Meet Our Staff
Elder Care
- Jordan Golin, Psy. D, Director of Clinical & Elder Care Services
- Holly Anderson, Resource Coordinator
- Pearl Averbach, LCSW , Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
- Therese Bissonnette, Resource Coordinator
- Sandy Budd, LCSW, Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
- Laura Burns, Program Coordinator
- Ellie Eisenstat, MPS, MSW, Program & Resource Coordinator
- Lori Grable, Program Coordinator
- Maxine Horn, Information and Referral Specialist for Agewell Pittsburgh
- Marie Seirp, Resource Coordinator
- Stefanie Small, LCSW, Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
- Laura Verbe, Resource Coordinator
Jordan Golin, Psy. D
Director of Clinical & Elder Care Services
In his role as director of Clinical Services, Dr. Golin brings with him years of psychological expertise conducting individual, family and group therapy; supervising therapy staff; and conducting psychological testing. Dr. Golin has advanced the programming and offerings of clinical services provided through Squirrel Hill Psychological Services and its parent agency, Jewish Family & Children's Service. These include counseling and consultation, psychological testing, caregiver and care coordination services, special needs services and critical needs assistance.
As director also of Elder Care services, Dr. Golin has taken on a leadership role in administering AgeWell Pittsburgh, a collaborative program with Jewish Family & Children's Service, Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Association on Aging, which provides comprehensive services to the community's older adults.
Dr. Golin has previously served as the director of the Department of Psychology for Sharon Regional Health System. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.
Dr. Golin obtained his doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master's in clinical psychology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a bachelor's from University of Florida.
Holly Anderson
Resource Coordinator
Holly Anderson is a resource coordinator for the Personal Assistance Service Program (PAS). PAS is a service designed to give older adults the means to hire and pay a loved one or trusted individual to provide in-home care. Holly is responsible for all procedures and documentation related to enrolling older adults residing in Allegheny and surrounding counties as employers in the PAS service and monitoring existing PAS consumers.
Holly also works in the Caregiver Connection program, which is a service designed to match elderly and/or individuals with disabilities with appropriate caregivers. In this position, she assists with scheduling, recruiting and training caregivers.
Holly has worked in the human service field for many years, much of which was spent working for ARC Westmoreland as a caregiver in a residential setting. She also worked at the Somerset Children's Aide home as a youth care worker in a residential setting. Most recently, she supervised resource coordinators in the Community Services Program for Persons with Physical Disabilities at the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living. In this position, she gained extensive knowledge of resources and advocacy issues concerning people with disabilities. During her years as a caregiver and youth care worker, she attended classes in human services at Seton Hill University.
Pearl Averbach, LCSW
Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
Pearl Averbach is a licensed, clinical social worker specializing in geriatrics. She has held supervisory positions in both long-term care and community-based social service agencies. Pearl provides geriatric care coordination services to Jewish Family & Children's Service clients in the greater Pittsburgh area. She also provides counseling services to older adults who live independently at home and who live in various assisted living facilities. Previously, as the Director of Social Services for two national health care chains, she structured new facilities in accordance with state and federal regulations and developed and initiated psychosocial programming that was implemented throughout south Florida. Pearl has sat on the advisory boards of the Covenant of the South Hills, the Jewish Association on Aging's assisted living facilities of Weinberg Village and Terrace and the Pittsburgh Region Holocaust Program. Pearl received her master’s in social work with a certification in gerontology from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s from Pennsylvania State University.
Therese Bissonnette
Resource Coordinator
Therese Bissonnette is a resource coordinator for the Personal Assistance Service (PAS) Program, a program that provides in-home geriatric care to eligible seniors. The PAS program is a unique Department of Aging program which enables low-income seniors to employ caregivers of their choice to provide care and assistance with activities of daily living, thus allowing seniors to more comfortably and confidently remain in their homes. Therese travels extensively throughout the tri-county region, meeting seniors in their homes to discuss the program and assist with the intake/application process. As a resource coordinator, Therese also provides ongoing service coordination and conflict resolution as needed.
Therese also is responsible for the coordination of transportation and companionship programs which are available to targeted seniors served by the agency's Elder Care department, including Holocaust survivors.
For the previous ten years, Therese worked with homeless women with mental illness, providing case management, housing development and systems advocacy. Therese's professional background is a blend of social service and business experience, having held administrative director positions in both sectors.
Therese is completing her bachelor's degree in Social Work at Carlow University.
Sandy Budd, LCSW
Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
Sandy Budd is a licensed, clinical social worker with more than 20 years of social work experience. She provides geriatric care coordination services to Jewish Family & Children's Service clients in the greater Pittsburgh area. As a psychotherapist, Sandy counsels older adults suffering from the many losses and adjustments that can occur in later life.
Sandy also coordinates the Pittsburgh Region Holocaust Survivors Program with funds provided by the Jewish Material Claims Conference Against Germany, Inc. which provides care coordination and other services free of charge to Holocaust survivors. In addition, she speaks to members of the community as part of Elder Care team presentations on how to talk to one's loved ones about aging and other educational topics that relate to older adults.
Prior to coming to JF&CS, she held positions in various community based, non-profit, social service agencies.
Sandy received her bachelor's and master's in social work from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.
Laura Burns
Program Coordinator
Laura is our part-time Program Coordinator for Friend In Deed
with our Seniors Department. She will develop and manage a program
that will offer friendly home visits to seniors by
volunteers.
Laura was the Manager of Volunteer Services at Children's
Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for more than 12 years. Prior to
that, she was the Outreach Coordinator for Family Adoption Center
and the Volunteer Coordinator at Womansplace. Laura has taught
volunteer management classes for the United Way as well at the
Institute for Volunteerism-CCAC and she has consulted with several
local non-profits to develop volunteer programs.
