Meet Our Staff
Dr. Fawaz
Medical Director
Dr. Fawaz is the Medical Director for Hallmark Youthcare. In addition, Dr. Fawaz is part of Virginia South Psychiatric and Family Services.
Dr. Fawaz received his medical degree from Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University in Egypt. He continued his senior fellow training at the University of Washington and his residency at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and his fellowship in Child Psychiatry at VCU. Dr. Fawaz is licensed in Virginia to practice Medicine and is a Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist. He is Board Certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and specializes in child, adolescent and adult Psychiatry and addictions.
Di Hayes
Chief Administrative Officer
Di Hayes, LPC is the chief Administrative Officer of Hallmark Youthcare, serving as the agency’s leader since July 2010. Ms. Hayes, a holder of Master’s Degrees in both Counseling and Recreation and Undergraduate Degree in Education, and has most recently obtained her LPC. She has been a human-service professional for nearly thirty years. In the course of her varied career, Ms. Hayes has assumed roles of increasing responsibility and complexity, including many years dedicated to work with adolescents suffering from the effects of trauma.
As CAO, she brings a wealth of experience, grounded in her training as teacher, clinician, and administrator. She has integrated these skills to become an expert designer and manager of complex systems of care, aimed at assisting youth and families to meet their full potential.
Brian Chizuk
Assistant Administrator
Brian Chizuk, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has 18 years of experience working in the human services field and for the last 15 years he has specialized in the area of residential treatment services and independent living with individuals (and their families) with dual diagnoses; working as the Residential Director and Clinical Coordinator for Group Home services across the state of Virginia. As the Assistant Administrator, his focus is on training and development of his Management Team in addition to our Youth Counselors to ensure the highest level of services are being provided to the youth we care for at Hallmark.
Staff Directory
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Medical Director:
Dr. Fawaz -
Chief Administrative Officer:
Di Hayes -
Assistant Administrator:
Brian Chizuk -
Human Resources Director:
Celeste White -
Education Director:
Barbara Stanton-Appleby -
Director of Nursing:
Gretchen Rhodinizer -
Director of Clinical Assessment
Community Relations:
Julie Plotz, MS -
Program Director:
Gayzelle Eggleston Thomas -
Director of Social Work:
Catherine Lemon -
Director of Dietary
Jarvis Wallace -
Resident Advocate/Risk Manager:
Sarah Hazelgrove -
TSAY Clinical Manager:
E. Graham Canada -
Activity Therapy Coordinator:
Shakita Hart -
Director of Clinical Development:
Shaina Chandler -
Director of Clinical Development:
shaina Chandler -
Therapy Dog:
Jeter -
Therapy Dog:
Lilly -
Service Dog:
Milo
Celeste White
Human Resources Director
Celeste White received her B.S degree from Purdue University and was later certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources. She has been in Human Resources for over 25 years and has managed HR functions in a variety of industries including, aerospace, utilities, banking and healthcare. Her accomplishments have been in recruiting top talent and developing a culture of inclusion. As Director of Human Resources, her focus is to make Hallmark Youthcare an employer of choice in quality, safety and engagement. She is a native of Indiana and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Barbara Stanton-Appleby
Education Director
Barbara Stanton-Appleby is the Education Director for McAfee Academy, the licensed, accredited private school serving the students at Hallmark Youthcare. She holds a Post-Graduate Professional Teaching License in General Curriculum Special Education K-12 with endorsements in Emotional Disturbance, Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities, and Middle School Counseling. Ms. Stanton-Appleby earned a Master’s degree in School Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University, and went on to earn an Ed. S. in Professional Counseling from the College of William and Mary. Ms. Stanton-Appleby started her career working with Special Education populations in the public schools. For the last ten years, she has invested her energies in working with students who are dealing with crisis and trauma that are being served in private school settings. She is an advocate for using Positive Behavior Support to help students develop appropriate, independent self-management skills that will benefit them for life.
