Meet the experts

Dr. Michelle Gricus is a licensed clinical social worker. She completed her Bachelor of Social Work at the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota, her Master of Social Work at the University of Houston in Texas, and she earned a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) at St. Catherine University/University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Dr. Gricus is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, where she teaches courses across the social work curriculum. In addition, she has taught and trained new and experienced human service providers and is passionate about preparing professionals to provide ethical, person-centered, and culturally sensitive practices. Dr. Gricus’ research interests center around professional behavior, practice violations, and professional regulation. 

Dr. Ryan Kirk is a Licensed Psychologist and Director of Psychological Services for Meridian Health Services, working remotely from Denver, Colorado. 

He has conducted trainings around continuous process improvement models targeting rapid improvement projects and whole-organization culture shifts. He has a background in specialized clinical interventions such as psychological and neuropsychological assessment, pediatric and family medicine, and a biofeedback certification for pain management. In his current role, Dr. Kirk oversees quality assurance for documentation and evidence-based clinical practices and drives integrated care initiatives to better serve vulnerable populations. His efforts center on developing real-time behavioral health consultation programs within primary care and addressing physical health needs during behavioral health visits.

Dr. Kirk holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Adler University and a Master’s in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. An avid cyclist, snowboarder and guitarist, he brings a well-rounded perspective to his mental health leadership roles.

Patty Velasco has served the community as a marriage and family therapist for over 25 years, providing support to children and families from all walks of life. She has conducted many support groups including adolescent, marriage, domestic violence, and sexual offenders' groups. In addition, Patty has trained parents and interns, implementing the Protective Factors, to know how to build strong and healthy families.

She received BAs in Psychology and Chicano Studies from California State University Northridge. While attending Fuller Theological Seminary, she earned an MS in Family Therapy as well as an MA in Theology. Patty and her husband of 23 years have been pastors in the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valley for as long as they have been married. They have three teenage children and one dog.