Management Team

Stephanie has a BSW degree in social work and has extensive experience working with all ages and in a variety of settings. Stephanie joined the Turning Point team as a case manager before moving into her current role. She believes strongly in client centered care and deeply appreciates the opportunity to work with and support the Turning Point client community.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Kelly Fritz, groups coordinator, works with children, adolescents, and adults. She received a master’s degree in counseling from Northwestern University. In her coursework, she specialized in children and adolescents. Kelly uses an integrative approach that emphasizes psychodynamic and person-centered principles. Her clinical interests include depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, and relational issues.

Jessica Hernandez is a licensed clinical professional counselor and a first generation, bilingual Latina from Chicago. She received her master of arts in community counseling from Argosy University of Chicago. Jessica demonstrates 10+ years of experience in providing individual, family, and group therapy in a variety of settings such as community mental health centers, medical clinics, and inpatient hospitals. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families to address concerns related to depression, anxiety, crisis, self-esteem, grief, trauma, adjustment disorder, behavioral problems, relationship difficulties and life transitions.

Melissa Iavarone is our open access coordinator and preceptor. As open access coordinator, Missy is responsible for the overall coordination of the referral and admissions process. Missy’s role as preceptor involves welcoming new therapists and facilitating their learning in regard to meeting clinical objectives. Missy received her BA in psychology and went on to earn her master of social work degree while working as a case manager at Turning Point. Missy believes in meeting clients where they are with compassion, empathy, and communication.

Alexis King, residential and ARCHES program coordinator,  completed her bachelor’s degree in family and child studies with an emphasis in family social services from Northern Illinois University. Alexis has experience working as a case manager and working with clients in residential programs to promote their independence. She is passionate and dedicated to the field of social services and mental health.

Kelly O’Meara, an outpatient coordinator, is a licensed clinical social worker who is passionate about providing a space for people where they can be seen, heard, and supported. Kelly graduated with a master’s in social work from University of Illinois Chicago specializing in mental health. She has experience working with adolescents, families, and adults addressing concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, and life transitions. Kelly’s therapeutic approach is integrative, person-centered, strengths-based, and psychodynamic and utilizes skills from DBT and CBT modalities. Kelly strives to individualize each therapeutic relationship and center each client’s needs.

Melissa Ortega is a dedicated mental health professional with over 10 years of experience in the field. She earned her Master’s degree in Community Counseling from Argosy University-Schaumburg in 2014, following her deep interest in psychology during her undergraduate studies at Loyola University. Throughout her career, Melissa has worked extensively with survivors of domestic violence, supported transitional living programs, and supervised a team of therapists while maintaining a personal counseling caseload. Her expertise and passion for helping others drive her commitment to empowering individuals and fostering meaningful change in their lives.

As Director of Stakeholder Experience, Ronit Peikes leads Turning Point’s administrative efforts to attend to client, staff, and community concerns. In her clinical work, Ronit works with adult clients and also provides clinical supervision to pre-licensed clinicians. Her areas of interest and expertise include working with individuals with depression, bipolar disorder, women’s issues, and anxiety.

Julie Rooney, director of clinical services, is a licensed clinical professional counselor with over 20 years of experience treating couples, families, and individuals. She is trained as a marriage and family therapist by Arizona State University, which provided her with a systemic and integrative approach to psychotherapy. Since 2015, Julie has worked in management roles at Turning Point and was the groups program coordinator from 2017 to 2021. In addition to her clinical and management roles, she has provided clinical supervision to interns as well as clinical staff and is passionate about providing the highest quality supervision to her supervisees. In her clinical work, Julie utilizes a strengths-based, client-centered approach to support her clients in achieving their individual goals, fueled by a belief that we all possess the ability to change our stories and live the lives we desire. Julie’s clinical interests include women’s issues, parenting, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, trauma recovery, and couples and family therapy. ​

Jennifer Sultz has over 25 years of experience working with Chicago nonprofit organizations in executive leadership positions involving administration, fundraising, marketing, and event coordination. Her responsibilities include oversight of Turning Point’s development efforts including marketing and community outreach and all aspects of fundraising including grant writing. Jen currently serves as service projects chair and immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Skokie Valley. She has a strong background in the visual and performing arts and serves as an alumni volunteer for Grinnell College.

Rayna Trayanova, business manager, manages the support staff and works with all clinical staff. She also manages facilities needs and has been the primary contact for multiple large-scale construction projects on-site. She is fluent in Bulgarian and has some knowledge of Russian and Serbian.

Simone Wilson is a highly accomplished professional with a master’s degree in social work and LSW certification from Governors State University. Possessing over two decades of experience, Simone is an expert in child welfare, substance abuse care, therapeutic treatment for individuals with mental disabilities, and trauma-related disorders. With certifications in CADC, CODP1, and NCRS, Simone excels in providing necessary assistance and support to clients facing societal disparities, empowering them to achieve mental wellness. Simone works toward simplifying trauma-related events for facilitators, educators, and individuals experiencing secondary traumatic stress symptoms and supports the staff who help individuals in crisis focus on reducing emotional and physical trauma responses.