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Lisa Dressner, LCSW, is a founding member of Affinity Counseling Group. She earned her Masters Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University (1996), completed a three year post graduate training program in family systems therapy at the Multicultural Family Institute (1999), and a specialized post graduate training program in domestic violence and the Cultural Context Model at the Institute for Family Services (2003). Lisa is committed to efforts toward social justice and serves as a member of the Middlesex County Council for Children's Services and the Middlesex County Vicinage Committee. She has written and secured several grants providing clinical and family case management services to youth and families involved with the juvenile justice system. In addition to developing and overseeing clinical programs, Lisa trains mental health professionals through graduate student internships, national and international workshops.
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Andraé L. Brown, Ph.D., is a clinical and research consultant at Affinity Counseling Group and Assistant Professor at Hunter College, NY. Dr. Brown earned his Masters in Education in School Counseling at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Ph.D. in Marriage and Family at Seton Hall University, NJ. Dr. Brown has been awarded research and training grants through the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program, Minorities in International Research Training Program, and the NJ Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists. Research and clinical training experiences include The University of CapeTown, South Africa, Howard University Counseling Center, Washington, DC, and the Institute for Family Services (IFS), Somerset, NJ. At IFS he received training in the Cultural Context Model. Dr. Brown’s research agenda focuses on the development of treatment modalities that use the social ecology of families, schools and communities to address trauma, violence and substance abuse. Research and clinical interests also include resilience in street-life-oriented Black men, the psychosocial development of adolescents living in the urban context, liberation psychology and cultural competence in service provision.
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Mr. Clyde Briggs has over twenty-five years of experience in developing collaborative relationships and programming with faith-based communities, health care providers, and marginalized communities. Mr. Briggs specializes in the areas of street-life, youth violence, gang mediation, mentoring, and community–based rehabilitative services for high risk juveniles. As a founding member of the internationally known and acclaimed juvenile awareness program “Scared Straight” (1978), he has been instrumental in facilitating the transformation and deterrence of thousands of youth from entering the juvenile justice system. He also served as the director of the minority male youth initiative, “Pathways”, under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Deforest Soaries (former Secretary of State), First Baptist Church, Somerset, NJ. Clyde was honored for his work with youth by the Russ Berrie Foundation as an "Unsung Hero" finalist. He serves as a community facilitator and Family Case Manager supervisor at Affinity, and receives social justice training in the Cultural Context Model at the Institute for Family Services, Somerset, NJ.
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Donna Contreras-Aguirre, LCSW, helped found Affinity Counseling Group. She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from New York University and has been involved in post-graduate family systems training at the Multicultural Family Institute and the Institute for Family Services. She is an approved supervisor of MSW candidates through Rutgers University, and enjoys leading a team of staff and students. Donna is developing workshops to present statewide on treatment process and outcomes in her work with court-mandated youth and families of color. She is also committed to working with families created through adoption.
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Eunjung Ryu, MFT, LCSW, ACSW, earned her Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania (1993), and completed a three year post graduate training program in family systems training at the Multicultural Family Institute (2001). She has done numerous presentations on Family Therapy with Asian American Families and domestic violence in Asian American Families. Her interest is in women’s issues. She is currently a part-time member of the Affinity team and attends a doctoral program in Couple and Family Therapy at Drexel University, Hahnemann Campus.
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