Heidi Birkner, MA, LCMHCS, LCAS
President

Heidi is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in North Carolina. Heidi is also a National Certified Counselor, Master Addictions Counselor, and Certified Brainspotting Practitioner & Consultant. Heidi owns a private practice in Greensboro, North Carolina where she provides psychotherapy, clinical supervision, and consultation services. She earned a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Appalachian State University in 1998 and has over twenty-five years of experience in clinical practice.

Heidi is passionate about helping others overcome obstacles to gain self-awareness in order to thrive and engage fully in their lives. In addition to supervising the professional development of clinicians, she specializes in working with adults in navigating challenges with mood disorders, trauma, life transitions, stress management, relationship issues, and addictions. 

Heidi is also a professional oboist and English horn player who enjoys helping performers reach optimal levels in their craft through performance expansion. Heidi has completed Brainspotting Phases 1, 2, 3, 4, Masterclass, Intensives, Brainspotting & Addictions, Digging Roots 1.0, Brainspotting & Parts, Harmonic Brain Healing and is a Certified Brainspotting Consultant. She is committed to continued learning and uses Brainspotting regularly in her practice. She is particularly drawn to the client centered approach and the deep level of healing she sees in the process. Heidi is committed to educating clinicians on this powerful brain-body based technique and helping to increase access to Brainspotting for clients.

To contact Heidi, visit heidibirkner.com

Jaclyn Tyson, LCSW
Vice President

Jaclyn (Jackie) Tyson is a LCSW in the state of North Carolina, and is a holistic healer.  She is the owner of Kaluluwa Counseling & Wellness Services, a private practice that specializes in trauma, working with marginalized people including people of color and the LBTQIA+ population. They also incorporate holistic healing and psychospirituality. 

Jackie has a background in public health and currently works in the community both in person and virtually to bring all forms of complementary healing such as Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, SoulCollage,® reiki, energy work, and ancestral healing to mainstream culture. 

She is a certified Brainspotting consultant and is trained in Brainspotting 1,2,4, Masterclass, Intersectionality and Social Justice, Brainspotting with Groups, Brainspotting with Reiki, and Connecting the Rainbow (perinatal/postpartum). 

To Contact Jackie visit: www.kaluluwacounseling.com or www.jaclyntyson.com

Cheryl Goldberg MA, LCHMCS, LCAS
Treasurer

Cheryl is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Supervisor and a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in North-Carolina. She has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Union Institute & University’s Vermont College program in Brattleboro, VT. After ten years in community mental health she transitioned to a private group practice at the Mood Treatment Center and is now their Associate Director of Therapy Services. Mood Treatment Center has offices in Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Greensboro, and Boone, NC and now has Brainspotting therapists in each location. Cheryl also serves on the board of Sid’s House, a mental health association in Stokes County, NC, founded after the devastating loss of Sid Lee who died by suicide in 2017. She provides clinical supervision to Associate-level therapists and graduate interns both as a part of her role at Mood Treatment Center and outside the practice. She is a certified Brainspotting therapist and consultant and specializes in treating trauma and anxiety related disorders in children, adolescents, and adults.

Lisa Peaty
Interim Secretary

Lisa Peaty is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Brainspotting Practitioner & Consultant in Winston Salem, North Carolina.  She is the owner of Peaty Counseling and Consulting, PLLC, where she provides psychotherapy, clinical supervision and consultative services as a part of her practice.  She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 and her varied practice experiences since that time inform her work as a clinician.  Her clinical work is focused on children, adults and families who have experienced loss, trauma, and transitions. She utilizes a blend of approaches including cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, directive and non-directive play therapy interventions and draws from attachment-based and neuroscience informed interventions in her work. other

Lisa has been practicing Brainspotting since 2018 and remains active in the Brainspotting community by seeking out consultation, both attending and assisting in trainings, and offering consultation to those practitioners seeking certification. 

To contact Lisa, visit https://www.peatycounseling.com/

DeShelle Burrowes
Board Member

DeShelle Burrowes is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Somatic Coach based in the Atlanta, GA area. She is a National Certified Counselor and holds licenses in both Georgia and Florida. As the owner and operator of The Pathway to Wellness, LLC, DeShelle specializes in supporting women as they navigate various life traumas and transitions, from motherhood to menopause and beyond. She earned her Master’s degree from Argosy University in Atlanta in 2017 and brings over 10 years of experience in helping women heal from trauma.

DeShelle is deeply passionate about somatic approaches to healing, including Brainspotting. As one of the first SEBI Minority Fellows, she has continued to support the program, advocating for Minority Fellows to develop the skills needed to serve their communities effectively. DeShelle also enjoys her role on the Board, where she contributes to advancing the program’s mission and impact.

