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sixWorkshop speakers
Gloria Maria Anderson Gloria Maria Anderson is the Diversity and International Affairs Manager, Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Salem. Ms. Anderson has worked for DHS for 30 years, most of it shared between Child Welfare, Self-Sufficiency and in the last six years with CAF Administration. She is Cuban-born, bi-lingual and bi-cultural. In 2009, she was honored with DHS' Diversity Leadership Award and by International Social Services, United States of America branch.
Shay Bilchik Shay Bilchik is the founder and director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. The center's purpose is to focus the nation's leaders, across systems of care and levels of government, on the key components of a strong juvenile justice reform agenda. This work is carried out through the dissemination of papers on key topics, the sponsorship of symposia and a certificate program at Georgetown providing leaders with short, but intensive study and ongoing support in their reform efforts.
Prior to joining the Institute on March 1, 2007, Mr. Bilchik was the President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America, a position he held from Feb. of 2000. Shay led CWLA in its advocacy on behalf of children through his public speaking, testimony and published articles, as well as collaborative work with other organizations. Prior to his tenure at CWLA, Shay headed up the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he advocated for and supported a balanced and multi-systems approach to attacking juvenile crime and addressing child victimization.
Before coming to the nation's capital, Mr. Bilchik was an assistant state attorney in Miami, Florida from 1977-1993, where he served as a trial lawyer, juvenile division chief and chief assistant state attorney. Mr. Bilchik earned his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida. He and his wife Susan are the proud parents of two young adults, Melissa and Zach.
Sally Blackwood Sally Blackwood is a licensed professional counselor who began working with traumatized children in 1990. She has worked at CARES Northwest since 2006 and previously worked on the Family Sexual Abuse Team of Multnomah County for almost 10 years. Sally currently sees children and adults in her private practice.
Dane M. Borg, Psy.D Dane M. Borg, Psy.D., has earned master's and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology and is licensed as a psychologist by the State of Oregon. In addition to the broad-based training in clinical psychology he received in graduate school, Dr. Borg has pursued both predoctoral and postdoctoral specialization in infant-toddler mental health, the effects of trauma on the developing brain, the unique needs of children involved in the child-welfare system, and psychological assessment with special-needs populations.
Past professional roles have included clinical work with children and families in a variety of treatment settings (outpatient, inpatient, residential); management of an interdisciplinary assessment program for children entering the foster care system; coordination of clinical training for doctoral candidates pursuing degrees in clinical psychology; and community mental health administration. Dr. Borg continues to work with young people, whose lives have been affected by family trauma and foster care, reserving a portion of his practice exclusively for this often underserved and often misunderstood population.
Dane has provided training regarding neurodevelopment, attachment and trauma to various groups, including mental health professionals, child-welfare professionals, juvenile court judges, attorneys, and Citizen Review Board volunteers. Dr. Borg is currently in private practice in Portland.
Bill Bouska Bill Bouska is the manager of the Children's Treatment System for the Addictions and Mental Health Division (AMH) for the Oregon Department of Human Services. Mr. Bouska has 20 years of experience in the administration and provision of mental health services to children, families, and adults. For 13 years, Mr. Bouska provided specialized non-traditional experiential and interactive interventions direct services to children and their families in clinical settings. For the past seven years he has worked for AMH with focused efforts on service and system quality improvement, establishing regulatory and administrative frameworks, interagency coordination and promoting the development integrated systems of care. Mr. Bouska has served on numerous state and local committees and he regularly presents at local, regional, and national conferences related to concepts surrounding children's mental health system.
Currently, Mr. Bouska provides leadership, coordination and oversight to a broad range of publicly funded mental health services for children and adolescents. This includes the implementation of prevention and early intervention services, as well as oversight to a variety of community-based outpatient services and statewide or regional facility-based services. In this position he coordinates an overall policy direction and operational decisions related to the integration of the children’s mental health system into local or regional managed care environments and intensive community-based systems of care and the implementation of evidence-based practices within the state mental health system of care for children and their families.
Lynette Burke, OTR/L Lynette Burke, OTR/L, completed her training in occupational therapy in 1984, after graduating with a degree in psychology/child development in 1981. She has practiced in a variety of pediatric settings, including schools, early intervention and private practice. She has extensive experience in sensory integration and is SIPT certified. Lynette is also certified in several auditory interventions including Therapeutic Listening™, Berard Auditory Integration Training, Listening Fitness Training Programs with Paul Madaule, SAMONAS Sound Therapy, and Interactive Metronome. She has lectured and provided in-services to many professional and parent groups.
She is a nationally recognized speaker on Therapeutic Listening™ for Vital Links. Lynette and Sharron Donnelly, MS, OTR/L, are currently co-owners of Advanced Pediatric Therapies, Inc., a private pediatric occupational therapy practice with a clinic in Southwest Portland and Vancouver committed to meeting the needs of children. APT focuses on providing a highly individualized, multi-faceted and holistic treatment approach to ensure that each child's needs are met.
