Michele Eichorn, LCSW, LCADC
Executive Director
Michele M. Eichorn joined the Family Guidance Center in August 2018. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC).
Ms. Eichorn received the Lester Z. Lieberman Humanism in Healthcare Award from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and is featured in the Edge Magazine article entitled Now in My Backyard: Tales from the Front Lines of New Jersey’s Heroin Epidemic.
Michele served as a sergeant in the United States Army. She obtained her Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University and is currently working toward attaining her MBA from Rutgers University.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” ― Martin Luther King, Jr..
Kimberly Merson, MS, LMFT
Director of Program Services
Kim joined the Family Guidance Center team in September 2021. She is dually licensed as a marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her educational background in this field started at the University of Delaware where she graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. Kim continued her path in this field by subsequently getting her master’s degree at Chestnut Hill College in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, with a concentration in marriage and family therapy. While her work has not always focused on treating couples or families, Kim finds a systemic approach to be invaluable when assessing all clinical matters.
Most of Kim’s work experience has been in the behavioral health field. These experiences range from providing court ordered supervision at a visitation center, working with young adults in a mental health residential program, providing in-home treatment to autistic children, counseling victims of domestic violence, providing therapy at a community outpatient facility and most recently supervising an outpatient crisis program. As Director of Program Services at FGC, Kim is excited to broaden her experiences and challenge herself in this new role. This role includes overseeing Crisis Intervention Unit Services, Rehabilitative Services, Intensive Family Support Services, as well as being the chairperson for the center’s Quality Council and an agency Privacy Officer.
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination…”
-Souza
Heidi Herrick-Lynn, MS, LPC, ACS
Director of Outpatient Services
Heidi is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor who joined Family Guidance Center in November 2019 as the Intake Coordinator before transitioning to the Director of Rehabilitation Services in April 2020. In April 2021, Heidi transitioned to the Director of Outpatient Services. In her new role, Heidi oversees all outpatient mental health services, substance use prevention services, outpatient substance use and recovery services, the intake department and the school-based youth services programs. She continues to also oversee the Supported Employment Program and the Quality Commercial Cleaning crew business.
Heidi has been in the behavioral health field since 1995. Prior to joining Family Guidance Center, she was the Program Director of an adult and children’s partial care program in Essex County, NJ. Previous to that position, Heidi held administrative positions in the mental health field in Massachusetts, including operating an outpatient department at a community mental health agency, managing the mental health programs in the Massachusetts correctional system and managing the clinical department of a methadone program.
The invaluable services that Family Guidance Center provide are an incredible asset to the county. All of our programs and initiatives provide our clients with the tools necessary to live the life they envision.”
Jean Ying-Chang, M.D.
Medical Director
Dr. Ying-Chang joined the Family Guidance Center of Warren County as its Medical Director in September 2020. She has been a psychiatrist for 20 years, specializing in child psychiatry. She attended medical school at the Tulane University School of Medicine and trained at NYU Medical Center for her general psychiatry residency as well as earning a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway. Prior to working at FGC, Dr. Ying-Chang worked at St. Clare’s Hospital.
Gregory Romano, RN, MSN, APN-C
Nurse Manager
Greg Romano, RN, MSN, APN-C, began working with Family Guidance Center recently as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Nurse Manager. As the nurse manager, he is responsible for not only providing direct services to consumers, but also works closely with the medical staff regarding administrative issues. Greg is a recent graduate of DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, where he earned his post-master’s certificate from the Psych/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. Greg received his RN degree from Northampton Area Community College. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing education from Cedar Crest College. Prior to coming to Family Guidance Center, he was employed as a medical/surgical nurse with Lehigh Valley Health Network since 2007. While there, Greg was the recipient of the Daisy Award for Excellence in Nursing, which is given out monthly to a nurse nominated by his/her patients, and was nominated for this award five additional times.
Dana E. Deacon, BA
Director of Administrative Services
Dana began employment with Family Guidance Center in 1996 as a receptionist and secretary in the Phillipsburg office site. On her journey to Director of Administrative Services, she held several administrative support positions, including administrative assistant, accounting clerk and Supervisor of Administrative Services. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Salisbury University. Dana’s responsibilities include direct management of facilities, computer network, electronic health record system, corporate compliance and administrative support staff; administration of human resources and benefits, commercial and medical insurance policies; and staff liaison to the Board of Trustees. She also oversees front desk, billing, information management and secretarial support operations.
As an adolescent and young adult I had envisioned a career in public service. I now know the public I was meant to serve are those who face the challenges presented by emotional distress, mental illness and substance abuse disorders. I have personally seen consumers with mental illness live full lives and those with substance abuse disorders prevail over their addiction.
Gregor Thomas, LCSW
Director, School Based Youth Services Programs
Gregor Thomas, LCSW joined the Family Guidance Center of Warren County in June 2021 as the director of The School Based Youth Services Program. Gregor graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a master’s degree in social services in 2015. He is a Certified Trainer in The Nurtured Heart Approach, and has been working with youth/adolescent and their family systems across different environments since his entry in the field of Social Work. Gregor is an avid sports fan and has an English Bulldog named Bill.
Ingrid Fernandez, MSW
Director of Prevention and Treatment
Ingrid Fernandez, MSW joined the Family Guidance Center of Warren County in December 2018 as the director of Prevention Connections. As the program director of the substance use prevention program, Ingrid oversees the various initiatives provided by state and federal grants. Within her first year at the agency, Ingrid submitted her first state grant proposal, “Alternative Approaches to Pain Management for Older Adults,” which was accepted and awarded in 2019. She also developed the Institute for Prevention and Treatment, Family Guidance Center’s continuing education program. Ingrid received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in social work at Kean University. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. Prior to joining the Family Guidance Center, she worked as an intake coordinator at Family and Children’s Services and as a substance abuse specialist at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Ingrid has quickly proven herself to be an integral part of the Family Guidance Center, and we are thrilled to have her onboard.
Don’t limit your abilities. If you want something, believe it and achieve it, because everything is possible.
Nichola Lydon, MSW, LSW, CPRS
Director of Rehabilitation Services
Nichola joined Family Guidance Center in January 2020 as a substance use clinician in the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP), eventually becoming the agency’s assistant supervisor of substance use services. In her new position, Nichola now oversees the agency’s Gateway Partial Care program and serves as a consultant to the Better Future Self-Help Center (BFSHC). She will also continue to oversee the Community Peer Recovery Center (CPRC) at FGC’s Phillipsburg office. Nichola earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2015 from Montclair State University and her MSW from the University of Southern California in 2018. Prior to joining FGC, Nichola worked in the partial care and permanent supportive housing fields, providing case management. She is looking forward to tackling the responsibilities of her new position and is passionately dedicated to providing services to clients, all of whom deserve dignity, respect, and care of the highest caliber.
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius
