Join APSAC
Member Login
Shop
Blogs
Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin
61-102-ColloquiumLogo-2025_750x300
Book Your Room
Join APSAC
Donate

APSAC Fellowship

APSAC Fellow Logo

Benefits of Becoming a Fellow

  • Use of Post-Nominals (FAPSAC)
  • Recognition on APSAC’s Website
  • Recognition at annual Colloquium
  • Access to Fellow Facebook Group
  • Certificate of Recognition

APSAC Fellowship

APSAC Fellow status is given to APSAC members who have shown evidence of professional growth and development through attendance at APSAC sponsored events and in recognition of their support for the advancement of APSAC’s mission to prevent child maltreatment.

Apply Here

Pathways

Requirements to Qualify for the General Pathway:

  • Current paid APSAC Membership and 8 or more years of membership (does not have to be consecutive years of membership)
  • Attendance at 2 or more APSAC Colloquiums
  • 50 or more hours of APSAC hosted trainings
  • 2 References
  • 250 word Contribution Summary of your work in the field of child maltreatment
  • CV/Resume

Requirements to Qualify for the Publications Pathway:

  • Current paid APSAC Membership and 7 or more years of membership (does not have to be consecutive years of membership)
  • Attendance at 2 or more APSAC Colloquiums
  • 40 or more hours of APSAC hosted trainings
  • at least 1 APSAC Publication (Child Maltreatment, APSAC Advisor, or APSAC Alert)
  • 2 References
  • 250 word Contribution Summary of your work in the field of child maltreatment
  • CV/Resume

Requirements to Qualify for the Board Pathway:

  • Current paid APSAC Membership and 6 or more years of membership (does not have to be consecutive years of membership)
  • Attendance at 4 or more APSAC Colloquiums
  • 30 or more hours of APSAC hosted trainings
  • at least 1 term of service on APSAC Board
  • 250 word Contribution Summary of your work in the field of child maltreatment
  • CV/Resume

Requirements to Qualify for the Pioneer Pathway:

  • Current paid APSAC Membership and 20 or more years of membership (does not have to be consecutive years of membership)
  • Attendance at 1 or more APSAC Colloquiums
  • 2 References
  • 250 word Contribution Summary of your work in the field of child maltreatment
  • CV/Resume
Updated APSAC Fellow Requirements 10.2

APSAC Fellows

Headshot Leslie Brand MA FAPSAC

Leslie Brand, MA, FAPSAC

apsac board members 025

Ernestine Briggs-King, PhD, FAPSAC

apsac board members 033

Theodore Cross, PhD, FAPSAC

Headshot David L. Corwin MD FAPSAC

David Corwin, MD, FAPSAC

Headshote Debra Esernio Jenssen

Debra Esernio-Jenssen, MD, FAAP, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Kathleen Coulburn Faller

Kathleen Coulburn Faller, PhD, ACSW, DCSW, LMSW, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Tricia Gardner JD

Tricia Gardner, JD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Paul C. Graf MS FAPSAC

Paul Graf, MS, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
apsac board members 028

Susan Hardie, MN, PhD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Ronald Hughes PhD FAPSAC

Ronald Hughes, PhD, MScSA, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Gail Horner

Gail Hornor, DNP, CPNP, SANE-P, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Julie Kenniston FAPSAC

Julie Kenniston, MSW, LISW, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
apsac board members 026

Stacie Schrieffer LeBlanc, JD, MEd, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Laura Merchant FAPSAC

Laura Merchant, MSW, LICSW, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
apsac headshots 002

Darcey Merritt, MSW, PhD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Vince Palusci FAPSAC

Vincent Palusci, MD, MS, FAAP, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Mary Kelly Persyn

Mary Kelly Persyn, JD, PhD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Mary Pulido

Mary Pulido, PhD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
1580843871893

Judith Rycus, PhD, MSW, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Mel Schneiderman PhD FAPSAC

Mel Schneiderman, PhD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
Headshot Patti Toth JD FAPSAC

