Our Team
The Butler Institute's team is nationally recognized for its leadership and collaborative work at the national, state, and local level in evaluation, research, technical assistance, education, and training.
Our Team
- Cathryn Potter, Executive Director
- Sandra Spears, Director
- Shannon Bigner, Senior Logistics and Operations Specialist
- Charmaine Brittain, Program Manager
- Sabrina Byrnes, Training Specialist
- Karli Cunningham, Training Specialist
- Anna de Guzman, Research Assistant
- Christa Doty, Senior Training & Project Specialist
- Adrienne Elliott, Training Specialist
- Sheridan Green, Senior Research Associate
- Michele Hanna, Assistant Professor, GSSW
- Robin Leake, Research Manager
- Laricia Longworth-Reed, Research & Operations Specialist
- Julie McCrae, Senior Research Associate
- Nancy McDaniel, Program Administrator
- Linda Metsger, Training & Program Administrator
- Jennifer Middleton, Senior Research Assistant
- Dan Mills, Training Specialist
- Julie Morales, Senior Research Associate
- Ann Moralez, Senior Accounting Assistant
- Caren Nixon, Senior Logistics & Operations Specialist
- Kathy Schmitz, Logistics & Operations Assistant
- Kathryn Schroeder, Research & Operations Specialist
- Patty Schroeder, Financial Officer
- Collette Solano, Training & Project Specialist
- Melissa Thompson, Design & Operations Manager
- Cindy Whittemore, Accounting Assistant
Contract Trainers
- Catherine Arnold
- Jim Baroffio
- Cynthia Carey
- Kathleen Holt
- Stacey Jones
- Marlene Husson
- Lori Parker
- Annette Rothman
- Vincent Secor
- Jan Tomski
- Beth Woods
- Bob Woods
Cathryn Potter
Cathryn.Potter@du.edu
Dr. Cathryn Potter, MSW, Ph.D., Executive Director, has extensive experience in child welfare practice and management, supervision, capacity building, policy analysis, curriculum development, training and technical assistance. Since 1990, she has been actively involved in the development, evaluation, and delivery of Colorado’s child welfare training and technical assistance program, and has managed the Butler Institute for Families, since 1994. Under her leadership, Butler has become a national and regional leader in child welfare, children’s mental health and juvenile justice research and technical assistance. Dr. Potter is a national leader and an active researcher in these areas. She has recently completed a large study of minority over-representation in child welfare, expedited permanency planning outcomes, and efficacy of family assessment protocols. Active children’s mental health research includes an evaluation of a family-professional dyad model in preventing juvenile justice involvement among children with severe mental health needs. Dr. Potter is very active in national human services research networks. She also serves on statewide and national workforce committees, and consults on practice, systemic and policy issues in human services.
Sandra Spears
Sandra.Spears@du.edu
Sandra P. Spears, MSW, LCSW, Director, administers the Institute’s numerous contracts and multi-state grants. Ms. Spears has extensive experience in the management of large human service projects, statewide needs assessment, training, technical assistance and capacity building. Ms. Spears came to the Institute with 20 years experience in child welfare and community intervention. She has served as project director for numerous federally funded child abuse prevention and training projects. Her extensive experience in capacity building includes consultation, training and technical assistance with five Indian nations and several states. She has published in the areas of child welfare and teen pregnancy. For the last 14 years, as Director of Butler Institute, Ms. Spears has administered child welfare contracts providing Colorado’s mandated New Worker Training and much of their advanced child welfare worker and supervisor training. In addition, she has managed several federal and state funded child welfare program evaluation, consultation and technical assistance projects targeting multi-state collaborations.
Catherine Arnold
Catherine J. Arnold MSN, WHNP-BC, Contract Trainer, has spent the last 3 years working in a large public health hospital. Her nursing practice has focused on women and adolescent health issues. She is a Registered Nurse in the State of Colorado and is certified by the National Certification Corporation as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner.
Ms. Arnold trains Sexual Health for Foster Care Children & Adolescents for the Butler Institute for Families.
