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Meet Joanna
Joanna Renoj
she / her / hers
Billing Supervisor
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Joanna?
She's a big fan of picking up new hobbies, and is currently trying to learn how to sew! Joanna is also a big audio person; you can always catch her listening to something.
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How does Joanna support Open Space CCW?
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Joanna helps Open Space as the Billing Supervisor - she manages the accounts for all of our active clients. Joanna ensures that insurance benefits are verified and that claims are processed appropriately. More importantly, Joanna engages with our clients to help them understand their mental health insurance benefits and answer questions anyone might have about their account.
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Our goal is to demystify an often frustrating and confusing process and make things as easy as possible for you!
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
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At home figuring out a new project or going around town looking for some good food and fun things to do! I love finding cool views of the city, but I also enjoy just spending time at home!
Do you have a question related to billing?
Call us, send us a message via our contact form below, or email us to get started.
724-777-1433
Meet Charles
Charles Warren
MS, HRM, SHRM-CP
they / them
Director of
People + Culture
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Charles?
Charles is a recent graduate of California University of Pennsylvania's Clinical Mental Health Counseling Masters Program. Charles is a very passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of life. Identifying as gay themselves, Charles has focused their graduate research on providing competent and affirming care for underserved communities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals and families.
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Charles’s prior experience in human resources has provided them with a rewarding career helping people thrive in the workplace for local government, private sector, healthcare, and international organizations. Charles attained their Master’s Degree in human resources management from Capella University, and is a SHRM Certified Professional.
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How does Charles support Open Space CCW?
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In addition to supporting our clients clinically in their Therapist role, Charles serves as Open Space CCW’s Director of People + Culture. Their goal is to ensure that each of our employees feel supported, remain engaged in our work culture, and have easy access to the benefits that we offer. Additionally, Charles works closely with our CEO on overall organizational goal setting, strategy planning, and workforce development, to ensure that Open Space CCW is always moving forward intentionally while maintaining our mission and values as a practice. Charles oversees the People + Culture Department, which includes engagement + retention, job design, budget management, employee relations, compensation + benefits, talent management, and compliance. It also includes our gem of a People + Culture Coordinator, Aksel!
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
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Spending time with my family and fur babies (three cats, and three dogs!), blogging, and playing video games. As a newbie #PlantHuman you will also find me tending to my abundance of houseplants and trying my thumb at gardening!
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Are you interested in a career at Open Space CCW?
Meet CHelsea
Chelsea MacDonald
she / her / hers
Director of
Client Experience
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Chelsea?
Chelsea is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, from which she has gained a very expensive piece of paper that proves that she really enjoys English Literature, Psychology, and Women’s Studies.
Chelsea is a helper. The kind of person who likes to be behind the scenes, making people’s lives easier in small ways. She understands the value and need for therapeutic services in people’s lives and is passionate about being a catalyst for people’s healing. Chelsea knows that healing can come in many forms, and believes that small, kind interactions with people can make a difference.
Chelsea is a certified yoga instructor who never does yoga, an avid poetry reader, and a huge fan of doing nothing. Chelsea learned how to be a good person from her parents, who are good people and two of the best helpers she knows.
Chelsea was born and raised in Pittsburgh and loves this city, even after living in San Diego for six years. When Chelsea isn’t working, she’s usually doing laundry, making lunches and dinners, and cleaning things. But what she really loves to do is spend time in sunshine (more like a cat in a puddle of sunlight on the floor, less like a sunbathing goddess), swim, read poems, eat cheeseburgers, and spend time with her family, including her very nice parents, her husband who truly loves her for who she is, and her little boy who she loves more than anything else in the entire world.
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How does Chelsea support Open Space CCW?
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As the Director of Client Experience, Chelsea has one of the most important jobs in the practice--to link clients with clinicians who will be a good fit, and make the process of finding support as friendly and accessible as possible. Chelsea oversees both the Billing and Intake Departments and focuses on finding ways to enhance the experience our clients have from the moment they first reach out until the completion of services. Her approach is heavily influenced by her years of work in the service industry as a bartender and restaurant consultant. She believes that hospitality can be emphasized in any industry and strives to make Open Space a welcoming environment for all of our clients.
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How can I contact Chelsea?
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724-777-1433
Are you interested in scheduling with one of our clinicians?
We would love to work with you!
Meet Samantha
Samantha Goldberg, MSW
she / her / hers
Founder +
CEO
Consultations
Training
Speaking Engagements
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LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Samantha?
Samantha Goldberg is the Founder + CEO of Open Space Counseling, Consulting & Wellness. She is a social worker by trade, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a certificate in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, where she also obtained her Master of Social Work degree.
When Samantha began seeing first hand the serious lack of LGBTQIA+ competent and affirming mental health services available to the LGBTQIA+ community, and witnessed more and more colleagues experiencing inequity and burnout, the idea to transform Open Space CCW from a solo practice into a group practice was born.
Since 2018, Open Space CCW has expanded to a diverse team of 25+ mental health clinicians, leadership staff, and support staff, and now offers a graduate-level internship program for rising clinicians who want to gain more competency in serving the LGBTQIA+ community. A member of the LGBTQIA+ community herself, Samantha has been able to lead her team with both professional and lived experience. Samantha transitioned from seeing clients in the spring of 2022, and now oversees all business operations and a growing leadership team. Additionally, she provides consulting services and training to schools, agencies, and corporations who have a desire to improve their LGBTQIA+ competency and create more inclusive environments.
