IFIRE Team

Anthony F. Campagna, PhD, MAC, received his BA in psychology from Dartmouth College in 1969, and an MS in 1973 and PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University in 1975. He is licensed in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and qualified as a Master Addiction Counselor by the NCC-AP. In 1995 he and his wife created and co-directed Connecticut’s Juvenile Court Assessment Service. In 1998 he created and co-directed Connecticut’s largest privately operated gender-specific juvenile detention center for girls. He now co-directs The Greater New Haven Counseling and Family Therapy Center. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice, and subspecialties in the assessment of problem sexual behavior, substance use disorders, and the inappropriate use of fire. He is a founding Board member of the International Association for Fire Setting Intervention, Research, and Education.

Michael A. Feder, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry in the Grossman School of Medicine at NYU Langone; he serves as an Attending Psychologist on the NYU-Bellevue Mental Health Team atthe ACS Children’s Center, where he conducts extended psychological evaluations of psychiatrically complex children, including firesetting riskassessments and sexually harmful behavior risk assessments. He previously served as an Attending Psychologist in the Children’s ComprehensivePsychiatric Emergency Program at NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue and served as a co-director of the psychology externship program. Michael is proudto be a board member of the International Association for Firesetting Intervention, Research, and Education (IFIRE). Michael also maintains a privatepractice where he specializes in working with high-conflict divorce families and providing parent management training. Michael teaches undergraduatesat NYU through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies program. He has co-authored peer-reviewed articles, co-written book chapters, andpresented at various conferences on firesetting behaviors, ADHD treatments, Parent Management Training, sleep hygiene, Autism Spectrum Disorder,internet addiction, and other topics in child and adolescent mental health.

Peter Fitzpatrick is a Station Manager with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service(GMFRS), bringing over 30 years of operational fire and rescue experience to the role. Throughout his career, Peter has served on the frontline, ledteams in complex operational environments, and contributed to service-wide development in community safety and fire prevention. As a dedicatedPrevention Officer, Peter has played a pivotal role in shaping GMFRS’s prevention strategy. He is the co- designer of several fire setting interventionprogrammes, aimed at reducing risk, improving outcomes for vulnerable individuals, and supporting behaviour change initiatives across GreaterManchester. His work has influenced practice both within GMFRS and in multi agency partnership settings. Peter is also the GMFRS lead for theManchester Young Adult Burns Camp, a programme supporting young people recovering from burn injuries. In this role, he works closely with clinicalteams, volunteers, and partner organisations to deliver life changing experiences that build confidence, resilience, and community for young burnsurvivors.

Theresa A. Gannon, DPhil, CPsychol (Forensic) is Professor of Forensic Psychology and Director of the Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP) at the University of Kent, UK. Theresa also works as a Practitioner Consultant Forensic Psychologist specialising in deliberate firesetting for the Forensic and Specialist Service Line, Kent and Medway Social Care and Partnership Trust, UK. Theresa has published over 140 chapters, articles, books, and other scholarly works in the areas of male and female-perpetrated offending. She is particularly interested in the assessment and treatment of individuals who have set deliberate fires. In 2012, Theresa led the development of the first comprehensive theory of adult deliberate firesetting (named the Multi-trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting or M-TAFF). After leading a series of research studies examining the treatment needs of adult firesetters, Theresa developed the first standardised treatment programs for firesetters (the FIPP and FIP-MO) which are now implemented in prisons and hospitals internationally. In 2016, Theresa was lead recipient of the ESRC’s Outstanding Impact in Society Award for her theoretical work and treatment provision regarding deliberate firesetting.

Theresa is lead editor of several books including Aggressive Offenders’ Cognition: Theory, Research, and Treatment (2007: Wiley), Female Sexual Offenders: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment (2010: Wiley-Blackwell), and Sexual Offending: Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation (2017: Wiley-Blackwell). Theresa is also co-editor of several other books. Key examples include: Firesetting and Mental Health (2012: Royal College of Psychiatrists), What Works in Offender Rehabilitation: An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Treatment (2013: Wiley-Blackwell), and The Psychology of Arson: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Managing Adult Deliberate Firesetters (2015: Routledge).

Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD is a clinical/forensic psychologist and attorney who currently serves as Executive Director for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Hospital. CLBB focuses upon the intersections of neuroscience, public policy and law in the emerging field of “neurolaw” with core program areas in: Aging Brain (elder protection and decisional competencies); Criminal Sentencing (fostering science-based sentencing practices); Adolescent and Emerging Young Justice (fostering developmentally aligned law and practice in the juvenile and criminal legal systems); and, Trauma At the Border (bringing science to understanding the impact of immigration/asylum policies). 

