Walden Community Services

As a teacher of the Deaf in the beginning of Elisa's career, she came to realize students and children are not going to effectively learn if their emotional and mental health needs were not being met which prompted her to leave the education field as an English teacher and return to graduate school for a MA in counseling. In graduate school, Elisa learned trauma-informed care, family systems, and how to use different skills to really help empower children and families to make the changes they want to make rather than be told. 

Elisa found an internship at Walden Community Services (WCS) in 2015 and fell in love with the organization and with New England. She has been with WCS since 2016 starting out as an Intensive Care Coordinator and In-home Therapist, before becoming the Clinical Director and then the Director of Walden Community Services. Through WCS, Elisa has come to embrace the concept of community work and truly tries to amplify community as a way to work with families and children.

Elisa holds Massachusetts and Maryland licensure as a Mental Health Therapist. She has provided numerous trainings in trauma-informed care for clinical professionals. She is also a Board Member of Our Deaf Survivor Center (ODSC) and board member of Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf.

With a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, LeAnha has a strong passion in making connections within the community and sharing transparent information with family about services at Walden Community Services (WCS).

With a strong educational background, LeAnha is familiar with clinical assessments, and making connections with the community about mental health. Her previous background in Human Resources has helped expand her skillset in engagement and interviewing. 

When she is not supporting children and families across the state, and managing referrals to WCS, LeAnha enjoys enjoys coaching  Track and Field, spending quality time with her family and dog, and listening to music.