Executive Board
Past President – Bud Ballinger, PhD
Bud Ballinger earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Texas Tech University in 2000. While in graduate school, he worked in a maximum security psychiatric prison hospital and a juvenile detention facility. He completed a pre-doctoral internship in 1999-2000 at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse. Following internship he accepted a full-time position at Madison County Mental Health Department and worked for eight years as the coordinator of forensic services. The duties of this position included serving as the Mental Health liaison to the courts, corrections, and law enforcement, providing or supervising evaluations and treatment for sexual offenders and other mandated clients, and supervising the team responsible for the sex offender treatment program. Dr. Ballinger opened a part-time private practice in 2007 and at the end of 2008 left full-time employment with Madison County to enter full-time private practice providing consultation, forensic evaluations, and courtroom testimony. The majority of his cases involved assessing sexual offenders and making treatment and supervision recommendations including recommendations regarding civil management under Mental Hygiene Law Article 10. In 2013, he was hired by the NY State Office of Mental Health to develop an intensive prison-based sex offender treatment program in Marcy, NY. He continues to work in the prison-based program, which treats high-risk sexual offenders who are likely candidates for civil confinement. He has served on the Advisory Board for the Madison County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Madison County Youth Board. He has served on the Alliance Board since 2010 and on the NYS ATSA Board since 2011. He is the current past president of NYS ATSA.
President – Jennifer Cinicolo, LMHC
Jennifer Cinicolo, LMHC earned her Masters in Forensic Mental Health Counseling from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She currently works in an outpatient setting with adult male and female offenders at Empire State Forensics in Hartsdale, NY. Jennifer has worked with Empire State Forensics since 2013 specializing in the evaluation and treatment of adult males and females who sexually offend and juveniles who exhibit problematic sexual behavior. Clientele includes Article 10 SIST respondents, individuals serving on local and federal probation, college students accused and found responsible for sexual misconduct, and non-justice involved clients such as minor-attracted persons.
Jennifer has been an active conference committee member since 2016 and is currently on the board of the Alliance for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and serves as the President of the New York Chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Jennifer looks forward to many years of participation in the organization working towards the prevention of sexual violence.
Vice President – Kelly Bunt, LCSW
Kelly Bunt, LCSW, has been nominated for election to the office of Vice President of the NYS ATSA Board. Ms. Bunt is the owner and Clinical Director of KB Forensics. She has worked in the field of sexual abuse prevention for 17 years. Over the years she has significantly contributed to the development of treatment curricula for offenders, non-offending partners and family members. She has established and fostered ongoing relationships with collaborative partners involved in the supervision of sex offenders to ensure the safety of the community.
Kelly’s professional affiliations are as a clinical member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), as well as a member of the New York State ATSA chapter. In June 2017, Kelly was elected to the New York State ATSA Board.
Kelly has presentated at the New York State Child Abuse Prevention Conference, Massachusetts’ ATSA Annual State Chapter Conference, National ATSA Conference, as well as for other local organizations and colleges. She sits on the Executive Council of Dutchess County’s Criminal Justice Council, is the Chair of the Victims Committee (a sub-committee of the Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council), Dutchess County’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) steering committee, as well as SART campus sub-committee, and Dutchess County’s Law Enforcement Sex Offender Management Group.
Recognition awards include the Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (CASADA) award, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, New York State Senate Proclamation, and Recognition by Dutchess County Legislature.
Treasurer – Larry Menzie, LCSW
Larry Menzie, LCSW received his Masters Degree in 1994 from Columbia University. He has been in the field of social work since 1990 working with a variety of underserved populations. From 1994-97 he was a Team Leader at the largest Single Room Occupancy program in NYC. From 1997 to 2008 he was a Parole Officer with the New York State Division of Parole. As a Parole Officer he covered various precincts and supervised a specialized case load of substance abusers. He has also served as the primary Employee Assistance Program Coordinator covering the Downstate area. While a Parole Officer Larry also worked as a Social Worker in the Emergency Room of Elmhurst Hospital providing a variety of services. In 2003 he co-founded Queens Counseling for Change. He is a member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, joining the NYS Board in 2009 and has specialized training in the area of treating and preventing sexual violence. As a board member for NYS ATSA he has worked to educate and raise awareness regarding the chapters work throughout NYS with professional and community groups. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Chapter. Larry assisted the NYC Department of Probation in redeveloping their approach to the supervision of sexual offenders and assisted in the development of a specialized Sex Offender Court Part in Queens County. As the President of the Alliance he has worked to create new committees, foster relationships with other organizations, update the bylaws, along with creating a long term plan to sustain and support the organization as the field of sexual violence treatment/prevention continues to transition. Larry is the Director of Queens Counseling for Change, overseeing administrative and clinical services to a diverse population seeking services related to sexually inappropriate behaviors.
Secretary – Chris Farrell, LCSW
2020-2022 Conference Chair – Dina McManus, LCSW
2022-2023 Conference Chair Gilian Tenbergen, Ph.D
Board of Directors
Shoshanna Must, PhD
Shoshanna Must, PhD is a clinical psychologist licensed in the state of New York. She received her doctorate from Columbia University in 2007, and since then has been specializing in the evaluation and treatment of persons with sexual behavioral problems, as well as providing support and therapy for family members and loved ones impacted. She also is a consultant for the judicial branch of Connecticut, where she conducts quality improvement audits for psychosexual risk evaluations, as well as provides trainings to court clinicians. Dr. Must also treats adults for more general challenges.
Dr. Must is the clinical director and consultant of the NYC office of Empire State Forensics, where she works together with clinicians to provide the most holistic and humanistic care to persons struggling with their sexual behavior. Group, individual, and family therapy are offered for both mandated and self-referred clients. Recognizing that the healthiest person is one who is stable, supported, and busy, she works closely with community reentry programs around the city, to help provide wrap-around services related to education, professional, and housing.
Dr. Must also serves as evaluation coordinator; conducting and supervising psychosexual risk assessments, SORA determination evaluations, as well as general psychological evaluations for the local and federal court system, as well as defense attorneys. Empire State evaluations are comprehensive and include the most current research related to both risk and protective factors, as well as provide thoughtful recommendations to help the referring sources provide the best plan for the individual and community. The team currently contracts with NYS Office of Mental Health as well as the Southern District of New York Federal Probation Department, to provide evaluation and treatment to persons who may require intensive sex-offense-specific treatment. Local probation departments, county departments of social services, attorneys, mitigation specialists, and the general public also seek our services on a regular basis for both evaluation and treatment of adults and juveniles with sexual behavior problems.
Since 2013, Dr. Must has served as an elected board member to the New York State Chapter of The Association of the Treatment for Sexual Abusers (NYS ATSA), and is a member of the national chapter of ATSA. In these capacities she has presented on best-practice measures of risk for adolescents and adults with sexually offending behavior at both the state and national chapter conferences.
Dr. Must is also a member of SORA Working Group, a part of the New York City Bar Association. This group is related to SORA reform and presents recommendations on best practices for sex offense reform legislation.
Dr. Must is presently being certified as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, hoping to complete her certification in 2022.
An area of specific clinical intrigue is understanding the implications, strengths, and challenges of being a female professional and working primarily with males with sexual challenges. She is available to train, and consult formally, but also loves processing specific experiences with females who are looking for a safe space to share and grow. A resource that is a wonderful place to start is: Women Working in Criminal Justice: A Guidebook for Navigating Professional Challenges, by Laura Jakul and Bobbi Walling and published by Safer Society.
Amy Gaddor, MA
Justyna Rzewinski, LCSW