Jim Baroffio
James R. Baroffio, Jr., PsyD, DABPS, Contract Trainer, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed school psychologist with 15 years of experience in the field of child protection and 20 years of experience in the mental health field. As a psychologist specializing in forensic-oriented psychodiagnostic evaluation and consultation, he provides a wide variety of clinical services to child protection agencies, schools, and attorneys. Dr. Baroffio’s experience base includes extensive work with children and adolescents with severe developmental disabilities, individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, chronic-crisis families, and both inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy. In addition to his private practice, he presently works for a local school district, as a psychologist-on- special-assignment, focused primarily on program development for children with autism spectrum disorders, severe developmental disabilities, and/or significant social-emotional-behavioral disorders. Dr. Baroffio is published in the areas of objective testing/eating disorders and treatment program development in the penal system.
Dr. Baroffio trains Using Psychological Assessment Information in Child Welfare Case Planning for the Butler Institute for Families.
Shannon Bigner
shannon.bigner@du.edu
Shannon Bigner, BA, Senior Logistics and Operations Specialist, joined the staff of the Butler Institute for Families in January 2010. Ms. Bigner graduated from Colorado State University with a B.A. in Performing Arts – Theater and received a Professional Certificate in Event Management from George Washington University. She has over 15 years of combined experience in the areas of administrative support, technical support, event planning and logistics. Her work at the Institute includes managing the Institute’s technology needs and providing support for staff and during trainings; implementing marketing strategy for all non-mandatory trainings; and coordinating all activities related to the operations of office management.
Charmaine Brittain
Charmaine.Brittain@du.edu
Charmaine Brittain, MSW, PhD, Program Manager, is a prolific writer of training materials for child welfare workers, supervisors, and managers on the national scene. She is a leading national expert on training systems and curriculum development and sought after for her expertise in both the structural and topical areas of training and curriculum development. At the Butler Institute for Families, she manages training and research projects, writes curricula on a range of topics, and develops professional educational materials. She is the author of Putting the Pieces Together: Supervisor Core Curriculum that some portion of or all has been adopted by multiple states. Previously, Dr. Brittain was the Manager of Education and Professional Development at American Humane Association. She was the senior editor and author for two books published by Oxford University Press, Helping in Child Protective Services (2004) and Understanding the Medical Diagnosis of Child Abuse and Neglect (2006) and is currently working on a third book, Supervision in Child Welfare to be published by Oxford University Press in 2008. Dr. Brittain received her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public Administration, University of Colorado-Denver, an M.S.W. from the University of Denver and a B.S. from Indiana University.
Dr. Brittain trains Curriculum 101: Planning & Developing Creative Curriculum and Making the Most of Supervision for the Butler Institute for Families.
Sabrina Byrnes
Sabrina.Byrnes@du.edu
Sabrina Byrnes, BS, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute in 2009. Ms. Byrnes brings with her twelve years of experience in both public and private sectors of child welfare and adoption. Prior to joining the University of Denver, Ms. Byrnes was employed for eight years with the Jefferson County Division of Children, Youth and Families where she worked for four years as an ongoing child protection worker and her last four years were spent in Child Protection Intake as a lead worker and supervisor. During this time, Ms. Byrnes supervised a split team of three day and three nights and weekend workers, worked on call with nights and weekend staff, reviewed and assigned child abuse and neglect referrals and served on various committees throughout the agency. In addition, Ms. Byrnes participated in the training of many Court Appointed Special Advocates in Jefferson County from 2002-2007. Ms. Byrnes was awarded the 2009 Excellence in Practice, Spirit of the Summit Multi-Disciplinary Team Award for assisting in the development and implementation of the Jefferson County Family Integrated Treatment Court. Ms. Byrnes brings with her expertise in the areas of child welfare intake, risk and safety assessments, domestic violence and ongoing child protection.
Ms. Byrnes trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, and Healing Traumatized Children in Substitute Care for the Butler Institute for Families.
Cynthia Carey
Cynthia Carey, MSW, LCSW, Contract Trainer, has over 25 years experience in working with children, adolescents and families. She has worked in the area of child abuse and neglect, specializing in sexual abuse, for over 20 years. Ms. Carey has worked as a county case worker and a supervisor and has been acknowledged for her contributions to the field by a variety of organizations. These include: the Colorado Department of Human Services for her contributions; the National Adolescent Perpetration Network Pioneer Award for her unique contributions to prevent perpetration of sexual abuse; the Sungate Advocacy Center’s Excellence in Service Award and most recently she was nominated for the Colorado Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Carey has developed, planned and implemented treatment programs for mothers of sexual abuse victims, victims of sexual abuse, sexually acting out youth, abuse reactive children and non-offending parents. In addition to being published, Ms. Carey serves as a consultant and trainer for community programs in regards to sexual abuse issues. Ms. Carey continues to supervise a sex abuse team with a county department of human services. Ms. Carey brings a wealth of experience from her many years of experience and continuing direct practice in the field.