Laura has a bachelor's degree in Marketing-Consumer Relations & Public Policy from SUNY.
Ellie Eisenstat, MPS, MSW
Program & Resource Coordinator
Ellie joins JF&CS to fill two roles. As Cognitive Enhancement Program Coordinator for our Seniors department, Ellie is involved in the continued development and evolution of the Brain Builders program, a series of structured workshops for seniors to help maintain and strengthen brain health. Ellie will be responsible for the ongoing coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the program. As Critical Needs Resource Coordinator, Ellie will work as part of the Counseling Unit assessing clients’ needs and connecting them to services to address multiple issues and achieve stability.
Ellie relocated from New York, where she was supervisor for the Intake and Assessment Department at the Center for Urban Community Services for four years. She was involved in the start up and development of the department, which serves formerly homeless, mentally ill, HIV/AIDS, and chemically dependent adults in need of supportive housing. In addition, she has worked in a variety of settings, including residential housing for formerly homeless seniors with mental health issues, the Brooklyn VA Outpatient Treatment Program, and in a geriatric long-term care facility. She also worked in the publishing field, and as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader.
Ellie has a bachelor's degree in English and Art History from Allegheny College, a master's of Professional Studies in Creative Arts Therapy from Pratt Institute, and a master's in Social Work from Hunter College.
Lori Grable
Program Coordinator
Lori Grable is a program coordinator for Jewish Family & Children's Service's Caregiver Connection, a referral service of screened and trained caregivers. She was instrumental in a recent program upgrade and expansion, developing new program policies and procedures along with a revised new billing system. Lori recruits, screens and maintains relationships with caregivers; holding quarterly caregiver trainings on a variety of topics.
In addition to coordinating the Caregiver Connection, Lori coordinates the Personal Assistance Service (PAS) Program, a program that allows seniors to remain at home by providing the funding for them to hire the caregiver of their choice, including family members and friends. Upon receiving county referrals, Lori travels to clients' homes to lead them through the intake process. She provides service coordination and assists with recruitment and retention of personal assistants as well as conflict resolution.
Prior to her work with JF&CS, Lori worked extensively with the special needs population. She began as a caregiver for adolescents with special needs and moved on to offer vocational training and then to provide social, residential and vocational case management to adults with disabilities. At that time she also gained experience as a counselor and support group facilitator for survivors of sexual assault as well as individuals with special needs.
Lori received a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Maxine Horn
Information and Referral Specialist for Agewell Pittsburgh
Maxine Horn is the telephone information and referral specialist for AgeWell Pittsburgh. In this role, she answers calls from older adults, their children or other family, friends or caregivers and professionals seeking information about services that are available and specifically geared to the geriatric population. AgeWell Pittsburgh is the recognized name of the collaborative program of Jewish Family & Children's Service, the Jewish Association on Aging and the Jewish Community Center whose collective goal is to provide a seamless delivery of services to Pittsburgh's older adults, providing the support needed to live as independently as possible.
Maxine maintains a large data base of relevant resources in addition to a substantial collection of pertinent print materials. Her goal is to connect each caller with the most appropriate referrals, and if she doesn't have the answer at her fingertips, Maxine will do the research required to find answers and/or solutions. She also makes follow-up calls to see whether the referrals were helpful and to offer any additional support.
A career of diversified volunteer service in Pittsburgh and beyond preceded her employment at JF&CS and has sensitized Maxine to the dynamics of the senior population in general, and the Jewish population in particular.
She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh where she also did post-graduate work in speech and hearing disorders.
Marie Seirp
Resource Coordinator
Marie Seirp is a resource coordinator for the Personal Assistance Service (PAS) Program. Marie is responsible for all procedures and documentation related to enrolling older adults residing in Allegheny and surrounding counties as employers in the PAS service and monitoring existing PAS consumers.
Marie has worked in the human service field for several years. She worked as a counselor in a residential setting for United Cerebral Palsy in Pittsburgh, as a treatment coordinator for West Virginia Youth Advocate and as a parent educator for the Northern Panhandle Early Head Start Program in Marshall County, West Virginia.
Marie holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Indiana State University.
Stefanie Small, LCSW
Geriatric Care Coordinator & Psychotherapist
Stefanie Small is a licensed clinical social worker and works primarily with older adults. She provides geriatric care coordination services to Jewish Family & Children's Service clients in the greater Pittsburgh area. As a psychotherapist, Stefanie counsels older adults suffering from losses and adjustments related to late life experiences. She also facilitates the caregiver support group, one of the few non-disease-specific support groups in Allegheny County and is a consultant to Weinberg Terrace, providing social work support to the residents and staff of this assisted living facility.
Stefanie speaks to members of the community as part of Elder Care team presentations on how to talk to one's loved ones about aging, older adult depression and other educational topics that are relevant to her work.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Barnard College in New York and a master's of Social Work with a certification in gerontology from University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.
Laura Verbe
Resource Coordinator
Laura is a Resource Coordinator for the Personal Assistance Service Program (PAS). PAS is a service designed to give older adults the means to hire and pay a loved one or trusted individual to provide in-home care. Laura is responsible for all procedures and documentation related to enrolling older adults residing in Allegheny and surrounding counties as employers in the PAS service and monitoring existing PAS consumers.
Laura has worked with the elderly population for about 12 years, primarily as Social Worker for varies long term care facilities. Prior to coming to Jewish Family & Children's Service, Laura was working as a hospice social worker.
She graduated from Slippery Rock University and holds a degree in Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in Gerontology.
