Who We Are

Cath Burns, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist Doctorate in the State of Vermont.  She is the proprietor of Synchrosaic LLC, a small business with a large mission of developing positive solutions for complex issues experienced by individuals, families, programs, agencies, and systems. 

Currently, Dr. Burns practices in a primary care pediatric practice setting and supports the development of their integrated mental health response system.  She is a consultant with Vermont Care Partners working on a variety of system-wide quality improvement and evaluation projects.  Dr. Burns provides training around the region for profit and non-profit groups on a variety of issues related to resilience, mental health practice, and wellness.  And, finally, Dr. Burns provides organizational facilitation for groups and businesses interested in developing action-oriented plans.  

From 2015 to 2022, Dr. Burns was the Quality Director at Vermont Care Partners (VCP) supporting program improvement across the Vermont Care Partners’ network of 16 agencies supporting people living with mental health conditions, substance use disorder, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.  While at VCP, Dr. Burns was the clinical supervisor for COVID Support VT, a FEMA crisis counseling grant, and provided prevention and intervention services for people struggling with the COVID 19 pandemic.  Since the mid-90’s, Dr. Burns has held a variety of clinical and administrative positions in the Vermont Designated Agency system.  She also has held adjunct positions throughout her career in Vermont at Johnson State College, the University of Vermont, and in the Program in Community Mental Health for graduates and undergraduates studying psychology and related fields.  

Dr. Burns approaches all her work with a foundation in best practices, pragmatism, action, and humor.  She earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and a master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and continues to learn from the children, youth, families, and community partners she has the honor to support.  In her free time, Dr. Burns enjoys spending time with her family doing almost anything outside, particularly if it involves going up or down a mountain.  

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Mary Moulton served as the executive director of Washington County Mental Health Services from 2013 until 2024. Ms. Moulton began her career at Washington County Mental Health in 1990 as an emergency services clinician on the mobile crisis team. She became director of intensive care services in 2005 and chief of operations in 2010 when she worked with multiple programs throughout the agency.  

In August 2011, Mary served at the request of the State of Vermont as the deputy commissioner, and then commissioner of the Department of Mental Health. Her primary directive was to work with teams in all designated agencies to implement Act 79, also known as Vermont’s mental health reform act. As part of that reform, Mary was instrumental in developing law enforcement and crisis team training and remains actively involved in the continuing development of Team Two mental health response training today.  

She has also been the coordinator of Vermont’s Behavioral Health Disaster Response Team, training 500 responders and creating a system for behavioral health response in the event of disaster. Mary received her master’s degree in public administration from Norwich University in 2011 and currently resides in Moretown, Vermont.

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Simone Rueschemeyer is the Executive Director of Vermont Care Partners. In this position she provides vision and strategy across the organization’s leveraging strategic partnerships and external opportunities. Simone has worked in the fields of health and health care for more than thirty years. In the early nineties, she served in the Clinton Administration as a member of the Health Care Task Force in the White House offices of Policy Development and Communication. Simone remained in Washington, DC to work for The Rendon Group as a strategic health care communications consultant for foreign governments.

With an eye toward improving inequities that exist around access to, and the quality of, services and supports, Simone returned to Vermont to receive her Master of Science in Evaluative Clinical Sciences from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Simone continued her focus on improving inequitable access to care as the Vermont State Affairs Manager for Bi-State Primary Care Association and as a consultant specializing in health care and homelessness providing consultation to organizations and state governments on operations, policy, and influence. In 2010, Simone joined VCP where she continues to be dedicated to the provision of community-based services and supports enabling all people to thrive in their communities. Simone enjoys working with then Synchrosaic team to support programs and agencies with planning and positive growth.

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Nicole Breslend is a Licensed Psychologist – Doctorate in the State of Vermont. She received her doctorate at the University of Vermont with a focus in Developmental Psychopathology and has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles in this area. She is a lecturer at the University of Vermont and teaches graduate classes in clinical and developmental psychology in the UVM Clinical Psychology Doctorate Program and in UVM’s undergraduate psychology program. Nicole works in an integrated medical setting where she provides therapy to children, adolescents, and parents (through behavioral parent coaching). She is also a lead program evaluator for the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership. Nicole is a trained Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor. She also specialized in diagnostic evaluations for autism spectrum disorder (as well as evaluations for other types of neurodivergence and mental health conditions). She is passionate about improving child mental health and overall welfare by educating families, schools, and other mental health providers. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time on adventures with her husband and two sons. 

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Zynnia graduated from Southern New Hampshire University Counseling Program and also holds a BA in Communication from University at Buffalo. She has 10 years of experience as a Behavior Specialist, providing children and adolescents with a supportive environment that encourages open expression of emotions in a non-judgmental manner. Zynnia utilizes a holistic framework to support clients by addressing individual, relational, and systemic factors. She works through a person-centered lens and is committed to working with clients of all identities. Her counseling approach is rooted in empathy, acceptance, and leveraging the client’s strengths, with a focus on helping them change their intrusive thoughts. In her free time, Zynnia enjoys spending time with her family, including her dog Harley, and engaging in activities such as watercolor painting, strength training, walks with friends, yoga, boxing, and watching reality TV shows.

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Preferred pronouns:  (she/her)

Preferred pronouns:  (he/him)

Ernest Buford, M.S. is a research specialist and systems administrator in the Spatial Analysis Lab, where he has 20 years of experience with geospatial analysis and management of computer systems for GIS and remote sensing. Ernie has worked on development of tools and databases for conservation planning, wildlife habitat modeling, biodiversity assessment, land cover mapping, geoprocessing automation, dynamic database-driven web site development, wetland inventory and avian field research. He was a technical leader on the Vermont Biodiversity Project and Gap Analysis for Vermont and New Hampshire and has developed data, models and analytical techniques for projects investigating a variety of topics ranging from Bobcat movement and habitat use, to public health effects of transportation networks to vineyard site selection.  In addition to providing server, workstation and software support in the Spatial Analysis Lab, Ernie manages computer systems in the Geospatial Teaching Lab and also serves as UVM’s Esri site license administrator.  

Preferred pronouns:  (he/him)