Ms. Carey trains Initial Intervention with the Non-Offending Parent for the Butler Institute for Families.
Karli Cunningham
Karli.Cunningham@du.edu
Karli Cunningham, MSW, LCSW, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2005. Prior to joining the Institute's staff, Ms. Cunningham worked for the Denver Department of Human Services, serving in a variety of roles. She was a supervisor for 11 years and worked in child protection, intensive family services, adoption, substance abuse, intake, and was also a home-study worker. Ms. Cunningham was member of the state fatality committee and supervised student interns in Denver County. Her areas of expertise include family-centered practice, child welfare intake, safety, risk and family assessment, family reunification, and child fatalities.
Ms. Cunningham trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, Assuring Safety & Building Parental Capacity, In the Best Interest of Our Children: A Hands-On Approach to Safety Assessment & Planning, Enhancing Safety Through Supervision for Child Welfare Supervisors, and Trainer's Boot Camp for the Butler Institute for Families.
Anna de Guzman
Anna.DeGuzman@du.edu
Anna de Guzman, BA, Research Assistant, joined the staff of the Butler Institute for Families in September 2008. Ms. de Guzman graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in English. She has several years of experience in handling operations and logistics duties for a non-profit organization at a higher education environment. Her previous work at the Institute included managing the Institute’s technology needs and providing support for staff and during trainings; implementing marketing strategy for all non-mandatory trainings; and coordinating all activities related to the operations of office management. Her current work at the Butler Institute involves research and evaluation support for the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC) and for the National Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes), including data collection, data management, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
Christa Doty
Christa.Doty@du.edu
Christa Doty, MSW, LCSW, Senior Training & Project Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2004 as a trainer for new and advanced child welfare professionals. Ms. Doty has extensive experience as a child welfare caseworker and supervisor. She has worked in child protection and adolescent intake and served as child welfare liaison with community-based intervention programs. Her supervisory experience is in child welfare, family intervention, and intensive in-home solution-focused treatment. Ms. Doty’s areas of expertise and interest include Multi-Systemic Therapy, solution-focused practice, adolescent services, family-centered practice, and forensic interviewing. Ms. Doty’s training for the Institute has taken her as far as Bermuda. While traveling abroad in Nepal, she was given the opportunity by the Friend’s of Needy Children (FNC) organization to provide training to local foster parents around challenges they face in their system. She provides consultation and technical assistance in the area of child welfare practice, training, and curriculum development on a number of Institute projects. In addition, Ms. Doty also teaches Child Welfare Practice at the Graduate School of Social Work.
Ms. Doty trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, Specialized Interviewing Skills for Children of Latency Age, Trainer's Boot Camp, and Initial Intervention with the Non-Offending Parent for the Butler Institute for Families.
Adrienne Elliott
Adrienne.Elliott@du.edu
Adrienne Elliott, MSW, LCSW, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute of Families in May 2009 for new child welfare professionals. Ms. Elliott began working as a caseworker in Marion County Social Services in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1994 and then moved to Denver in the fall of 1994 to attend the University of Denver’s graduate school of social work program. Upon graduation, Ms. Elliott spent three years as a child welfare caseworker and more than five years as the adoption supervisor in Jefferson County Division of Children Youth and Families. In the last few years, Ms. Elliott worked in the private adoption arena, working on legislation and policy around adoption and child welfare issues for children and families. Ms. Elliott’s expertise and passion is achieving permanency for children of all ages. Ms. Elliott has also trained several classes through the Adoption Exchange such as Promoting Placement Stability and Adoption issues for Mental Health Professionals, along with the Lifebook class through the Butler Institute of Families. Ms. Elliott was also only one of two trainers in Colorado teaching the SAFE curriculum through the Consortium for Children.
Ms. Elliott trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, and Adoption Competent Practice Certification for the Butler Institute for Families.
