STTAR Center Staff

L. Jeannie Dillingham joined STTAR in 2003 as Executive Director. Ms. Dillingham has been in non-profit management for over 10 years and spent four years as an Executive Director of a human-services organization in Detroit. Ms. Dillingham has her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky. She serves on the Howard County Child Advocacy Center Executive Committee and is currently leading their strategic planning effort. She also coordinates the Howard County Sexual Assault Response Team. Ms. Dillingham is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Howard County.

Laurie Dillman joined STTAR in 2003 as an Administrative Assistant and in 2005 was promoted to Office Manager.  She holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.  Prior to joining STTAR, she was self-employed as a licensed massage therapist.  Ms. Dillman has served as a Health Ombudsman for the Maryland Consumer Protection Division and as the Office Manager for a primary health care center at Man Alive, Inc., a non-profit, outpatient, methadone clinic in Baltimore.

Sharon Delph joined the Administrative Staff at STTAR in 2002 as a part-time receptionist, remaining employed full-time at Loktite/Dymalon, Inc., a small distributorship in Timonium, where she had been since 1978.  As of 2007, she is STTAR’s full-time Front Office Administrator, handling both reception and client billing.  Ms. Delph volunteered for many years in the CCD Religious Education Program at St. Louis Church in Clarksville, first, as Office Assistant and then, as Assistant Teacher.

Saman  Akhtar, came on board in 2006 as the Project Coordinator for the Family & Sexual Violence Coordinating Council of Howard County, a joint program between the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County and the STTAR Center. Along with being the coordinating council’s Project Coordinator, she is also Education & Community Relations Coordinator with the STTAR Center. With a background in community development and business management, Ms. Akhtar worked as a consultant within the HR field, helping to prepare benefits packages for small businesses. She graduated with a Master of Science in Human Resource Management in 2001 and a Master of Business Administration in 2005, both from the University of Maryland.

Mary Ellen Merrick, D.Min., LCPC began her experience with STTAR in 1990 as a volunteer group therapist, joined the Clinical Staff in 1992, and has served as an adult therapist since that time.  She did her doctoral studies at Loyola College in Maryland and the Graduate Theological Union in Donaldson, Indiana.  Areas of expertise include being a Substance Abuse expert and a Certified Clinical Supervisor.  Dr. Merrick is also an adjunct professor for the Pastoral Counseling Program at Loyola College.

Theresa Keane, LCSW-C joined the Clinical Staff at STTAR in 1998. She previously worked at Howard County Mental Health as a case manager for children and at Good Shepherd Residential Treatment Center as a child and family therapist. She graduated with a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland in 1985. Ms. Keane serves as a member of the Howard County Department of Social Services’ Multi- Disciplinary Team and she has served as mental health consultant for the Howard County Child Advocacy Center. She specializes in working with children and adolescents with disabilities, and with adopted and foster-care children.

Linda Linton, LCSW-C joined the Clinical Staff at STTAR in the fall of 2006.  After graduating from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 2001, she worked with adults and adolescents at Sheppard Pratt’s outpatient mental health clinic in Columbia.  Ms. Linton provides therapy to adults, and she is a certified Level II practitioner of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).  She also utilizes energy therapies in her work with clients. 

Raymond Heim, LGSW joined STTAR in 2007. Mr. Heim’s background consists of more than ten years experience providing psychotherapy to children and adults in an outpatient setting with a primary focus in family therapy. As an adolescent therapist, he designed and implemented a GED program for at-risk youth. In addition, he worked for Child Protective Services for the Howard County Department of Social Services prior to joining the STTAR Center. Mr. Heim received his Bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Master’s in Social Work from Temple University.

Katie Cogan, LCPC began at the STTAR Center in 2004 as a clinical intern. Ms. Cogan has an MA with honors from Loyola College and graduated in January of 2003. She has recently returned (March 2008) to the STTAR Center as a therapist primarily treating older children, adolescents, and young adults. She previously worked as a therapist on the Howard County Mobile Crisis Team in conjunction with the Howard County Police Department, Grassroots Crisis Intervention, and Humanim. In this position, Ms. Cogan responded on the scene to traumatic events and psychiatric emergencies. She also conducted brief solution focused therapy in the Howard County Crisis Center. In addition, Ms. Cogan has worked as an independent contract therapist doing long-term psychotherapy with a variety of ages specializing in PTSD, Traumatic Grief, and Clergy Abuse. She is certified in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) and Traumatic Grief. She has been a speaker at conferences locally and in Toronto on suicide prevention/postvention, and trauma and spirituality.