Patricia A. Toth, JD, FAPSAC

  • View Bio
apsac board members 042

Viola Vaughan-Eden, PhD, MSW, MJ, FAPSAC

  • View Bio

How to Support APSAC

Donate
Join APSAC

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin
2025 © American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children

|    Privacy Policy    |   Accessibility Statement

Designed by JPG Designs

Leslie Brand, MA, FAPSAC

Leslie Brand M.A. joined The World Childhood Foundation USA in September of 2024 as the Development Grant Manager. Leslie started her career as a Prevention Specialist and then the Program Coordinator for The New York Foundling’s Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) where she taught elementary school students in NYC how to recognize, resist, and report child abuse. She was the Director and then the Assistant Vice President of the New York Foundlings of the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, which is a nationally renowned leader in the field of child welfare and child abuse prevention. Leslie attended the University of Georgia and
received her Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Special Education. She completed her master’s at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Intellectual Disabilities and Autism program with an emphasis on Severe and Multiple Disabilities among Teachers. She served on the board of directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and on the executive board as the Treasurer for APSAC. Leslie is currently the President of the New Your Chapter of The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC-NY).

Ernestine Briggs-King

Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King, PhD, is a distinguished clinical/community psychologist and Associate Professor with tenure at Duke University School of Medicine, where she also serves as the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Over the last 28 years, in her numerous leadership roles with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Center for Child and Family Health (CCFH), National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), and the UCLADuke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS), Dr. Briggs-King has significantly advanced the fields of child welfare, child maltreatment and child traumatic stress. 

In her roles at MUSC, CCFH, and the NCCTS, Dr. Briggs-King participated in and led groundbreaking research initiatives (e.g., National Survey on Adolescents, LongSCAN, NCTSN Core Data Set) aimed at improving outcomes for children and families affected by abuse and trauma. Her work has been instrumental in the implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of evidence-based treatments, with a particular focus on refining definitions of abuse and neglect; addressing family and community violence; improving outcomes; and reducing mental health inequities. Her commitment to APSAC in the early years of her career were dedicated to translating research for the field (e.g., APSAC Advisor Journal Highlights, Child Maltreatment Editor and Reviewer)while also implementing and evaluating interventions that enhanced access to care for underserved youth and communities, ensuring that vulnerable populations received the support they need. 

As President of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), Dr. Briggs-King has played a pivotal role in shaping policies and practices that protect children and

support professionals in the field. Her leadership in APSAC reflects her dedication to fostering a multidisciplinary approach to child welfare, promoting best practices, and advocating for systemic changes to prevent child abuse and neglect. 

Through her extensive research, advocacy, and leadership, Dr. Briggs-King has made a profound impact on the lives of countless children and families, cementing her reputation as a leading figure in the fight against child maltreatment. 

Theodore Cross

For 35 years, Theodore Cross has been conducting research on the system response to child abuse and neglect. He is the 2018 recipient of the Mark Chaffin Outstanding Research Career Achievement Award from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of APSAC, chairs the Publications Committee, is the Associate Editor of the APSAC Advisor, and serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Child Maltreatment. Dr. Cross directed the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children’s Advocacy Centers, the largest, most rigorous study of CAC impact. He was the principal investigator on two grants from the National Institute of Justice to conduct social science research on the use and impact of biological evidence in child, adolescent and adult sexual cases. He has co-authored numerous articles on investigation and prosecution of child maltreatment. Dr. Cross was the PI for pioneering research on the impact of Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST), a national movement to provide education on child maltreatment to graduate and undergraduate students in child-serving disciplines. He is leading ground-breaking research on an innovative training method using simulations of child protection interventions to provide experiential learning for caseworkers in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Dr. Cross has also played a substantial role in studying child welfare processes and outcomes, using both national and state data on child protective services involvement and child well-being.

Dave Corwin

Dr. Corwin is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Forensic Services in the Pediatrics Department at the University of Utah. He is a Past President of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), the Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA) and the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC). Since 1986, Dr. Corwin helped to found five professional societies addressing child maltreatment and interpersonal violence including: CAPSAC and APSAC founded in 1986, the Ray E. Helfer Society in 1999, the AVA which was formed in 2004, and the National Health Collaborative on the Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) that emerged from and after the American Medical Association’s National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse was discontinued in 2009. He joined the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s Child Abuse and Neglect Committee at its origin in 1992 and chaired it from 2001 to 2007. Dr. Corwin is the author or co-author of numerous articles, commentaries, and chapters, addressing child sexual abuse, custody disputes, childhood trauma, childhood abuse memory, professional practice addressing child sexual abuse, and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES). Dr. Corwin produced several videos addressing childhood trauma, the ACE Study, an eleven-part series featuring video clips illustrating the USA’s child maltreatment field evolution over the past 70+ years that is posted on the APSAC website, and a film celebrating CAPSAC’s and APSAC’s founding in 1986.