Sheridan Green
Sheridan.Green@du.edu
Sheridan Green, M.S., Senior Research Associate, has been employed as a researcher and evaluator for over 18 years in academic, community and local government settings. Her experience spans a variety of fields including child welfare, youth development, early childhood, education, public health, adult and juvenile justice systems, TANF and workforce development, and mental health and substance abuse. Current work includes evaluating the Parent Partner program as part of the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes through Systems of Care grant in Jefferson County and examining dual-system family involvement in the Jefferson County TANF–Child Welfare Collaboration grant. Recent work in child welfare consists of conducting longitudinal research with families and children involved in human services, including infants in foster care; evaluating a county-level community infant program designed to provide mental health and nurse home visitation to new mothers and their infants; leading a feasibility study of a county juvenile detention facility; conducting a community needs assessment of system-involved youth transportation; and researching Child Care Assistance program implementation and outcomes. Her expertise involves quantitative and qualitative program evaluation and research, including community, organizational and individual assessment; survey development and measurement. Ms. Green’s statistical expertise includes analysis using a variety of multivariate analytic procedures and advanced modeling techniques. Her Master’s degree is in Human Development and Family Studies and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Statistics and Research Methods at the University of Northern Colorado.
Michele Hanna
Michele.Hanna@du.edu
Michele Hanna, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, teaches MSW courses at DU's Graduate School of Social Work in multicultural social work practice, child welfare practice and policy. Her research interest include exploring the experience of young adults adopted from foster care, supervision in child welfare and communication in adoption. Dr. Hanna's professional positions have included child protective service worker, child welfare adoption specialist, child welfare supervisor and program field representative for a statewide special-needs adoption program. Recently, she helped develop a professional development Adoption Therapy Certification curriculum offered through the Butler Institute for Families. Dr. Hanna is also currently the evaluator for Denver’s Village Diligent Recruitment Grant, a five year federally funded grant aimed at increases the number of foster and adoptive homes available for children in foster care.
Kathleen Holt
Kathleen Holt, MLS, Contract Trainer, has served as a training consultant for the KU Child Welfare Resource Network for more than 11 years working directly with public and private child welfare providers in foster care, family preservation and adoption through curriculum development and training. Her previous child welfare experienced included coordinating segments of Kansas’ Independent Living Program for six years, fostering adolescents for 17 years and training/mentoring foster parents. Holt worked in residential treatment in Alaska and Louisiana focusing on work with adolescents. She is the co-author of Reinventing the Wheel, a strengths-based resource curriculum for independent living youth.
Ms. Holt trains Advanced Topics in Culturally Responsive Practice with Hispanic Families, Effective Child Welfare Practice with Hispanic Families, El Jardin Simulation & Workshop, La Frontera Nueva . . . The New Frontier: Working with Hispanic/Latino Families, and Fatherhood in Child Welfare: An Experiental Learning Activity & Workshop with the Butler Institute for Families.
Marlene Husson
Marlene A. Husson, MA, LPC, Contract Trainer, is the department director for Family/Children's Intensive Services at the Aurora Mental Health Center (AUMHC). She has been with AUMHC for 22 years. For the last 12 years, she has been involved with the National Child Traumatic Network and is a trainer in trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy. Marlene is also the AUMHC coordinator for disaster response and is on the State Division of Behavioral Health committee for response to traumatic events and disasters.
Ms. Husson trains Mental Health for Children in Placement for the Butler Institute for Families.
Stacey Jones
Stacey Jones, Contract Trainer, and her husband Gene have been licensed foster parents since 1997. They have worked with over 40 children of all ages in need of long term placements. The last few years they have focused on working with delinquent teens. They have bonded out teen girls from jail and have taken placements from several area residential treatment centers as well as the State Psychiatric Facility. Stacey has been a court intervener/special respondent, educational surrogate, Food Bank of the Rockies Organizer, a PRIDE Core trainer and a speaker on lifebooks. Stacey and her husband have worked with Native American children, medically fragile, special needs, sexually abused children and teen mothers. Stacey and Gene have 3 children, 2 of which were adopted from foster care. Stacey is also involved in a variety of community organizations.
Ms. Jones trains Teens, Tweens, & Everything In-Between with the Butler Institute for Families.