In addition to overseeing the dynamic and incredible humans who make up the Open Space CCW family, Samantha also serves on the Board of Directors for Three Rivers Business Alliance (3RBA), Pittsburgh's LGBTQIA+ Chamber of Commerce, as an Advisory Board Member for the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program, and as the Executive Vice President of Three Rivers Business Alliance Foundation (3RBF). In the fall of 2022, Samantha was named one of four Women of Steel by PNC and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has entered into a partnership with both organizations. In addition to the Women of Steel award and in-stadium marketing, the program also included mentorship, consultation, and marketing support from Steelers executives, PNC executives, and PNC-Certified Women's Business Advocates throughout the 2022-2023 football season.
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
Chasing after Cooper and Romie (the fur kids!), spending time with my partner, doing a house project, traveling, and searching for/reading about/repurposing allllllll the "old stuff" (antique and history nerd, here!).
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How can I contact Samantha?
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Who has worked with her?
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Interested in training, consultation, or speaking engagements? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with Samantha below!
Meet Sian
Sian Hairston
she / her / hers
Intake +
Office Coordinator
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Sian?
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Sian comes to us with a background in Psychology, and a passion for helping the community we serve. She is especially interested in ensuring that clients are well-matched with clinicians, and that they have the best experience they possibly can here at Open Space CCW. In both her professional and personal life, Sian has a mission to improve the lives of those who feel "other", which makes her an incredible fit for Open Space CCW.
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How does Sian support Open Space CCW?
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As our Intake and Office Coordinator, Sian works directly alongside Chelsea, our Director of Client Experience. Her primary role is to ensure that clients are well-matched with clinicians so that they have the best experience they possibly can here at Open Space CCW.
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She also has the very important job of ensuring that all of our offices run smoothly; that our offices are welcoming, warm, and clean for our clients; and that our clinicians are well taken care of as they do the important work that they do so that they can show up as their best selves in the therapy room.
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Sian also has a strong desire to return to school for her Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling, which means that she is equally as committed to the therapeutic process as the clinicians themselves. You may see her here as a clinician one day!
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
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Outside of Open Space, you can find me on a good hike. I love the outdoors, rain or shine- but not snow! In cold weather, I'll be bundled up watching a true-crime documentary or scary movie, deep in a good book, or hanging out with my pet snake!
Meet Aksel
Aksel Riley
they / them / theirs
People +
Culture Coordinator
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Aksel?
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Aksel is the People + Culture Coordinator at Open Space CCW. They earned their degree in Business Administration with a focus on HR Management from Western Governors University. They come to us with experience working in recruitment, benefits, customer service, and psychiatric direct care. They joined the Open Space CCW team to support the employees who make Open Space CCW a safe space for Pittsburgh’s queer community to receive the affirming, high quality mental healthcare they deserve!
Aksel is a nonbinary, queer individual who is passionate about the queer community, mental health, and encouraging people to live and grow authentically as their true selves! Aksel loves animals, queer cartoons, tarot cards, and is always looking to try out a new hobby!
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How does Aksel support Open Space CCW?
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Working alongside Charles, our Director of People + Culture, Aksel supports Open Space CCW by wearing many important hats as our People + Culture Coordinator. They are here to make the employees of Open Space CCW feel supported, help foster a positive work culture, and assist in matters related to recruitment, engagement & retention, benefits, payroll, talent management, and compliance.
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
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When not at work, Aksel is usually taking care of their fur babies, hanging out at their favorite witchy shops, going on mental health walks, or playing Stardew Valley or DnD!
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Interested in working at Open Space CCW?
Meet Bess
Bess Carlton
she / her / they / them
Billing Coordinator
LGBTQIA+ Affirming
Who is Bess?
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Bess is the Billing Coordinator at Open Space CCW and works alongside Joanna, our Billing Supervisor. In addition to earning her degree in Fine Arts from the Department of Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, Bess comes to us with diverse experience in developing and maintaining positive client relationships, as well as strong administrative and account management skills. More importantly, she comes to us with a sincere desire to support Open Space CCW's mission, and is determined to make your therapy process as smooth as possible.
Bess describes herself as a "queer, neurodivergent, cottage-core witchy babe with too many interests and not enough time!" She is a a "life-long Anne of Green Gables type", meaning that she carries curiosity, optimism and perseverance with her, and she'd rather be barefoot in the grass and dirt communing with nature!
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How does Bess support Open Space CCW?
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Bess's primary role as the Billing Coordinator at Open Space CCW is managing the accounts for all of our active clients. Along with Joanna, she ensures that insurance benefits are verified and that claims are processed appropriately to make your therapy process as easy as possible. It's also important to Bess that in managing our client accounts, she can successfully offer support and better understanding of how insurance benefits work for each of you. We want this part to be as clear and stress-free as possible so you can focus on YOU and your mental health journey.
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When I'm not at Open Space CCW, you may also find me...
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In therapy! But also... sitting on my hoard of fabric and art supplies like a dragon, being out in nature saying hello to the flowers and animals, being an agent of chaos with my friends in our historical reenactment group, living off charcuterie board foods, being silly with my partner, and doing my best to meet my precious, perfect cat's standards. Can we just watch Bluey and go to the thrift store, please?​​​