Question 1

Lesley Ann Friedland, Founder and Executive Director

Accepted Answer

Lesley Ann Friedland is a family law attorney and mediator dedicated to public service. For more than two decades, Ms. Friedland served as a court attorney and referee for the NYC Family Court presiding over custody, visitation and child protective matters in all five boroughs. She also served as the liaison between the Court and the Custody and Visitation Mediation Department in Kings County Family Court, facilitated the NYS Parent Education & Awareness Program and led the team that developed the children’s portion of the program. In March 2012, Ms. Friedland and a group of like-minded attorneys, mental health experts, and other seasoned professionals founded FamilyKind, a not-for-profit organization providing information and support services to families experiencing separation and divorce. She is a member of the New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA), New York State Council of Divorce Mediators (NYSCDM), Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the Interdisciplinary Forum on Mental Health and Family Law and The Family Divorce & Mediation Council of Greater New York (FDMC). In 2017, Ms. Friedland was the proud recipient of NYC Bar Association’s The Kathryn A. McDonald Award for Excellence in Service to Family Court. The award, given annually, recognizes the vital services of attorneys who support the work in the Family Court in New York City. FamilyKind recently received the American University Public Relations Student Society of America Outstanding Organization Award.

Question 2

Beth Cole, Director of Finance and Operations

Accepted Answer

Beth Cole is the Director of Finance and Operations. She has over 17 years of finance experience and specializes in non-profit bookkeeping and matters of operations. She manages the day-to-day accounting and human resource needs of FamilyKind. Beth recently relocated and is looking forward to volunteering within her new community and her church. She received her BA in Management of Human Resources from Spring Arbor College.

Question 3

Rhabia Cowell, Data Coordinator

Accepted Answer

Rhabia Cowell is an experienced nonprofit and healthcare professional who specializes in matters of administration and finance. She works with FamilyKind on projects related to grants, data and sponsorships. Rhabia earned an MS in Health Services Management from the New School for Social Research and an MBA in Finance from Long Island University.

Question 4

Emily Jonas, Director of Parent Services

Accepted Answer

Emily Jonas is a mediator, parent educator and the Director of Parent Services for FamilyKind. She is a divorce mediator and family law attorney with over 20 years of experience working with children, families and divorcing couples. Before becoming a divorce mediator, she was the pilot director of the first high school mediation program in New York City, which serves as a national model. Ms. Jonas also collaborated in establishing the first custody and visitation mediation program in New York County Family Court.   She directed the guardian-ad-litem program at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, representing children in custody, visitation and relocation cases in New York County Supreme Court and Family Court. Ms. Jonas advocated for special needs children in educational matters at Westchester Putnam Legal Services (now Legal Services of the Hudson Valley). She also launched their first pro bono program, successfully recruiting volunteer attorneys to represent people who could not otherwise afford them. Ms. Jonas is a member of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation and the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York, previously serving as a Board Member for nine years. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude and received her law degree from Northeastern University. She is fluent in Spanish.

Question 5

Isabella Rodriguez

Accepted Answer

Isabella Rodriguez started at FamilyKind as an intern and now serves FamilyKind part-time in the Client Services Department under Emily Jonas.  She is a masters level student currently attending Barry University in Miami Florida. Studying counseling with a specialization in martial, couples and family counseling. Isabella received her bachelor's degree in forensic psychology with a minor in counseling and a certificate in dispute resolutions from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Question 6

Ellen Taner, Director of Parent Education and Children’s Programs

Accepted Answer

Ellen Taner has been a parenting and family education practitioner and trainer for more than 40 years.  In addition to the work she provides to FamilyKind as the Director of Parent Education and Children’s Programs, she works with several national organizations that promote the quality of evidence-based programs, support the highest standards of professionalism in the field, and advocate for policies to establish parenting and family education as the norm and a recognized profession. Ellen is a Master Trainer for the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14, as well as a trainer of the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting, Celebrating Families!, Children in Between and Parenting Wisely. She received her Masters of Health Education from Teachers’ College, Columbia University, embarked on a career in public health and has served as an adjunct at Montclair State University in the Family Science and Human Development Department.

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