Robin Leake
Robin.Leake@du.edu
Robin Leake, Ph.D, Research Manager, at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver is an experienced researcher, specializing in program and training evaluation and evaluation capacity building for non-profit organizations, state agencies and foundations at both the local and national level. She has extensive program evaluation experience, with expertise in research design; selection and development of instruments; data collection; analysis and interpretation; proposal and final report development; and project management. She is skilled in qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as all levels of program evaluation. Formerly the director of research and evaluation for JVA Consulting, LLC, Dr Leake managed a multi-year evaluation of the Colorado Trust Bullying Prevention Initiative to help grantees across the state build evaluation capacity using a web-based data system. She also conducted a five-year longitudinal study of the impact of out-of-school time programming on student achievement in Denver. In addition to program evaluation, Dr. Leake has many years of experience developing and evaluating skills-based training programs for professional human service staff. She has directed the evaluation and development of statewide training programs for child welfare staff for several statewide systems, including Colorado and Pennsylvania. These evaluations led to comprehensive statewide changes to enhanced skill acquisition, transfer of learning to the job, and improved service delivery to children and families. Dr. Leake holds a Ph.D. in Social/Health Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Laricia Longworth-Reed
Laricia.Longworth-Reed@du.edu
Laricia Longworth-Reed, B.S., Research & Operations Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in the summer of 2008. Laricia graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelors of Science in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Her employment over the last five years in research positions represents a variety of fields including child welfare, neurodevelopmental sciences, anatomical science and neurobiology and psychoacoustics. She has collaborated on many projects focused on the development and well-being of children and youth. Her current work involves data collection and management, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, report writing and marketing for the institute’s training and research projects including the Wisconsin training evaluation; Jefferson County’s TANF-Child Welfare Collaboration program evaluation; and the Colorado Coalition for Adoptive Families evaluation of post-adoptive services. She is a skilled data manager focused on maintaining data integrity and security, utilizing Access, Excel and other statistical software packages.
Julie S. McCrae
Julie.McCrae@du.edu
Julie S. McCrae, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, joined the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver in June of 2010. Dr. McCrae has extensive experience in social sciences research and evaluation. Her work encompasses early childhood development and mental health following contact with child welfare, child welfare training evaluation, and implementation strategies to adopt new practice in child welfare. Prior to joining the Butler Institute, Dr. McCrae was Research Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, where she worked directly with the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program to develop research capacity in statewide training evaluation and targeted research programs. Dr. McCrae is experienced in quantitative analysis, including bivariate and multivariate analysis, longitudinal research methods, and instrumentation. She has led numerous research projects, including a statewide study of developmental screening in child welfare services, pathways to disproportionality in child welfare, and mental health outcomes of maltreated children following usual care services. Dr. McCrae is a member of the California Social Work Education Consortium (CalSWEC) Training Evaluation Symposium, the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), and has authored numerous publications and presentations.
Nancy McDaniel
Nancy.McDaniel@du.edu
Nancy C. McDaniel, M.P.A., Program Administrator, has worked in the field of human services for more than twenty five years. She has extensive experience in training and technical assistance; program evaluation and policy analysis, outcome measurement and research in the field of child welfare. Ms. McDaniel joined the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver in 2004. In her position as Program Administrator, she leads and participates in a range of child welfare policy and practice initiatives. She is project lead and manages the evaluation of three five year Federal grants in Colorado, including Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care grant in Jefferson County, Adoption Families Initiative grant with 8 sites across Colorado, and the TANF – Child Welfare Collaboration grant in Jefferson County, CO. Ms McDaniel was formerly with the American Humane Association, Children’s Services.
Ms. McDaniel has provided training and technical assistance to managers, supervisors and staff across the United States, for the four North Dakota tribes, and internationally, in Bermuda and Romania. Most recently she contributed to the development of and trains the Supervisory Curriculum: Putting the Pieces Together. She is a co-editor and contributing author of the 1990 edition of Helping in Child Protective Services - A Casework Handbook (American Humane Association) and is a contributing co-author of two chapters of the second edition of Helping in Child Protective Services – A Competency-Based Casework Handbook (Oxford Press).
She has been trained as a federal reviewer for the upcoming round of Child and Family Services Reviews and served as a federal CFSR reviewer in Utah in 2003. Ms. McDaniel was also a member of the Advisory Committee for Colorado's Child and Family Services Review.
Ms. McDaniel completed undergraduate degree programs in Social Welfare and Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and obtained her Master’s degree in Public Administration at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Ms. McDaniel trains the Supervisory Training - Putting the Pieces Together: Unit I: Administrative Supervision, Unit II: Educational Supervision, and Unit III: Supportive Supervision, and Back to the Basics: A Refresher for Seasoned Supervisors for the Butler Institute for Families.
