Team

A leader in school-based social work programming, Kevin has more than 30 years of experience in working with children, families and school staff.

Kevin joined CIS in 1993 as a Counselor and advanced to become a Supervisor, Trainer & Manager. Kevin has led the process to evolve CIS’ service reach beyond counseling services to include a multi-dimensional and strength-based menu of services that support an entire school community. As a result, he became the first Executive Director of Counseling In Schools succeeding the Founder, Cindy Jurow.
In his current role, Kevin is committed to developing a team leadership model within the organization that embodies the non-oppressive, collaborative systems that are needed to effectively take on the complex challenges routinely faced in schools by children, families, teachers and administrators.

Kevin’s outstanding work has been acknowledged through accolades including the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the West Side Chamber of Commerce Award, and Hunter College’s Jacob Goldfiend Award.

Prior to joining CIS, he worked at the Sojourner House Family Shelter in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Kevin graduated from the Hunter College School of Social Work.

Monique Jackson was born and raised in Queens, New York. She holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Columbia University. She has over ten years of experience in the field of mental health and education working to improve the quality of mental health services for New York City children and families.

Janna Bruner, LCSW-R was raised in Brooklyn, New York and was educated in New York City public schools. Janna is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Masters of Social Work degree from Hunter College School of Social Work in 1996. Janna came to Counseling In Schools in 2004 with significant experience in the fields of bereavement and loss, hospital social work, and providing psychotherapy to children, adolescents, adults and seniors.

While at CIS, Janna has had an essential role in maintaining our high quality of program services; including being a school counselor, field instructor, clinical supervisor, and multi-program director. She is responsible for the growth of our CIS’ Social Work Internship program –providing field placements to over ten New York City social work, art therapy and mental health counseling graduate programs.

Dr. English brings career-long achievements in social services that mark her as an expert in program development, data analysis, and continued management to the role of Chief Program Officer at Counseling In Schools.

Dr. English has served with distinction in multiple roles throughout her illustrious career where she has been a strong advocate for trauma-informed and person-centered care. Dr. English has held positions as the Behavioral Health Director at a large nationally recognized social services organization serving adults and young adults diagnosed with severe mental illness, chronic homelessness, co-occurring disorders, and co-morbidity; the Senior Director of Programs at a mid-size harm reduction, OASAS licensed, and HIV education organization; a Mental Health Services / Clinical Supervision Consultant with the largest OMH licensed article 31 mental health clinic in NY; the Executive Director of External Relations and Government Affairs, and the Acting Chief of Staff at the Administration for Children’s Services; an Adjunct and Associate Professor at Boricua College and CUNY Hostos; and as a Trainer, Facilitator, and Educator for Every Person Influences Children (EPIC).

She has received numerous Awards/Recognitions, including Citation, Borough President Eric Adams; Certificate of Recognition ,NYS Senator Jesse Hamilton; Certificate of Merit, Senator Martin Golden; Certificate of Recognition, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotaki; Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, Congressman Daniel M. Donovan; Shirley Chisholm Women of Excellence Award; Certificate of Merit, Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr.; Certificate of Recognition, NYS Senator Malcolm Smith; Certificate of Recognition, NYC Councilman Jumaane Williams; Certificate of Recognition Senator Kevin Parker; Brooklyn Power Woman in Business Award; Phenomenal Woman Award, and the Mayor’s Merit Award for Outstanding Job Performance.

Dr. English describes her bravest accomplishment as teen motherhood. She raised her son against all odds and overcame unspeakable trauma from witnessing the violent and senseless robbery and murder of his father. Dr. English is a known youth and anti-violence advocate and mentor to young women. Additionally, she served as the national spokeswoman for Peacekeepers–an anti-violence organization supported in part by music mogul Russell Simmons–who describes her as an “Angel and work phenomenon”.

Dr. English attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at SUNY Purchase, her Master of Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Social Policy while studying at Yeshiva University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R).

Lew Bader is a finance and operations professional with more than forty years of experience in Fortune 500 companies.

Lew joined Counseling in Schools in 2015 and is focused on improving business processes, policies, and technology across the organization to better serve the communities where CIS works.

Prior to joining Counseling in Schools, Lew held various positions at Pearson, the world’s largest learning company, including SVP of North American Customer Service, SVP of Global Order-to-Cash and VP of North American Shared Services.

He has also served as VP of Accounting Services at Simon & Schuster, Assistant Controller at Macmillan Publishing Company, Director of Financial Reporting at CBS Educational and Professional Publishing and Manager of Royalty Accounting at Random House Inc.

Prior to entering the world of Finance, Lew taught third grade in the city of New York.

Lew earned his BA and MS degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York and his MBA from St. John’s University. He is certified in Change Management, is a Six Sigma Black Belt and is CPA Qualified.