Adrienne Dixon, PhD
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
She/Her
Dr. Adrienne Dixon is the President & CEO of Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling, a Post Masters Certificate in Marital and Family Therapy and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. Adrienne has been with Sarah Reed since 1988 and became CEO in 2020. She has over 30 years of clinical experience as a professional counselor and administrator. Her area of focus has been with Serious Mental Illness (children, families and adults) and includes settings such as inpatient, residential treatment, drug & alcohol and outpatient services. Adrienne also teaches for the Counseling Program at PennWest University.
“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.”
― Oliver Wendell Holmes
Greg Hall
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
He/Him
Greg Hall is the Chief Operating Officer at Sarah A. Reed Children's Center. Greg holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Gannon University and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Greg started with Sarah Reed in 2022. Prior to Sarah Reed, he served as the director of business development at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Erie. Greg has also worked in the for-profit business world in corporate sales and with a tech marketing startup based in Silicon Valley. Greg’s current interest is in how healthcare organizations are leveraging technology in novel ways to increase patient and family access to care and improved staff efficiencies.
“Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”
― Richard P. Feynman
Karen Wagner, CPA, CGMA
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
She/Her
Karen Wagner is the Chief Financial Officer of Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Penn State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. Karen has been with Sarah Reed since 2023. Karen has over 25 years’ experience in pediatric healthcare finance and administration. She also worked in public accounting, with a focus on corporate and non-profit audits. Karen is a graduate of Leadership Erie.
“Surround yourself with positive thoughts and people, and good things will follow.”
― Edward Gorbis
Mary Barr
Associate Vice President of Human Resources
She/Her
Mary Barr is the Associate Vice President of Human Resources at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center where she oversees employment, staffing, benefits administration, regulatory compliance, HR policies, and training for the Center’s programs. As a former Gannon graduate, Mary understands and actively supports the development of strong, collaborative relationships with area colleges and universities, promoting internships and other learn/work arrangements for students and practitioners seeking knowledge and experience in mental health and related fields. As a long-term employee who started with the agency in 1987, Mary has the advantage of watching many entry level employees, who often begin their careers with Sarah Reed while in college, eventually advance into clinical and leadership positions where they continue to make a difference for our youth in very meaningful ways. Mary is involved with HR efforts affecting mental health providers through the Pennsylvania Council for Children, Youth and Families and the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association, as well as area community workforce development groups.
“Big breakthroughs happen when what is immediately possible, meets what is desperately necessary.”
― Thomas Friedman
Kirstin Brunner, DO
Medical Director
She/Her
Dr. Brunner is the Medical Director at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. She received her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Brunner completed a combined residency program in Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry. She is Board Certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as well as Adult Psychiatry. Dr. Brunner has been with the Children’s Center since 1998 and became Medical Director in 2001. In addition to her responsibilities at Sarah Reed, Dr. Brunner has privileges at Millcreek Community Hospital. She is also active in training new psychiatrists as an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, & Neurology with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She maintains membership in several professional societies including: American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, and American College of Neuropsychiatrists.
“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”
― John F. Kennedy
Gary Bukowski
Associate Vice President of Development
He/Him
Gary Bukowski is the Associate Vice President of Development at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. He is registered with the Commonwealth to provide professional fundraising counsel and is a practicing Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) since 1990. Since starting with Sarah Reed in 2015, he has raised significant funds and improved the agency’s development efforts in all areas: annual fund, major and planned gifts, grants, donor retention, new donor acquisition, donor relations, records management and marketing communications. Gary has over 45 years of fundraising experience, including 7+ years as the first Vice President for Advancement at the Barber National Institute and 27 years as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Mercyhurst University. Gary also served 20 years as a charter member of Erie County Council District #4.
“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be ‘happy.’ I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”
― From Passions and Prejudices by Leo Rosten
Linda Fleming, PhD
Associate Vice President of Psychology Internship Training and QA/QI
She/Her
Dr. Linda Fleming is currently the Associate Vice President of Psychology Internship Training and Quality Assurance at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. Dr. Fleming holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology and completed a year of postgraduate work focused on Bowen Family Systems Theory at the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. Before joining the executive team at Sarah Reed in 2021, Dr. Fleming spent over 20 years in higher education as a faculty member, Director of Clinical Training in a doctoral counseling psychology program, department chair, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, academic dean, and vice president for academic and student affairs. She continues to serve as a faculty member for the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. Her areas of focus have included family systems, trauma, and leadership.
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― Professor Dumbledore via J.K. Rowling
Brittany Hayden, PhD, LPC
Vice President of Clinical Services
She/Her
Dr. Brittany Hayden is the Vice President of Clinical Services at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. She provides agency-wide leadership, supervision, consultation, and management of clinical service provision. Dr. Hayden earned her doctorate degree in the combined Counseling Psychology/School Psychology program from the University at Buffalo and completed her doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency at Sarah Reed. She has been with Sarah Reed since 2014. Dr. Hayden also serves as faculty for the American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral internship at Sarah Reed and oversees the postdoctoral psychology residency.
“Nothing that we do that is worthwhile is done alone.”
― Mariame Kaba
Tracey Sampson, LPC
Associate Vice President of Community Services
She/Her
Tracey L. Sampson is the Associate Vice President of Community Clinical Services at Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Allegheny College, as well as a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Edinboro University. Tracey has been with Sarah Reed since 1996; in that time, she has worked in numerous programs, including Partial Hospitalization, Wraparound, Residential and Outpatient. She also serves as faculty for Sarah Reed’s doctoral internship program teaching the Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Seminar. Tracey is a Within Agency Trainer certified by PCIT International, and a certified trainer in Safe Crisis Management (SCM). In addition to her work at Sarah Reed, Tracey served as adjunct faculty in the sociology department at Mercyhurst University and as a Community Implementation Specialist for the Early Childhood Innovations Center.
“Hope’s secret: it doesn’t know the destination – it knows only that all roads begin with one foot in front of the other.”
― Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Larry Shallenberger
Associate Vice President of Compliance
He/Him
Larry Shallenberger is the AVP of Compliance for Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center. Larry began his career at Sarah Reed from 1990-1997 in direct childcare and case management. After a seventeen year pastorate, he returned to the agency in 2015 as a Residential Unit Manager before transitioning into his current role. Larry serves on the Sanctuary and Diversity Committees and is the author of three books.
“Whatever you are meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.”
― Doris Lessing