Our Team
Founded in 2005 by Derek H. Suite, M.D., Full Circle Confidential is a culturally competent, spiritually sensitive, mental performance resource made up of board-certified and licensed mental health experts, executive coaches, and wellness professionals with significant expertise and experience in executive and leadership coaching, peak performance psychology, high stress and anxiety management, and cultural diversity. Our Full Circle team is especially good at helping top performers:
- Peak under pressure
- Manage stress and performance anxieties
- Increase grit, confidence & mental toughness
- Sustain positive motivation, attitude & energy
- Master the use of visualization & mental imagery
- Master focus, execution & decision-making skills
- Master achieving the appropriate level of arousal
- Master emotional reactivity and attitude control
Our Approach
Caring. Compassionate. Competent. Confidential. Although our work primarily involves the use of evidence-based treatments within the fields of neuroscience, psychopharmacology and performance psychology, our team is especially sensitive to the need to incorporate cultural and spiritual sensitivity and recognizes that respect for another’s culture and faith is of the utmost importance.
We use a holistic approach — examining the biological, psychological, social, and on occasion, spiritual dimensions of any situation. We are also qualified to provide medication management. In conjunction with traditional modalities, we offer Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MI), where applicable.
Our team is sensitive to the needs, dignity, and rights of our clients. As our name implies, confidentiality is at the heart of all of our work. We are able to travel and see clients at home or in other privacy settings.
Dr. Suite has over 20 years’ experience providing strategic leadership counseling, executive coaching, and organizational mental performance consultation. He is currently the senior peak performance consultant and organizational mental performance coach to New York Knicks and New York Jets. He is also the consulting team sports performance psychiatrist to the New York Rangers and former team psychiatrist for the New York Liberty.
Dr. Suite has also provided professional evaluations, expert advisement, strategic consultation, and stress management services to mission-critical leaders and teams within local, state and federal entities, including the United States Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the United States Army.
As a board-certified, high-performance psychiatrist through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a member of the Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Dr. Suite brings a unique, multi-dimensional wellness perspective to executive coaching, mental performance and leadership psychology.
Dr. Suite’s multi-dimensional approach integrates a knowledge of the human brain and behavior into executive coaching and leadership consultation. His counseling and coaching go beyond the limits of traditional “talk only” approaches to address underlying treatable conditions that can adversely affect, plague, and distract peak performances i.e., sleep problems, performance stress, panic anxiety issues, intrusive thoughts, ADD and focus/concentration issues, trauma, sexual preoccupations, poor impulse control, and addictive behaviors.
As the founder and CEO of a nationally recognized sports mental performance and executive leadership coaching resource, Full Circle Confidential, Dr. Suite oversees a team of highly experienced, licensed and certified professionals who provide confidential peak performance coaching and expert mental performance consultation for elite sports and entertainment performers, c-suite executives, and leaders of mission-critical organizations.
Dr. Suite received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College and his master of science degree from the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University. He earned his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania and is currently an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology & Education at Teacher’s College, Columbia University in New York.
Dr. Suite is a national motivational speaker who frequently lectures on sleep and performance, mental recovery and performance, the role of mindfulness and spirituality in managing performance anxiety, implicit bias, and cross-cultural communication, and mastering the strategic use of leadership soft skills.
Derek H. Suite, M.D.
Founder & Executive Chairman
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University, Darcel Dillard-Suite, M.S. is a certified life coach, national speaker, and senior organizational development consultant. Darcel is also a state-certified trainer in Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Mental Health First Aid who provides mental health trainings internationally.
A graduate of the Dartmouth’s Tuck Business Institute, Darcel leverages over 17 years’ experience in mental health administration as she oversees and directs the operations of Full Circle Confidential.
Darcel Dillard-Suite, M.S.
President & Chief Operating Officer
A business graduate from the University of Florida with over 15 years of experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and marketing, Jon Dornbush oversees the strategic direction and seamless integration of Full Circle’s mission, vision, and core values. As the senior member of the executive team, Jon also oversees cross-functional company operations and programs in support of Full Circle’s digital wellness platforms, corporate initiatives, and community partnerships.
Jon Dornbush
Executive Vice President
Full Circle Confidential is proud to welcome Dr. Nabil Kotbi, a distinguished psychiatrist with a unique blend of expertise that enhances our elite sports psychiatry and high-performance services. Dr. Kotbi’s multifaceted background in interventional psychiatry, addiction medicine, prevention, and psychosomatic medicine brings a new dimension to our team’s capabilities.
Professional Background
Dr. Kotbi is an award-winning, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine with over two decades of clinical experience. His expertise spans multiple disciplines, making him an invaluable asset to Full Circle’s mission of supporting high-performance organizations and individuals.
