Tanya Sherise Odums, LCSW-R, M.S.Ed.

Mental Health Therapist & Behavioral Health Consultant

Tanya Odums is the founder of KhepeRa Counseling & Consulting. With over 25 years of experience working with NYC’s most at risk population of urban youth and 20 years experience of postmaster’s mental health counseling, Tanya’s desire to enhance the social conditions of people residing in economically deprived communities is what inspired her to pursue a career in Human Services. She earned a MSW degree from Hunter College School of Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership from Brooklyn College. She completed her B.S. in Deviant Behavior and Social Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and minored in Sociology.

Born and raised in East New York Brooklyn, Tanya has dedicated her career to transforming the lives of at risk youth and assisting them with becoming productive members of society. She is an educator, with over 10 years experience working within higher education. A former Professor of Psychology and Human Sexuality at Touro College and a Human Services Professor at the City University of New York; she is currently an Adjunct Lecturer for New York University’ s Silver School of Social Work Advanced Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice Program. Tanya is also a Certified School Building Leader who has acted as an Assistant Principal of Guidance Counseling and Safety and Discipline for 8 years in a public High School. In this role she created a clinical case management model, secured a community school grant and established a school based licensed mental health clinic on the campus. Her expertise lies in her ability to create healthy organizational cultures and develop engaging creative programs for the most challenging youth. She is currently being trained as Restorative Justice Practitioner.

Her career began at Spofford Juvenile Detention Center and spans across the spectrum of juvenile justice, child welfare, community mental health, higher education, youth development, early childhood education and school social work. She is an innovative professional who utilizes nontraditional modalities of counseling when working with diverse populations.

As an advocate for mental wellness in the black community she served as an advisor to The Stay Strong Foundation, founded by her mentor, Terrie Williams, Publicist and author of Black Pain: It just looks like we are not hurinng and Stay Strong: Daily Life Lessons for Teens. Under Terrie's mentorship Tanya help to established the Safe Space Counseling Program for the Junior Scholar's Program at the Schomburge Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

Tanya is also the former Executive Director and Co-Founder of HYPE: Helping Young People Excel, Inc.; a not for profit organization that uses creative expressive therapies to help youth heal from their trauma. As the founder and head consultant of KhepeRa Counseling and Consulting she ensures the delivery of quality mental health treatment to individuals, groups and families and provides clinical supervision to mental health and human services professionals. She is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional specializing in the treatment of depression and anxiety. She is also an Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapist, EDIT Certified to treat compuslive eating disorders and obesity. She offers consultations and professional development training/coaching to CBO's and educational institutions to assist them with program development to promote success and improve the delivery of services.

Tanya's ultimate goal as a social worker is to bridge the gap between spirituality and social work practice in the treatment of depressed and oppressed populations. As an educator and mental health practicioner she seeks to mend services between mental health and education to assist with closing the achievement gap among urban youth from impoverished communities. She is a dynamic speaker and trainer who strongly believes in self cultivation for personal growth. On her quest for self improvement she, herself, has studied with Iyanla Vanzant, founder of Inner Visions Institute; Queen Afua, founder of Sacred Woman/Heal Thyself; and Shawenee Renee Benton, founder of Spirit of A Woman Leadership Development Institute. She believes that healing and self-cultivation is a journey that never ends and the foundation of success and transformation for all.

Summary of Qualifications, Experience and Training 

Education, Licences, Certifications

• New York City College of Technology, A.A.S., Human Services (1993)
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice, B.S. Degree in Behavioral Science (1995)
• Hunter College School of Social Work, MSW (1997)
• Certifications: CSW (1998) LCSW-R (2004)
• NYS DOE License: School Social Work (2006) 

•  Brooklyn College, M.S. in Education Leadership (2013)
• School Building Leader (SBL) Certification (2013)
• Certified Clinical Truama Professional (2017)
• Certified Eating Disorder Intiutive Therapist (2017)

Professional Experience

• Morris L. Eisenstein Learning Center, Brooklyn, New York (1991-1995)
• Group Teacher for pre-school & After School

• Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, Bronx, New York (1991-1992)
• Case Manager Aide

• Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (1996-2007)
• Adolescent Therapist, at Kaplan House Residential Treatment Center, New York, NY
• Founder/ Coordinator of Therapeutic Recreation Program
• Clinical Consultant, Hawthorn Cedar Knolls Residential Recreation Program, Westchester, NY

• Boys & Girls Harbor, Behavioral Health Department, New York, NY (2000-2004)
• Assistant Director & Director of Children’s Mental Health Clinic
• Acting Director /Clinical Coordinator of Teen Substance Abuse Clinic
• Director of Teenage Age Pregnancy Program
• Director of 911 Project Liberty Crisis Unit
• Clinical/ Training Consultant for day care and after school programs

• Clinical Consultant (Since 2000-)
• Child Development Support Corporation, ACS Preventive Program, Brooklyn, NY
• Northside Center for Child Development Out Patient Mental Health Clinic, NY, NY
• Youth Empowerment Mission, Blossom Program For Girls, Brooklyn, NY
• Family Dynamics Domestic Violence Education & Prevention Program, Bklyn, NY
• Terrie Williams Agency & The Stay Strong Foundation, NYC
• Eric Ford & LYFE Camp
• Salvation Army, Brownsville Day Care, Brooklyn, New York
• Community Counseling and Mediation, Community Mental Health Division
• Children of Faith, Community Development Program, Montego Bay, Jamaica, WI
• Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture, Junior Scholars Program
• St. Johns Family Center, Brooklyn New York

• HYPE: Helping Young People, Inc. (Executive Director & Co-Founder in 2006)

•  New York City Department of Education (2007- Present)
• School Social Worker, Brooklyn Generation High School (2007-2012)
• Director of Wellness and Preventive/ Acting Assistant Principal of Safety and Discipline, Guidance and Counseling (2012-2018)

• Mary Pender Greene Agency (2015- 2017)
• CEU Course Developer & Facilitator: Creative School Counseling: Engaging Challenging Youth (6 CEU credits).

Higher Education (10+ years)

• Touro College, New York City Campuses - Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Human Services and Human Sexuality.
• City University of New York, NYC College of Technology - Adjunct Professor of Human Services
• Adjunct Professor, Supervisor in Field Instruction (Since 2000)
  Columbia University School of Social Work
  New York University School of Social Work
  Hunter College School of Social Work
  Fordum University School of Social Work
  Adelphi University School of Social Work
• Adjunct Lecturer, New York University Silver School of Social Work
  Advanced Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice Program. 

Certifications and Trainings

• CSW/Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW-R) 1998, 2004
• Jewish Board of Family and Children Services 1997-2000
• Martha K. Selig Educational Institute,
  Assessment and Treatment Planning, Expressive Therapies, Brief Therapy (Solution Focused and Narrative Approach), Advanced Group Therapy, Engaging the Addicted Client, Developmental Disorders in Children and Adolescent
  s, Psychopharmacology, Suicide Assessment.
• African Centered Social Work, NABSW Consortium 2000
• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention 2000
• Grief Counseling & Clinical Practice 2001
• City College: Non Profit Management & Leadership Certificate Program 2004- 2006
• Robin Hood Foundation: Nutz & Bults of Non Profit Management 2004
• Violence Prevention and Intervention 2005
• NYS Department of Education Permanent School Social Worker Certificate 2006
• NYC Department of Education Trainings: 2008-
  Resource Room Condom Distribution Program, Health 101: High School
  Curriculum, Crisis intervention, Mental Health in Schools, NYS Common Core
  Learning Standards, Overcoming Obstacles, Mckinney-Vento Services for homeless youth, Building Crisis Response Team, Youth and Trauma. Restorative Justice Tier I and II, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Suicide Intervention and Prevention, Creating Trauma Informed School Culture
• NYS Department of Education School Building Leader Certificate 2013
• Harvard Medical School, Mental Health in Schools 2014
• Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy (Trauma Focused Therapy) 2015
• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (June 2017)
• Restorative Justice (October 2017)
• Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT Certified October 2017)

Personal Development Training

• Sacred Woman Rites of Passage with Queen Afua (Spring 2003 Graduate)
• Inner Visions Institute:
• Wonder Woman Training (Spring 2010 Graduate)
• Rites of Passage (Spring 2013 Graduate)
• Be The Tree Rites of Passage, Spirit of a Woman (Spring 2016 Graduate)

Tanya Sherise Odums