Gretchen Rhodenizer
Director of Nursing
Gretchen Rhodenizer, graduated from Southside Regional Medical Center School of Professional Nursing in 1992. Completed her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000. Gretchen’s been practicing as an RN for over 26 years, most of which was in the hospital setting. She transitioned into mental health working with the acute adolescent population, progressing quickly into the Nurse Manager position. Gretchen grew up in Germany and enjoys hiking in the Shenandoah National Forest!
Julie Plotz,
Director of Clinical Assessment/Community Relations
Julie Plotz, MS is the Director of Clinical Assessment and Community Relations. She has been with the agency since February 1988, and in the Admissions Department since 2002. Ms. Plotz has a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Services. Ms. Plotz is an accomplished behavioral healthcare professional with many years experience working with children, adolescents and their families in a psychiatric residential setting. In her role, she brings a strong work ethic, strong clinical skills, effective relationship building skills and articulate communication abilities coupled with a passion for serving customers. Her commitment to helping youth is demonstrated in her ability to put incoming residents at ease and facilitate a smooth admission process.
Gayzelle Eggleston Thomas
Director of RTC-Programs
Gayzelle Eggleston Thomas, BS has over 27 years of experience in Mental Health, Juvenile Corrections and Rehabilitation fields. She has worked in the public and private sectors in residential treatment programs and community-based corrections. Mrs. Thomas began her career as a Juvenile Correctional Officer for the Virginia State Department of Juvenile Justice and has served as a Correctional Rehabilitation Counselor, Special Placement Counselor, Intensive In-home Counselor and an After School Counselor. As the Residential Program Director she focuses her attention to maintaining a safe and structured environment for the residents and helping them to achieve their goals.
Catherine Lemon
Director of Social Work
Catherine Lemon, MSW, LCSW, has her Masters in Social Work (MSW) and her Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW). Catherine received her Bachelors from Radford University in 1988 and her MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992. She has over 20 years of experience working in the field of Social Work. Cathy also has past experience working as a hospital social worker, a crisis counselor in a managed mental health company, as well as an emergency services clinician for a local community services board. Cathy has extensive supervisory experience working in community based care such as Treatment Foster Care and Intensive In- Home Services. She has excellent interpersonal skills, paying close attention to detail and has great follow through and her true passion is working with children, and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Cathy has two children and in her leisure time, she enjoys playing tennis, cycling, skiing and lifting weights. She also has BIG love for music.
Jarvis Wallace
Director of Dietary
Jarvis Wallace is a certified Food Management Professional and Chef. The Food Management
Professional (FMP) credential is granted by The National Restaurant Association after
completion of a through examination. The designation denotes outstanding personal
achievement, communicates knowledge, leadership, and professionalism in the hospitality
industry. Jarvis has completed multiple Food Safety and Sanitation Courses to include ServSafe,
International Food Safety Manager and Army Food Handlers courses. He has a Bachelors
Degree in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Advanced Culinary Arts from
Stratford University. He is an Army veteran has over 14 experience as a military Chef.
Jarvis has done multiple tours overseas while in the Army and graduated from the Army
Advanced culinary Arts school in Fort Hood Texas. Jarvis has over 16 years of hospitality
experience. He has received multiple awards and recognition for military culinary competitions.
His role as the Director of Dietary at Hallmark Youthcare will be to provide hospitality services
with excellence to residents, staff, family and the community. Jarvis is a native of Richmond
Virginia.
Sarah Hazelgrove
Resident Advocate/Risk Manager
Sarah Hazelgrove received a B.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Longwood University. She joined the team at Hallmark in 1999 with many years experience as an accomplished behavioral healthcare professional working with children, adolescents, adults and their families. With the opportunity to grow and change, after serving as the Activity Therapy Director for Hallmark, she accepted her current role of Resident Advocate/Risk Manager in 2013. She finds it rewarding to be able to ensure the rights of our residents and help maintain a safe environment for them to heal from trauma. She enjoys building relationships with the residents and assisting them in resolving their concerns. Sarah feels it is important to get feedback and ideas from the residents and their families in order to make improvements and be the best that we can be.