Linda Metsger
Linda.Metsger@du.edu
Linda K. Metsger, MA, Training & Program Administrator,has been with the Butler Institute since 1997. Before joining DU, Ms. Metsger worked for Arapahoe County Department of Social Services for 17 years. With nine years as a youth services caseworker, six years as a supervisor in both youth services and child protection, and two years as a training supervisor, she has extensive child welfare worker, supervisory, and training experience. Her areas of expertise include: the development and training of competency-based curriculum; child welfare intake; safety, risk, and family assessment; adolescent and delinquent services; case planning with families; family reunification; effective permanency planning for children; and supervision. Ms. Metsger is also managing a five-year multi-state federal child welfare training grant on Healthy Marriages and Family Formation and is a member of a number of child welfare workgroups and related committees. Ms. Metsger is also published in the area of juvenile delinquency.
Ms. Metsger trains New Caseworker Core I, New Caseworker Core II, New Caseworker Core III, New Caseworker Core IV, Working with Families Experiencing Domestic Violence, Fatherhood in Child Welfare, Healthy Relationships for Youth in Foster Care, Working with Incarcerated Parents, Planning in Advance: Life Beyond Foster Care, Promoting Youth as Problem Solvers: Coping with Mental Health & Substance Abuse, We to Me: Working with Youth from a Cultural Perspective, and Working with GLBTQ Kids for the Butler Institute for Families.
Jennifer Middleton
Jennifer.Martin@du.edu
Jennifer Middleton, MSW, LCSW, PhD Student, Senior Research Assistant, joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2009. Prior to joining the Institute’s staff, Jennifer worked as a forensic interviewing specialist for the past several years, interviewing over 2500 children regarding allegations of sexual abuse and other forms of maltreatment. A forensic interviewer and expert witness regarding child sexual abuse, Jennifer developed training protocols for law enforcement investigators, social services and other professionals regarding such topics as: minimal facts interviewing protocol, forensic interviewing skill development, and child sexual abuse investigations. As the founder and senior faculty consultant of True Voice Consulting, Jennifer provides case consultation, trial preparation, and support for county and district attorneys who question children on the stand, and also provides clinical supervision to lead caseworkers and forensic interviewers throughout the state. Prior to becoming a forensic interviewing specialist, Jennifer worked extensively as a child protection caseworker, team leader, and institutional investigator for the Department of Social Services. Jennifer is currently completing her PhD in Forensic Social Work at the University of Denver, where she also teaches graduate level courses regarding social work practice and theory. As a doctoral student, Jennifer is currently studying the impact of betrayal trauma on autobiographical memory development in young children and its implications for children as witnesses in court. Jennifer is also working on several grant funded research projects pertaining to topics such as: minority over-representation (MOR) in the juvenile justice system, prevention of revictimization in adolescent foster care girls, a comprehensive organization health assessment (COHA) of child welfare agencies, and the impact of vicarious trauma on forensic interviewing professionals.
Dan Mills
Dan.Mills@du.edu
Dan Mills, MA, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2009 as a Training Specialist. Mr. Mills has extensive experience as a child welfare caseworker and supervisor from the state of New Jersey. He has worked in child protection in the areas of intake, fostercare, ongoing, and in the field of adoption. His supervisory experience is in child welfare, and he served as an administrator for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families for the Child Welfare Training Academy. Mr. Mills then went on to be the director of adoptions for the Downey Side Adoption Agency. Mr. Mills provides consultation and technical assistance in the area of child welfare practice, training, and curriculum development. He also teaches Strategies for Parenting Special Needs Children to foster parents and child welfare professionals.
Mr. Mills trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, and Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children for the Butler Institute for Families.