Dr. Kinscherff is also Professor in the Doctoral Clinical Psychology Program at William James College where he teaches classes in forensic psychology, public health/policy impacts on child behavioral health, and mental health law.  He has previously served as Director of Juvenile Court Clinic Services for the statewide system of juvenile courts in Massachusetts, as an Assistant Commissioner for Forensic Mental Health for the MA Department of Mental Health.  He has practiced forensic psychology for more than three decades.  This includes assessment and risk management planning for juveniles and adults who have misused fire and penetrated juvenile or criminal legal systems, inpatient and community-based forensic mental health systems, and child protection systems.  Dr. Kinscherff has provided trainings to courts, probation/parole officers, attorneys, and behavioral health professionals on assessment, risk management, and interventions with persons who have misused fire.  He has particular interests in work with persons with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, complex trauma, and severe mental illnesses.

Karla Klas, BSN, RN, CCRP manages the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center's nationally acclaimed community and family-centered injury prevention programs. Her 29-year distinguished career in burn/trauma critical care nursing, research, professional development training, mentoring, program management, public education, curriculum development, CRR, and injury prevention has produced numerous journal publications, textbook chapters and grant awards. She has attained multiple specialty certifications, and leadership appointments to committees devoted to injury control. An award-winning educator, speaker, and author, Karla also mentors at-risk youth, volunteers in survivor support programs, and enjoys all kinds of outdoor adventures with her family.

Alina Levine, PsyD, is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist with extensive leadership experience across inpatient and forensicsystems of care. She earned her Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree from the University of Indianapolis, completing her pre-doctoral residency atBellevue Hospital in New York City and her postdoctoral training through the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital. Inher current role as Senior Psychologist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, she directs statewide riskmanagement initiatives, manages key interagency functions, including Fellowship training programs and an interagency statewide planning council, andprovides consultation to high-risk, complex cases. In her private practice, Bluestone Behavioral Health, she conducts comprehensive risk assessments,including firesetting risk assessments, court-related evaluations, cognitive and psychological testing, and other consultation services

Kaitlyn Peretti, PsyD, is a forensic psychologist who specializes in treatment, evaluation, and riskmanagement of adults with a history of sexual offending, violent offending, and deliberate firesetting. She has experience providing evaluation andtreatment services in community, correctional, and inpatient mental health settings. Her clinical practice is at the Institution for Sexual Wellness andFiresetting Prevention Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She is an Associate Professor in the Counseling and Behavioral Health Department atWilliam James College. Dr. Peretti is a clinical member and fellow of the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) and is amember of the executive board for the Massachusetts chapter of ATSA

Victoria “Tory” Phillips, PhD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry atNYU Grossman School of Medicine and an Attending Psychologist on the NYU-Bellevue Mental Health Team at Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center inManhattan (a preplacement facility for youth entering foster care in New York City). Having previously worked at Regional and Diagnostic TreatmentCenter in New Jersey and at Horizon Juvenile Detention in New York City, Dr. Phillips’ work is centered on providing trauma-informed assessment andcare for some of New York City’s most vulnerable youth. Dr. Phillips specializes in comprehensive and forensic evaluations, including risk assessment forcomplex behaviors, with particular focus on firesetting behaviors, problematic sexual behaviors (especially in neurodivergent youth), and violence riskassessments. Dr. Phillips also has a private practice, as she is trained as a forensic psychologist and serves as an expert witness in civil and criminalcourts. Dr. Phillips enjoys teaching, training, and speaking about trauma-informed approaches to assessment and treatment, having formerly taught NYUundergraduates, provided in-service training to frontline staff and mental health professionals at various agencies, and spoken at academic conferences.Her research focuses on the impact of trauma on child development and improving the quality of evaluations for youth in correctional and congregatecare settings.

Dr. Kamarah Pooley, AFSM, is an Australian applied researcher and practitioner. Kamarah hasworked as a professional firefighter with Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) since 2012. After completing Honours and PhD degrees inCriminology, specialising in children and young people who misuse fire, Kamarah worked as a researcher for FRNSW where she developed,implemented, and evaluated programs to reduce the risks and consequences of youth misuse of fire. She also led and conducted public safety andcommunity risk reduction research projects to inform strategic-level decision-making and policy development; risk identification and mitigation; and thedevelopment, implementation, and evaluation of fire prevention and preparedness initiatives. For her contribution, Kamarah was awarded an AustralianFire Service Medal (AFSM) in 2022. Kamarah returned to operational firefighting duties in 2025 and co-founded Bennu, an independent researchconsultancy specialising in applied public safety research.