E. Graham Canada
TSAY Clinical Manger
E. Graham Canada III, is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Masters Degree in Clinical Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Graham is also a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider (CSOTP) through the Virginia Board of Psychology. He has been with Hallmark for 6 years, working with young men with sexually acting out histories, and their families. Prior to coming to Hallmark, Graham worked with at-risk youth at a public charter school in Washington DC.
Shakita Hart
Activity Therapy Coordinator
Shakita Hart, CTRS received her B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation from Virginia Commonwealth University. She soon became a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and joined the agency’s Activity Therapy Department where she provided creative and therapeutic groups for nine years. Ms. Hart encouraged the residents to build age appropriate social relationships, develop skills of team work, and utilize appropriate coping strategies to maintain in stressful situations. She did this by providing opportunities for laughter and involvement in arts and crafts, cooking, sports, mind challenging games, and community reintegration outings. She uses many of these activities to build quality time with her family. Ms. Hart became the Coordinator of Activity Therapy in July of 2013. In her current role she hopes to communicate the benefits and importance of therapeutic recreation interventions and continue her passion of helping youth overcome traumatic experiences and strive to develop healthy leisure life styles.
Shaina Chandler
Director of Clinical Development
Shaina Chandler is the Director of Clinical Development at Hallmark Youthcare. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, CSOTP, and Certified Trauma Provider, Shaina provides oversight with clinical programming, the Sanctuary Model, and Business Development. Shaina earned her graduate degree in Art Therapy and Counseling from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Shaina also provides TF-CBT and EMDR services to residents and families of our program. Additionally, Shaina travels across the state providing trainings, community outreach, and special programs related to trauma-informed services.
Jeter
Therapy Dog
Jeter was adopted in September 2014 by the family of Hallmarks Chief Clinical Officer, Brian Chizuk. Jeter was named after recently retired Yankee great, Derek Jeter. This dog’s sweet personality and calm demeanor made him a great candidate to serve as a therapy dog. After months of training with Brian and Deborah Moore of Siriusly Canine LLC, Jeter received his Canine Good Citizen Certificate and later his Alliance of Therapy Dogs Certification.
Jeter works at Hallmark Youthcare three full days a week. He attends staff meetings, individual and group therapies, school lessons and visits each of the units. The response from the children and the staff have been immeasurable. Both the kids and the staff find comfort in Jeter’s presence. He is a source of unconditional love, support and comfort. Also because Jeter is under two years old, his youthful playfulness often brings a lot of smiles and laughter.
Studies continue to show the benefits of pet therapy in residential settings as hugely advantageous. Just a few of benefits include: reduced feelings of isolation and alienation, decreased depression and anxiety, encourages communication and socialization and creates motivation for patients to recover faster. Pets can also assist in patient/therapist bonding, assisting children in overcoming speech and emotional disorders and increased self confidence by providing a non-judgmental, non-stressful environment. Animals working in residential facilities can be used as a peaceful escape but also a valuable learning tool.
Hallmark Youthcare is excited to begin integrating pet therapy into our multidisciplinary approach to individualized care provided to our youth. This is an exciting step in the direction of adding innovative and holistic approaches to working with our youth toward the goal of providing hope, recovery, and renewed direction for youth, families and community.
Lilly
Therapy Dog
Lilly is a 5 year old yellow Labrador Retriever. She will be 6 years old March 6th! Lilly's pleasant and tranquil demeanor made her a good candidate to serve as a therapy dog. Lilly received her Canine Good Citizen Certificate in the fall of 2018. She then tested to become a member of the Paws for Health group which works out of the SPCA. Lilly's previous work experience includes visits to the Lakewood Retirement Community. Lilly plans on coming to visitation 2 nights per month and hopefully to be used in more small group therapy sessions. She has loved getting to know the residents and their families. She can be found in the cafeteria accepting belly rubs and treats from the visitors. Lilly's favorite activity is playing fetch with her beloved tennis ball.
Milo
Service Dog
Milo is our little service dog. He loves his job of being here for our residents and staff.