TAO Project Team Members
Dr. Leigh Falls Holman is the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Department Chair at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology's Dallas campus. Dr. Holman has worked in forensic settings with trauma, addictions, and interpersonal violence perpetrators and victims for over 25 years. She has licenses in mental health counseling, supervision, and school counseling. Her certifications include being a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor, AutPlay certified (autism), Level II Theraplay therapist (emotional dysregulation/attachment/autism), and Animal Assisted Therapy certified. Dr. Holman also obtained Diplomate status with the American Mental Health Counseling Association in three areas: Trauma, Addiction and Co-Occurring Disorders, and Child and Adolescent Counseling. For the last 10+ years, she's worked as a counselor educator. She is the past president of the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors (IAAOC), a recipient of their Outstanding Professional Award for contributions to the profession, and has served on the IAAOC board for 7 years. Dr. Holman is also a board member for the Association of Child and Adolescent Counseling and a Governing Council member for the American Counseling Association between 2017-2023. She's published and presented internationally on counselor stress an burnout and on forensic mental health topics, including recently authoring a textbook on Forensic Mental Health Counseling.
Dr. Paul Dunaway is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a LPC-MHSP. Dr. Dunaway has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and a M.S. degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling. He is a faculty member at Christian Brothers University and is in clinical practice and co-owner of Protea Counseling in Memphis, TN. Dr. Dunaway is certified as an animal assisted therapist through the Consortium on Animal Assisted Therapy as an Animal Assisted Therapist and through Pet Partners as an AAT animal handler. Dr. Dunaway incorporates his therapy dogs into his practice, and he utilizes EMDR in his truama work with veterans. He is a reserve officer for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, a trained a CIT Officer, and a decorated retired combat Veteran. Dr. Dunaway served as the Shelby County Veterans Court Mentor Coordinator. His clinical work focuses on working with crisis de-escalation, triage assessment, working with at-risk youth, domestic violence offender assessment, domestic violence victim counseling, and training police officers and military medical professionals in crisis triage and de-escalation. His research experience includes previously being the team leader for the Crisis Research Team under the direction of Dr. Richard James and Dr. Holman. Dr. Dunaway has published and presented on Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training with police officers and modified CIT training with a forward surgical team who deployed to the middle east.
Dr. Francess Ellmo is a faculty member at The University of Memphis. She is a LPC with a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Ellmo practices at Protea Counseling. She is certified as an animal assisted therapist through the Consortium on Animal Assisted Therapy as an Animal Assisted Therapist and through Pet Partners as an AAT animal handler. Dr. Ellmo has led research projects examining counselor training opportunities with Offenders with Mental Illness, Attitudes towards Offenders with Mental Illness, and Seeking Safety trauma-informed addiction counseling with male and female inmates on prison mental health units. Additionally, she co-led projects using animal assisted therapy interventions with female inmates on a prison mental health unit. She has worked with both addictions and offender issues clinically.
Dr. Kristi Nobbman Dunaway is a tLPC-MHSP in Tennessee with a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision. She serves as the clinical director of CAFE, a non-profit in Memphis. Additionally, she holds certifications in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing, Multi-Systemic Therapy for Emerging Adults (MST-EA), teletherapy Love & Logic, and Grief Counseling. Currently, she is working on her certificate in Perinatal Mental Health. Dr. Dunnaway's has extensive experience in training police officers in crisis assessment and de-escalation, consutlation and training on trauma-informed school counseling, and trauma work with adolescents and adults. Her research interests include the impact of trauma across the lifespan on attachment and subsequent development of maladaptive coping.
Dr. Shelly Wilkerson is a trauma and addiction specialist in private practice who has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program. She is certified as through the Consortium on Animal Assisted Therapy as an Animal Assisted Therapist and through Pet Partners as an AAT animal handler. She worked as a Research Technician at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for six years, prior to gaining her M.S. in CMHC. She also worked for five years as a research technician in various roles at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, prior to which she worked as a veterinary technician and a veterinary assistant for eight years. Ms. Wilkerson's clinical focus is addiction and offender issues. She led an AAT project at Shelby County Correctional Center and co-led a project on Seeking Safety in a prison mental health unit setting. Most recently, she analyzed PIAAC Prison Data to explore the relationships between incarcerated male and female parents' motivation and attendance in 12-step and CBT groups in prisons. She has published and presented on Animal Assisted Therapy with female offenders with trauma and addictions.
