Eva Holsinger, MD
Dr. Eva Holsinger graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and trained in Pediatrics at Akron Children’s Hospital. She worked as a community pediatrician and was on staff at Akron Children’s Hospital and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine for over 4 years. Dr. Holsinger also joined the Center in 2003 as a fellow in International Child Health, where she provided post-adoptive clinical care and pre-adoption consultations with the Adoption Health Service.
She co-directs our Cleveland-based International course on Humanitarian Emergencies, and was also co-director of the Humanitarian Emergencies course taught in El Salvador in 2006. Dr. Holsinger has extensive experience working in Latin American countries, and she is particularly interested in the physical and mental health consequences of child trafficking and gender-based violence.
Eva joined the staff of the Adoption Health Service in January 2007 following completion of her fellowship (2006). She is leading our efforts to expand our services and care for more children in the greater Cleveland area through the provision of additional clinical sites and educational forums. She is also Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Anna Mandalakas
Dr. Anna Mandalakas directs the Adoption Health Service and plays an active role in the Northeast Ohio adoption community to support child-centered adoption. In addition to the many clinical services she provides through our Adoption Health Service, she routinely provides lectures to raise community awareness about the special needs of children adopted internationally. Her educational efforts have been directed towards a wide variety of audiences including parents, teachers, psychologists, school administrators, community physicians, nurses, and health care professionals in training. In recognition of these efforts, the Adoption Network Cleveland chose Dr. Mandalakas as the 2003 Triad Advocate of the Year. Upcoming lectures of Dr. Mandalakas and other members of the Adoption Health Service may be found on our website.
Dr. Mandalakas completed her undergraduate studies in Medical Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University. After obtaining her medical degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, she returned to Cleveland and completed her Pediatric Residency (1997) and International Child Health Fellowship (2000) at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Additionally, she received her Master’s degree in Epidemiology from Case Western Reserve University (2000).
Dr. Mandalakas is currently funded by the National Institute of Health to research cost-effective screening in children adopted internationally. (LINK to research) Dr. Mandalakas is actively involved in collaborative research addressing several other major issues of concern in internationally adopted children including attachment, developmental delays, fetal alcohol syndrome and other infectious diseases.
Dr. Mandalakas also serve as Medical Director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
Dr. Jane E. Holan
Dr. Jane E. Holan is a board certified pediatrician who has completed fellowship training in developmental pediatrics and practiced that subspecialty for almost 20 years. She received her medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine. She completed pediatric residency at Portsmouth Naval Regional Medical Center. Her fellowship training was first at the Child Development Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and then at Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Holan was on staff at the Medical College of Ohio, where she started the clinic for children with Down Syndrome and began the initial interaction with other Ohio clinics for children with Down Syndrome. She then served as medical director at Blick Clinic in Akron, Ohio for over a decade. There she continued the program for children with Down Syndrome, as well as other children with developmental challenges, and began to work with the Summit County Children’s Services to evaluate the at risk children in foster care for developmental concerns. She also served as the developmental pediatrician for the early intervention program in Stark County for several years.
Dr. Holan joined the faculty of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in 2001, where she has continued to serve in the Developmental Clinic. She recently has joined the Adoption Health Service to provide further support to children who have been internationally adopted.
Lindsey Houlihan
Lindsey Houlihan (Cohort '00) graduated from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS) at Case Western Reserve University with a master's degree (MSSA) in 1990. Lindsey is currently a Licensed Independent Social Worker (L.I.S.W). Currently, she is the Project Coordinator of the Adoption and Early Intervention Grant at MSASS funded by the Department of Education. The focus of the grant is to evaluate the effects of early intervention upon newly adoptive families. Lindsey is also an Adjunct Instructor at MSASS where she has taught courses on human development, substance abuse, child and adolescent development and research. In 2000, Lindsey entered the doctoral program at MSASS where she is currently a doctoral candidate and is slated to graduate in 2005. Lindsey was the recipient of the Mentorship Fellowship Award (2001) and the Grace Brody Institute for Family Studies Dissertation Award (2002). In 2001, Lindsey began working with the Adoption Health Service at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. She co-facilitates pre-parenting classes for families who are adopting internationally. In collaboration with the Adoption Health Service, she is a co-investigator of a grant that examines the impact of adoption upon internationally adopted children (IAC). Lindsey's dissertation is a longitudinal study of the impact of the adoptive family upon early attachment in IAC.
Therese Dragga
Therese Dragga graduated from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 1981. She worked at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio for more than 21 years before joining the Adoption Health Service in 2002. As a Registered Nurse, she finds working with families during all phases of the international adoptive process enjoyable and rewarding.
Stephen Niple
Steve Nipple is the Administrative Assistant for the Adoption Health Service as well as the Department Assistant for the Rainbow Center for Global Child Health. Steve has been working with and assisting families in pediatrics through Children's Hospitals for over 5 years. Steve is also an active member of Circle of Friends, an outreach program developed by the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees, dedicated to support Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital through the donation of funds, volunteer time or advocacy.