in the financial services industry for more than 25 years in a variety of areas including legal, compliance, risk management, technology and operations. She is currently building a career in real estate; guided by the belief that home is sanctuary, she loves working closely with her clients through their transactions. Tonya divorced in 2015, is mom to a daughter and son and she holds an undergraduate degree in Finance & Investments from CUNY’s Baruch College and a graduate degree in Information Management from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Amy Carron Day is a mediator, GoodTalk4Children facilitator and an Advisor for FamilyKind. She has been a family and divorce mediator, as well as a Collaborative divorce attorney in New York for over 25 years. Ms. Day has dedicated her private practice to educating clients with family and divorce disputes to help resolve them out of court in a peaceful, fair and efficient manner.
She has always been an active member of the New York State Council of Divorce Mediators and the Family and Divorce Mediation Council, along with the New York Association for Collaborative Professionals in New York City. Ms. Day has worked extensively with children of divorce, as well as teaching conflict resolution skills to children in her volunteer work. She received a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University, then a J.D. at Brooklyn Law School.
Michael Duncanson is a parent educator for FamilyKind. Currently, Michael is a board member for Human Development Services of Westchester, an Advisory Board Member for FamilyKind and a board member of Gradbag.He is currently working as a Mental Health Counselor at Redeemer Counseling Services. He is a retired licensed mental health counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with 20 years of service at NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H). He received his bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and his master’s degree from NYU.
Ana-Lisa Gertner, a mediator for FamilyKind, is a Family Mediator and Divorce Coach at Manhattan Mediators, and a Director at the Center for Mediation and Training in Manhattan. As a mediator she helps families going through conflicts and disagreements arrive at solutions without having to go to court. She has experience mediating a wide range of family conflicts, including parent- adolescent conflicts. In addition to helping couples separate and divorce, Ana-Lisa also works with couples in marital mediation, using mediation techniques to improve the relationship and to help people stay together.
Greg Gillman is a seasoned veteran in the e-commerce space, having worked with experts in media buying, creative, venture capital, tech, and more. This experience has given him a deep understanding of the industry, which he leverages to provide clients with a competitive edge.
Greg has been a part of some of the biggest and most successful e-commerce brands. His firm, GForce, helps companies scale their businesses and overcome marketing challenges that may otherwise stand in their way.
Nancy Nybergh is a NYS licensed psychoanalyst, certified Gestalt psychotherapist and trainer. Over the past 35 years, Nancy has worked in corporate, nonprofit and government venues mostly in a training capacity but also in various managerial and leadership roles while maintaining a private practice. She has been formerly trained in conflict resolution in both the Position/Interest-Based and Understanding Based models and her certification is pending. Since 2007, Nancy has been teaching the NYS certified Parent’s Assisting Children through Transition class, works full time as a trainer at the New York City Department for the Aging, and teaches NYS Teachers at My Teaching Success. Nancy’s keen interest in and passion for better understanding relationships, communications, and mindfulness inspires her current work, which focuses on these important topics. Nancy received her Masters of Arts in Organization Psychology from New York University and completed a 4 year post-graduate program in Psychotherapy at The Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy.
Barbara Rothberg, a child inclusive mediator, parenting coordinator and Advisory Council member at FamilyKind, is a licensed clinical social worker and has been in practice for more than 40 years. She has additional training and certifications in Family and Couple Therapy, Mediation as well as Child Inclusive Mediation. Barbara has worked as family and couple therapist, mediator, parent coordinator with high conflict couples, and divorce coach/family specialist in conjunction with collaborative attorneys and other mediators. She has experience teaching couples therapy to graduate students, leading seminars and workshops at conferences and presenting to various organizations over the years. Barbara is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council, where she is a board member, the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts, as well as the Gender Project at the Ackerman Institute. She received her doctorate in Social Work at The Graduate Center, Hunter School of Social Work.
