Prosperity’s highly trained eating disorder specialists will give you expert and compassionate treatment for your journey to a full recovery.
Location
Staff – Charlottesville
Erin Bulinski, LCSW
Clinical Director, Individual and Family Therapist
After completing her undergraduate degree at William & Mary, Erin was excited to return to her home state of Maryland, where she earned her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland. She never expected to be pulled back to Virginia by an offer to join the Prosperity team.
Erin has been with Prosperity since 2017, working as a primary therapist before transitioning into the Clinical Director role. Erin is passionate about helping clients find freedom from their eating disorders and body image distortion. One of Erin’s greatest strengths is her ability to quickly develop a trusting relationship and connect with clients and their families. She matches her direct, goal-oriented nature with great compassion and empathy. Erin uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients develop a greater understanding of how their thoughts affect their eating disorder behaviors. Erin also utilizes tenants of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, tailoring treatment to each individual client as needed. Erin was named “Best Mental Health Professional” by Cville Magazine in 2019. Erin is a fluent Spanish-speaker, and prior to coming to Prosperity, her practice focused on mental health concerns within immigrant and refugee populations.
Erin is an unapologetically obsessed dog-mom to a spastic but loving husky, Luna, and became a human-mom to her redheaded Energizer-Bunny toddler, Zane, in 2020. In her free time, Erin loves reading, hiking, wine tasting, playing with Luna and Zane…and trying to convince her husband to get another puppy!
Jaclyn Powell, RDN
Nutrition Director
Jaclyn is especially passionate about working with clients who want to take their lives back from their eating disorder and develop a healthier relationship with food. She specializes in using a holistic approach to wellness and addresses client’s struggles from all angles. Using a HAES approach, she specializes in intuitive eating, joyful movement, and mindfulness. Jaclyn has degrees in Culinary Arts and Culinary Nutrition from Johnson and Wales University as well as a Masters in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Washington State University. In addition to being a Registered Dietitian, she is a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. Jaclyn has experience working with all levels of care at some of the leading recovery centers throughout the nation throughout her career and is thrilled to find a home at Prosperity.
Michelle Schwake
Chief Human Recourse Officer
Michelle joined Prosperity in 2017 as the Office Manager, and as the company grew, so did her responsibilities. Michelle enjoys doing a little bit of everything, from administration and HR to billing to IT to managing facility maintenance, and she loves that she plays a critical role in keeping things running smoothly. Michelle grew up in the Midwest. Her and her husband Jodi and two children, Ceara and Silas, enjoyed raising goats, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and cows on their organic farm in Iowa for many years. In 2015, they visited Virginia on vacation and fell in love with the mountains and beaches. Tired of the cold midwestern winters, they decided they were ready for adventure, and packed up and moved across the country. Michelle is a huge animal lover, and her family currently shares their home with two Siberian Huskies, Vixen and Leo, and one very mean, old Maine Coon cat named Claude. She enjoys staying active by exploring Virginia’s many trails and parks with the dogs as well as biking and skating. Her hobbies include gardening, reading, drawing and decorating. One of her favorite tasks at work is helping to design, decorate and shop for furniture for Prosperity’s beautiful, home-like offices. Making clients feel welcome and comfortable is a priority.
Kendall Holloway, M.S.Ed, QMHP-A
Program Director, Resident in Counseling
Kendall is a Resident in Counseling who provides individual, group, and family therapy services for clients of Prosperity. She believes in meeting clients where they are at and helping them to balance and achieve a holistic health lifestyle. Kendall accomplishes this by helping clients identify healthy ways of coping, cultivating an identity outside of their eating disorder, and providing a strength-based approach to her counseling.
Kendall grew up in Charles City, VA, where being surrounded by her tribe, the Chickahominy Tribe, she saw first hand the effects of depression, addiction, and mental health struggles. This drove her passion for holistic health where she received her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from Virginia Tech and her Master of Science in Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Old Dominion University.