Dr. Michael Skirius Specializes in working with adolescent and adult males both in school and in correctional settings. He a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. He researches interventions with male inmates with mental health and addiction challenges and attitudes towards mental illness among correctional officers and probation/parole officers. Mr. Skirius' currently serves as a counselor at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, TN. He has worked clinically with male offenders housed on a prison mental health unit and as an out-patient domestic violence offender assessor and as a counselor for victims of intimate partner violence. Additonally, Dr. Skirius trains police officers and army personnel in mental health triage and de-escalation techniques as part of the Crisis Intervention Training model. Past counseling expereinces include working three years as a residence life coordinator at Rhodes College and as a residential counselor at an in-patient psychiatric facility. His research experience includes serving as a research assistant at the University of Tennessee Psychology Labs and as the team leader for the Crisis Research Team under the direction of Dr. Richard James and Dr. Holman. Mr. Skirius has published and presented on interventions with male and female incarcerated offenders.
Dr. Francess Ellmo is a faculty member at The University of Memphis. She is a LPC with a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Ellmo practices at Protea Counseling. She is certified as an animal assisted therapist through the Consortium on Animal Assisted Therapy as an Animal Assisted Therapist and through Pet Partners as an AAT animal handler. Dr. Ellmo has led research projects examining counselor training opportunities with Offenders with Mental Illness, Attitudes towards Offenders with Mental Illness, and Seeking Safety trauma-informed addiction counseling with male and female inmates on prison mental health units. Additionally, she co-led projects using animal assisted therapy interventions with female inmates on a prison mental health unit. She has worked with both addictions and offender issues clinically.
Dr. Kristi Nobbman Dunaway is a tLPC-MHSP in Tennessee with a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision. She serves as the clinical director of CAFE, a non-profit in Memphis. Additionally, she holds certifications in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing, Multi-Systemic Therapy for Emerging Adults (MST-EA), teletherapy Love & Logic, and Grief Counseling. Currently, she is working on her certificate in Perinatal Mental Health. Dr. Dunnaway's has extensive experience in training police officers in crisis assessment and de-escalation, consutlation and training on trauma-informed school counseling, and trauma work with adolescents and adults. Her research interests include the impact of trauma across the lifespan on attachment and subsequent development of maladaptive coping.
Dr. Shelly Wilkerson is a trauma and addiction specialist in private practice who has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program. She is certified as through the Consortium on Animal Assisted Therapy as an Animal Assisted Therapist and through Pet Partners as an AAT animal handler. She worked as a Research Technician at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for six years, prior to gaining her M.S. in CMHC. She also worked for five years as a research technician in various roles at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, prior to which she worked as a veterinary technician and a veterinary assistant for eight years. Ms. Wilkerson's clinical focus is addiction and offender issues. She led an AAT project at Shelby County Correctional Center and co-led a project on Seeking Safety in a prison mental health unit setting. Most recently, she analyzed PIAAC Prison Data to explore the relationships between incarcerated male and female parents' motivation and attendance in 12-step and CBT groups in prisons. She has published and presented on Animal Assisted Therapy with female offenders with trauma and addictions.
Dr. Michael Skirius Specializes in working with adolescent and adult males both in school and in correctional settings. He a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. He researches interventions with male inmates with mental health and addiction challenges and attitudes towards mental illness among correctional officers and probation/parole officers. Mr. Skirius' currently serves as a counselor at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, TN. He has worked clinically with male offenders housed on a prison mental health unit and as an out-patient domestic violence offender assessor and as a counselor for victims of intimate partner violence. Additonally, Dr. Skirius trains police officers and army personnel in mental health triage and de-escalation techniques as part of the Crisis Intervention Training model. Past counseling expereinces include working three years as a residence life coordinator at Rhodes College and as a residential counselor at an in-patient psychiatric facility. His research experience includes serving as a research assistant at the University of Tennessee Psychology Labs and as the team leader for the Crisis Research Team under the direction of Dr. Richard James and Dr. Holman. Mr. Skirius has published and presented on interventions with male and female incarcerated offenders.