Meet the Team

Dr. Lori Tall is the owner of Black Bear Academy and the founder and clinical director of the Center for Comprehensive Neurobehavioral Care, a neuropsychology practice in downtown Chicago. As a clinical neuropsychologist, she specializes in educational, neuropsychological, and legal assessments and has worked across clinical and academic settings throughout her career. Dr. Tall received her doctoral degree from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles, interned in neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota, and was a fellow at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a hospital and community-based psychologist at the Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center and served as the director of the Assessment Program at The Family Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston and clinical director at Rush Neurobehavioral Center at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Tall serves as the executive director at Black Bear Academy.

Emily grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago. She graduated from Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers!) with degrees in Communication Sciences/ Disorders and Psychology. During her time at LSU, she spent time in a therapeutic school that served children in first grade through fifth grade. She fell in love with this setting, and the idea of creating spaces where all minds can learn and thrive! She then received her Master’s of Science in Speech, Language, and Learning from Northwestern University. She proudly serves as the Clinical Director of Redwood @ BBA. Her passion is helping to create a learning environment that can serve all kids, and create a space where every child is seen. Her favorite thing about the Redwood @ BBA school family is everyone is dedicated to fostering a culture of love, acceptance, and silliness! She has experience in therapeutic schools, outpatient clinics, and public school settings. Outside of work, Emily can be found spending time with her husband, Eric, and their rescue pup, Breslin! She loves exploring everything that Chicago has to offer, and is proud to call the city home! She’s often watching sports or spending time outside (either riding her bike, training for marathons, or hanging out at the beach).

Rebecca Sinclair is the Executive Director of Redwood Schools, bringing a rich background in education and leadership to her role. With a Bachelor’s degree in General and Special Education, a Master’s in School Counseling, and a Master’s in Educational Leadership, Becky combines a deep understanding of student needs with strategic vision. She is dedicated to fostering strengths-based, whole-child, and joy-filled learning environments that maximize student growth and well-being and is honored to lead the dedicated Redwood Schools’ team.Becky’s passion for education is matched by her commitment to family. She lives with her husband, Andrew, and their three daughters—Evelyn (11), Olivia (8), and Ava (5). Outside of her professional life, Becky enjoys hiking, reading, spending time with her family, and traveling, activities that inspire her creativity and refresh her perspective as an educational leader.

Rachael is the Director of Development of Redwood Schools. Rachael earned her bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Media Design from DePaul University. Over the last 6 years, she has served in a variety of roles at Redwood, each one leading her to her current position. In this role, Rachael’s work includes: building relationships, developing marketing strategies, managing website and design projects, collaborating with the board, writing grants, fundraising, overseeing donor management, and coordinating events. You’ll often find her moving between Redwood’s school programs, getting to know students, staff, and families. This year, Rachael is especially excited to pursue her CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) and CNP (Certified Nonprofit Professional) certifications. She looks forward to the knowledge and opportunities they will bring to her role—and to supporting Redwood Schools’ continued growth. When she’s not at Redwood, Rachael enjoys spending time with her husband, Erik, their baby boy, Frankie, and their rescue dog, Lou. Together, they love exploring Chicago, trying new restaurants, experimenting with new recipes, and catching a good movie.

Gianna grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and made the move into the city in 2020! A proud alumna of Illinois State University, she furthered her education and studies with a Master’s in Special Education from DePaul University. Her work ethic and deep compassion for others are rooted and passed down from her family, who have devoted their careers to supporting organizations in the special education field, as well as running their own business within the restaurant and ice cream worlds. These lead her to develop a profound love and understanding of the importance of collaboration, community, and serving others.With four years of teaching experience at a therapeutic day school in the northwest suburbs, followed by another year in a therapeutic setting in Chicago, Gianna enjoys her career in the field of education. At these schools, she helped create and trial many innovative academic and behavioral interventions tailored to meet the diverse needs of her students. Now, as she embarks on her first year as a site director with the Redwood at Black Bear team,  she is excited to continue her passion and support for this population of students. Gianna's passion for supporting and advocating for each student stems from her experience developing her teaching philosophy of meeting each student where they are in their social-emotional, functional, and academic journeys. She believes that building strong relationships with students and families is critical to supporting each student to be the best version of themselves. Additionally, Gianna works constantly to create a nurturing environment for all, instilling that patience and individuality is vital throughout each moment of a student’s day  and each are part of how students feel valued and special everyday.Outside of school, Gianna cherishes time with family and friends, traveling, biking through the city, baby and dog-sitting for her friends, as well as a love of going to movies, concerts, and theater productions with her husband. Being part of the Redwood at Black Bear "school family" inspires Gianna everyday, and she eagerly looks forward to making each day brighter for the incredible students who enter the doors.

