CRESTNY Staff

Bio: Dr. Nadia Naomi Mbonde is an Implementation Specialist at CRESTNY, a medical anthropologist, mental health doula, and multimedia artist whose research centers Black reproductive mental health across the full reproductive lifespan—from menarche to menopause. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from New York University, where she developed the concept of latency—how distress accumulates long before it's recognized as a crisis. She brings crisis response training skills from a range of settings, with expertise in perinatal mental health grounded in her training as a birth and postpartum doula, and peer support specialist for expecting and new mothers and families. She grew up globally, between East and Southern Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe, and is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Bio: Rachel Rosenberg, LMSW/MPH, is an Implementation Specialist with Crisis Response Engagement and Skills Training NY (CRESTNY). She has a background in global public health, clinical social work practice, trauma-informed care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and managing outpatient mental health provider teams. Rachel has experience with direct service work and crisis management, previously working with populations experiencing mental health crises, frequent hospitalizations, chronic homelessness, and incarceration. Rachel has also honed her therapeutic practice while working with the asylum seeker community in the NYC area, granting her the opportunity to engage with multidisciplinary trauma work along a continuum of care. As an Implementation Specialist with CRESTNY, Rachel is excited to use her experience as a mental health provider and educational background in social work and public health to co-create and deliver crisis response trainings across New York State. She is enthusiastic about applying her expertise in crisis management to develop engaging and accessible learning that prioritizes persons with lived experience, mental health inequities, and systems collaboration.

Bio: Zoe Powell is an Administrative Coordinator with Crisis Response Engagement and Skills Training NY (CRESTNY). She brings more than eight years of experience in project management, operations, UX design, and creative strategy, with a background in coordinating cross-functional teams, managing complex projects, and developing effective systems and processes. As an Administrative Coordinator with CRESTNY, Zoe is excited to apply her organizational and project management experience to support the Institute’s training, implementation, and operational efforts. She is passionate about fostering collaboration and creating thoughtful systems that support CRESTNY’s mission to strengthen crisis response services and workforce development across New York State.