Jenny Burt Jenny Burt has held the position of Independent Living Coordinator for Tillamook, Clatsop and Columbia Counties for the past 21 years. She is also chairperson for the State Advisory Committee for Independent Living. Jenny and her husband were also foster parents for teenage girls for 25 years. She has a true passion and desire to help young people transition into adulthood successfully.
Kevin Campbell Kevin Campbell is an internationally known youth permanency expert and the founder of Center for Family Finding and Youth Connectedness. Kevin developed Family Finding, a set of strategies now utilized throughout the United States and the Province of British Columbia, to establish lifelong supports for youth in foster care. In 2004, Family Finding was presented to the United States Supreme Court by Judge Leonard Edwards, recipient of the prestigious William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence.
Kevin has been an administrator, director, and vice president of private social service agencies for over 23 years. He has also provided advanced assistance to Vancouver, BC, Canada, 40 U.S. states and many other jurisdictions throughout America.
In 2008, Kevin Campbell met with Congressman Jim McDermott regarding the inclusion of Family Finding in the federal bill, "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008." The bill passed the House of Representatives Sept. 17, 2008, and the Senate, by unanimous consent, Sept. 22, 2008. It was signed into law by the President on Oct. 7, 2008. As part of this large reform bill, every child that enters foster care must receive Kevin Campbell’s innovative Family Finding strategies. Kevin has worked with over 10,000 youth to date, and continues to cover as many as 80 foster care youth per week nationwide.
Kevin's work has twice been featured on CBS 60 Minutes with Leslie Stahl, as well as in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and dozens of other national publications. He continues to speak on the issues of youth permanency throughout the United States and Canada and has published a number of articles on the topic.
Kevin Campbell is currently working with National Public Radio on a Family Finding story that will air later this year. He is also featured in the new documentary "From Place to Place."
Kevin M. Campbell Kevin M. Campbell of The Dalles, is the CEO of Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc. (GOBHI), a position he has held since 2001. GOBHI is a member-owned benefits management company dedicated to ensuring high quality services delivered through rural community behavioral health programs. It is the Oregon Health Plan Mental Health Benefit Provider for Baker, Clatsop, Columbia, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wheeler counties. The counties of GOBHI constitute approximately 57% of Oregon's land mass and 10% of its population.
GOBHI provides quality management, utilization management, contract administration, financial administration, data management and reporting, claims adjudication and payment, encounter data and CPMS submissions and integrity audits, a 24-hour crisis/access line, and management/oversight for member complaints and grievances. Kevin is a native Eastern Oregonian, University of Portland alumnus, former county judge, and small business owner who has managed mental health organizations in rural Oregon for the past fifteen years
DeAnn Carr DeAnn Carr is a licensed clinical social worker with over 19 years experience in the mental health field. She currently works as the Continuum-of-Care manager for Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc., a mental health organization which provides the OHP mental health benefit for 14 counties across Oregon. Historical experience ranges from provision of mental health services in rural and urban settings as well as children’s residential and psychiatric day treatment work. Additionally, Ms. Carr has provided an extensive array of clinical and systemic trainings in order to expand and enhance the quality of the services available to individuals and families faced with mental health challenges.
Pam Crow, LCSW, RPT-S Pam Crow, LCSW, RPT-S, has worked in the field of trauma for 30 years. She has worked since 1988 at CARES NW and in private practice as a therapist, consultant and teacher. Also the parent of two teenagers, Pam has plenty of practice in navigating trauma and searching for peace and balance in her life.
Astrid Dabbeni Astrid Dabbeni is the executive director and co-founder of Adoption Mosaic. Astrid travels the country to lead youth groups, present workshops focusing on adoption. She serves on the national board of North American Council on Adoptable Children and Northwest Adoptive Families Association. Astrid has worked in adoptions for over 18 years. Her life-long interest in adoption is rooted in her own adoption at the age of four with her older sister from Colombia.
Julian Davies, MD Julian Davies, MD, is a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, where he co-directs the Center for Adoption Medicine, and works at the longest-running FAS clinic in the country. His interest in foster care and adoption started in Russia, where he started a summer arts and clown camp for Russian orphans. He now has a pediatric practice where 2/3 of his patients were fostered or adopted. Dr. Davies also created an award-winning online resource for pediatrics and adoption: www.adoptmed.org.
Paul J. De Muniz Paul J. De Muniz joined the Oregon Supreme Court in January 2001 and became Oregon's 41st Chief Justice on Jan. 1, 2006. As Chief Justice, he is the administrative head of the Oregon Judicial Department.
In 2008, Chief Justice De Muniz was elected to the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and is one of eight state chief justices selected to attend a three-year Harvard University Executive Session to study the role of state court leaders.
