The Interfaith Center of New York, the Fordham University Graduate School of
Social Service, and our partners, invite all mental health professionals to attend a symposium

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Interfaith Perspectives on Communal Trauma and Healing:
Religious Leaders and Mental Health Professionals
Explore the Emotional Life of the City at the 10th Anniversary of 9/11

Mary Ragan

Mary Ragan received her M.A., M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University, her MSW from Yeshiva University, and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from North Central University.  In the past, she has been an adjunct professor at Fordham University and General Theological Seminary; she is currently adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University School of Social Work and part-time faculty at Hebrew Union College.  She serves as the area director at Trinity Church Counseling Center of PSI, where she has practiced as a clinical social worker and supervisor for many years.

In addition to her primary work as a clinician, Mary Ragan functions as a consultant to a variety of religious and secular groups. She has worked for many years for the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers and Maryknoll Lay Missioners, dealing with issues related to cross-cultural adjustment and personnel issues. That consulting work has given her the opportunity to work with missioners in Bolivia, Guatemala and Venezuela. She is also currently a consultant to hospital management groups and a hospice staff.

Her doctoral dissertation, “A Case Study of Traumatic Grief: Diagnostic Criteria and Clinical Interventions,” examined the specific contours of traumatic grief, its differences from general bereavement, and the clinical interventions that proved most effective. She has done trauma work with first-responders and family members of 9/11 and volunteered in New Orleans and Lake Charles after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

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Rabbi Simkha Weintraub

Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, serves as rabbinic director of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS), where his major responsibilities involve the New York Jewish Healing Center and the National Center for Jewish Healing (NCJH). He offers spiritual counseling and leads spiritual support groups for Jews confronting illness, trauma, and loss, and training seminars for rabbis and health care professionals.

Rabbi Weintraub has written and lectured widely on the use of traditional texts and practices for Jewish spiritual healing. He edited NCJH's first book, Healing of Soul, Healing of Body (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994), and Guide Me Along the Way: A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Surgery (JBFCS/NCJH, 2002), and contributes regularly to the NCJH's journal, The Outstretched Arm, and many other books and periodicals.  He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Pastoral Skills at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he teaches courses in Jewish Spiritual Care and Behavioral Health.

Ordained by JTS, Rabbi Weintraub holds a master's degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University (1983), and graduated from the Couples and Family Therapy Program of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York (1988). He maintains a private practice in couples and family therapy in New York, working with clients who are confronting a wide range of issues, including chronic illness, infertility, trauma, and bereavement.

Ali Gheith

Professor Ali Gheith joined Project Liberty immediately following the disastrous events of 9/11, where he outreached to union workers at ground zero, addressed the special needs of vulnerable population, and trained counselors on methods of providing culturally appropriate disaster mental health services to the diverse NYC communities. He conducted the first known research on NYC Muslim mental health needs and the role of the imams into the day-to-day lives of the American-Muslim communities. He's an expert on international affairs, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. In early 2003, Mr. Gheith joined the NYC DOHMH as a coordinator of Population Based Resilience. Professor Gheith responded to every major crisis since 9/11. Recently, he was assigned as regional coordinator for a citywide H1N1 vaccine campaign effort to inoculate New Yorkers. He is the author or co-author of journal articles and abstracts. He is an extremely active figure in a number of professional organizations, and a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable in our communities. Professor Gheith is the recipient of the NYC distinguished Service Award for his work with community and faith leaders across New York City.


Rev. Alfonso Wyatt  (moderator and discussant)

Rev. Alfonso Wyatt is Vice President of the Fund for the City of New York, and Project Director of the Jericho Faith-Based Technical Assistance Project. He has worked with three generations of young people as an educator, counselor, program developer, administrator, mentor and advocate. He has created innovative programs that respond to the needs of young people in foster care, group homes, public schools, community-based organizations, detention facilities, and the broader faith community.

Rev. Wyatt, the son of two Baptist preachers, is an ordained minister on the staff of The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York. He attended Howard University, Columbia's Teacher's College, The Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy, Columbia's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management, and New York Theological Seminary. He has served as an advisor to government, foundations, religious institutions, universities, youth serving organizations, and non-profits from around the country.

Among many other publications, he is the author of an essay reflecting on communal healing after 9/11 in the 2009 edited collection Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience: Integrating Care in Disaster Relief Work.

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