Emma Potts is the Safer Communities and Interventions Manager for GreaterManchester Fire and Rescue Service (UK), where she leads multi agency programmes designed to reduce harm, vulnerability and risk. She is a strategicadvisor and practitioner researcher specialising in applied investigative psychology, behavioural analysis and evidence informed community safety. Sheholds academic interests in offender decision making, vulnerability indicators and harm reduction practice. Emma’s work focuses on partnership drivencommunity safety and the development of accessible, effective interventions for high risk groups. Her career spans strategic and operational roles incommunity safety, policing, fire and rescue prevention and serious crime analysis, including youth development, firesetter interventions and multi agencyrisk reduction initiatives. She has led force wide fraud prevention campaigns within Greater Manchester Police’s Economic Crime Unit, developedpolicies, coordinated volunteer activity and strengthened regional partnership networks. She also contributed performance analysis to the Serious CrimeDivision, supporting intelligence led investigations into serious and complex crime. Recognised for her analytical expertise, partnership leadership andcommitment to community wellbeing, Emma applies evidence informed approach to designing interventions that reduce harm, promote resilience andindividual behaviour change.

Training Chief/Paramedic Brent Smith joined the Cedar Rapids Fire Department in 2003 after volunteering for a local fire department for 7 years prior.  After 16 years of shift work, rising the ranks from Firefighter to Captain to Battalion Chief, Chief Smith now is in charge of all things training in the all hazards response that is Cedar Rapids, Iowa Fire Department. 

Chief Smith has spent the last 10 years as Manager of the State of Iowa Youth Fire Intervention program that is administered through the State Fire Marshal’s Office. He currently manages 5 Regional Coordinators and is also responsible for covering 22 counties within his own region in the Iowa YFIP.  Most notably, Chief Brent Smith was on the Executive Committee and help build the YFIRES.com website, now used by hundreds of fire departments across the country in managing their Youth Fire Intervention Programs.     

Chief Smith is a native Iowan who received his BA degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2001.  Chief Smith has since achieved the Fire Officer (FO) designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE).   

Robert Stadolnik, EdD, is a licensed psychologist and President of FirePsych, Inc., a specialized private practice devoted to firesetting assessment, training, and research.  Since 1995 he has completed or supervised over 2000 firesetting behavior assessments for adults, adolescents, and children.  Dr. Stadolnik provides clinical and program consultation in the assessment and treatment of adults with arson/firesetting histories transitioning from hospital care to community living to forensic hospitals, secure psychiatric hospitals and community service agencies.   Dr. Stadolnik has completed research studies on adolescents in residential care and adolescent females and regularly consults to youth and adult serving agencies, schools, and state agencies.  Dr. Stadolnik is the author of Drawn to the Flame: Assessment and Treatment of Juvenile Firesetting (Professional Resource Press, 2000) the Firesetting Risk Assessment Tool-Youth (FirePsych, 2010), and a recent chapter titled “Promising Practice in the Development of Assessment and Treatment Models for Juvenile Firesetting/Arson” in The Psychology or Arson (Eds: Gannon, Doley and Dickens; 2015). He serves as Consulting Psychologist to Brandon Residential Centers (Natick, MA)  Rapid Firesetting Assessment (RFA) and Intensive Firesetting Treatment Programs (IFTP). Dr. Stadolnik provides trainings nationally and internationally on juvenile and adult firesetting. 

Nichola Tyler is a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research expertise is in the area of deliberate firesetting and forensic mental health. She has published over 30 peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and commissioned reports on deliberate firesetting, treatment effectiveness, and forensic mental health. Nichola has extensive experience of working with men and women who have set fires both in prisons and forensic mental health services. She was also part of a team of researchers who won the 2016 Economic and Social Research Council Outstanding Impact in Society Award for their research on the assessment and treatment of adult firesetting. 

Rachael Utumapu is the Community Risk Manager Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ), ensuring the effective leadership of all risk reduction and community readiness and recovery functions and activities in the District, the robust management of resources, the development, implementation and monitoring of work programmes and the development and maintenance of relationships with key partners, stakeholders and communities in a way that provides information and intelligence that can be used to ensure that service and support needs can be met. These relationships are critical to ensuring shared capability and the understanding of shared outcomes.

Ann Yoemans has been a Social Worker since 1981. She is currently employed by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) as a Program Director working closely with DCF involved families through the Ombudsman’s Office. She is also facilitator of the Statewide Youth Firesetting Steering Committee. Throughout her career within DCF, it was apparent that the State of CT. has not had a consistent statewide response to address the issue of youth involved with firesetting.  Ann has worked closely with Fire Services, and other agencies to create programs within the state of CT.