LIVES IN THE BALANCE EXISTS TO ERADICATE THE MISTREATMENT OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE
KIDS.
WHY WE’RE HERE
Lives in the Balance advocates against punitive, exclusionary disciplinary practices in schools, families, and treatment facilities, and advocates for interventions that are effective, compassionate, proactive, and collaborative, including the model we disseminate, Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS). We provide vast, free resources on the CPS model on this website, and provide training on the model globally.
We do not endorse or associate ourselves with organizations that profit from teaching caregivers how to restrain or seclude children in the name of “crisis prevention” or that rely on adult-imposed consequences to incentivize children to behave adaptively.
We’re driving the paradigm shift all over the world. We invite you to become part of the effort.
MEET THE TEAM
Lives in the Balance staff members are passionate about kids, devoted to our values and mission, and energized to change things for the better. No slackers in this crowd…
Ross is the originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and in the Faculty of Science at The University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is deeply involved in fund-raising efforts at Lives in the Balance and projects involving the CPS model.
Before joining Lives in the Balance, Riss served as a school psychologist, co-principal, and program specialist in charter schools in San Diego. Holding an Ed.S. and MA from Tufts University, Marissa is passionate about building neurodiversity-affirming school-based mental health services and inclusive school environments for students with disabilities and behavior challenges. Marissa believes that every child -- and every parent -- deserves to feel that they belong in their school community. Email: marissa@livesinthebalance.org
Before joining Lives in the Balance, Ben practiced as an attorney for Disability Rights Maine, where he advocated for the rights of children and for systemic change. He has represented hundreds of children with disabilities and their families in pursuit of safer, better lives, and brings his vast experience to Lives in the Balance to promote legal initiatives on behalf of children and families on a national and international scale.
Email: ben@livesinthebalance.org
Email: ben@livesinthebalance.org
Kim has previously managed the clinical departments of two organizations serving youth and families in residential facilities. Kim is tirelessly devoted to ensuring that caregivers receive the support and resources they need in parenting and working with kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
Email: kimhopkinsbetts@livesinthebalance.org
Email: kimhopkinsbetts@livesinthebalance.org
Cynthia has worked as a psychoeducator in an organization dedicated to treating the most severe and persistent childhood behavioral disorders in the health care system. She trains schools, facilities, and other providers in the model. Email: cynthiagraton@livesinthebalance.org
Margot Margarones has worked in the government, education, and nonprofit sectors to develop strategic partnerships that support collaborative programming in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her most recent position, prior to joining Lives in the Balance, was with the University of Maine system. In her spare time Margot enjoys meeting new people, traveling, and spending time at the beach. Email: margot@livesinthebalance.org
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lives in the Balance is really fortunate to have a devoted group of parents, educators, and professionals guiding and overseeing its efforts.
Pam has worked for the Rockland County (NY) Board of Cooperative Educational Services for the past 24 years, holding positions as an Assistant Principal, Staff Development Trainer, and most recently Principal of CBI-TECH High School.
Jenn worked with youth as a clinical social work therapist prior to becoming the Chief Operating Officer for North Dakota’s largest independent psychiatric and substance use treatment facility. Jenn is currently completing her PhD in Education while serving as the Program Director for the North Dakota Pediatric Mental Health Access program and working at the Center for BioBehavioral Research at Sanford Research.
Laura is a psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa. She oversaw implementation of the CPS model in her prior position at Shodair Children's Hospital, a residential and inpatient facility for children and adolescents in Helena, Montana.
Christina has her Master's in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University and has served as a leader in higher education. She is on the steering committee for the Beachwood Neurodiversity Family Network and advocates for education reform at the local, state and national levels. Christina has two children, one of whom she homeschools.
Michael is a principal at Bracebridge Capital, a fixed income hedge fund based in Boston. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D., both in Economics, from Harvard University. Michael sits on the board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
LIVES IN THE BALANCE ADVISORY GROUP
A grandson of Harold Alfond, Justin is an entrepreneur and former member of the Maine State Senate where he served four terms. Justin currently serves as a director of Dexter Enterprises LLC, a director of the Bill and Joan Alfond Family Foundation, and as secretary and treasurer of Full Plates, Full Potential, a non-profit he co-founded in 2014 to end childhood hunger in Maine. Previously, Justin served four years as director of the Maine Chapter of the League of Young Voters, which he founded in 2006. He has also served on the boards of Avesta Housing, Opportunity Maine, Kennebec Valley Community College, the New England Board of Higher Education, and the New England Secondary School Consortium.
Joel has served as a Co-Founder and Managing Director at General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm. He serves on the Board of Directors of several private companies, including Zego Inc., Multiverse Group Ltd, SESAME, Inc., Warby Parker, and Empathy.co. He also serves on the boards of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, and the NYU Stern Tech MBA Advisory Board.
