Jody Levison-Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience in the field of human services.  

Jody is a longstanding champion for systems change that results in the ability for individuals and communities to thrive. She is deeply committed to advancing policy that ensures equitable access to quality services and supports. Previously, Jody served as the Assistant Vice President of Practice Improvement at the National Council for Behavioral Health, where she oversaw the organization’s consulting portfolio and a large, privately funded adolescent mental health initiative.  

She has also served as the Chief Clinical Officer for a multi-state children’s care management organization, as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Louisiana Office of Behavioral Health, and as the Vice President of Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI), a non-profit management and consulting services organization where was responsible for all of CCSI’s service quality, system development, and evaluation activities including oversight of the county administered children’s mental health system. Her experiences leading system reform efforts across the country prompted her interest in the environmental contexts that surround deep change in social and public systems.  

Jody holds a Master of Social Work degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Arts and PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

Jim Carr is the Chief Financial Officer at Social Current. Jim previously held Senior Financial Officer positions most recently at Cerami & Associates, Inc. and Crossborder Exchange Corporation. He has an extensive background in financial planning and control, accounting and reporting, treasury, financial analysis, and systems development. Jim graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a BS in Accounting and an MBA in Finance. 

Undraye Howard currently serves as vice president of equity, diversity, and inclusion at Social Current. In his roles over the years, he has provided invaluable consultation to community-based organizations. In his current role, he leads Social Current’s efforts in providing strategy, solutions, and support for the development of leaders in the social sector, with an emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Through his strategic leadership and direction, he and a team of network leaders have co-created helpful resources, consultation, and workshops that uplift and disseminate best practices to help community-based organizations advance their EDI journeys.

In addition, Dr. Howard was instrumental in developing Social Current’s leadership development model, the rEvolutionary Model, which helps develop the skills of change leaders to drive toward system and population-level results. Dr. Howard also leads the annual Executive Leadership Institute, which is held in partnership with Loyola University’s Quinlan School of Business. This transformational experience equips leaders with the knowledge and skills to create greater systems change.

Dr. Howard also has a deep appreciation and connection to the greater Milwaukee community. He sits on the board of AD2LUV Senior Housing (2006-present), Father Hood Initiative (2012-present), and the board of Holy Cathedral (1999-present), where he also led as youth director and deacon. He also served as a member on the State of Wisconsin Strengthening Families and Children.

Dr. Howard holds a doctorate in business from Bellevue University. He received his master’s in communication and bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

Sarah Beth Lardie is the chief development officer at Social Current. With nearly two decades of experience in advancing the missions, visions, and goals of nonprofit organizations, Sarah Beth has helped to lead the growth and sustainability of a wide range of successful organizations, raising more than $20 million dollars annually for civil society actors ranging from United Nations to local food banks. She began her career as a social worker, working with children and families, before transitioning to a career in development.

“Building civil society, bringing more people and resources to the critical work being done is fulfilling. Nonprofit organizations are where innovations to solve society’s most difficult problems are happening – I love being part of that. That’s what drew me to Social Current.”

As a member of the founding leadership team of Joshua Venture, a fellowship program for social entrepreneurs, she was responsible for providing fellowships for 16 entrepreneurs across the U.S. She has also been a mentor with MIT’s LaunchX program and an advisor to the African Venture Philanthropy Network.

Born and raised in Detroit, Sarah Beth has lived and worked in places around the globe including London; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Kampala; and Johannesburg but always finds her way back to New York City to get great bagels!

Arabella Pérez is a licensed clinical social worker of 30 years and holds an MSW and DSW from Tulane University.

Prior to joining Social Current, Dr. Pérez was the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National Association of Social Work, a social work professor at the University of New England, a system of care director from 2005-2015, leading three SAMHSA grants for the state of Maine and the founder and CEO of a non-profit, THRIVE, a technical assistance center for trauma and culturally informed care. Additionally, she is a graduate of the Hanley Leadership program and was named a teaching scholar on justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion creating curricula and toolkit guides for the Maine Educational System.

Dr. Pérez is a certified cultural competency educator and has consulted with states and communities on the development of behavioral health systems through federal site monitoring and coaching for SAMHSA. Her private consultation practice has focused on leadership and trauma informed organizational change management in the private and not for profit sectors.

She is a sought-out presenter and has published on the topic of trauma informed care and culturally empowering education. She is the proud daughter of Cuban and Puerto Rican parents, and in her spare time can be found salsa dancing with her husband.

Lenore Schell is the Senior Vice President of Organizational Growth & Network Engagement at Social Current. In this role, she leads the organization’s efforts to diversify its revenue streams and provides leadership to drive innovation and network engagement. 

Previously at the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities (Alliance), she was responsible for leading the Alliance network engagement, marketing, and information technology efforts, which included building a comprehensive account management framework. Schell implemented rigorous processes for applying data and predictive analytics to strategically grow the Alliance network, achieve higher member engagement levels, and industry-leading retention levels. 

