The TBRI® Podcast | Season 3, Episode 1

Today we’re kicking off season three  with Anjali Van Drie and David Brown from Family Initiative, a nonprofit organization in South Florida providing clinical and support services for at-risk children and children on the Autism Spectrum. David and Anjalie are the co-founders and and President and Vice President (respectively) of Family Initiative where they work closely with individuals with autism, at-risk children, foster families, community stakeholders, provider agencies, and local and state government to develop and grow support and clinical programs for the community. 

Our host Sarah Mercado sat down with Anjalie and David to talk about how TBRI can be used with autistic children. If you’ve ever wondered if TBRI can or should be used with the autistic community, this episode is for you. 

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Show Notes

Linked References from this episode:

• Family Initiative
• Citrus family care network 
• Safe Children’s Coalition
• TBRI® Connecting Principles, Season 1 Episode 3 of the TBRI® Podcast
• TBRI® Empowering Principles, Season 1, Episode 4 of the TBRI® Podcast

About our guests:

David Brown, MSW is the co-founder and President of Family Initiative, Inc., a nonprofit organization in South Florida providing clinical and support services for at risk children and children on the Autism Spectrum. David works closely with individuals with autism, at risk children, foster families, community stakeholders, provider agencies, and local and state government to develop and grow support and clinical programs for the community.  Mr. Brown also served as the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) Program Coordinator for the Youth Law Center. Mr. Brown has over two decades working in the field of child welfare, in foster care licensing, child protective investigations, and training. He has served in leadership roles and continues to advocate tirelessly for families.

Anjali Van Drie, MA, MSW, BCBA is the co-founder and Vice President of Family Initiative, Inc., a nonprofit organization in South Florida providing clinical and support services for at risk children and children on the Autism Spectrum. Ms. Van Drie has worked in the field of child welfare for over a decade, collaboratively with community based care agencies, and with thousands of families across Florida. She has been a Nationally Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2008 and recently became a TBRI Practitioner. Ms. Van Drie was the recipient of the 2018 Florida Association of Behavior Analysis Charles Kimber Public Service Award for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis in the Community. Ms. Van Drie enjoys regularly conducting interactive trainings for professionals and families and has presented at numerous state and national conferences.

About our host:

Sarah Mercado is a Training Specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KPICD). As training specialist, Sarah’s main focus is instructing professionals working with children who have experienced trauma, in Trust-Based Relational Intervention^® (TBRI^®). TBRI^®, a holistic, attachment-based, and trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children, offers practical tools for caregivers to help those in their care reach their highest potential.

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She began her career as a direct care staff working with adolescent boys living in a Residential Treatment Center (RTC). After serving in the RTC for several years, she shifted her focus to foster care, where she was Regional Director for a foster and adoption agency.

Sarah spent 20 years serving youth and families within residential and foster care settings as a direct-care worker and trainer before beginning her work with the Purvis Institute in May 2016. Sarah lives near Austin, TX with her husband, AJ, and their two children.