Before his election to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice De Muniz:
Chief Justice De Muniz has been a member of the Oregon State Bar and the American Bar Association since 1975; he is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of Oregon (1977), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1980), and the U.S. Supreme Court (1981).
Among his many professional contributions to Oregon, Chief Justice De Muniz:
Chief Justice De Muniz has also taught at the National Judicial College in Reno (1992) and was appointed by then U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and chaired the Forces Development and Utilization Committee. His work included visiting military installations and U.S. troops around the world and reporting to the Secretary of Defense on issues affecting women in military service (1998-01).
In 2002, Chief Justice De Muniz founded a now flourishing rule-of-law partnership with judicial leaders in Russia's Far East. Since then, he has been working with judges and lawyers to implement legal reforms that promote the rule of law in Russia and reforms to the Russian criminal justice system, including the right to a trial by jury. As part of that work:
Chief Justice De Muniz has published a number of articles and legal guides. Recent publications include:
Chief Justice De Muniz was born in Glendale, California and grew up in Portland, where he attended Harvey Scott Elementary and graduated from Madison High School. He graduated from Portland State University (B.S, Sociology, 1972) and Willamette University College of Law (J.D. 1975).
Erin Fairchild, MSW Erin Fairchild, MSW, has been working with children exposed to violence for 10 years. Currently she is a parent-child specialist with the agency "Listen to Kids," where she provides therapeutic services to safe caregivers and their children as impacted by domestic violence. She also provides consultation for child welfare workers around trauma informed services and best practices in working with survivors of partner violence.
Wade Fickler Wade Fickler is Director of Policy and Communication for the Children's Institute and has been there since 2008. He plays a leading role in developing and advancing the organization's programmatic, policy and advocacy agenda and managing the institute's external communications. Wade was the policy director for City Club of Portland from 2002-2008, where he was first exposed to the science behind early care and education through the club's multi-year study titled "The Early Years." Wade's professional experience also includes many years executing consumer and business-to-business marketing and market research projects and a 27-month term of service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine.
Tom Findlay, LCSW Tom Findlay, LCSW, has worked at CARES NW as a child interviewer for 10 years and has taken part in over 2,000 child abuse evaluations. Tom previously worked at several other children's mental health programs in the Portland area, including the Counterpoint program at Morrison Child and Family Services.
Erica Finstad, Ph.D. Erica Finstad, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and program manager at the Center for Family and Adolescent Research (CFAR) in Portland. CFAR provides free outpatient treatment to substance using teens and their families as part of federally funded treatment research studies. Dr. Finstad received her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in 2003 and has worked as a researcher and clinician in the field of addictions for 15 years. She specializes in working with substance-using youth who are resistant to treatment and with parents of teens who refuse to enter treatment.
Judge Jim Fun Judge Jim Fun serves as a juvenile court judge for Washington County. Judge Fun is a member of the Juvenile Court Model Court Team in Washington County, leads the Washington County Juvenile Bench and Bar Committee and is a member of the executive board for the juvenile law section of the Oregon State Bar. Before election to the Circuit Court, he was a Washington County Senior Deputy District Attorney and has presented as faculty for the National College of District Attorneys. As a deputy district attorney, he served as the chairperson for Washington County's multidisciplinary Sexual Assault Response Team and was the appointed chairperson for the Criminal Justice Committee on the Oregon Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force.
Nick Gallo, MSW Nick Gallo, MSW, has worked in a variety of roles in public child welfare including direct service and supervision. He is currently a program analyst for DHS Child Welfare in Multnomah County. Nick is a GEMS trainer and also a DHS representative in the cross-systems coordination and reform efforts though the Human Trafficking Task Force and the CSEC steering committee.
Miriam Green, MA, LPC Miriam Green, MA, LPC, has worked in public child welfare for 25 years. Currently, Miriam is the program manager at the Child Abuse Hotline in Multnomah County. She is involved in anti-trafficking efforts through both the Human Trafficking Task Force and the CSEC steering committee.
Victoria Haight Victoria Haight works as a regional trainer for OrPTI (Oregon Parent Training and Information Center); a position she's held for the past five years. She's also an IEP partner and a mediation partner. As a parent of an 18-year-old daughter with Asperger's Syndrome, she knows the joys and challenges of raising a child on the Autism Spectrum.
Benjamin Hazelton Benjamin Hazelton is the assistant administrator of the Office of Safety and Permanency for Children in the Department of Human Services (DHS). Mr. Hazelton discovered his passion for working with child and family serving systems while working at a shelter home for youth in Missoula, MT to finance his undergraduate education. He moved to Portland in 1987 for an internship with Boys & Girls Aid Society. He also began working at Christie School, where he was the manager of the secure, residential program for seven years.
