President
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Judy Smith, MSW, LCSW, RPT™ ​
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Judy has been a member of the NJ APT board since 2021. Judy is proud to work in Southern New Jersey. Judy currently works with children and adolescents as a private practice provider offering trauma informed, relational, and empathic play therapy. Judy is a registered play therapist and clinical social worker with over 12 years of experience helping people in the Philadelphia area. She has experience working in community mental health, hospital settings, a young adult shelter, a foster care agency, and as an intensive in community provider. Judy has also worked abroad in Jamaica through community engagement and NGO work. Judy is excited to be an ongoing part of New Jersey APT. In her free time Judy enjoys swimming, crafting, indulging in reality television shows, and spending time with her husband and two young daughters.
Vice President
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Demi Banchs, MA, LPC, RPT™
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Demi is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist™, TraumaPlay™ Supervisor, certified trainer in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), certified EMDR clinician, and owner of Children’s Trauma Healing Center in Turnersville, NJ. She is currently working toward her Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) credential. Demi specializes in trauma- and attachment-focused therapy for children, adolescents, and families, using an integrative play therapy approach guided by the NMT. In addition to her clinical work, she provides training and consultation in experiential, neurobiologically respectful, trauma-sensitive, attachment-informed, and sensory integration practices. Her commitment to cultural humility and affirmation of all identities and neurotypes is central to her work.
Secretary
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Victoria Jonczyk, MS, LAC, NCC
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Victoria is a Licensed Associate Counselor with a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Monmouth University. She has been an active board member of the NJ Association for Play Therapy since her time as a graduate student representative and continues to contribute in her current role as a licensed professional. Victoria provides therapy to children, adolescents, and young adults, emphasizing an individualized approach. She is pursuing her Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential and strongly believes in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. Victoria is committed to fostering a supportive environment that promotes growth and healing through a holistic and relational approach to therapy.
Treasurer
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Mercedez Ruiz, MA, LAC, NCC
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Mercedez is a Licensed Associate Counselor and active member of the New Jersey Association for Play Therapy. She earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from New Jersey City University and has experience across multiple settings, including college counseling, IOP/PHP programs, and outpatient care. Mercedez integrates cognitive-behavioral, person-centered, play therapy, and existential approaches in her work and values humor as a way to build authentic connections. She is passionate about advancing play therapy in New Jersey, contributing to research, and fostering a supportive professional community within NJAPT.
General Board Director
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Lisa Zaffarese, MS, LPC, NCC, RPT™, ACS
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Lisa is a National Board Certified Licensed Professional Counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Registered Play Therapist™ and is pursuing her RPT-S credential. In practice since 2012, Lisa’s extensive clinical experience includes work in partial hospitalization programs, in-home services and schools. Currently, her private practice Profound Insights applies the therapeutic powers of play to support children, adolescents and families. An adjunct since 2012, Lisa teaches graduate play therapy courses at Monmouth University and psychology at Brookdale Community College. Additionally, she is a clinician for school-based program, Effective School Solutions. Lisa, former President of NJ APT continues to be an active member of the Association for Play Therapy.
General Board Director
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Cindy MacMillan, LCSW
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Cindy brings over 19 years of mental health experience, including work with adults with chronic mental illness in partial hospitalization and community reentry programs and with children and families in intensive in-home services and through out-patient programs. She now focuses on providing therapeutic services to children (birth – 12 years old) and caregivers through her private practice, A Brighter Future Counseling, using an attachment-based, trauma-informed, interpersonal neurobiology lens. Cindy is extensively trained in infant mental health and is currently pursuing her Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential. She is excited to contribute to the NJ APT Board by advancing play therapy practices and promoting the integration of play therapy and infant mental health across New Jersey.
General Board Director
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Simone Lavine, M.S.Ed, M.Phil.Ed, LPC
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Simone is a Licensed Professional Counselor and currently in Phase 3 of the Registered Play Therapist credentialing process. She is the director of Heartwise Counseling, a private practice in Audubon, NJ that offers accessible, attachment-focused therapy for individuals and families across the lifespan. Simone is passionate about providing experiential, relational therapy to support those impacted by trauma and neurodivergence. Committed to affirmative practice and cultural humility, Simone centers the impact of systemic oppression and emphasizes collaborative advocacy. She brings her background in education and the nonprofit sector—as well as a passion for innovation—to her work on the NJ APT Board of Directors, helping to expand access to high-quality play therapy training, education, and supervision across New Jersey.