Team

Our team at the Center includes full-time and part-time staff as well as members of our programs who provide direction and leadership for our work.

Sandra Bloom

Sandra L. Bloom, M.D. serves as Principle Investigator for the Center for Hunger-Free Communities and Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health, where she teaches courses focused on the impact of psychological trauma on individuals and organizations. She is a board-certified psychiatrist, graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and served as founder and executive director of the Sanctuary programs from 1980-2001. She is recognized nationally and internationally as the founder of the Sanctuary Model. In 2020, she extend her work to include an online delivery program called Creating Presence. She also developed S.E.L.F.: A Trauma-Informed Psychoeducational Group Curriculum that is used in the Building Wealth and Health Network program. She is founder and immediate past-president of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice whose goal is to advocate for public policies and programs at the federal, state, local and tribal levels that incorporate up-to-date scientific findings regarding the relationship between trauma across the lifespan and many social and health problems.

Leona Brown

Leona Brown works with the Building Wealth and Health Network as a Program Facilitator, with leadership in the Network's post-class engagement efforts through Network Nation. She has over 15 years of work experience in retail and held roles as a store manager and merchandiser and has also worked as an administrative assistant. She is certified in FIVE9 and Help Desk and has completed four years of parenting courses. She also held the role of secretary on the Policy Council of Ecelero Learning. In her free time, Leona loves spending time with her four children, taking walks alone, and having heart to heart conversations as well as singing, dancing, reading and doing crafts with resin. She is a proud member of the Network and Network Nation.

Sherita Mouzon

Sherita Mouzon was a founding member of Witnesses to Hunger in Philadelphia who now serves the Center as a community engagement assistant. Her primary work focuses on trauma, addiction and motivational speaking. Her commitment to bettering trauma-informed care extends into her professional career with past roles in human services at the Salvation Army and St. Christopher's. Her writing and activism have been featured in TalkPoverty, DrexelNow, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.

Natalie Shaak

Natalie Shaak, MS, joined the Center in 2019 as Operations Manager and now serves as Associate Director of Communications and Administration. She oversees the Center’s website, social media, and financial accounts while supporting strategic planning, grant writing, and overall operations. She holds bachelor's degrees in English from Millersville University and Culinary Arts and Science from Drexel University, along with master's degrees in Educational Psychology/Counseling from West Chester University and Publication Management from Drexel. Her experience spans the restaurant industry and higher education, including roles in communications and student engagement at Drexel Student Life, the LeBow College of Business, and fraternity and sorority communities at Drexel, West Chester, and Washington State Universities. Natalie serves as a member of the Dornsife School Council, the Drexel Alumni Board of Governors, and Delta Zeta’s national New Member Education Committee as well as chair of the Dornsife Staff Coordinating Committee She is also a Philadelphia Block Captain and regularly participates in community clean ups. She enjoys gardening, collecting cookbooks, and reading. Passionate about historic preservation, restaurant worker rights, parenting, and food waste reduction, she prioritizes advocacy both in her work at the Center and beyond.

	Sandra Bloom Sandra L. Bloom, M.D. serves as Principle Investigator for the Center for Hunger-Free Communities and Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health, where she teaches courses focused on the impact of psychological trauma on individuals and organizations. She is a board-certified psychiatrist, graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and served as founder and executive director of the Sanctuary programs from 1980-2001. She is recognized nationally and internationally as the founder of the Sanctuary Model. In 2020, she extend her work to include an online delivery program called Creating Presence. She also developed S.E.L.F.: A Trauma-Informed Psychoeducational Group Curriculum that is used in the Building Wealth and Health Network program. She is founder and immediate past-president of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice whose goal is to advocate for public policies and programs at the federal, state, local and tribal levels that incorporate up-to-date scientific findings regarding the relationship between trauma across the lifespan and many social and health problems.
	Leona Brown Leona Brown works with the Building Wealth and Health Network as a Program Facilitator, with leadership in the Network's post-class engagement efforts through Network Nation. She has over 15 years of work experience in retail and held roles as a store manager and merchandiser and has also worked as an administrative assistant. She is certified in FIVE9 and Help Desk and has completed four years of parenting courses. She also held the role of secretary on the Policy Council of Ecelero Learning. In her free time, Leona loves spending time with her four children, taking walks alone, and having heart to heart conversations as well as singing, dancing, reading and doing crafts with resin. She is a proud member of the Network and Network Nation.
	Sherita Mouzon Sherita Mouzon was a founding member of Witnesses to Hunger in Philadelphia who now serves the Center as a community engagement assistant. Her primary work focuses on trauma, addiction and motivational speaking. Her commitment to bettering trauma-informed care extends into her professional career with past roles in human services at the Salvation Army and St. Christopher's. Her writing and activism have been featured in TalkPoverty, DrexelNow, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.
	Natalie Shaak Natalie Shaak, MS, joined the Center in 2019 as Operations Manager and now serves as Associate Director of Communications and Administration. She oversees the Center’s website, social media, and financial accounts while supporting strategic planning, grant writing, and overall operations. She holds bachelor's degrees in English from Millersville University and Culinary Arts and Science from Drexel University, along with master's degrees in Educational Psychology/Counseling from West Chester University and Publication Management from Drexel. Her experience spans the restaurant industry and higher education, including roles in communications and student engagement at Drexel Student Life, the LeBow College of Business, and fraternity and sorority communities at Drexel, West Chester, and Washington State Universities. Natalie serves as a member of the Dornsife School Council, the Drexel Alumni Board of Governors, and Delta Zeta’s national New Member Education Committee as well as chair of the Dornsife Staff Coordinating Committee She is also a Philadelphia Block Captain and regularly participates in community clean ups. She enjoys gardening, collecting cookbooks, and reading. Passionate about historic preservation, restaurant worker rights, parenting, and food waste reduction, she prioritizes advocacy both in her work at the Center and beyond.