Mr. Hazelton joined the public sector in 1998 when he went to work for the foster care review system, the Citizen Review Board (CRB), at the Oregon Judicial Department. He served in many capacities at the CRB including field staff, lead worker, supervisor, and finally Administrator from 1996-1999. With academic foundations in Social Work and Public Administration, and 26 years experience in private and public child and family serving systems, Mr. Hazelton is well-informed on the challenges facing our families and our systems. For some, these challenges are a source of defeat but for Mr. Hazelton they prove only to strengthen his commitment to leadership on policy, service integration and delivery, public/private partnerships, and system improvement for the children, youth, and families we serve.
Anita Jackson Anita Jackson is Chief Judge of the Tribal Court for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She received her J.D. from Arizona State University College of Law in 1993 and her bachelor's from Oregon State University in 1990. She began her law career in 1979 as a legal advocate for children in Warm Springs. Appointed as the Warm Springs Juvenile Court Judge in 1980 and resigned in 1988 to return to college and attend law school. She has also served as a judge for the Warm Springs Court of Appeals. She is a graduate of the Pre-Law Summer Institute at UNM and during law school she clerked at Meyer Hendricks in Phoenix, AZ, and the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, CO.
Upon graduation from law school Anita worked for the Karnopp Petersen law firm who represents the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. In addition to being a judge, Anita has worked as the Public Safety General Manager and the Legal Services Director for the Warm Springs Tribes. Between 1994 and 1998 Anita served on the Oregon Governor's Commission on Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention, the Oregon Commission for Women and on the Central Oregon Regional Advisory Board for the Oregon State Chancellor of Higher Education. Anita is a founding member of the Women's Resource Association at Warm Springs and currently serves as a board member for the NIJC. Anita taught Tribal Law as an Adjunct Professor at OSU Cascades Campus and has been a guest speaker on Indian and Tribal Law at various meetings.
Kim Jacobowitz, LCSW Kim Jacobowitz, LCSW, received her Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of Washington with a specific focus on Children, Youth and Families. Ms. Jacobowitz has over 16 years of social work training and experience, with a significant emphasis in the area of trauma and child maltreatment. Currently, Ms. Jacobowitz works at CARES Northwest and is in private practice in Portland.
Leigh Anne Jasheway, M.P.H. Leigh Anne Jasheway, M.P.H. (master of public health/mistress of public humor), is a stress-management and humor expert who helps people manage stress, embrace change, and become healthier by learning to lighten up. She speaks at 50-60 conferences and workshops every year and is a member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). She is the author of sixteen books, including "How'd All These Ping Pong Balls Get In My Bag"!? "The Stressed-Out Woman's Guide to Letting Go with Laughter," "Don’t Get Mad, Get Funny," "Not Guilty by Reason of Menopause," and "Bedtime Stories for Dogs."
She is the 2003 winner of the national Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Award for her true story on how her first mammogram caught on fire. She teaches at both the University of Oregon and Lane Community College, runs a comedy troupe, is a humor columnist for the Register Guard's Dash Magazine, and is the former host of Women Under the Influence of Laughter, on KOPT 1600 AM. In her spare time she tries to tries to remember where she parked.
Leila Keltner, MD, PhD Leila Keltner, MD, PhD, is the medical director of CARES Northwest, the medically based child abuse assessment center serving the Portland-Metropolitan area. She evaluates both outpatient and inpatient children for abuse and neglect. She is a member of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Teams and Child Fatality Review Committees of both Multnomah and Washington counties. She serves on the Children's Trust Fund of Oregon Board of Trustees and is a member of the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families and Community.
Judge Dale Koch Judge Dale Koch has been serving as a senior judge in the State of Oregon since February 2009. From 1993 through January 2009, he served as a trial court judge in Multnomah County and was the presiding judge of the Circuit Court for six years.
He holds both undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon. Judge Koch began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office. He spent 4.5 years in that position. He then was in private practice in Portland for over 18 years before being appointed to the bench in December 1992.
Judge Koch has served as a member of the boards of several national organizations. These include the National CASA Board, the Board of Fellows for National Center for Juvenile Justice and the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence, where he has frequently participated as a faculty member and currently co-chairs the Institute's Steering Committee.
Judge Koch has been on the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) since 2005. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) from 1999 through 2008 and served as its president during 2006-2007.
For the NCJFCJ he has served as Chair of the Permanency Planning for Children Department Advisory Committee. He has also served on the workgroups that developed the "Greenbook" (Effective Interventions in Domestic Violence and Child Mistreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice) and the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines.
In Multnomah County, Judge Koch chaired the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee from 2003 to 2008 and co-chaired their Domestic Fatality Review Committee from its inception through 2008. Nationally, he also currently is a member the National Institute of Corrections' Evidence-Based Decision-Making for local Criminal Justice Systems Advisory Committee.
