Members of our training staff include:

• Arlene Istar Lev, CSW-R, CASAC, an educator, activist, published author and family therapist specializing in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families was the founding director of RAI. She is also the founder and director of Choices Counseling and Consulting, and on the adjunct faculties of SUNY Albany, School of Social Welfare, and Vermont College of The Union Institute.

• Dr. Frank Carson, a training and development professional with extensive experience in managing training functions for human-service organizations. Formerly Assistant Vice-President for Academic Affairs at SUNY, New Paltz, Frank has provided leadership of HIV-related training programs for internal and external communities and created and delivered seminars on volunteer management, sexual diversity, and peer counseling.

• Joanne Trinkle, BSSW, MSW, a Senior Child Welfare Education Specialist with the Research Foundation at Rockefeller College, SUNY Albany and Co-chair of the board of the NY Capital Region chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. She has been Director of Transitional Programs for Youth for the Salvation Army and Program Director: of Barnabas House and Barnabas Apartments in Syracuse, NY. She has developed training curricula and delivered instructional programs in a variety of areas relating to foster care. She has also facilitated trainings on a variety of topics relevant to adolescent development and crisis management.

• Lisa Skill, BS, MS has thirteen years of professional experience with expertise in professional and community based education. " She has delivered Gay, Lesbian, Bisexaul and Transgender Sensitivity trainings to a variety of health and human service providers across NYS and developed and delivered training curriuculum on HIV/AIDS under contract for the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute. Her experience also includes program design, training, curriculum and materials development, planning, program management and evaluation. She has a Master of Science in Health Education.

• Darcy Rickard, BS is currently completing a Masters degree in Communication " She has assisted in the development, design, and delivery of top-rated, high-performance presentations and training sessions including Sexual Harassment Prevention, Interviewing Techniques, Competency-Based Performance Development, FOCAS Project Learning Workshops. Her dynamic communication programs include the 2005 Bring Your Child to Work Day Team, the IN FOCAS bi-monthly newsletter for the FOCAS Project, and communication efforts for a multitude of other projects.

• S. Sundance Lev holds a Bachelor Degree in Science and served as Training Coordinator for RAI and contributor to the RAI curriculum. Sundance has presented workshops for the Samaritans Suicide Prevention Center, Noah's Rainbow Consulting, the Mental Health Association of New York State, and Outright Vermont, Inc. and has presented at the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association's Annual Conference, the NYSOMH Trauma Connections Conference, the American Boyz True Spirit Conference, the Sidney Albert Institute, the Parsons Child and Family Center, and the Conference on the Advancement of Jewish Education. She co-authored Sexual Assault in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities, (in A Professionals Guide to Understanding Gay and Lesbian Domestic Violence (Edwin Mellon Press, 1999) and "Treating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault" (Forensics and Treatment of Victims of Sexual Assault; in press).