Our Team
Amy McNicholas, LCPC
Director of Missing Pieces
Elaf Agha
Missing Pieces Project Manager
Meghan Jacobson, MS, CCLS
Grief Navigator
Leslie Leitner, LCSW
Grief Navigator
Our History & Founders
The founders, Kristin James, LCPC and Kelly Michelson, MD bring a cumulative 35 years of experience in clinical research and bereavement support Missing Pieces.
Kristin James, LCPC
Kristin has specialized in working with families coping with illness, trauma and loss for over twenty five years. Kristin has provided clinical consultation and extensive training, advocacy and education to medical teams, community agencies, and school systems throughout the Chicagoland area. She is an experienced clinician and has provided individual, family, and group counseling. Kristin developed a benchmarked program for Pediatric Bereavement Care at Lurie Children’s Hospital/Children’s Memorial Hospital and is nationally recognized as an expert in grieving children and bereaved parents. She has also participated in and published numerous research studies. Ms. James received her Masters in counseling from Loyola University.
Kelly Michelson, MD
Kelly is a Professor of Pediatrics, Julia and David Uihlein Professor in Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and attending physician in Critical Care Medicine at Lurie Children’s Hospital. Dr. Michelson’s research focuses on PICU decision making, pediatric palliative care, and bioethics. She utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods, community based participatory research, and stakeholder engagement. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, PCORI, the American Cancer Society, and the National Palliative Care Research Center.