As a therapist, Kendall has past experience working with individuals who have had previous traumas including but not limited to: sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and other traumas. Her other experiences include working with individuals experiencing eating disorders, anxiety, depression, life transitions, grief/loss, substance use disorders, and other mental diagnoses. She strives to help clients gain insight, process their emotions and help the client improve their life by obtaining the goals set out by the client at the beginning of treatment. Kendall primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a part of her therapeutic modality, incorporating Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) as needed. She believes that recognizing how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect and influence our lives can be a powerful insight into improving different life-stressors. She finds counseling to be the most successful when the client’s voice is heard, understood, and incorporated into the treatment goals and plans.
Outside of work Kendall enjoys spending time with her dog, Sadie, and her hamster Rosenesmee. She is an avid horror movie watcher, romance and fantasy book reader, foodie, and winery goer. Kendall’s life motto is, “It’s a great day to have a great day.”
Jennie Johnson
Program Coordinator
As Program Coordinator, Jennie is involved in both administrative aspects of Charlottesville’s programming, as well as direct client support. Jennie is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and leads mindful movement sessions with the clients, incorporating traditional aspects of yoga practice that have scientifically-proven therapeutic benefits.
Jennie graduated from North Dakota State University in 2014 after studying Hospitality and Tourism Management, as well as English. Before being hired on at Prosperity in November of 2020, she worked in a few different therapeutic environments as direct client support and in the food industry.
She lived in Charlottesville for one summer to spend time with her nephew, returned to North Dakota in the fall, and after experiencing one of the most brutally cold winters of her life, decided to make the full-time transition to the hot, humid mountains of Virginia in June 2019. Since she now also has a niece, Jennie has no regrets about moving, other than the plague of camel crickets that harassed her in her first apartment.
Jennie’s background in the business side of hospitality and her own experiences with trauma and therapy come together at Prosperity in a way she never anticipated, and she could not be more grateful to work in an environment that values mental health, wholeness, and community. Her passion is for the clients to get the support they need to heal and thrive, creating safety in their own bodies and confidence in themselves.
Eva Melendez, M.S.Ed, QMHP-A
Resident in Counseling
Eva Melendez is a Resident in Counseling, who provides individual and group therapy services for those in our Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient programs, as well as those at the outpatient level. Her licensing supervision is provided by Aimee Brickner, Ph.D., LPC.
She obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Old Dominion University, and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Childhood Studies from Christopher Newport University.
As a therapist, Eva strives to create a warm and safe environment in which individuals can feel respected, seen, heard, and supported in their journey. As such, she deeply believes and values working from a holistic perspective, in which she addresses physical, emotional, and social factors that contribute to an individual’s well-being. Her experience includes working with individuals who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, HIV-positive, trauma (i.e. sexual violence, intimate partner violence, grief/loss, crisis), those with depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, as well as, life transitions, self-esteem, stress, and school related issues. She aims to help individuals better understand themselves, bring to light recurring themes that can prevent individuals from achieving their goals, as well as, helping individuals discover their inherent strengths and potential to work through life problems.
“One of the most important qualities to develop in life is determination. At some point you just have to put your foot down and say, ‘I am going to move in this new direction and no person or situation is going to stop me.’ Great Transformations need a beginning.” – Yung Pueblo
Supervision by Aimee Brickner, Ph.D., LPC.
Elizabeth Girts, M.A.
Resident in Counseling
Elizabeth Girts is a Resident in Counseling, who provides individual and group therapy services for those in our Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient programs, as well as those at the outpatient level. Her licensing supervision is provided by Heidi Murphy, MA, LPC-S.
She graduated from Liberty University in 2020 with her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Elizabeth graduated from Regent University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Elizabeth has been with Prosperity since 2020. Prior to that, she spent time working in-home counseling, crisis stabilization, and outpatient therapy.
