TAO Project Team Members
Dr. Leigh Falls Holman is a member of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling faculty at the University of Memphis in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research. 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 Licensed Professional Counselor in Tennessee working on his MHSP status. Dr. Dunaway has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and a M.S. degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling. He teaches at Christian Brothers University and is in clinical practice at St. Francis Hospital 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. 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 has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision from The University of Memphis. 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. Ms. 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.
Shelly Wilkerson has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is a current doctoral student in the Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. 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.
Michael Skirius has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He is a current doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. Mr. Skirius' has worked clinically with male offenders housed on a prison mental health unit. He also worked as an out-patient domestic violence offender assessor and as a counselor for victims of intimate partner violence. He has trained police officers and army personnel in mental health triage and de-escalation techniques as part of the Crisis Intervention Training model. Mr. Skirius worked for three years as a residence life coordinator at Rhodes College and as a residential counselor at an in-patient psychiatric facility, and currently serves as a school counselor at Christian Brothers High School. 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 has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision from The University of Memphis. 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. Ms. 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.
Shelly Wilkerson has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is a current doctoral student in the Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. 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.
Michael Skirius has a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He is a current doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Program at The University of Memphis. Mr. Skirius' has worked clinically with male offenders housed on a prison mental health unit. He also worked as an out-patient domestic violence offender assessor and as a counselor for victims of intimate partner violence. He has trained police officers and army personnel in mental health triage and de-escalation techniques as part of the Crisis Intervention Training model. Mr. Skirius worked for three years as a residence life coordinator at Rhodes College and as a residential counselor at an in-patient psychiatric facility, and currently serves as a school counselor at Christian Brothers High School. 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.