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Lora Sladovnik | MS, LIMHPLora joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in September, 2020 as a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner. In March of 2021, she transitioned into the Director of Mental Health Services role. Lora brings with her over 15 years of training and clinical experience working across a variety of settings including outpatient specialty clinics, crisis intervention, nonprofits and private practice. She earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from Bellevue University and an undergraduate degree in Human Resources and Family Science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Prior to joining CSI, Lora worked as a therapist at Offutt Air Force Base, Children’s Hospital and Omni Inventive Care. Lora has experience treating a wide range of child, teen and young adult psychiatric disorders. She has training in Cognitive Behavioral Health, Reality Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Crisis Intervention. She specializes in anxiety, depression, eating disorders and trauma. Lora’s therapeutic approach emphasizes integrative, dynamic and whole person centered therapy.
Sandra Cervantes Sandra joined Child Saving Institute's (CSI) Mental Health Services team as the Office Manager in January 2022. She is bilingual, assisting families in both English and Spanish.
With more than five years of office administration and scheduling experience, Sandra has worked in a variety of healthcare settings including UNMC and OneWorld Community Health Centers.
Currently, Sandra is attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is a former graduate of Metro Community College.
Sandra enjoys interacting with families of various backgrounds and life experiences. As CSI’s Mental Health Services Office Manager, Sandra hopes to help guide families and reverse the stigma associated with seeking mental health services.
Kara J. Antoniak | APRN, PMHNP-BCKara joined CSI in November of 2022 in the role of psychiatric nurse practitioner. With over 16 years of training and practice, she brings with her expertise in working with children and families in a variety of capacities and settings. Kara believes in providing care with consideration of overall health and wellness of the individual and family. She appreciates a team approach to treatment that best provides consistency and continuity of care and views the client as the most important member of the team.
Kara graduated from University of Nebraska Omaha in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and then Creighton University with a bachelor's of science in nursing in 2006. She then began her career as a registered nurse at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center where she worked in neonatal and pediatric critical care, including specialization in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and fixed wing, rotor wing and ground critical care transport. In 2011, Kara earned her master's of science in nursing from University of Nebraska Medical Center and become a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Shortly thereafter, she transferred to Children’s Hospital and Medical Center’s behavioral health department and began working in her role as a nurse practitioner. In 2015, she entered private practice at Midwest Neurofeedback in Lincoln where she continued to focus on working with individuals and families to optimize mental health. Kara is looking forward to working with the CSI team in her role providing evaluation, diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of psychiatric conditions.
Alicia Theilen | APRN, PMHNP-BCAlicia brings with her over 16 years of training and clinical experience in an array of areas including pediatrics, pediatric home health care, neonatal intensive care, emergency medicine, post-partum, medical/surgical and oncology. She holds a master's degree as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and a postgraduate certificate for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She is passionate about meeting patients where they are, listening without judgment, developing goals together to achieve mental wellness, and decreasing the stigma of mental illness. Alicia welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with other experts in the community to best facilitate recovery.
Alicia started practicing as a registered nurse in 2004. The areas she practiced included pediatrics, pediatric home health care, neonatal intensive care, emergency medicine, post-partum, medical/surgical, and oncology. She is a dual-certified nurse practitioner. She received her master's degree as a pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP-PC) in 2015 and her psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) in 2021. Alicia worked with emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital and then adolescent/child psychiatry at Omaha Integrative Care. Alicia has been interested in psychiatric nursing ever since she completed a clinical rotation in psychiatry during her undergraduate nursing education.
Her practice is located at 4545 Dodge Street in Omaha and appointments are scheduled by phone at 402.553.6000 or at CSIReferrals@childsaving.org.
Andrew joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in 2018 as a full-time therapist, providing individual and family therapy to children, adolescents and their families. He also works closely with the children in CSI’s Emergency Shelter.
Andrew earned his master’s of social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Andrew is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW). He has completed training in Sand Tray Therapy (a Play Therapy technique), Trauma- Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Processing (EMDR) and other trauma-informed therapy techniques.
Andrew also works as an on-call therapist for CHI Immanuel — primarily in the inpatient units where he also completed his graduate practicum. Before joining CSI, Andrew worked as a family permanency specialist for PromiseShip, a resident counselor at a long-term residential facility for children and as a care provider for children with developmental and mental health challenges.
Andrew values creating constructive relationships with individuals and their families. His favorite part of serving as a therapist is being able to walk with, assist and empower individuals and families to achieve their goals. Andrew has a strong passion for continued growth to better help those he serves. He firmly believes, to quote the Dalai Lama, “that love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”.
Alexandria (Ally) Burchart | PLMHP, PCMSWAlly joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in July 2021 as a provisionally licensed clinical social worker. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2019, and her masters of social work in 2021. Prior to joining CSI, Ally worked as a family permanency specialist at PromiseShip as well as a family consultant at The Salvation Army's Early Head Start program. She completed her graduate practicum at counseling and psychological services on UNO’s campus where she began her journey as a therapist.
Ally is passionate about working with children and families within the community, and she utilizes a strengths-based approach to help individuals reach their personal goals. She believes all humans have a sense of resiliency and strength to persevere through challenging times. Her favorite part of therapy is watching individuals reach their goals and being able to walk alongside clients as they take this journey.
Ana Cruz | PhD, MA, PLMHP, NCCAna joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in January 2023 as a part-time provisionally licensed bilingual mental health therapist.