To contact DeShelle, visit: https://www.thepathwaytowellness.net/

Marquita Heyward
Board Member

Marquita Heyward is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor based in South Carolina. She specializes in helping individuals manage symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner, Marquita is passionate about a collaborative process that empowers clients to access their innate ability to heal.

She participated in the Southeastern Brain Institute’s first cohort, which further deepened her passion for the brain-body approach to therapy. Marquita is honored to have the opportunity to serve on a board dedicated to advancing mental health access and promoting access to this approach for individuals who may not otherwise receive the care they need.

To contact Marquita, visit FirmFoundationsCounseling.com.

Shannon E. Smith, MA, LPC-S, LPC/MHSP, NCC (she/they)
Board Member

Shannon is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board Approved Supervisor in Louisiana, and a Licensed Professional Counselor/Mental Health Services Professional in Tennessee. She is also a National Certified Counselor. Shannon owns a private practice in Baton Rouge, LA and will be moving her practice to Chattanooga, TN in 2026.

Shannon’s approach to counseling is client-centered and trauma-informed, with an emphasis on affirming the individual’s personal identity, experiences, and sociocultural influences. She uses an integrated, somatic-focused approach to treating trauma. She employs empathy, compassion, and humor while still challenging clients to move through their healing even when it’s difficult and painful.

Before beginning her career in counseling, Shannon worked in the field of victim services for 15 years, serving as a professional victim advocate in five different states and speaking on a local and national level about the effects of sexual and intimate partner violence. She provides consultation, training, and support to victim advocacy agencies focused on the effects of vicarious trauma and on the prevention of burnout. She has provided expert witness testimony on victim behavior, sexual assault reporting procedures, and the effects of trauma.

Shannon was a member of the 3^rd SEBI Diversity Fellowship cohort, and she has been practicing Brainspotting since 2023. She is certified in Brainspotting and has completed Brainspotting Phases 1 & 2, Brainspotting with Relationships, and Harmonic Brain Healing. She is a volunteer coordinator for the Southeast US region for Brainspotting Help, a humanitarian project that provides free psychological support to those affected by war or disaster. She is passionate about increasing the reach of Brainspotting in the Southeast region and especially in bringing it to underserved populations.

To contact Shannon, visit shannonsmithcounseling.com

Emily Moïse-Fontenot, LPC-S
Advisory Board

Emily Moïse-Fontenot is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor. Emily was employed at Southeastern Louisiana University as a therapist and Assistant Director of the University Counseling Center for 9 years. She is currently the owner of Rewired, an agency specializing in trauma treatment and Brainspotting in Hammond, Louisiana. Emily has over a decade of supervision, consultation, and trauma-informed experience.

​Emily began her training in Brainspotting in 2016. She has completed Phases 1-4 multiple times, an intensive, parts, and Limbic Countertransference trainings. She is a certified Brainspotting Practitioner and Consultant. 

​Emily works from an integrative, brain-body approach. She has received extensive training in TF-CBT therapy, Trauma-Informed Mindfulness, DBT, EMDR, and art therapies. She enjoys working with complex trauma, personality adaptations, emotional dysregulation and dissociation from Psychodynamic and parts perspective. 

Emily is passionate about educating other therapists. She frequently guest lectures in graduate level classes, for local organizations, and the Louisiana Counseling Association state conference. She believes training other therapists in brain-body modalities and attunement is the most impactful way to bring healing to her community.

To contact Emily, visit rewiredcounseling.com

Cynthia Schwartzberg, LCSW
Founder, Advisory Board

Cynthia is a Certified Brainspotting Consultant/Trainer and Founder of the Southeast Brainspotting Institute.  She was President from 2016-2021. She presently sits on the Advisory Board.  Cynthia has been with Brainspotting since its inception and a member of a  monthly supervision group in NYC with David Grand since 2001. She brings her passion for Brainspotting to the larger professional community training, lecturing and consulting.  Prior to Brainspotting, Cynthia was trained in EMDR and other mind/body modalities including being on faculty with the Institute of Core Energetics teaching and presenting nationally and internationally.

Cynthia presently has a private practice in Atlanta, GA. for individuals (older teens and older), couples and groups . In addition, Cynthia works telehealth for those in Georgia, New York and Florida. Cynthia brings over 30 years of experience supporting people move from trauma/internal and external conflict/pain to empowerment.  She also works with sports and performance enhancement. 

To contact Cynthia. visit cynthasis.com