Stephanie J. Mills, J.D. is an attorney and the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for InterMed, where she leads the organization’s legal, compliance and contracting strategies. In her role, she has overseen corporate governance, complex contracting, employment matters, and enterprise-wide compliance initiatives, serving as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Board. At the conclusion of 2025, Stephanie will conclude her tenure with InterMed and resume her work as a civil litigation attorney representing individuals, drawing on two decades of experience in trial advocacy, negotiation, and client-centered representation.
Michael is a Director, Portfolio at Cambridge Associates, and former partner at Bracebridge Capital, a fixed income hedge fund based in Boston. Michael is a graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. in Economics. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D., both in Economics, from Harvard University. He is also a member of the Lives in the Balance Board of Directors.
A retired business executive, Tom Saliba was trained as an energy economist, having graduated from Colby College and earning a Master’s Degree from Columbia University. He has served on or chaired numerous civic and charitable boards including Freeport Speech, Maine Medical Center, Maine College of Art, Colby College Museum of Art, The Cy Twombly Foundation, and The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Freeport.
Coco is a speaker, parent educator, bilingual ADHD Coach, the founder of Heart 4 Kids Coaching, LLC, and certified provider in Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS). She and her husband created and endowed the Foster and Coco Stanback Postdoctoral Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology.
David is a serial technology entrepreneur. David has founded, co-founded, led and worked for ten start-ups. In 2015, he launched Forager (goforager.com) to accelerate the growth of the local food movement and make fresh, healthy, and local food more widely available for everyone. Before Forager, David co-founded CashStar, a digital gifting company that catalyzed the shift from plastic to digital gift cards and drove more than $2 billion. David has been recognized as The Maine Business Person of The Year (2012), Mass High Tech All-Star and Tech Luminary (2012), Winsight Grocery Champion of Change (2020), and The Prepaid Payments Executive of the Year (2011).
HIGHER ED ADVISORY BOARD
Lives in the Balance takes pride in basing its efforts on the latest science and on models of care that are empirically supported. Our Scientific Advisory Committee helps us stay on track and guides our research.
Bryan taught in K-12 schools in NH for more than a decade and has spent more than 20 years working with schools, families, and students that have been disadvantaged by, and disillusioned with, traditional methods of education. Following his doctoral studies at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Bryan has been working in teacher preparation and is currently Teaching Faculty at Plymouth State University’s Elementary Education and Youth Development program. He also works closely with partner schools, helping them adopt more equitable and inclusive practices (including CPS).
Jennifer Engelland-Schultz, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in School Psychology at National Louis University in Wheeling, IL. Jennifer is passionate about providing effective social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health services to students and families within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), advocating for racial and social justice, promoting equity in the schools, and creating family-school-community partnerships. Jennifer is committed to creating safe, supportive, and culturally responsive learning environments that meet the needs of all students and families.
Elaine Fournier is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University in Ontario Canada. She has been an educator for more than 30 years and is as passionate today about inclusive education as she was when she stepped through the doors of her first classroom.
Meagan graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing followed by Peace Corps service teaching English in the Republic of Uzbekistan. She subsequently earned a Master of Public Administration degree in Public and Nonprofit Management from New York University. Meagan’s professional experience in higher education spans nine years and includes Middlesex Community College Foundation in Bedford, MA, Lone Star College Foundation in the Woodlands, TX, and Lone Star College-Kingwood in Houston, TX. She is an Army veteran and parent of a challenging child.
Dan is an Associate Professor in the Education Specialist (EdS) School Psychology graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse since 2014, Dan Hyson previously served as a practicing school psychologist and data coach in the Minnesota K-12 schools for 13 years. He is a Lives in the Balance Certified Provider of Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) and has used the model in his direct service work with K-12 students, facilitated book studies with and presented workshops to K-12 educators, and taught his graduate students about and coached them in using the model in their field experiences as part of their training to be school psychologists.
ACCESSIBILITY
At Lives in the Balance, we are dedicated to ensuring that our website is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. We believe that every individual should have equal access to information and services, and we are committed to making our online content user-friendly and accessible for all. To enhance the accessibility of our website, we have partnered with AccessiBe, an industry-leading web accessibility solution provider. AccessiBe helps us to continuously improve the accessibility of our website through advanced technology and tools. AccessiBe provides a range of features to support users with various disabilities, including:
- Screen Reader Adjustments: Our website is compatible with screen readers, enabling visually impaired users to navigate and interact with our content.
– Keyboard Navigation: Users can navigate our website using keyboard shortcuts, making it easier for those with motor impairments to access information.
– Color and Contrast Adjustments: The website offers options to adjust color schemes and contrast levels, ensuring that users with visual impairments can read content comfortably.
– Text Size and Spacing Adjustments: Users can adjust text size and spacing to improve readability according to their preferences.
– Content Scaling: Our website allows for content scaling to ensure that users can view information at a size that suits them best.
To access the accessibility tools provided by AccessiBe, click on the accessibility icon located at the bottom corner of the page. This will open the accessibility menu where you can customize your browsing experience to suit your needs. We continuously strive to improve our website’s accessibility and welcome feedback from our users. If you encounter any issues or have suggestions on how we can enhance your experience, please do not hesitate to contact us.