For the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD), Judge Koch has previously served as the Chair of the Oregon State Family Law Advisory Committee, Chair of the Judicial Conference Family and Juvenile Law Committee and as a member of the Judicial Branch Executive Committee. He is a member of the Judicial Education Committee and has served as faculty for the New Judge School, the Presiding Judge Course and various judicial conference programs.
Lyman Legters Lyman Legters joined Casey Family Programs as senior director of the Seattle field office in June 2002. Casey Family Programs is the largest national operating foundation with a mission focused solely on providing and improving—and ultimately preventing the need for—foster care. Casey's Seattle office provides a variety of services for children and youth in out-of-home care, and is involved in a number of community initiatives that support families and young people, positively impact racial disproportionality and inequities and improve child serving systems.
Career Highlights: Mr. Legters has been working with children, youth and families in King County and Washington State for over 25 years. Prior to coming to Casey Family Programs, Mr. Legters served as Juvenile Justice Program Manager for King County Superior Court, where he was responsible for managing all community based services for juvenile offenders in King County. Since joining Casey Family Programs in 2002, Mr. Legters has managed the foundation's direct service operations in Western Washington, supported Casey's partnership with the Washington State Children's Administration, and supported strategic consulting work in the State of Ohio. He serves on numerous advisory committees in King County and Washington.
On a national level Mr. Legters currently serves as a member of the Child Welfare League of America's Western Region Steering Committee, National Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, and Co-chair of the National Advisory Committee on Cultural Competence, Disproportionality and Disparity of Outcomes.
In 2007 Mr. Legters was invited to participate as a faculty member of the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Certificate Program and Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Juvenile Justice/Child Welfare Systems Integration.
Selected Accomplishments: Eliminating disproportionality and disparities for children of color has been a particular focus during Mr. Legters' tenure at Casey Family Programs. He has been an active member of the King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality since 2003, and has served as a member of the Executive Committee since 2004. The Coalition has been nationally recognized for its work on disproportionality in the child welfare system and has been a catalyst on the issue locally, supporting ground breaking legislation in Washington and sponsoring the first Statewide Symposium on Disproportionality. Mr. Legters received the 2008 Award for Service and Advocacy to Communities of Color presented by the Minority Executive Directors Coalition.
Mr. Legters has demonstrated leadership and a strong focus on integrating child serving systems. He serves on the Executive Committee of the King County Systems Integration Initiative, a multi-systems initiative focused on creating an integrated and coordinated service system for vulnerable children and families. The King County Systems Integration Initiative is seen as a model effort nationally, has a number of promising accomplishments and was largely responsible for attracting the MacArthur Foundation to the state, ultimately naming Washington as the 4th Models-for-Change state.
Mr. Legters is an accomplished public speaker, presenting complex issues (child welfare, juvenile justice, disproportionality, institutional racism, systems integration) in a number of venues including the CWLA National Conference; the National Black Child Development Institute Annual Conference; the Children's Defense Fund Cradle to Prison Pipeline Institute; Arizona Statewide Symposium on Systems Integration.
Michael Livingston Michael Livingston is Circuit Court Judge Pro Tem and Referee, Marion County Circuit Court. Mr. Livingston graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1969 and worked as a teacher and carpenter until 1978, when he moved from North Carolina to Oregon to attend Willamette University College of Law. After receiving his J.D. degree, he served as a law clerk for Justice Thomas Tongue, Oregon Supreme Court (1981-82) and Judge Kurt Rossman, Oregon Court of Appeals (1982-83). He began his work for the Oregon Department of Justice in 1984 in the General Counsel Division, moved to the Appellate Division in 1987 and returned to the General Counsel Division in December 2007. He retired from the Department of Justice in June 2008.
From 1993-2004, Mr. Livingston administered the Appellate Division's Termination-of-Parental-Rights case load and from 1999 to 2005 he served as a member of the Oregon Law Commission's Juvenile Code Revision workgroup. He is the author of the chapter on Appeals in the Oregon State Bar's "Juvenile Law" CLE book (2007 ed.) and in 2006-07 worked with Chief Judge David Brewer of the Court of Appeals and Judy Henry of the Appellate Settlement Conference Program and others to implement the termination-of-parental-rights appellate court mediation. Since September 2008, he has served full time as a Circuit Court Judge Pro Tem and referee in the Marion County Juvenile Court.
David Mandell David Mandel has been research director with the Children's Institute since 2006. He leads the institute's major research projects and is integral in developing the organization's policy agenda and strategies. Prior to joining the Children's Institute staff, David was a visiting assistant professor at Reed College and adjunct faculty at Portland State University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Columbia University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. David is a past member of City Club of Portland's Research Board and has contributed to a number of the club's studies. He has also been an advisor and volunteer on local political campaigns.
