Illume Experts

Vice President of Illume and Strategic Partnerships

Vice President of Illume and Strategic Partnerships, Barbara Zawier, MSW, LCSW, oversees community relations and Illume: The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, which is the training, research, evaluation, mentorship/coaching, and consultation arm of Places for People.

Barb joined Community Alternatives in 1996. She has gained a wealth of direct experience initiating and/or supervising numerous evidence-based practices, and has worked with diverse populations over the years.

As an LCSW, Barb provides supervision for professionals seeking social work licensure.

Barb is a graduate of State University College of New York at Buffalo where she received her Bachelor’s of Social Work in 1982. She received her Master’s of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, George Warren Brown School of Social Work in 1984.

In her spare time, Barb continues to give back to the St. Louis community, serving as the chair of the St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church Development Committee.

Director of Illume

Director of Training and Technical Assistance

For the past 33 years, Illume Director of Training Julie Blanco has dedicated her career to supporting individuals living with mental illness and substance use concerns. Julie joined Community Alternatives in 1997 as a clinical supervisor, and has held numerous leadership roles since, including 11 years as Integrated Treatment Program Manager (first at Community Alternatives, then at Places for People following the two organizations’ merger). Julie joined Illume to oversee and present training and mentorship programs for the Center of Excellence. Julie is certified as a Trainer for TREM, is Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) member, a Certified Trainer of CRA, among other licensure and certifications. Additionally, Julie has been an adjunct professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis since Spring 2020.

Program Manager for Research and Evaluation

As manager of research and evaluation, Charvonne oversees research and evaluation staff, and leads and supports collaborative research and evaluation efforts within Illume and at Places for People. She guides research efforts to improve social work practices, identify service gaps, workforce needs, and quality of care for persons with behavioral health conditions.    

Charvonne joined Places for People as a practicum student. She was hired as a Health Informatics Specialist on the Research team following the completion of her Master’s in Public Health in January 2019. As a Health Informatics Specialist, she helped develop a routine outcome reporting system for Places for People. In 2021, her role changed to Data Analyst. She has also managed and supported various evaluation activities for local, state, and federal grants. Charvonne has supported research efforts through journal publications on topics ranging from happiness and well-being to substance use among others. In July of 2023, Charvonne became the Manager of Research and Evaluation. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Social Work at Saint Louis University. She serves on several committees at Places for People including Zero Suicide, Continuous Quality Improvement, DEIB, and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities. She is also trained in suicide prevention intervention (QPR) and Zero Suicide. 

Staff Psychologist, Expert Researcher & Trainer 

Dr. Pallavi Nishith has 24 years of experience working in the field of trauma and PTSD. She is currently working in the capacity of Staff Psychologist at Places for People, Inc., and in this capacity is conducting clinical, research, and training work in Trauma, and PTSD in Serious Mental Illness (SMI).

Training Associate

Emily Dreher is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Linehan Board Certified DBT Clinician with clinical experience providing outpatient therapy and in home crisis counseling. Her specialties include working with individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder using Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Prolonged Exposure.  Emily is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Applied Health Behavior Research graduate program at Washington University.

Mental Health Training Associate

Emily Mouyard started her career in 2013 as a behavior modification counselor at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, addressing substance misuse and criminality. After working in the correctional setting, Emily worked as a clinician at Chestnut Health Systems in the integrated outpatient department providing mental health and substance use counseling, in addition to conducting DUI evaluations for the state of Illinois. Emily went on to coordinate a behavioral health outreach project on public transit through a partnership between Chestnut Health Systems and SCCTD/Bi-State/Metro. Emily is also a member of the St Clair County Continuum of Care-Homeless Action Council (CoC-HAC). Emily is currently chairman of the Project Homeless Connect- Point in Time Count committee and sits on the Planning Committee of the CoC-HAC. Emily holds a bachelor’s degree (BA) in Psychology from McKendree University and is a Certified Reciprocal Alcohol and Other Drugs Counselor (CRADC) with a Co-Occurring Disorder Professional (CODP-I) board registration through the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association. Emily is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Certified in the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA).

Program Coordinator 

Rashma James is Illume’s administrative guru, specializing in all things from training organization to promotional support through social media and email marketing. Rashma has a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and experience providing direct services, which gives her a unique perspective and instilled her passion to support the field of behavioral health.

As Illume’s Program Assistant, Abigail Brackenridge works to support the logistical side of trainings, supporting our trainers, assisting at conferences, relaying information to learners. Abigail Brackenridge is often the first point of contact for many perspective learners and perspective partners that reach out to Illume. Abby has previously worked as a teacher and has experience working in customer service settings. Abby has her Associate’s in Fine Arts from Saint Charles Community College. During her time away from the office, she volunteers at First Free Church of Manchester with the Junior High, Senior High and Tech Ministries.

Illume Founder

Dr. Morse was a founding Member of Illume and served as our Director during our first year. While Dr. Morse no longer directly serves on staff we appreciate his continued contributions to our efforts.

• Helping to create, implement, and scientifically test the effectiveness of compassionate and innovative services for people with mental health disorders
• Establishing and providing leadership to community-based behavioral health programs and agencies for individuals with low-income
• Communicating to the profession about effective ways to serve people with severe and challenging mental health and psychosocial needs
• Raising funds to support needed mental health services, research, and program development

Illume Founder

Joe Yancey was a founding Member of Illume and served as a consultant during our first year. While Mr. Yancey no longer directly serves on staff we appreciate his continued contributions to our efforts.

• Current Chair of St. Louis Regional Health Commission Community Advisory Board
• Current commissioner on the St. Louis Regional Health Commission
• Current board member on SIRV (St. Louis Initiative to Reduce Violence)
• Current board member (former chair) of Behavioral Health Network
• Served as lead adult policy coordinator for the Missouri Mental Health Transformation Initiative