Prior to joining the Alliance, Lenore spent the majority of her career in the for-profit sector in multiple business leadership roles. She successfully led and grew two different outsourcing business lines, one of which grew to a $12 million business in less than five years under her leadership.   

She also has extensive banking industry experience, which includes specific work in acquisition integration management, product management and marketing, human resources, information controls, branch automation, and outsourcing and support services management. 

A data-driven business development and marketing executive, Michael brings over two decades of experience to the table. Prior to joining Social Current, he held senior leadership roles at respected, award-winning global communications agencies, where he had the privilege of working with some of the world’s largest and most iconic companies and brands. He also has significant experience working as a senior administrator in academia and for global broadcast corporations. Michael holds his BA in European History and French, his MS in Information Science, and his MPhil in Information Studies. Currently, he is working on his PhD dissertation.  A true global citizen, he speaks seven languages and is an avid traveler. 

Karen Johnson brings knowledge of the advancing science around resilience, brain development, adversity, toxic stress, equity, and trauma-informed approaches to the complex challenges we face. This expertise, coupled with her 27 years of experience in child welfare, behavioral health, and community services, enables her to successfully partner with leaders, staff, community members, and participants across numerous settings to promote individual and organizational resilience. 

Johnson leads the development of the Social Current Change in Mind Institute, leveraging the latest advances in neurosciences and trauma-informed approaches across sectors and at the practice, policy, and systems levels. She oversees the Texas Change in Mind Learning Collaborative, through which 10 organizations from multiple sectors across Southeast Texas are working to embed brain science principles with the goal of improving outcomes for children and families, as well as their organizational cultures and ability to collaborate with partners. 

During her five-and-a-half years on the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s trauma-informed services team, and year-and-a-half as an independent consultant, Johnson trained and consulted with organizations, systems, and communities striving to advance trauma-informed, resilience-oriented approaches. She also led and developed community-based programs during her 19 years at SaintA in Milwaukee. Johnson combines the newest advances around adversity, relational health, and resilience to infuse hope and connection into our work. 

Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker certified in Dr. Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and Daring Way and trained in Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. 

Blair Kiser, Ph.D., joined Social Current in 2022 after working in health policy on Capitol Hill, the nonprofit sector, and as a biomedical researcher. Most recently, Blair served as director of government relations & advocacy for NephCure Kidney International.

During her time in public service, she served as a professional staff member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. She led a corporate investigation regarding insider trading and financial improprieties, conflicts of interest associated with Operation Warp Speed’s leadership, and scientific information politicization. Prior to joining the Select Subcommittee, she worked for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), where she served as a health policy fellow. In Senator Brown’s office, she led a range of legislative and oversight efforts involving public health and health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked with several community hospice advocacy organizations and a Republican office to help craft the bipartisan COVID-19 Hospice Respite Care Relief Act of 2020.

Prior to public service, Blair spent several years as a medical research scientist on several industry and NIH-funded projects. Her work focused on developing research projects and clinical trials to improve the lives of African Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. She earned a doctorate in Biomedical Science from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2017 and a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Kentucky in 2011.

Stephanie is Senior Director of Strategy & Business Operations at Social Current.  She previously led the Standards Development department for our COA accreditation, focusing on best practices in behavioral health. Stephanie is responsible for collaborating with subject matter experts, monitoring trends in the human services, and overseeing all standards research and development initiatives. She has been instrumental in the design and implementation of best-practice standards for non-profit, for-profit and governmental agencies. Stephanie has a background in research, grant writing, and behavioral health services and a Master’s degree in Community Psychology from Marist College. 

Joseph is Senior Director of Network Retention & Relations at Social Current.  He previously led client relations for our COA accreditation service. Prior to joining Social Current, Joseph was a project coordinator at the Legal Action Center (LAC) in New York City, where he assisted in the development and coordination of legal conferences and trainings across the United States. LAC is the only non-profit law and policy organization in the U.S. whose sole mission is to fight discrimination against people with histories of addiction, HIV/AIDS, or criminal records, and to advocate for sound public policies in these areas. Joseph holds a BA in English from Fordham University.

Robena Spangler is an innovative senior executive with over 30 years of experience in behavioral health, human services, and advancing equity and inclusion work. The majority of her career has been dedicated to systems improvement within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Spangler held several leadership roles in the public and private sectors. She has provided professional coaching and leadership development for teams and individuals on a national level.

In addition to her public and private sector work, she is an adjunct instructor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS), responsible for facilitating accelerated programs in human services for adult learners. Her current role, as an EDI and leadership strategist, is to design and manage all aspects of Social Current’s leadership and organizational excellence portfolio. Spangler holds a bachelor’s in sociology and human services along with a master’s in leadership and professional advancement.