Judge Patricia M. Martin Judge Patricia M. Martin is the Presiding Judge of the Child Protection Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She has chaired the Supreme Court of Illinois Judicial Conference Study Committee on Juvenile Justice, and has been a member of other Illinois Supreme Court committees. In addition, Judge Martin has presented at local, national and international conferences on child abuse/neglect topics and has received numerous awards for her work.
Judge Martin was elected to the bench in 1996, retained in 2002 and retained in 2008. From 1986 to 1996, Judge Martin was an assistant Cook County Public Defender and where she rose to Deputy Chief, Fifth District. Judge Martin has a Juris Doctorate from Northern Illinois University College of Law in Dekalb, Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. She also studied at and received honors from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa.
Leola McKenzie Leola McKenzie is the Director of Juvenile Court Programs, Oregon Judicial Department. She has been with the Office of the State Court Administrator since January 1995. Leola has worked as a Juvenile Court Policy/Program Analyst. In that position she developed, implemented and evaluated policies, pilot projects and educational programs for the JCIP and CRB and also served as the juvenile court project manager for the development of Oregon's JOIN (Juvenile OJIN Integrated Network) system. Leola coordinated Oregon's 2003-2004 JCIP Reassessment. Leola has served as the Assistant Division Director and Acting Director for Court Programs and Services Division in the Office of the State Court Administrator. Leola was named Director of Juvenile Court Programs in August 2009 and is responsible for the Citizen Review Board (CRB) and Juvenile Court Improvement Program (JCIP), as well as the statewide VAWA grant activities for the department.
Leola earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Secondary Education from Nazareth College in Rochester, New York and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Portland State University. Past work experiences include five years of nonprofit management, one year as a counselor/advocate in a juvenile delinquency diversion program and two years teaching at the secondary level. Leola is an adoptive parent of two special needs children: Clay (age 13) and Claire (age 10).
Charlie McNeely Charlie McNeely, now age 23, entered the foster care system in the state of Oregon at age 3 and aged out at 18. She was in more than 10 placements, which has allowed her to adjust and adapt to all different types of situations. Charlie is now determined to impact foster youth directly by being a positive and active volunteer in her community and is serving as Oregon's 2010 FosterClub All-Star. She is currently a junior at Portland State University majoring in both public health and health education, with a minor in psychology. Charlie enjoys shopping, traveling and watching music videos with her friends. She recently conquered her fear of heights by riding one of the highest and longest zip lines in the world located in Costa Rica. She loves living and hopes to impact and inspire others through her zest for life and her personal story of being a foster kid.
Hanna Morris Hanna Morris is a young adult Native American who entered the foster care system at age 7. Her mother was unable to provide consistent stable support due to homelessness and lack of safety resulting in 11 years of child welfare custody and 17 different substitute care placements. With a history of instability, it is no surprise that Hanna has had her share of behavioral issues and academic difficulties. She has made tremendous strides to change that over the past few years, including her role as a founder and chair of her local Child Welfare Youth Advisory council. Hanna has a talent for public speaking, an amazing ability she has demonstrated on various panels and engagements and a public service announcement for Native American Youth Association. Hanna has excelled academically as well, making up almost all credits needed to graduate; she will earn her diploma next year. She also participates in many cultural activities, church groups and community service projects where she inspires the best in others.
Kory Murphy Kory Murphy is an Operations and Policy Analyst for the Children, Adults, and Families Division of the Oregon Department of Human Services. He specifically serves in the newly formed Diversity Unit in Central Office, managed by Gloria Anderson. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon, with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He is currently pursuing a master's in social work through Portland State University. Kory has years of experience in cross-cultural communications, strategic planning, leadership development, motivational training and facilitation with non-profit, public and private organizations. Kory's current role with DHS features the management of the statewide Child Welfare Racial Equity Task Force, which will research and recommend proven strategies in eliminating racial disparities in Oregon's Child Welfare system. Kory is father of four "crazy" kids and is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, one of the country's historically black fraternities.
Judge Michael Nash Judge Michael Nash received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Prior to being appointed as a Municipal Court Judge in 1985, Judge Nash served as a Deputy Attorney General in the criminal division of the California Attorney General’s Office where he handled criminal appeals and trials for over ten years. Judge Nash was elevated to the Superior Court in 1989 and has served in the Juvenile Court since 1990.
Since 1995 he has served as either Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court or Supervising Judge of the Dependency Court in Los Angeles. He is a past member of the California Judicial Council, a member of the Executive Committee and past Chair of the Juvenile Court Judges of California (JCJC), Treasurer of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), a member of the California Judicial Council’s Family and Juvenile Advisory Committee and a member of California's Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care. He is also a member of the California Child Welfare Council and the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Judge Nash has received numerous awards including being named Juvenile Court Judge of the Year by the Juvenile Court Judges of California in 1997 and 2006 Judge of the Year by the National CASA Association.
