Helen Ferraro-Zaffram, JD

Ms. Helen Ferraro-Zaffram is a Managing Attorney at The Center for Elder Law & Justice, where she handles Article 81 Guardianship matters and health related issues. Helen graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York where she received her B.A. degree in Political Science and Sociology. She received her J.D. from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. She serves as a Community Liaison on the Ethics Committee of the Erie County Medical Center Corporation and has previously served as a member of the Health Law Committee of the Medical Society of Erie County for a number of years.

Helen served on the Board of the National Guardianship Association and was co-chair o the Education Committee of that organization.

She has received the Service Award from the Bar Association in the past. She received a Women in the Law Award in 2005 presented by the 8th Judicial District Gender & Racial Fairness Committees and she was the 2012 recipient of the Dr. Evan Calkins Meritorious Service Award presented by the Network in Aging of Western New York, Inc. She was named Lawyer of the Year by the Erie County Bar Association in 2013.

Todd G. Vaarwerk

Mr. Todd Vaarwerk has served as the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Western New York Independent Living, Inc since 1992. He has experience teaching at Cornell University at the Northeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, where he provides training related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and other Federal Disability Rights statutes (Rehabilitation Act, Air Carrier Access Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Having received a degree in Management Information Systems from Canisius College and a degree in Political Science from the University at Buffalo, Mr. Vaarwerk has robust knowledge of the Western New York Community. In 2006 he received the Robin Shaiken Advocacy Award from the New York State Independent Living Council. He continues to advocate as a Board Member for a multitude of organizations, including but not limited to, Western New York Adaptive Watersports, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, and Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

Lynn Riker

Ms. Lynn Riker currently serves as the Director of Clinical Outreach for Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo. She works to develop relationships with the community, health care partners, potential patients, and caregivers to increase awareness support and access to access to programs. Through outreach and relationship building, Ms. Riker advocates for the sharing and documenting of healthcare preferences and quality of life goals with both loved ones and health care providers.

Ms. Riker comes from a background in medical services, having served as the Vice President of Administration at Invision Health and the Brain & Spine Center where she developed and implemented policies and procedures to meet medical practice compliance and regulatory requirements, cultivated relationships.

Arica Rouse

Ms. Arica Rouse works as the Community Mobilization Coordinator with the Community Access Services of Western New York. She cultivates relationships with community partners and other agencies to increase access to testing, counseling and other health services for the community. Additionally, she facilitates coalition meetings and peer program trainings, conducts outreach to increase prevention and education.

Before joining Community Access Services of Western New York, Ms. Rouse worked with the marginalized and underrepresented in our community. She served as the Program Assistant on Evergreen Health Services’ Women of Color Grant, where she provided education on HIV/AIDS and STI prevention to both clients and the community. Prior, she was an Adoption and Specialized Services Worker for the Erie County Department of Social Services, advocating for children in dangerous situations.

Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD

Dr. Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, is the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion for the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo. She is responsible for providing expertise, opportunities and educational programs needed to fulfill the medical school’s diversity goals.

In this role, Dr. Dubocovich develops and implements innovative programming that ensures inclusion and cultural enhancement as a means to achieve excellence for students and faculty, enriching the learning environment, strengthening the school’s ties to nearby communities and contributing in measurable ways to improving the health of the region.

In her first year at UB, Dr. Dubocovich established her research team and founded CLIMB, the Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in Biosciences program. CLIMB provides mentoring experiences for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral biosciences scholars to ensure success in their careers. 

Dr. Dubocovich has received prestigious awards for her mentoring and research. These include the 2011 UB Distinguished Postdoctoral Mentor Award, the 2011 Mayor Byron W. Brown Hispanic Heritage Award in Medical and Health Fields, the 2011 Aaron B. Lerner Award for Outstanding Contributions to Melatonin Research and the 2012 PhRMA Foundation Award in Excellence in Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Elizabeth Bowen, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Bowen is a community-based urban researcher and educator, as well as an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. Dr. Bowen’s research centers on the health and resilience of people experiencing homelessness. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, Dr. Bowen’s work examines the pathways that link homelessness and health conditions, and addresses the upstream determinants of health and well-being through social policy analysis, which included a coauthorship on an innovative policy analysis framework based on the principles of trauma-informed care.

Dr. Bowen is currently leading a NIH-funded study to improve the measurement and understanding of recovery capital for diverse populations of people in recovery from alcohol problems. She has published widely in journals including the American Journal of Public Health, Children and Youth Services Review, and Public Health Nutrition. She serves as the UB School of Social Work liaison to the National Homelessness Social Work Initiative and is the co-convener of the Initiative’s New York-New Jersey regional network. She frequently collaborates with local housing and social service providers, such as the Homeless Alliance of Western New York, Compass House, and Buffalo City Mission/Cornerstone Manor.

Nicole Capozziello, MSW

Ms. Nicole Capozziello is currently a PhD Candidate at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. She received her Masters of Social Work at the University at Buffalo and Bachelor’s in English at Lawrence University. Her research interests include nature-based interventions, criminal justice programs and policy, and qualitative research and storytelling. She currently serves as a Research Assistant at the UB School of Social Work, with a focus on Developing and Testing a Multidimensional and Measure of Recovery Capital: Toward Standardized Measurement to Understand and Reduce Socioeconomic Disparities in Alcohol Recovery Outcomes.

She has been published in the Buffalo News, Edible Western NY, Edible Seattle, and Crosscut Public Media. Ms. Capozziello is currently partnered with Dr. Elizabeth Bowen to write a book chapter, Urban homelessness: Housing and health equity during health emergencies, in P. Fronek & K. Rotabi Smith (Eds.), Social work in health emergencies: A global perspective. Routledge.

Erin Carman, JD, LMSW

Ms. Erin Carman, is an assistant professor of social work at Daemen College. She is a macro social worker with more than 10 years of experience in human services macro practice. Her teaching and research interests are macro centered, specifically in social policy on racial and economic justice topics.

Most recently, Carman was a consultant for CCNY, Inc., where she focused on organizational systems development and quality improvement for nonprofits and government agencies. She previously worked in program administration and served as director of Brooklyn Community Centers for Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens.

Carman has served as chair of the Western New York Division of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and was policy fellow for Partnership for the Public Good and. She has also served on the NASW New York State Chapter’s Advocacy and Government Relations Committee and was a board member of Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

Carman holds a law degree and a master of social work, both from the University at Buffalo.