President and Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Saitowitz brings over thirty years of experience in clinical social work practice along with her executive management focusing on services to Children & families within the child Welfare as well as children and families connected to the NYS Medicaid Healthcare systems.  In her role as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Collaborative for Children and Families (CCF),  Ms. Saitowitz oversees the largest designated Health Home Serving Children in the downstate region whose provider network includes more than 40 community-based agencies, over 2,000 care managers serving over 15,000 children monthly in the downstate New York region.  CCF is also a designated Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) provider agency and more recently has acquired the AsOne Healthcare, IPA where she serves as Interim Acting Executive Director and Board Vice Chair.  Ms. Saitowitz continues to play an active role advocating for services to children & families throughout New York state. She has served on the board of the NYS Health Home Coalition representing sub-contracted provider agencies on statewide committees and is also the co-chair of the Federal CMS Integrated Care for Kids (IncK) pilot program in the Bronx with Montefiore Hospital System.  Ms. Saitowitz has a long track record of leading organizations focused on service delivery in the behavioral healthcare arena, primarily operating in urban environments.  Ms. Saitowitz started her career as a frontline case worker serving inner city youth towards the end of the crack epidemic in Ft. Collins, Colorado and later in Baltimore, Maryland as an individual and family therapist.  Ms. Saitowitz has served as the Associate Executive Director for New Alternatives for Children (NAC), one of the city’s most specialized, non-profit child welfare agencies as well as the Director of the Bridges to Health (B2H) Medicaid Waiver Program for the NYC Administration for Children’s Services(ACS). Throughout her career as a licensed clinical social worker, Ms. Saitowitz has focused on special needs children & Families facing trauma and crisis.  Ms. Saitowitz has worked as a psychotherapist in one of the largest residential treatment facilities in the state of Maryland.  After moving to New York, Ms. Saitowitz was a member of the NY State Medicaid Redesign Children’s subcommittee and worked closely with state partners, advocates and providers to improve service delivery and supports for children and families with special needs.  Ms. Saitowitz holds an undergraduate degree in social work from Colorado State University and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland.

Chief Operating and Compliance Officer

Alyssa Paulozzo comes to CCF with an extensive background of compliance, quality and operations management experience in the child welfare and behavioral health industries. As an Executive Management staff for several non-profits serving children and families, she has been directly responsible for the development, implementation, and over site of a comprehensive system of quality assurance and improvement for all programs and operations. Alyssa has led many Electronic Health Record implementation projects and has ensured companies are in compliance with contracts, federal and state regulations, and accreditation expectations including The Joint Commission Accreditation, Council on Accreditation, and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. As the designated Privacy Officer for these organizations, Alyssa also ensures compliance with HIPAA, FERPA, and HITECH expectations.

With her Masters in Psychology, and Six Sigma background, Alyssa implements CQI methodology to ensure effective program functioning and identifying operational areas of improvement in effort to obtain positive outcomes for the children and families we serve.

Director of Clinical Services

Maninder Sharma brings with her almost 20 years of clinical and operational experience in the behavioral health field. Throughout her career she has worked in a variety of industries and has always found herself supporting the needs of families. Maninder spent several years overseas treating our military and their dependents on the United States Army Base in Seoul, South Korea. Where she received the Scroll of Appreciation from the Commanding General of USKF for her unwavering commitment in the field of counseling and prevention for military adolescents and their families. Afterwards she returned to the US and settled in New York. Maninder utilized her experience and skills on the frontline to help manage the operations for all of the Behavioral Health Day Programs for Family Residences & Essential Enterprise. Her role oversaw PROS, Adult/Children’s HCBS, and CFTSS services. Maninder was instrumental in establishing the then new HCBS/CFTSS programming successfully. She has led organizations through Federal, State, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and Joint Commission accreditation processes. Maninder has also worked as a liaison with various managed care companies and successfully assisted organizations with their audits. Throughout her career she has always looked for opportunities to assist organizations in growing their programming to answer the needs of the communities they serve. Maninder holds a master’s degree in counseling as well as licenses to practice clinically in several States. 

Director of Quality and Compliance

Cynthia steps into the role of Director of Quality and Compliance with a solid background in quality improvement and data management. Holding a bachelor’s degree from Kean University accompanied by being a certified Six Sigma Lean Black Belt and Microsoft Data Analyst, she has built a career path that speaks to her dedication and expertise in the field of Compliance and Quality. As the former National Quality Improvement Data Manager at Devereux Behavioral Health, Cynthia demonstrated proficiency in utilizing tools like Power BI for creating in-depth dashboards and reports. This experience sharpened her ability to make data-driven decisions and effectively communicate insights. Her career path features key positions such as Quality Improvement Manager, Program Director, and Program Manager across various organizations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In her new role, Cynthia offers a strong mix of strategic thinking, adaptability, and a commitment to aligning quality improvement initiatives with overall performance objectives. Her proficiency in data analysis, project management, and compliance makes her well-suited for this new position. Welcome Cynthia!

Operations Manager

Melissa Bressler was born in South Africa and immigrated to Israel in 2011 where she served in the military for 2 years. Melissa’s international background offers a unique view of the communities we serve. She brings with her a positive attitude & organizational skills with attention to management, which aids to her ability to manage administrative projects. Melissa has a Bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Life Sciences.

Referral and Enrollment Specialist

Karly joins CCF as the new Referral and Enrollment Specialist. She graduated with her Master’s in Health Administration as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, both from New Jersey City University. She has experience working with children with disabilities and the mental health population. Karly started her career working as a childcare professional and shifted to working for NJ Early Intervention where she provided service coordination to hundreds of children in an urban community. In addition to this, she also spent time working in a mental health unit where she assisted patients with goal setting and coordinating group therapy. Karly comes to CCF with a passion to ensure all clients receive the highest quality of care/resources they need to achieve their goals and succeed.

Director of Community Based Services

Melanie joins CCF as the Director of Community Based Services.  Melanie began her professional career at one of CCFs owner agencies- SCO Family of Services and has more than 11 years of experience in both child welfare and behavioral health services.   Melanie has worked in multiple programs, including the former Bridges to Health (B2H) waiver program, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and most recently, at their Community Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS).   Melanie was also a contributing member of the SCO Family of Services’ Medicaid Redesign team, assisting with the transition of over 500 children and youth in the 1915(c) Children’s Medicaid System.   Having worked both on the front lines as a provider and as a program leader, Melanie was instrumental in assisting with the development of policies, procedures and program improvement plans for the organization. With her proficiency in working with various automated technology platforms and electronic health records, Melanie has developed the skills necessary to analyze and collect data to track, monitor trends and patterns across programs. Melanie is compassionate and dedicated to providing therapeutic and local community resources to children and their families, she enjoys building programs from the ground up, while motivating and leading collaboratively with diverse teams of managers and specialized professionals to ensure that children and families have access to the full array of community-based services.

Operations Manager

Briana joins the team as the Operations Manager at CCF for the Community Based Services Division. Briana has her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology with concentration in childhood studies from Stockton University. Briana started her career as a childcare professional, working with underserved populations in an urban community and educational venue and expanded her vocational experience by becoming a Child Education Manager, overseeing Child Educators who provided instructive assistance to children by creating targeted developmental learning initiatives. Briana eventually found herself in corporate healthcare management, overseeing healthcare clients which include FQHCs and Managed Care Plans.  Her degree in Psychology and childhood studies, and background in childhood education, account facilitation and organizational management, have prepared her for the role of becoming the Operations Manager for community-based services; a liaison between the vulnerable children and families we serve, and the Managed Care Organizations.