Rebecca G. Orf Rebecca G. Orf is currently a staff attorney for the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD), overseeing juvenile law, family violence, elder abuse matters, and the Juvenile Court Improvement Program (JCIP). She served as a Circuit Court Judge in Jackson County, Oregon, from 1994‑2008. She is currently a member of the State Family Law Advisory Committee (SFLAC) and SFLAC's Domestic Violence Subcommittee, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Advisory Board, the Batterers' Intervention Programs (BIP) Advisory Board, the Oregon Firearms Task Force, the Oregon Law Commission's Juvenile Workgroup, the Interbranch Juvenile Workgroup, and is OJD's representative to the Bench/Bar Family Law Services and Forms Task Force.
She served as a member the Chief Justice's Treatment Court Advisory Committee, the Oregon Family Law Task Force and the Oregon Family Law Legal Services Commission. She served as the first president of the Jackson County Council Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. She has been a speaker on juvenile law, treatment courts, domestic violence and family law issues for many local, statewide, and national conferences. In 2003, she was a recipient of the Oregon Chief Justice's Juvenile Court Champion Award.
Norene Owens Norene Owens has been with the State of Oregon, Child Welfare since 1994. She has supervised a unit of foster home certifiers and adoption workers for the past 13 years. Norene's unit strives to be innovative in balancing the regulatory requirements of law and the needs of our agency and families. Norene has a deep respect for the impact, care and commitment foster parents give to our children and our communities.
Taiwo Payton Taiwo Payton is a young African American adult male from the Portland area. Taiwo and his twin brother were placed in family foster care with their grandmother due to substance abuse and mental illness in their family home. At the age of 10, Taiwo's grandmother passed away resulting in movements from foster home to foster home, often times separated from his twin brother. Taiwo became entrenched in the gang sub-culture, which resulted in criminal involvement and eventually incarceration.
He struggled initially, but with the help of dedicated institution staff, Taiwo was able to build trusting relationships and peel away the hardened streetwise exterior. He suffered the most significant loss while incarcerated; his twin brother was killed during a drug deal. Taiwo made a commitment to help others to avoid the same pitfalls by denouncing the gang life and violence. Since his parole, he has entered school, works full time and is engaged to be married. He continues to deliver his anti-gang message by speaking to peers and groups with Oregon Youth Authority's Office of Minority Services.
Karen Phifer, LCSW Karen Phifer, LCSW, is the clinical operations supervisor at CARES Northwest. She has over 10 years of experience evaluating children in the hospital setting for child maltreatment concerns. Ms. Phifer has conducted assessments in two large tertiary care children's hospitals.
Audrey Riggs Audrey Riggs is the program manager at Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center, a program of Northwest Resource Associates. She came to the program in February 2010 with over 23 years of child welfare experience. Audrey has worked with youth in a residential treatment setting. She worked in several capacities with DHS child welfare including as a permanency caseworker, child protective services worker, and consultant/trainer. She was the certification and adoption supervisor in Clackamas County for the past 10 years. Audrey is truly passionate about foster and adoptive families. She says "Working for ORPARC to serve families who are caring for Oregon's most vulnerable children is a dream come true."
Nicole Russell, MSW Nicole Russell, MSW, works as a Family Support Specialist at Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center, a program of Northwest resource associates. Nicole has been with ORPARC for the past two years where she provides services and supports to adoptive and guardianship families. Before coming to ORPARC, she worked with children, youth, and families in various capacities. After receiving her bachelor's degree, she worked within a school-based mental health program, providing support in behavior supported classrooms within elementary schools. She has also co-facilitated a parenting class and provided individual parenting skills training. She was also a youth director for middle school and high school students and a teacher within Head Start classrooms.
Gabby Santos Gabby Santos is the program coordinator for underserved communities for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (OCADSV). She has worked with survivors of violence in roles ranging from Inverness Jail Support Group Facilitator to Legal Advocate for the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Her 16 years of advocacy and community education have helped to promote violence-free living within various underserved communities. Racial justice work, gender identity activism and criminal justice reform are at the heart of her passion. Gabby provides leadership to the OCADSV Communities of Color Task Force, coordinates the Oregon DELTA Preparing and Raising Expectations for Prevention Project (DELTA PREP), participates in the Gender-Positive Shelter Accessibility Committee (GPSAC) and is a member of the Firearms and Domestic Violence Task Force.
Elisa Saphier Elisa Saphier has 10 years of experience working in the anti-sexual violence field. She has spent most of that time focusing on the affects of oppression, in doing direct service with survivors and in prevention education in the community. Currently, she is working in the Support Program for Sexually Exploited Youth at the Sexual Assault Resource Center, where she works with victims and survivors of CSEC.
Teri Shultz, RN Teri Shultz, RN, has been with the Department of Human Services for 13 years as nurse manager of the Children, Adults and Families Foster Care Program. Teri attended Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. so long ago that she refuses to publish her graduation date. She has vast experience in NICU, PICU, Pediatric Oncology, Pediatric Mental Health and psycho-pharmacology.
