We Are Mindfully Aware

I’m Annette Ferrigno, Founder of Mindfully Aware.

As a compassionate, driven, and seasoned clinical social worker, protecting and healing the lives of abused children has been my life’s work. Over the course of my nearly 25-year career working in schools, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare settings, I have interviewed, counseled, and treated thousands of young people coping with the impacts of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. A common refrain from nearly all of the abused children I have seen is a heartbreaking reluctance to identify the behavior - or the perpetrator - as wrong.

Abuse is always wrong.

I have worked to help my clients explore and better understand their often complicated feelings of fear, disgust, sadness, loss, and confusion as a child advocate and trained mental health professional. During and after treatment, many abused children express a sense of deep personal pride for overcoming the very real fears that their stories would be disbelieved or for revealing the family secrets that lead to the pursuit of criminal justice.

Too often, I find myself treating children only after they have endured and suffered many years of abuse when prevention programs could have identified and ended the abuse far earlier. So few children are taught what to do when someone violates their physical and emotional boundaries and their caregivers are rarely educated about the telltale signs of abuse. Child abuse is not someone else’s problem as victims can be found anywhere - a neighbor living next door, the home of an extended family member, a student in your child’s classroom, or a teammate playing on a local sports team.

About the organization.

Mindfully Aware is a non-profit organization that empowers communities throughout Union County NJ to prevent child sexual abuse. It’s critical that these programs exist to educate, inform and protect our children from the impact of child sexual abuse. The purpose of this nonprofit organization is to build opportunities for our children to grow and thrive and, above all else, feel entirely safe, secure, and protected.

OUR TEAM

ANNETTE FERRIGNO-BLANCHARD, LCSW,CCS
President & Founder

  • After obtaining an undergraduate degree in child psychology from the University of Minnesota, Annette later completed a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the New York University Silver School of Social Work. She attended the Institute for Child Adolescent and Family Studies (ICAFS). Annette’s extensive career includes working with single parents at a community-based daycare center, providing direct services to youth through various nonprofit agencies, and treating individuals and families through a successful privately owned group practice. As a longtime child advocate, Annette is passionate about recognizing, treating, and stopping emotional, physical, and child sexual abuse.

    She regularly creates time for fun and relaxation through practicing yoga, singing while dancing, creating art, and spending time with her teenage children Sean and Julia. She also loves the time she spends with friends who’ve become her family in the NJ area.

JENN CARROLL, LCSW
Program Director

  • Jenn obtained her graduate degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work with her Masters in Social Work and has worked in the non-profit sector since. With over seven years in the eating disorders field, Jenn has managed helplines, run prevention programming for kids, high schoolers, and college students, and has successfully created professional development curriculum and training. Jenn is passionate about justice work, youth education, and community building. She is happy to be joining Mindfully Aware to help educate and create programming that will assist with abuse prevention.  In her spare time, Jenn loves to spend time in nature, practice yoga, and hang out with her kids and dog.

ADVISORY BOARD

DR. AMIT VORA

  • Dr. Vora earned his B.D.S. degree from Nair Hospital Dental College, in Bombay, India in 1992, and his Master of Dental Surgery degree in Periodontics from the same institution in 1995. After coming to the United States, he earned his D.D.S. degree from Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery. He did a 2 year General Practice Residency at the Staten Island University Hospital, where he was the Chief Resident in his second year. He then obtained his Certificate in Periodontics from the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontics. He has lectured at several venues, nationally and internationally, and is on staff at the dental residency program at the JFK Hospital in NJ. A firm believer in organized dentistry, he is a member of several organizations like the American Dental Association, American Academy of Periodontology, American Academy of Implant Dentistry, and Academy of Osseointegration. Currently he is the Immediate Past-Chair of the dental department at JFK hospital, Past President of the Middlesex County Dental Society, Past President of the New Jersey Society of Periodontists and serves on the Council on Governmental and Public Affairs at the New Jersey Dental Association, and is the Secretary of the NJDA.

    He is currently in private practice limited to Periodontics and Implantology in Edison, NJ. He lives in Scotch Plains with his wife Dr. Dimple Malavia and their son Arjun. In his leisure time, Dr. Vora enjoys traveling, sports and crossword solving. His most recent accomplishment was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania!!

MARIA KANNANKUTTY

  • Maria brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, and finance. She started her career in management consulting and is now the Director of Strategic Execution for Medicaid at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. In her work she develops and oversees a portfolio of cross-functional projects from ideation to execution to serve members in under-resourced communities. She believes that a healthy mind and body are essential to a person’s long term well being and Mindfully Aware addresses both. The mission of Mindfully Aware to protect and help children heal from the trauma of sexual abuse is critical to keeping our children and future generations well - in both mind and body.

FRANK TANKI

  • Frank is an accomplished media executive with over 25 years of experience working for multi-faceted brands in entertainment and sports. His career highlights include leadership roles at Anthem Sports and Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Bellator MMA, and Country Music Television.

    Throughout his career, Frank has served on both diversity & inclusivity groups, and development & mentoring teams. He also has experience leading key pro-social initiatives. Frank serves on the Board of Future Leaders Today, an organization focused on providing mentoring and community involvement resources to high school students in the greater Philadelphia area. A father of three, Frank is excited to advise Mindfully Aware on their mission in keeping children safe, and in providing kids with mindfulness skills to help them enjoy childhood in a very changing world.