Ana has a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and two master’s degrees (Counseling and Communication Studies) from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As a professor, she taught a variety of college classes in Communication Studies, specifically within the context of family, culture, and interpersonal relationships.
A native Spanish speaker born in Cuba, she emigrated with her family at age 8. Within a year, she was fluent in English and became the interpreter for her parents and their friends. Ana has taught a Family Communication class in Spanish to Social Work graduate students in Leon, Nicaragua. As a consultant, she taught in Spanish the Common-Sense Parenting class, a six-week program, sponsored by Boys Town.
Ana is excited about joining the CSI team. She is committed to helping children and families with the challenges they face.
Zach joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in September of 2022. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2015 and then went on to obtain his master’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In his role at CSI, Zach provides individual and family therapy to children, adolescents and their families. Zach also provides services to the children within CSI’s Emergency Shelter.
Zach brings more than five years of experience in working with people in different roles including working as a crisis counselor for the National Suicide Prevention hotline, a direct support professional in both community and home settings, a behavioral technician in a day treatment setting, as well as providing therapy to children and families.
Zach values creating relationships as the basis for working with every family and individual. The core of Zach’s approach centers around clients' strengths and their own sense of self. He believes in the dignity and worth of all people and focuses on what positive aspects they can bring to the world.
Coral Frazell | PhD, MA, LIMHP, LADCCoral joined the Child Saving Institute (CSI) team in November 2022. She came from St. Monicas Behavioral Health Services in Lincoln where she worked as an adult, child and family director and therapist for 14 years. She earned her PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1999 and her master in counseling from Doane University in 2009. Coral has certification in child parent psychotherapy. Coral has also been trained in EMDR for attachment trauma, DBT and TFCBT. She is also trained in teaching Circle of Security.
Coral believes in family and child engagement and relationship building. She has a strong background in trauma therapy specializing in attachment trauma by working with families to help build successful futures for children. Coral works with diverse clients in many situations to help build success. She is very excited to join the CSI team and believes in the work CSI mission.
Cameron Koenig-Barker | PLMHP, PCMSWCameron joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in July 2021. He received his bachelor’s degree in sociology and public policy from Gettysburg College in 2013 and then went on to obtain his master’s degree in social work and public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2020. Prior to joining the team at CSI, Cameron worked as a social worker at the Sarpy County Public Defender’s Office and did research with the Midlands Sexual Health Research Collaborative. Cameron also has significant experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty due to previous positions at Heartland Family Service and Together.
At the heart of Cameron’s work is recognizing everyone’s intrinsic dignity and worth, specifically affirming individuals’ identities and experiences as sources of strength and value and helping individuals to recognize this strength and value in themselves. He is particularly interested in working with LGBTQ+ children and families and is trained in Trauma Focus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy.
Rebecca Masat | LCSW, MCRCJRebecca joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in October 2022 as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015 and went on to obtain a master’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in December 2020.
Prior to joining the team at CSI, Rebecca worked as a forensic interviewer at Project Harmony conducting forensic interviews with children who may have been the victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or witness to violence. Rebecca also currently works on-call as a crisis response therapist with Lutheran Family Services providing crisis coverage for law enforcement and area shelters for individuals suffering from a behavioral health crisis.
Rebecca has extensive knowledge working with mental health and the child welfare system and has seen the impact these can have on children and their families. Rebecca has a passion for connecting with those who have suffered from trauma and values the trust being given to her to assist in their healing. She believes in the empowerment and resiliency that therapy can provide and helping people understand that what has happened to them does not define who they are.
Emily Vonderfecht | PLMHP, PCMSWEmily joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in February 2023 as a provisionally licensed clinical social worker. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work and English from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2021 and went on to obtain her master’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2022. Prior to joining CSI, Emily worked as an assistant teacher with Cadence Education Centers and served as a program director for Lincoln Parks and Recreation summer programming, working closely and communicating with children and their families.
Emily believes that creating a space where clients feel safe to be and express themselves results in a space that facilitates healing and growth. She has experience working with children, teens, adults, and families and enjoys building meaningful and positive relationships with her clients. Emily utilizes a strengths-based, client-centered approach and empowers clients to create change in their life by recognizing each client’s uniqueness and validating their experiences, thoughts, and feelings.
Samara West | MA, PLMHPSamara joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in September 2022 as a provisionally licensed mental health practitioner (PLMHP). She received her bachelor's degree in Child, Adult, and Family Services from Iowa State University in 2017, and her master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Westminster College, PA in 2021. Prior to joining CSI, Samara worked as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) at University of Nebraska Medical Center – Munroe Meyer Institute (UNMC-MMI) in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program.
Samara is passionate about working with children and families and is delighted to assist, help and empower each client with their journey. She values connecting with individuals and helping them to improve their quality of life and meet their personal goals. Samara cherishes knowing that she had a part in affecting the life of another human being.
Jessica Womach | MSW, PLMHPJessica joined Child Saving Institute (CSI) in April of 2022 as a provisionally licensed mental health practitioner (PLMHP), providing individual and family therapy to children, adolescents and their families. In her role, she also provides therapeutic services to the children within CSI’s Emergency Shelter. Jessica obtained her master’s degree in social work from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2021. Prior to joining the CSI team, Jessica worked as a Child and Family Services Specialist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Jessica considers self-awareness as the driving force to manage reactions during times of adversity. She believes implementing a client-centered approach to therapy validates and empowers clients' thoughts, feelings and beliefs while enhancing personal growth and change. Jessica is most gratified by supporting and being a witness to her clients achieving their greatest quality of life.
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