A graduate of NYU School of Medicine and the New York Presbyterian Hospital Residency Program, Dr. Dina Lieser is the Executive Director of Docs For Tots national organization and the Director of Docs For Tots New York (DFT NY).  She also currently serves as the Director of the Community and Child Advocacy Rotation at New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Pediatric Residency Program.

Dina continues to practice medicine as an attending pediatrician for New York Hospital Queens and serves as the Project Director of Celebrating Diversity at New York Hospital Queens, ensuring that Residents are educated around cultural competency.  She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weil Cornell Medical Center and serves on numerous advisory boards and committees, including Chairman of the Youth Advocacy Committee for Queens Pediatric Society, member of the Policy Committee for New York Zero to Three, Winning Beginning Coalition, the Child Health Coalition for the Children’s Defense Fund, and the Graduate Medical Education Committee for New York Hospital Queens. 

Dr. Lieser has a longstanding commitment to child advocacy and a great passion for ensuring that the mission of Docs For Tots is realized and that the organization continues making great strides for our youngest children.  

As Programs Manager AnnMarie works to organize and manage Docs For Tots’ core programs and grant-funded projects.  She also provides oversight of the day to day operations.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications from the University of Arizona. 

AnnMarie brings direct service experience in the early childhood field through 15 years of teaching and managing child development centers in Arizona, Washington, DC and Virginia.  Early in her career she served as Leadership Development Associate with ZERO TO THREE and worked closely with amazing leaders and upcoming leaders in the Early Childhood field.  She has volunteered through Child Protective Services and spoke out on Shaken Baby Syndrome.  She has also spent time working with a DC based youth homeless program coordinating a parent education curriculum for homeless teen moms.  Most recently AnnMarie has spent the past 5 years working with small nonprofits and for profit businesses on marketing and public relations initiatives to increase awareness and productivity.

As a single mom of three amazing children, AnnMarie is passionate about maternal mental health issues and ensuring that families have a voice.  When not in the office you will find her on the soccer field cheering her children on or at various school, community theater, and musical performances her children are performing in.

Dr. Jill Sells is a pediatrician and the Director of Docs For Tots Washington State. She is thrilled that this part time position allows her to advocate on behalf of young children, while encouraging other doctors across Washington state to do the same. Dr. Sells studied Human Biology with a concentration in child development and disability at Stanford University before attending the University of Washington School of Medicine, where she is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. As a consultant in both short and long term roles, Dr. Sells partners with others to assure that families have the information, resources, and support they need to promote their children's health and development.

Dr. Sells works on early childhood systems efforts with the Washington State Department of Health on Kids Matter: Improving Outcomes for Children in Washington State; and in California via outcomes based research with SRI International, including the Statewide Evaluation of First 5. Since 2005, Dr. Sells has been leading the Pacific Northwest efforts of Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based organization working to help families create a healthier media environment for children.  Dr. Sells serves on the Board of WithinReach, Washington’s statewide information and referral system for family health; the Advisory Council for the Foundation for Early Learning; and as the Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) facilitator for District VIII (12 Western States) of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Through all her activities, Dr. Sells collaborates with others around the connections between research, policy, and practice; with the goal of supporting families and impacting systems so that all children can reach their full potential. Dr. Sells lives in a boisterous Seattle household with her husband and two young children.

Dr. Wil Blechman is a rheumatologist who developed a major interest in children’s issues as a result of his work with Kiwanis. A past president of Kiwanis International, Dr. Blechman was instrumental in developing the organization’s ongoing worldwide program, Young Children: Priority One, which focuses on children from before birth through age 5.

Since leaving his medical practice, Dr. Blechman has served as Florida’s State Health Officer and as a consultant to the Departments of Health and Children and Families. He is a consultant for the Bertha Abess Children’s Center in Miami, Charter President of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health (2001-03 and again in 2006), Vice Chair of the Board of The Miami-Dade Children’s Trust and a Board Member of the Florida Children’s Forum.

Dr. Blechman has received numerous awards for his services and was specially recognized for the impact his efforts had on the increased immunization rate in Florida for children under two. He is listed in Marquis’ Who’s Who in America, 2006. In addition, Dr. Blechman is very interested in recent research on brain development in the preschool child and is part of a team of individuals in Florida who speaks to this issue. He is thrilled to join the Docs For Tots team and have an impact on children in their most critical years of life.

Dr. Levine is a general pediatrician and a developmental-behavioral pediatric subspecialist who has been in practice since 1986 in Queens and Nassau County, New York.  Dr. Levine has been the medical director of the Henry Viscardi School for children with special health care needs since 1988.

An active advocate for children and their families, Dr. Levine is the Chairman of the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics/Children with Disabilities Committee of New York Chapter 2 of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  A strong proponent of the Medical Home model to deliver optimal care to children and their families, Dr. Levine is a recipient of an American Academy of Pediatrics 2008 Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) Planning Funds Grant to investigate “ Pediatric Community Care for CSHCN.”

Recently, Dr. Levine has been a member of the Nassau County Coalition of Health and Wellness in the Early Years and gave testimony to legislators regarding developmental screening and pediatric care.  Dr. Levine speaks frequently to parents, educators and health professionals regarding CSHCN, family support, community pediatrics and early child healthcare.

Dr. Levine is extremely committed to the mission of Docs For Tots  and looks to bring pediatricians and other  health care providers, community agencies and early child care professionals together to improve the lives of our youngest patients and their families through advocacy and collaboration.

ghendy@docsfortots.org

Gabrielle Hendy is our college intern at Docs for Tots in Washington, DC.  Currently majoring in government, history, and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies at Cornell University, her interest in the well-being of children started during high school.  In the past, she interned at the Children’s Rights Council, mentored elementary and high school students, and took courses on the early mental development of children.  At college, she continues to study the health of women and children as her interests in issues related to maternal and children’s health develop.

After completing her undergraduate studies in 2010, Gabrielle plans to attend grad school to study public policy.

Landra Anderson has taken on the role as our high school intern.  Landra comes to us from Archbishop Carroll High School in the District of Columbia.  She will graduate in the Spring of 2009.  Landra has worked with children in the elementary school environment through The Department of Employment Services’, Office of Youth Programs, as a teacher’s aide.  She enjoys working with children because they are always full of life and ready to learn new things.

After high school graduation Landra plans on attending Kent State University and focusing on Fashion Design with a focus on women’s and children’s fashion.