Jim Seymour Jim Seymour has been deeply involved in the delivery of social services for more than 35 years. As executive director of Catholic Community Services, he has tirelessly worked to achieve positive change in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens, especially children in foster care and individuals and families dealing with developmental disabilities and mental health issues.
One of Jim's great strengths, besides his passion and concern for the well-being of children, families and adults in our community, is his ability to look creatively at systems and problem-solving. Jim has been a visionary leader in the movement toward self-directed care, an approach to the delivery of health and human services now proven to provide better outcomes, a higher level of customer satisfaction and significantly lower costs per customer for tax-payers.
Under Jim's leadership, CCS has grown to a $22 million family of organizations employing 250 members of our community and offering more than 20 research-based programs serving vulnerable children and families. Known for innovative solutions, CCS opened the first counseling center in the Mid-Willamette Valley 50 years ago; brought the Treatment Foster Care concept to Oregon 25 years ago; and pioneered the Community Homes for Children concept a decade ago.
A recipient of the Diamond Leadership Award from the Oregon Alliance of Children's Programs, Jim has twice been selected Citizen of the Year by the Oregon Association of Child and Youth Workers and has twice been appointed to the Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. He holds a master's degree in public administration from Lewis and Clark College, a quality administration certificate from Oregon State University, and a certificate in advanced child, youth and family assessment, planning and treatment from Portland State University.
Catherine Stelzer Catherine Stelzer has worked for DHS child welfare since 1997. She has worked as a certifier, permanency worker, current caretaker/adoption worker, supervisor, foster care program coordinator, and currently she is the Cross Systems Coordinator of the Safe and Equitable Foster Care Reduction Work partnering with Oregon Commission on Children and Families and Casey Family Programs. She also worked as a relief Emergency Department social worker at St. John Medical Center in Longview, WA, from 2002-2008. Catherine received a bachelor's in social work from Pacific Lutheran University, a master's in social work from Portland State University, and a certificate of program management from Willamette University.
Joshua Todd For the past 15 years. Joshua Todd has focused his professional attention on serving youth in a variety of capacities and positions in nonprofit organizations and local government and is currently considered by most to be one of the leading experts in Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding region on youth development and policy initiatives that support authentic youth voice and leadership.
Joshua currently serves as the Director of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Commission on Children, Families and Community (CCFC) whose mission is to impact policy, leverage resources and make strategic investments to build a thriving community. Prior to his current position as CCFC Director, Joshua served as CCFC's Youth Development Coordinator for eight years during which time he was instrumental in transforming a county advisory board on youth into a proactive, policy-focused city-county youth commission.
Under his guidance and support, the Multnomah Youth Commission (MYC) members, ranging from 13 to 21 years old, developed and wrote the nation's first Bill of Rights for youth. The document, "Our Bill of Rights: Children + Youth" was adopted first in June of 2006 by over 500 young people and then as official policy by the City of Portland in August of 2006, and Multnomah County in September of 2007. Joshua currently leads the CCFC's efforts to safely and equitably reduce the number of children in foster care and continues to work to bring the voices and leadership of community members to the decisions which impact their lives.
Judge Douglas Van Dyk Judge Douglas Van Dyk is a Circuit Court Judge in Clackamas County, Oregon. Since October 2009 he has been assigned primary responsibility for dependency proceedings in the county, while also presiding over the Family Drug Court. Since his appointment, Judge Van Dyk has distinguished himself with efforts to help establish the first Community Court Program in Clackamas County B, a combined effort of the county social services, law enforcement, neighborhood leaders and the court system to respond more effectively to the impact of crime on neighborhoods. He has also assisted in the development of a domestic violence deferred sentencing program and he is a past recipient of the Clackamas County Family Violence Coordinating Council Public Service Award. Judge Van Dyk has also served as a member for the Children's Justice Act Task Force. He is a 1985 graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Nan Waller Nan Waller is the chief family court judge in Oregon's largest judicial district, Multnomah County. Judge Waller is involved in numerous collaborative efforts to improve outcomes for children and families. She chairs Wraparound Oregon, a local initiative to address the needs of children with complex mental health issues. She is the statewide convener for the Casey Partnership, an initiative to safely reduce the number of children in foster care. Judge Waller serves on committees of the National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She is a member of the Governor's Racial Equity Task Force and the Board of the Children's Institute.
Judge Waller has received numerous awards. Among them are the Chief Justice’s Juvenile Court Champion Award, the 2006 Mental Health Award for Excellence, the Crime Citizens Commission Distinguished Service Award and the Oregon State Bar President's Public Service Award. Judge Waller is a fifth generation Oregonian. She received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University and graduated from the University Of Oregon School Of Law. She and her husband have three children and live in Portland. |
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