ACT Program
2023-2024 Cohort

Enrollment deferred due to ongoing violence in the region.

Veronica Mega, LMHC, IMH-E®

Veronica is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and National Certified Counselor with over 20 years of experience specializing in infant and early childhood mental health, trauma-informed care, and systems leadership. As an Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist (IMH-E®), Veronica has led innovative, equity-centered programs that support young children with developmental concerns and their families across mental health, healthcare, child welfare, and early intervention systems. Currently serving as the Early Relational Health Manager at Kindering, she brings expertise in reflective supervision, cross-sector collaboration, and policy development—with a strong focus on racial equity, disability justice, and social-emotional wellbeing.

Amanda Russell, MS, LMHC, IMH-E®, ECMH-E®

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Clinical Supervisor and Infant/Early Childhood Specialist in Spokane, Washington. I’ve been part of the Child and Family Counseling team at Akin (formerly Children’s Home Society of Washington) since 2013, becoming a supervisor in 2017. After being trained in Child Parent Psychotherapy in 2014, I began to develop the vocabulary, structure and process to support the multi generational families I had worked with for years. This model was the groundwork for increasing knowledge and skills in the IECMH field and drove me to learn more. It was an incredible opportunity to be admitted into the 3rd cohort of the Advanced Clinical Training program and one the most transformative professional and personal experiences. The thoughtfulness, compassion and intentionality of the curriculum is evident. In addition to content learned, the reflective space Nucha cultivated created an opportunity to be introspective and build relationships with individuals and systems. Through my participation in the program, I was also able to finish requirements to receive my endorsement for IECMH from the Center for Early Relational Health. I use the knowledge and concepts from the ACT program daily in my role as supervisor to interns and staff, as well as in direct service work with families.

Joyce Yang, MSW

Joyce is the Program Manager responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Advanced Clinical Training (ACT) Program. She graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Administration degree in Management. She later received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Chicago. She spent the early part of her career working at a social service and immigrant rights non-profit that serves community members from 15 months to end-of-life as a Development & Outcomes Manager.