Nydia Y. Monagas, Psy.D., is the Director of Training and Statewide Initiatives with the New Jersey Children’s Alliance (NJCA), a statewide non-profit whose mission is to promote and support communities in providing a coordinated investigation and comprehensive response to victims of child abuse, neglect and family violence. Nydia serves as co-chair of the Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) Statewide Response Workgroup, which established a statewide strategy to respond to cases involving PSB. Nydia is also an Associate Teaching Professor in the McCormick Center for Child Advocacy and Policy at Montclair State University, where she supervises the practicum experience for undergraduate Child Advocacy and Policy majors and teaches courses on child abuse and neglect, child advocacy, and other related topics. She serves on several statewide Boards, including the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect and the Child Advocacy Center-Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board. In addition, Nydia served as the Director the Family Impact Seminars in New Jersey which provided state policymakers with nonpartisan, solution-oriented research on family issues. She previously conducted psychological evaluations and treatment for children and families involved with Child Protective Services. She completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.  She also has a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology and a Post-Bachelor’s Certificate in Child Advocacy from Montclair State University. In her free time, Nydia enjoys being a hockey/soccer/basketball mom, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with friends, family, and her pups! 

Maria Isabella Pontoriero (“MIP”), LMSW, MPH, is a licensed social worker and forensic interviewer. MIP is Program Manager at the New Jersey Children's Alliance, managing New Jersey's statewide coordinated response to youth who are impacted by and/or initiate problematic sexual behaviors. MIP is also Founder and Consultant for Enhanced Choice Training & Consulting LLC, which provides specialized training, program development, and case consultation services to individuals and agencies who serve victims of crime and exploitation. In addition, MIP provides training and peer review feedback as a consultant on an as-needed basis for Modell Consulting Group and RADAR Child Forensic Interview Models. She previously served as Lead Social Worker for the New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center & Audrey Hepburn CARE Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. There, she supervised the full-time and contract forensic interviewing staff and coordinated a child trafficking survivor services team called BRAVE (Building Resilience for All Victims of Exploitation). In partnership with the New Orleans Police Department, MIP developed Louisiana's first proactive recovery planning team that provided rapid recovery and advocacy response to missing and exploited youth who have left home. MIP develops and delivers in-service and New Recruits child abuse curricula for the New Orleans Police Department Training Academy. In her spare time, MIP loves to bake, read, and celebrate Mardi Gras! 

Valeria M. Vila, PhD, is a social scientist dedicated to leveraging data to inform evidence-based practices that promote community safety, reduce harm, and expand access to critical services for vulnerable populations. As part of the New Jersey Children’s Alliance (NJCA), she works to advance healing and justice for youth affected by child abuse by using data to inform programs and policies impacting children across New Jersey. Valeria’s work focuses on maintaining and analyzing data related to the Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) program, identifying key trends and service outcomes, and developing actionable policy recommendations to enhance program effectiveness. In addition to her work with the PSB program, Valeria has extensive experience designing and leading research projects that explore the impact of psychosocial resources on social judgments. Her expertise includes managing large datasets, performing advanced statistical analyses using tools like SPSS, and communicating findings to diverse audiences through data visualizations and presentations. Her research has been published in leading psychological journals, such as the Journal of Social and Political Psychology and Current Directions in Psychological Science, and she has presented her work at national conferences, including the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Conference. Valeria is deeply committed to using data-driven insights to strengthen programs, inform policy decisions, and help ensure vulnerable populations receive the care and support they need. 

Geoff Sidoli, LCSW, is the current National Training Fellow and past Coordinator for the National Children’s Alliance Institute for Better Mental Health Outcomes.  He assists CACs around the country developing, implementing, and sustaining mental health services including ones for children and youth exhibiting problematic sexual behavior (PSB).  Prior to coming to NCA, Geoff was the founding director of the Mountain CAC in Asheville, NC where he supervised a clinical department that assessed and treated trauma and PSB utilizing multiple evidence-based/supported models, including a PSB model that he developed.  Geoff is a national trainer in the Care Process Model-Pediatric Traumatic Stress screener and co-developed and trains an enhancement of TF-CBT for PSB.  He is a clinical member of the Association for the Prevention and Treatment Sexual Abuse (ATSA) as well as a Fellow.  He sits on ATSA’s child and adolescent committee as well as the ethic’s committee.  He also trains and consults regionally and nationally on the topic of sexual abuse, assessment, and treatment.  Geoff is also NCA’s Training and Technical Advisor for PSB and facilitates NCA’s youth with problematic sexual behaviors national work group.