- Chief of the Addiction and Rehabilitation Unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital
- Former Chief of “The Haven” and “The Retreat” inpatient psychiatric units
- Associate Program Director of Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at Cornell
- Westchester Site Training Director of the Addiction Psychiatry fellowship (Columbia and Cornell)
Specialized Expertise
Dr. Kotbi’s unique skill set aligns perfectly with the demands of elite sports and high-performance environments:
- Interventional Psychiatry: Trained in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at Harvard and Duke Universities
- Addiction Medicine: Specializes in treating complex cases involving substance use disorders and co-occurring conditions
- Psychosomatic Medicine: Expertise in the interplay between physical and mental health, crucial for optimizing performance
Credentials and Recognition
- Quintuple board-certified, including certifications from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine, Preventive Medicine (addiction subspecialty), and Addiction Medicine
- Recipient of numerous awards for mentorship, teaching, and research
- Acclaimed national and international lecturer and researcher
- Fluent in English, French, and Arabic, enhancing cross-cultural communication
Dr. Kotbi’s comprehensive approach, which emphasizes individualized treatment within a culturally sensitive framework, aligns perfectly with Full Circle’s mission. His expertise in managing complex psychiatric, neurological, and medical co-morbidities will be instrumental in supporting our client’s mental health and performance optimization needs
Dr. Nabil Kotbi, M.D.
Expert Consultant in Performance Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine
As a senior Full Circle Executive Leadership Coach & Master Facilitator, Richard Rivera brings a restorative healing-centered approach to all his work. Richard has over 20 years of experience in coaching and supporting leaders from various sectors including corporate, nonprofit, and sports and entertainment entities.
Richard specializes in helping leaders in applying root cause analysis and leveraging the power of relationships as they seek practical and strategic solutions to the challenges they face. As a master facilitator, Richard has a gift for moving groups through “stuck” places and introducing people- centered restorative practices to create a relational field that supports cultures of resilience, repair, and engagement. As a compassionate strategist, Richard excels in helping teams to co-design processes that lead to strategic thinking, shared visioning, and action planning. As a leadership developer, Rich focuses on building the capacity of leaders to adapt to changing environments.
In addition to serving as a lead consultant for Full Circle for over two decades, Rich currently serves as cultural competency, facilitator/coach on race conversations for the New York Community Trust Leadership Fellows Program at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. He also teaches “Participatory Practices and Race Conversations” at the co-lab, New York University (NYU) Wagner School of Public Service. Richard currently serves as a senior facilitator and coach for the College of Staten Island, Equity and Belonging Conversation for Change Project. As the President of Renew & Redesign Consulting, Richard has led numerous race equity conversations with large nonprofit organizations, including the Guttmacher Institute, the Rochester Foundation, Housing Works, Good Shepherd Services, Phipps Neighborhood, and with smaller nonprofits such as the Women Against Abuse, and CORA in Philadelphia. Richard has also provided organizational change, technical assistance, and strategy services to larger organizations, including Montefiore and Bellevue Hospitals, Verizon, Big Brothers and Big Sisters National and the Hispanic Federation.
Richard received his M.S.W. degree from Columbia University, School of Social Work.
Rich Rivera
Executive Leadership Coach
As Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, Marcus Jones oversees Full Circle Confidential’s behavioral health and relational wellbeing initiatives. A former collegiate athlete, Marcus brings over 10 years of experience in player development, providing behavioral, characterological, motivational, and relational coaching and social work support for professional athletes, high-performance individuals, and corporate entities. Prior to assuming the position of SVP and Chief of Staff with FCC, Marcus functioned as the former Chief of Staff for Coach David Fizdale of the New York Knicks, and the Director of Character & Player Development with Full Circle Workforce Wellness.
Marcus Jones, CSSW
SVP, Chief of Staff
Sports Social Work & Human Performance
A graduate of Columbia University, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and Harvard’s Health Professions Program, Dr. Barrett has training, experience, and expertise in psychiatry, substance use, and medicine and is passionately interested in integrated behavioral health and holistic mental healthcare. Dr. Barrett is also a certified buprenorphine prescriber and a QTC-credentialed Independent Medical and PTSD Disability Examiner, evaluating veterans with potentially disabling mental health conditions.
As Full Circle’s consulting medical director, Dr. Barrett provides medical oversight, expertise, and leadership to ensure the quality of Full Circle’s integrated psychiatric, medical, behavioral health, and organizational wellness services. Dr. Barrett co-directs the Full Circle’s Sports, Performance, and Behavioral Health Fellowship, which trains graduate-level clinicians interested in providing mental health support and treatment to professional athletes and elite performers.
Dr. Barrett also oversees the implementation of quality improvement efforts designed to improve clinical performance and maintain treatment compliance that ensures and upholds Full Circle’s culturally appropriate and restorative-based interventions and behavioral health practices.
Dr. Barrett is particularly interested in how diversity, culture, and ethnicity affect individual and organizational well-being, shape decision-making, impact leadership development, and influence individual and team performance.
Jeffrey A, Barrett, M.D., C.A.S.A.C.
Consulting Medical Director,
Consulting Sport & Behavioral Health Education Fellowship Director
Dr. La Bril oversees the child, adolescent, and adult behavioral health and emotional wellness activities at Full Circle. His unique training in child and adolescent and adult psychiatry, trauma, healthcare disparities, and theology inform and guide his vision for the holistic wellbeing of children, adolescents and transitioning youth served by the Circle.
