Ms. McNamara began her career in 1978 providing services for people with psychiatric disabilities in community programs, and in 1985 she began teaching the skills of psychiatric rehabilitation to providers in the mental health field. For 15 years, Ms. McNamara worked as an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Rehabilitation Counseling Program at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. She has co-authored several articles and curricula on psychiatric rehabilitation. She created the Professional Development Program, which offers various options for continuing education through the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Currently, Ms. McNamara works as the Product Specialist in the Training Division at the Center.

Ms. Nicolellis served as Program Manager at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. She directed the Certificate Program in Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation, an award-winning training program for vocational rehabilitation professionals, and the Vocational Peer Support Training Project, a federally-funded curriculum designed to train peer support specialists in supporting vocational recovery. Ms. Nicolellis began her work with the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation as Supported Education and Employment Specialist in 1989. She focused on enhancing the competencies and conceptual knowledge of mental health, rehabilitation, and peer support personnel in psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery-oriented services throughout the country and abroad. Ms. Nicolellis specialized in the Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation process, Social Security Work Incentives, Readiness Assessment and Development, Employment Support, Vocational Peer Support, and enhancing partnerships with people with psychiatric disabilities. Ms. Nicolellis has authored several curricula, book chapters, and articles in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Mr. Forbess was the Associate Director of Training at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. He began his career as a provider, supervisor, and manager in community mental health centers in Texas and Maine. He received his Masters of Science Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978 and joined the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation as a Senior Training Associate in 1985. Since that time he has provided training and technical assistance to a wide range of mental health agencies throughout the United States and Canada in order to implement psychiatric rehabilitation, person-centered service planning, and other services guided by values considered central to facilitating a person’s recovery from mental illness. He has developed and assisted with the development of training technologies, manuals, guides, and program curricula and has co-authored published articles and book chapters on psychiatric rehabilitation and case management.