As a therapist Elizabeth thrives to create a safe and empowering environment where individuals feel confident to pursue their goals while feeling fully supported. She is passionate about therapy because she believes it provides people with the support, education, and empowerment often needed to create lasting change. She desires to help individuals find hope and courage in their journeys towards emotional and physical wholeness.
Hannah Noland, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Hannah Noland is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She completed her undergraduate work at The Ohio State University and went on to complete her dietetic internship at the University of Virginia. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as EDRD Pro. Hannah embraces working from a holistic perspective and enjoys helping people create a positive relationship with food. She is passionate about utilizing both intuitive eating and health at every size principles to help clients achieve recovery and improved wellness.
Emily Moorefield, RD
Registered Dietitian
Emily Moorefield is a registered dietitian working toward her certified eating disorder registered dietitian certification. Emily is a graduate from James Madison University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. She went on to complete her Dietitic internship at the University of Virginia Health Systems.
Prior to joining the team at Prosperity, Emily’s experience involved working in a pediatric clinical setting and with university athletes. She has found her passion working with eating disorder clients to rebuild trust with their body, let go of external food rules, and build a peaceful relationship with food. Her counseling techniques integrate evidenced based nutrition science and motivational interviewing to aid her clients in reaching their full potential. Emily has been known to take a therapeutic approach to nutrition and has the ability to connect with clients exceeding far beyond their eating disorder. Maslow said, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” Emily embraces these words as she encourages her clients to take a leap of faith, step forward into growth, and envision what life can look like beyond their eating disorder.
In her spare time, you will likely find Emily exploring national parks with her 4 legged best friend. She loves everything that involves an adventure, traveling, and the outdoors.
Katherine Osterlund, RD
Registered Dietitian
Katie Osterlund is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She completed her undergraduate training at Auburn University and went on to complete her dietetic internship at Georgia State University where she also received a Masters in Health Sciences. Since her move to Charlottesville 5 years ago, Katie has worked in a variety of areas within the nutrition field, including oncology, diabetes management and prevention, and pediatrics. She has gained valuable knowledge and experience that she has carried with her into the specialized field of eating disorders. Katie utilizes a holistic and HAES approach and “All Foods Fit” in her practice. She is passionate about walking alongside her clients in their recovery journeys in a way that is empowering and inspiring for them.
Morgan Taylor, RD
Registered Dietitian
Morgan Taylor is a registered dietitian nutritionist who obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from James Madison University in 2019 and went on to complete her dietetic internship at Virginia Commonwealth Health System in 2021 where she worked to complete concentrations in eating disorders with Prosperity and other treatment centers in Virginia.
Morgan strives to support clients in breaking down barriers that prevent them from finding meaning and purpose in their own lives by guiding them to fuel their body and mind adequately. She helps clients relearn the basics of eating through simplistic nutrition education and discussion of the driving biological and adaptive mechanisms of eating disorders that may be keeping them stagnant. Her counseling methodology is informed by HAES, body neutrality, and multiple therapeutic modalities to aid clients in breaking down the root beliefs about food and their bodies that are deeply engrained in their eating disorder. Her approach is based on the truth that “eating should be easy” and uses this concept to empower clients to leave their eating disorder in the rearview as they move forward into a liberated life.
Sherry Lilico
Chef, Dietitian Technician
Kate D’Amica, MA
Clinical Intake Specialist
Kate is passionate about helping people of all ages and genders find freedom from their eating disorder and disordered eating patterns and believes everyone can find this freedom no matter where they are in life. Kate is a Resident in Counseling and is supervised by Meredith Luttrell, LPC. She believes in looking at the whole person during both assessment and treatment, and not just at what is “going wrong”. While helping prospective clients navigate the admissions process, Kate also carries a small caseload and runs several groups for the EBD IOP program. Kate joined Prosperity in the Fall of 2020 after having worked in several different levels of care for eating disorder treatment including inpatient and IOP programs. She graduated from George Washington University with her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She draws from different approaches uncluding cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy.