Our Team

Mariana Falconier
PhD, LCMFT, LMFT
Project Director
Dr. Mariana Falconier is an Associate Professor and Director of the Master's Program in Couple and Family Therapy in the Department of Family Science, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. She completed her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) and her doctoral degree in Family Studies at the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining the University of Maryland she was an Associate Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, serving first as Director of the Center for Family Services (2008-2016) and later as Director of the Master's Program in Marriage and Family Therapy (2017-2018). Dr. Falconier, originally from Argentina, began her work as a therapist with individuals, couples, and families in 1992.
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in both states Maryland and Virginia and has been an approved supervisor by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy since 2007. Dr. Falconier was also director of outpatient mental health clinics at WATS and Vesta, Inc. before joining Virginia Tech. She has taught in five different universities undergraduate and graduate courses in multicultural and diversity issues in MFT, couple therapy, MFT theories and techniques, particularly postmodern approaches, and developmental psychology. Her research focuses on how couples cope with stress, primarily economic stress among low-income couples and immigration stress in Latinx couples. She has developed the evidence-based program TOGETHER, an interdisciplinary group program designed to help couples improve their communication, coping, and financial management skills. Dr. Falconier has received over $11 million dollars in federal funding to implement the TOGETHER program and initially to evaluate it in a randomized controlled trial. Dr. Falconier has published and presented nationally and internationally and is the leading editor of the book Couples Coping with Stress: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, recipient of the 2018 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award.
Jinhee Kim
PhD
Family Finance Expert and Former Co-Project Director
Dr. Jinhee Kim is Professor and Assistant Director (Program Leader of Family and Consumer Sciences for the University of Maryland Extension) at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her main research areas are financial management, family well-being, and health outcomes.
Her research also focuses on evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at improving financial security and family well-being. Dr. Kim published 3 book chapters, 50+ refereed journal articles and made 100+ invited and refereed presentations on workplace financial education, financial stress, family financial decision making, money and couple relationships, financial socialization, intergenerational transfers, savings behavior, asset ownership of immigrants, food insecurity, diet quality, and SNAP benefits. Dr. Kim is the TOGETHER Program’s Associate Director and Principal Investigator at UMD. She helped develop the TOGETHER curriculum utilizing her expertise on family financial management and well-being.

Facilitators

Robin Brannan
LCMFT
- Workshop Facilitator:
- Relationship Expert/Supervisor
Robin Brannan is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and the Director of Better Together Family Therapy in Kensington, Maryland. She has been helping couples, families, and children to grow and thrive in the DC area for nearly 20 years. She joined the staff of the Together Program because she believes that a strong foundation in relationship skills and stress management can prevent future crises in marriages and in families. She loves the accessibility of this program for families of all income levels and cultural backgrounds and enjoys connecting with each couple she meets in the workshops.

Rafee Al-Mansur
LCMFT
- Workshop Facilitator:
- Relationship Expert/Supervisor
Rafee Al-Mansur is a licensed marriage and family therapist working in private practice in McLean, VA. He received his Masters in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Maryland and his Bachelors in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University. He has been with the Together Program since 2017 and loves witnessing couples transform their relationship through the tools they learn. Rafee is also the Chair of the Couple and Intimate Relationships Network of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). He is also a speaker for the Family and Youth Institute.

Nikki Pruett
AFCPE
- Workshop Facilitator:
- Financial Expert /Supervisor
Nikki Pruett is an AFCPE® certified financial counselor and coach whose work is focused on helping individuals and couples talk about money, reach financial goals, and re-imagine life. Struck with a passion and devotion for financial awareness, education, and well being, she joined the Together Program staff in 2016. Working with the Together Program has deepened her appreciation for helping others in the area of personal finance and continues to be an inspiration for the work she does in the field.
Case managers
Diana Chaves
Bilingual Case Manager
Gisselle Canales
Bilingual Case Manager
Yazelyn Camacho
Bilingual Case Manager
Program Staff
Sarah Fritz
Program Manager
Victoria Ludwig
Assistant Program Manager and Internship Coordinator
Rose Caruso
Marketing, Recruitment, and Communications Coordinator