Lisa Kroger and Michelle Llorens named executive directors of Devereux Florida

Villanova, PA – Jan. 3 , 2019 – Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare in the nation, today announced that President and CEO Carl E. Clark II named Lisa Kroger, LMSW, and Michelle Llorens, M.A., BCBA, as executive directors of Devereux Florida, effective Jan. 7, 2019.

Kroger currently serves as assistant executive director of Devereux Florida’s residential campuses in Orlando and Titusville, along with the center’s therapeutic group homes, community-based programs and child welfare services throughout the state. Llorens is the assistant executive director of Devereux Florida’s Viera campus, the Threshold Center for Autism, Brevard Family Care, and the center’s intellectual/developmental disabilities group homes and community-based programs in Volusia County.

In their new roles as executive directors, Kroger and Llorens will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of their current, respective areas of responsibility (noted above), and will continue to report to Devereux Operations Vice President Gwendolyn B. Skinner.

“Lisa and Michelle have been part of the Devereux family for 18 years and 23 years, respectively. Their outstanding leadership qualities and ongoing quest for improvement – combined with the wonderful relationships they have fostered with the individuals and families in our care, local communities and external partners – make them perfectly suited for these Devereux Florida leadership positions,” said Clark.

About Lisa Kroger, LMSW

Lisa Kroger, LMSW

Lisa Kroger, LMSW, joined Devereux Florida in 2000 as the director of outpatient services in Brevard County. In 2003, she was promoted to the position of regional administrator and, three years later, served as senior regional administrator. Kroger has held her most recent position, assistant executive director of the Orlando and Titusville campus, along with overseeing community and child welfare programs throughout the state of Florida, since January 2017. Prior to coming to Devereux, she was the disposition / referral center manager for Wellstar Health Systems in Marietta, Ga.

Kroger earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of West Florida and a Masters of Social Work, Magna Cum Laude, from Clark Atlanta University. She currently serves as a board member for Devereux Community Based Care, as well as the Central Florida Community Based Care (CBC) Provider Board. In addition, she has served on the Florida Coalition for Children board, chaired the Community Based Care Systems care committee, co-chaired the Central Florida CBC mental health committee, and served on committees for the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

About Michelle Llorens, M.A., BCBA

Michelle Llorens, M.A., BCBA

Michelle Llorens, M.A., BCBA, holds more than 20 years of experience in the behavioral healthcare field. She joined Devereux Florida in 1995 as a direct care professional at the organization’s Viera campus. During her tenure with the organization, Llorens has held several positions of increasing responsibility, including program coordinator, senior clinical manager, regional administrator and campus administrator. In January 2017, she was promoted to her most recent position of assistant executive director of Devereux Florida’s Viera campus.

Llorens is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds the following academic degrees: Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University.

About Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations providing services, insight and leadership in the evolving field of behavioral healthcare. Founded in 1912 by special education pioneer Helena Devereux, the organization operates a comprehensive national network of clinical, therapeutic, educational, and employment programs and services that positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of children, adults – and their families – every year. Focused on clinical advances emerging from a new understanding of the brain, its unique approach combines evidence-based interventions with compassionate family engagement.

With more than 7,500 employees working in programs across the nation, Devereux is a recognized partner for families, schools and communities, serving many of our country’s most vulnerable populations in the areas of autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, specialty mental health, and child welfare. Programs are offered in hospital, residential, community and school-based settings. They include: assessments; interventions and support; transition and independent life services; family and professional training; research and innovation; and advocacy and public education. For more than a century, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health has been guided by a simple and enduring mission: To change lives by unlocking and nurturing human potential for people living with emotional, behavioral or cognitive differences. www.devereux.org.

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