Wendy Silva, a member of FamilyKind’s Advisory Council, as well as a parent education teacher, has spent her entire career serving the public interest. She is currently an Associate Court Attorney in the Bronx Surrogate’s Court where she assists self-represented individuals navigate the court processes involving Trust and Estate and Guardianship matters. Wendy has previously worked as a Senior Staff Attorney at Her Justice, a non-profit legal services organization serving low-income women, where she trained and mentored attorneys in the private sector to provide pro-bono representation.
Wendy has also represented clients in their family, matrimonial and immigration matters throughout New York City and supervised the first Domestic Violence Legal Project in Northern Manhattan. She has worked on a wide range of legal issues that challenge the disruption of clients’ legal rights to appropriate housing, education, and medical care. Wendy is also a volunteer Community Mediator and Arbitrator.
Wendy is fluent in Spanish. She received her J.D. from SUNY at Buffalo School of Law and her BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Biography coming soon.
Kim Susser serves as a consultant, trainer, and grant writer to nonprofit and government-funded agencies, including Family Legal Care (formally LIFT), Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp., Hope’s Door, the Children’s Law Center, the Center for Modern Courts, Healing NY (formerly NYSPCC) and Shalom Task Force (STF), where she currently manages the Legal Department, while also maintaining a small private practice for individual representation. Considered an expert in domestic violence and family law, she has over 25 years of experience litigating in the Family, Supreme, and Integrated Domestic Violence Courts of New York State, has published in the Fordham Urban Law Journal and the Lawyer’s Manual on Domestic Violence, and has trained hundreds of professionals statewide. She is the former Director of the Matrimonial and Family Law Unit at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), where she developed a law student clinic to represent victims of domestic violence. She managed a staff of fifteen attorneys and paralegals before launching her independent practice in 2017; in addition to litigation, she has experience in training and supervising attorneys, program development, fundraising, leadership, and board liaison work.
Earlier in her career, she served as a staff attorney at Victim Services (now Safe Horizon) and as a trial attorney in the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society and has held academic roles at Touro College Jacob Fuchsberg Law Center, St. John’s University School of Law, and instructor at New York Law School. Ms. Susser received her J.D. from George Washington University National Law Center in 1989 and her B.A. from Clark University in 1986. She is the recipient of the Kathryn A. McDonald Award for Excellence in Service to the Family Court (2009) and the Legal Services Award (2015) from the NYC Bar Association.
David Wills is a skilled business leader leveraging his degree in business administration concentrating in marketing. Mr. Wills strives to exceed the needs of his clients while executing operations within budget, timeline, and quality. His exceptional interpersonal skills gives him an advantage to interface with key stakeholders to negotiate, present, and close sales deals. As a team leader, Mr. Wills has led teams through seamless operations to efficiently complete projects during challenging deadlines. He strives to cultivate a positive working environment and provide training opportunities for subordinates.
Brian Zimmerman, Esq. is an attorney in private practice, as well as be-ing a member of the Assigned Counsel/Attorney for the Child Panel, Kings Count. He specializes in Family Law and Domestic Relations is-sues. He was formally a law guardian with the Juvenile Rights Division for fourteen years. He currently serves as the Vice President of the As-signed Counsel Association of New York State and President of the As-signed Counsel Panel in Kings County. He currently sits on several city-wide committees related to Child Protection, Juvenile Delinquency and Custody Visitation. He is also a former chair of the Family Court Com-mittee of the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Interdisciplinary Forum for Mental Health and Family Law.
Brian is also a member of the Founding Steering Com-mittee for the Children’s Pact program in Kings County. He is member of the Family Court Screening Committee for Kings County. He co-authored a Law review article with Dawn J. Post entitled, “The Revolving Doors of Family Court: Confronting Broken Adoptions”, 40 Cap. U. L. Rev. 437 (2012). He has lectured on Family Law issues for the New York City Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, NYCLA, the NYSBA, the New York State Judicial Institute, the Kings County Family Justice Center, New York City Family Court Legal Services Project, The Capital Law School, Wells Conference, American Bar Association Children and the Law Con-ference, St. Johns Adoption Conference, and the First and Second De-partment Law Attorney for the Children’s Office. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Cardozo School of Law.