Our Leadership Team

Ivy Gamble Cobb, one of the four founders of our agency, is the current Executive Director of The Family Center. Previously, she worked at the NYC Department of Social Services Division of AIDS Services as both a Family Case Manager and a Program Planner. She received her BS from New York University, her MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and has earned credits towards a Ph.D. in Social Welfare. Ivy is featured in the videos "Remember the Sun" and "A Gift for My Children: Families Talk about Custody Planning" and has co-authored articles on the issue of families affected by parental illness.
Jan Hudis, another of our four founders, serves as The Family Center's Deputy Executive Director of Operations. Prior to founding The Family Center, she worked at the NYC Department of Social Services Division of AIDS Services as a Program Planner. Jan holds both an MPA and an MPH from Columbia University. She has also co-authored numerous articles on the issues faced by families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Katherine Acosta is the Director of Development and Communications at The Family Center. Bringing over a decade of expertise in mission-driven organizations, she has been instrumental in driving transformative outcomes and leading successful fundraising efforts. Katherine joins us from The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis), a social justice youth development organization in Harlem, NYC. During her nearly seven years at BroSis, she led the development department in executing high-impact events, strategic communications, innovative branding, content creation, digital marketing, and fostering key partnerships. Her extensive background spans strategic roles in operations, marketing, and human resources across both nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
Lindsay Cornelio is The Human Resources Director at the Family Center. Previously, Lindsay was the Operations Director at Justice Catalyst Law (JCL), where she oversaw the organization’s human resources, finances, administration and other operations. Prior to JCL, Lindsay worked at the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, where she served as a Program Assistant, Assistant Site Director and Site Director. Lindsay was also an ESL teacher for several years. Lindsay earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Vermont and an M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University, with a concentration in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
Lauren Groetch is the Director of Legal Services for The Legal Wellness Institute at The Family Center. Lauren first joined The Family Center as a post-graduate law fellow in 2014, and she has since served clients in Assistant Director, Staff Attorney, and Senior Staff Attorney roles at The Family Center. Lauren received her BA in English with distinction from the University of Virginia, and her JD from NYU School of Law, where she was named a Hermann Biggs Health Policy Scholar and a Robert McKay Scholar.
Trish Jean-Louis is the Assistant Director of Support Services at The Family Center. Previously, Trish worked as both the Supervisor of, and a Family Coordinator in, our Caregiver Program providing case management services and facilitating various support groups. She also served as the intake specialist at The Family Center. Trish has extensive experience in both social services and education. She has worked as a trauma counselor, college advisor and an ESL teacher before coming to The Family Center. Trish has a BA in Sociology with a specialization in Africana Studies, a BS in Human Development and an MS in Counseling.
James Learned is The Family Center’s Training Program Manager for our AIDS Institute-funded technical assistance and training program, specializing in professional trainings related to HIV and Older Adults, and Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV/HCV Co-infection. Since joining The Family Center in 2007, he has held roles as an HIV/HCV Specialist and Counselor, Community Health Outreach Specialist, and Health Care Access Coordinator. With broad experience in health education, curriculum development, training delivery, and program management across New York non-profits, James also practices as a licensed therapist focusing on individuals living with HIV. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and an MSW from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.
Amy Pichardo is The Family Center's Assistant Director of Behavioral Health. Amy completed her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, after obtaining her BA from NYU. She has 8 years of clinical experience across a variety of settings including outpatient specialty clinics, crisis intervention, structured outpatient programs, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and large nonprofits. At The Family Center, Amy provides clinical and administrative supervision to social work students, interns, and professionals. She has worked with individuals and groups in areas of depression, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, behavioral and discipline challenges, self-harm behavior, trauma and abuse, suicide assessment and risk reduction, group psychotherapy and couple’s conflict.
Joan Salmon is the Deputy Executive Director for Behavioral Health and Support Services at The Family Center. She is an LCSW-R with 20-plus years of experience working in behavioral health. Joan studied pre-medicine at Stony Brook University, where she obtained her BS. She received her MSW degree from Fordham University. She has had the honor of being a consultant with Columbia University’s Opioid Response Network program, providing technical assistance to programs around the opioid epidemic.