Dr. Robert La Bril, M.D., M.Div
Director, Child, Adolescent & Adult Behavioral Health & Wellness
Dr. Amos has spent over 20 years working within mental health and mental performance coaching athletes, executive administrators, organizational leaders, and educators. Dr. Amos is a national speaker who has also provided expert media consultation for ABC News, 20/20, CNN, 60 Minutes, ESPN Outside the Lines, HBO Real Sports, ESPN News, and ESPN Radio. He has presented as a keynote speaker at several academic institutions, and conference research presentations on the local, state, and international levels, and has received numerous awards for distinguished service.
Dr. Marcus Amos, Ph.D.
Director, Mental Wellness & Performance
Theodora Kanellopoulos, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist who specializes in neuropsychological assessments. Through the use of comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations, she diagnoses and treats high-performance individuals with suspected changes in cognitive or behavioral functioning.
Dr. Kanellopoulos’ clinical work includes cognitive assessment of psychiatric disorders, memory impairment and dementia, mild cognitive impairment, stroke and cerebrovascular disease and other conditions affecting cerebral functioning. Dr. Kanellopolus is also an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Weill Cornell, Medical College.
Theodora Kanellopoulos, Ph.D.
Chief Psychologist Consultant
Dr. Don Greif is a senior clinical psychologist with several years’ experience providing assessments and coaching for athletes and their families. He has also published extensively on a wide array of topics within sports psychology, psychoanalysis, and forensic psychology.
After obtaining his doctorate from Yeshiva University, Dr. Greif completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at Harvard (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). Dr. Greif is on the faculty at the William A. White Institute for Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychiatry.
Don Greif, Ph.D.
Sports Pyschology Consultant
Marshall Bryant, LCSW, is a licensed, clinical social worker, and an experienced addiction and recovery psychotherapist, social work supervisor, and organizational development trainer. Mr. Bryant is a graduate of Columbia University, School of Social Work and a Clinical Field Instructor for Nyack University’s Alliance Graduate School of Counseling.
Mr. Bryant has extensive experience in a wide range of outpatient mental health services, including providing therapy for college and professional athletes. He also specializes in couples’ and family therapy.
Marshall Bryant, LCSW
Director, Social Work & Cultural Competency
Nicholas D.A. Suite, M.D. is a Johns Hopkins educated, Cornell trained, board-certified neurologist who did additional teaching and training at the University of Miami. Dr. Suite’s practice is General Neurology with a special focus on Trauma Rehabilitation, Neurological Pain syndromes, coma, and the broad clinical interface between internal medicine and neurology.
Dr. Suite holds firmly to the revered admonition first propounded by Peabody: “The secret of caring for the patient is in caring for the patient.” Dr. Suite is the founder of Neurology Diagnosis & Applied Solutions (NDAS).
Nicholas Suite, M.D.
Senior Neurological & Pain Management Consultant
Joanna received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, in Social Work, at Florida International University. She holds a background as a competitive swimmer within the youth, adolescent, and collegiate level. On top of her own career as a swimmer, she also grew up an avid sports lover, with a particular love for football and basketball.
After college, Joanna returned back to New York where she received her professional licensure as a Licensed Master Social Worker. She spent seven years working with youth and families at a Residential Treatment Center within the foster care system. Joanna started her career off as Social Worker in the cottage setting, working her way to Assistant Director of her program.
During her work there, she established the importance of understanding each client as an individual, as well as part of multiple systems – driving her passion for social justice and mental health awareness.
Joanna later transitioned to Private Practice, obtaining her Licensed Clinical Social Worker professional licensure. She is currently a practicing Psychotherapist, as well as a Clinical Supervisor. Joanna takes a special interest in working with the athletic population. Having been in a world where sports represented more than just a pastime to her, she understands that being an athlete can often be tied to one’s identity, which can be accompanied by a complexity of mental health issues and intensive performance pressures.
Joanna is currently a student in the Alliance of Sports Social Workers. This program has helped grow her knowledge of working within the world of athletics, along with continuing to understand the connection between mental health and sports.
Joanna Pomerantz LCSW
Sports Psychology Fellow
Wendy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of New York. She received her graduate degree in Social Work from New York University. She has been working in New York City schools for over 20 years providing counseling services to K-12th grade students. Her approach to counseling is grounded in evidence-based techniques. She utilizes a strength-based approach to help her clients thrive socially and emotionally.
• Emotional regulations skills
• Anxiety reducing strategies
• Healthy coping techniques
I am currently employed through Legendary Therapy. I provide the mandated counseling on a student’s Individual Education Program (IEP). Since March 2020, I have been conducting counseling sessions through teletherapy. Teletherapy has allowed me to utilize online resources to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and work on a client’s counseling goals.
I have advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, and Sports Social Work. I was a competitive athlete in high school and college. I know first-hand the positive impact that mental conditioning has on an athlete in sports and in life.
I live in Westchester County with my husband, two children, and dog. When I am not at a ball field cheering for my children and their teammates, I enjoy hiking, reading, and watching sporting events.
Wendy Pornoff
Sports Psychology Fellow
