About BBYO’s Center for Adolescent Wellness

Youth-serving organizations (YSOs) impact the lives of young people in a profound way. These organizations seek to shape who youth are and the people they will become. YSOs offer welcoming and inclusive environments where young people feel safe to share their emotions and feelings and are ripe environments for promoting adolescent wellness. To accomplish these goals, these organizations need to be mentally, emotionally, and physically safe spaces for youth. The BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness (BBYO-CAW) seeks to identify and provide best practices in adolescent health and wellness so that YSOs can be places where adolescents thrive.

About our Staff

Drew Fidler, LCSW-C, is the Senior Director of the BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness, where she helps ensure that BBYO and other Youth Serving Organizations are places where adolescents can thrive through institutional best practices in health and wellness.

Prior to joining BBYO, Drew worked for Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC) as a Forensic Interviewer, Policy and Program Development Manager, and then as the Director of Prevention and Education. Drew has trained over 1,000 professionals on how to protect children and their own organization from incident, and has received training from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime in building organizational resiliency. Prior to roles at BCAC, Drew worked with at-risk youth in the U.S. and abroad. She has spent her career helping youth-serving organizations and their staff in understand adolescent mental health issues, and learn how to best support and advocate for their needs. Drew has an MSW from New York University and a BA in Psychology from Skidmore College.

Eric Hunker is the Director of Music & Aleph Enrichment for BBYO and is working with BBYO-CAW to create curricula around Mindful Masculinity and Supporting Teen Behavior. A Tulsa, Oklahoma based singer-songwriter, community-builder, and educator, Eric has built a career working across denominational lines in pluralistic Jewish spaces. In recent years, he has focused his attention to teaching teens to examine how gender constructs affect their lives, friendships, and attitudes, and he works to help them understand how to leverage that knowledge to live more intentionally, and create spaces that are healthy, safe, welcoming.

Jennifer Ferris-Glick is a contractor with BBYO-CAW, and a dedicated Mindful Empowerment Mentor, aspiring counseling psychologist, and seasoned Jewish educator committed to guiding individuals through life's transitions with resilience and self-compassion. As an EMDR Therapist in-training, Jennifer leverages her extensive teaching experience, surpassing 16,000 hours in yoga, meditation, Jewish mysticism, and mindfulness. Her academic journey is marked by profound exploration in psychology, holding degrees in Psychology and Art Therapy. She conducted research in Cognitive Neuropsychology at Carnegie Mellon University, and she is currently advancing her studies in Counseling Psychology at Chatham University.

Andy Harkavy is a contractor with BBYO-CAW and most recently served as the Director of Congregational Engagement and Communications for Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina where he played a key role in reimagining and deepening individual, small group, and cohort engagement. Throughout his career he has partnered with colleagues and lay leaders to challenge current assumptions, break out of silos, synergize, and create a relational culture. Andy received his MA in Jewish Communal Service from the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University, and a double BA in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Georgia.

Taneesha Thomas is a contractor with BBYO-CAW and a seasoned training consultant, educator, author, and advocate, with experience spanning over two decades in education. As an Instructional Coach and Curriculum Specialist, she has provided professional learning opportunities to educators, students, and community stakeholders, emphasizing the critical role of literacy in academic success and life. In 2019, Taneesha co-founded Focused Minds Education Group, a company committed to deepening understanding of how mental health and trauma impacts teaching and learning in grades 6-12. Taneesha holds degrees from Tennessee State University and Troy University.

Michal Berkson Powell is a contractor with BBYO-CAW and a licensed clinical social worker with experience working with children, teens, families, and teachers in schools, clinics, synagogues, and summer camps. With a career extending from public schools in L.A. to the Jewish Social Service Agency in D.C. to private practice, Michal focuses on ensuring kids and parents can succeed to the best of their abilities wherever they live, work, or learn. Michal received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago and her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Psychological Services from Northwestern University.

Sascha Meier is a contractor with BBYO-CAW and a consultant, facilitator, coach and certified mindfulness meditation teacher. Her work supports youth mental health education, small business wellness programs, strategic planning projects and organizational development activities. Working with individuals and teams, Sascha shows them how to increase resilience and rise to challenges using mindfulness techniques that apply neuroscience for better decision making. Sascha is a graduate of Smith College and studied at the University of Geneva in Switzerland’s Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.