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. She is a LPC-MHSP-Supervisor and Licensed School Counselor in Tennessee. Additionally, she is recognized by the American Mental Health Counseling Association as a Dipomate and Clinical Mental Health Specialist in Trauma Counseling, in Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders, and in Child and Adolescent Counseling. Dr. Holman holds certifications as a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor, an Animal Assisted Therapist, Level II Trained Theraplay Therapist, and an AutPlay Therapist. She has over 20 years' counseling experience working with at-risk youth, juvenile and adult offenders, and people struggling with addictive disorders. She's been a clinical supervisor for over 15 years and a counselor educator since 2008.
Dr. Holman currently serves on the Tennessee Foster Care Review Board, the American Counseling Association's Governing Board, the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselor's (IAAOC) Board of Directors, and the Assoication for Child and Adolescent Counseling's Board of Directors. She previously served as the president of IAAOC, and was a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Addiction and Offender Counseling, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, and Counseling and Values. She previosly served as the the Associate Editor of Theory and practice for the Journal of Mental Health Counseling.
Dr. Holman currently serves on the Tennessee Foster Care Review Board, the American Counseling Association's Governing Board, the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselor's (IAAOC) Board of Directors, and the Assoication for Child and Adolescent Counseling's Board of Directors. She previously served as the president of IAAOC, and was a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Addiction and Offender Counseling, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, and Counseling and Values. She previosly served as the the Associate Editor of Theory and practice for the Journal of 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 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 Sherrif'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.
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 veteranary technician and a veternary assistant for eight years. Ms. Wilkerson's clinical focus is addiction and offender issues. Her research focuses on canine assisted therapy with incarcerated offenders and addicts. She led an AAT project at Shelby County Correctional Center and currently is developing a similar project with Sober House, a residential half-way-house treatment program for addicts. She has published and presented on Animal Assisted Therapy with female offenders with trauma and addictions.
Francess Ellmo 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. 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 examinining counselor training opportunities with Offenders with Mental Illness, Seeking Safety trauma-informed addiction counseling with male and female inmates on prison mental health units, and 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.
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.
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 veteranary technician and a veternary assistant for eight years. Ms. Wilkerson's clinical focus is addiction and offender issues. Her research focuses on canine assisted therapy with incarcerated offenders and addicts. She led an AAT project at Shelby County Correctional Center and currently is developing a similar project with Sober House, a residential half-way-house treatment program for addicts. She has published and presented on Animal Assisted Therapy with female offenders with trauma and addictions.
Francess Ellmo 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. 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 examinining counselor training opportunities with Offenders with Mental Illness, Seeking Safety trauma-informed addiction counseling with male and female inmates on prison mental health units, and 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.
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.