Dr. Tiffany Gholson, LCSW

Dr. Tiffany Gholson, LCSW has been an advocate of disadvantaged youth her entire personal and professional life. She has almost twenty five years' experience in the PreK - 12 educational system as a trained and licensed clinical social worker. Her focus has centered on trauma, community violence, social justice, and advocacy issues. As a former school social worker and mental health professional, she has experience with adolescents, homeless students, teen parents, athletes, and special education.

She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and she sits on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of School Social Workers (IASSW) and a member of the Regional Auxiliary Board of Directors for United Way of St. Louis. She has most recently contributed a textbook chapter on Home Visits with Families in the 3rd Edition of the The School Services Sourcebook. She is an Adjunct Professor at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Dr. Gholson holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Masters in Social Work, a Masters in Education Administration, and a PhD in Educational Policy Studies all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has a Type 73 (IL certification for school support personnel) and Type 75 (IL school administrative endorsement). She most recently was the Associate Deputy Director for Education for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and is currently the Director of Parent and Student Support Services for East St. Louis School District as well as the Director of the Wraparound Wellness Program.

Consultants

Forrest Moore, PhD currently serves as a Senior Strategy Consultant to the Gholson Consulting Group. In this capacity, Dr. Moore leads the solution, architecture, research, and evaluation efforts of all major client engagements. Dr. Moore has held a distinguished career in education and community development. Previously, Dr. Moore served as Deputy Chief of Research of Evaluation and Accountability for Chicago Public Schools were he developed and managed the department’s research agenda. Additionally, he served as the Executive Vice President of Knowledge Management & Community Engagement for America’s Promise Alliance where he led the organization’s efforts to engage business and community leaders to support the Alliance’s Grad Nation Campaign including Grad Nation Communities and 100 Best Communities for young people. Dr. Moore Received his B.S. in Organizational Leadership from Purdue University, an M.B.A. from Illinois State University, and his Ph.D. in Research Methodology from Loyola University in Chicago.

Jason Adkins, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and runs The Edge-a sports counseling practice in Atlanta, Georgia. He also serves as the Lead Consultant for sports therapy work with Gholson Consulting Group. Jason grew up in Chicago but earned his B.A. in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University in 1998. He then spent time traveling throughout Europe playing professional basketball. Jason returned to earn his Masters of Social Work from the Whitney M. Young School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University in 2005 and completed his licensure in 2006 and again in 2012. Jason practices as a psychotherapist and sports therapist to assist clients in reaching their full potential. He lives in Miltion, Georgia and is the proud father of three awesome sons.