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Dr. Sayali Inamdar is the clinical psychologist at Redwood at Blackbear Academy (RBBA). She completed her PsyD in clinical psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is passionate about supporting early intervention for social, emotional, and neurodevelopmental difficulties in the school setting. She has previous experience with mood disorders, trauma, and neurodevelopmental disorders within the child and adolescent populations in school and hospital settings. At RBBA, Dr. Sayali will be focusing on social emotional program expansion, classroom coaching, providing mental health support, and pushing into the classroom for observation, modeling, and “in the moment” support.

Morgan is from Rockford, Illinois and moved to Chicago in 2018. She received her bachelor's degree in Special Education LBS1 from Illinois State University. Morgan had the privilege of teaching in a Primary Cluster classroom in Chicago Public Schools for four years before joining the Black Bear team. While teaching in CPS, she designed and implemented various academic and behavior interventions for students with diverse needs. Morgan has been with Black Bear Academy for 4 years and will be supporting both Black Bear Academy and Redwood at Black Bear this year! She is passionate about meeting each student where they are at with their social-emotional, functional, and academic development. Morgan maintains a student-focused approach to teaching. Outside the classroom, she enjoys exploring Chicago, traveling, and spending quality time with family & friends. Morgan loves our Black Bear/Redwood "school family" and shows enthusiasm for supporting our students, families, and staff!

Amy attended University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for both her undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing Science and her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. During her graduate studies, Amy has worked with the pediatric population in a variety of clinical settings, including elementary schools, early intervention, and an outpatient pediatric hospital. Additionally, she worked in a research lab studying developmental language disorders throughout her time at University of Illinois. Amy has worked closely with children with phonological disorders, receptive/expressive language delays, fluency disorders, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is passionate about working with the pediatric population to help promote academic growth through improving speech and language skills. She is excited to be completing her Clinical Fellowship year at Redwood @ BBA this year! Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and playing tennis!

Avery graduated from Saint Louis University with a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Science and a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. Avery is passionate about supporting clients holistically through a play-based approach, bringing creativity to her sessions to keep therapy engaging and fun. During graduate school, Avery completed fieldwork rotations in early intervention, outpatient clinics, and upper extremity rehabilitation. She previously spent time with BBA during her fieldwork and is thrilled to join the Redwood at Black Bear team. Avery enjoys helping students thrive in the classroom and community and looks forward to supporting students at RBBA. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, taking walks along the lakefront, and trying new recipes.

Charlie is the Restorative Intervention Specialist at Redwood // Blackbear. Charlie earned his bachelor's degree in History with a minor in sociology from Illinois State University. For the last three years, Charlie has worked as an Intervention Specialist at Connections South Campus in Palatine. In this role he supported students through dysregulation and other challenging moments in the school setting. His vast experience using CPI descalation strategies helps students work though big feelings without feeling like it is punitive. He currently lives in Elk Grove Village with his cat Arthur. At home, Charlie enjoys sports, TV, movies, and playing guitar. He loves the Chicago Bears and Cubs and supports them by watching all of their games.

Dr. Liz Zimmermann is clinical consultant at Redwood at Black Bear, in addition to being the Clinical Director and the lead of the Mental Health team at Black Bear Academy. She graduated from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology with her PsyD. She has focused training in therapeutic and diagnostic services with children, adolescents, and their families who experience mood, developmental and behavioral challenges. Dr. Liz works with students in and outside of the classroom to support social, emotional and behavioral needs. She partners with teachers and therapists to foster a therapeutic learning environment and works with parents and families to provide collaborative care. As a part of the multidisciplinary treatment team, Dr. Liz provides classroom coaching, individual and group therapy, parent coaching, family therapy and works closely with the therapeutic classes. Dr. Liz practices from a trauma-informed perspective that incorporates relationally focused, evidence-based interventions. When not at work, Dr. Liz can be found spending time with family, painting, reading, baking cookies, or by the water.