Julie Morales
Julie.Morales@du.edu
Julie Morales, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, has broad experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of social services interventions for high-risk families. Her expertise includes both qualitative and quantitative research design and evaluation, instrumentation, data collection, and statistical analysis and interpretation. Dr. Morales has a passion for promoting and implementing evidence based practice in child welfare systems by the careful application of research from child psychology, child welfare, organizational development, and other research domains. Formerly, the Project Director for the Jeffco Community Connection (JCC) Project, an intervention grant project aimed at helping families in both the child welfare and public welfare (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; TANF) systems in Jefferson County, Colorado. Dr. Morales lead the development and design of the randomized control study and initial implementation phases of the JCC Project based upon system of care principles and philosophy. As part of this project Dr. Morales developed and conducted cross-system trainings and workshops on the JCC Project and the process of developing collaborative multi-system projects for presentation at county, state and national conferences over the course of the past several years. Prior to that work, as the systems of care Research Analyst for Jefferson County, she also conducted numerous research studies on various aspects of child welfare practice, including non-paid kinship care, early intervention services, minority-overrepresentation, and team-decision making. Dr. Morales received her BA from Hunter College-City University of New York and her Ph.D. in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Ann Moralez
Ann.Moralez@du.edu
Ann Moralez, Senior Accounting Assistant, joined the staff of the Butler Institute for Families in 2005. Ms. Moralez has more than 15 years of experience in inventory control and accounts payable. Reporting directly to the Budget and Operations Manager, she is responsible for all administrative detail relevant to accounts payable and purchasing functions, the administration of internal activity reports and timesheets, and the reporting of data associated with those activities. In addition to her background in accounting, Ms Moralez has extensive experience in proofreading and formatting documents and is a certified Microsoft Office Specialist in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Caren Nixon
Caren.Nixon@du.edu
Caren Nixon, Senior Logistics & Operations Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in the summer of 2003. Caren graduated from Iowa State University. Her current work with the Institute involves coordination of training resources (including production of training materials, assistance with operational materials management, assistance with on-site and off-site inventory control, and assisting in trainer preparation). Assistance with research to support training curricula development and maintenance, proposal development and reporting requirements; as well as assistance with trainee registration, confirmation, and travel arrangements. She is also responsible for the coordination with hotels for training locations and with restaurants for catering needs. In addition, she also coordinates and assists with distance learning video conferencing trainings.
Lori Parker
Lori Parker, MSW, LCSW, has been training competency-based child welfare curricula for DU since 1996 as a staff and contract trainer. Ms. Parker has substantial experience as a child welfare worker in both children’s and youth services. As a member of the Jefferson County Intensive Family Treatment Team, she gained clinical expertise providing individual and family therapy to preserve or reunify families. In addition, Ms. Parker has extensive experience in child welfare and juvenile justice settings, with particular emphasis on special needs children and their families. She receives outstanding evaluations for her training skills and her considerable expertise. She has trained Colorado’s mandated New Worker Core and other content areas including family-centered practice, attachment, grief and loss, child development, and family therapy with high-risk families.
Ms. Parker trains Nurturing Children with Special Health Care Needs and Sexual Health for Foster Care Children & Adolescents for the Butler Institute for Families.
Annette Rothman
Annette Rothman CPNP, CNS, Contract Trainer, has practiced as an Advanced Practice Nurse since 1981 and as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing since 1999. She is board certified both as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatric Nursing. Annette has prescriptive privileges in the State of Colorado. She currently works for AUMHC seeing children with mental health disorders from age 3- 18 years, doing psychiatric medication management.
Ms. Rothman trains Mental Health for Children in Placement for the Butler Institute for Families.
Kathy Schmitz
Kathy.Schmitz@du.edu
Kathy Schmitz, Logistics & Operations Assistant, joined the Butler Institute in December, 2006. Kathy graduated from Regis University in 1983. Her duties encompass working with the Project Specialist to help coordinate training resources, including production of training materials, assistance with operational materials management, assistance with on-site and off-site inventory control, and assisting in trainer preparation.
Kathryn Schroeder
Kathryn.Schroeder@du.edu
Kathryn Schroeder, BA, Research & Operations Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for Families in January 2009. Ms. Schroeder graduated Summa Cum Laude from Azusa Pacific University in 2007 with a dual degree in History and English. Her work here at the Butler Institute encompasses many aspects of research, evaluation, and curriculum development. She is currently working on three federal grants, the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI), the Western Workforce Project (WW), and the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC).
Patty Schroeder
Patricia.Schroeder@du.edu
Patty Schroeder, Financial Officer, joined the Butler Institute for Families in February 2001. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Finance. Patty provides fiscal management of the Institute’s state, federal, and private contracts, and serves as the Institute liaison with the University of Denver Comptroller’s Office and the Office of Sponsored programs.
Vincent Secor
Vincent Secor, Contract Trainer, and his wife Julie are foster parents that have cared for a wide variety of children from birth to 16 years of age. They have taken both short and long term placements. Vince and Julie strive to develop healthy relationships with the biological parents of children in their home and remain a support to the families even after the children have returned home. Their relationship with the children and parents continues to grow after social services is long gone. They have two biological children; one adopted from foster care and they also own and operate their own business. They care for up to 7 children at a time. They have been special advocates in court, worked with children with special needs, sexual abuse, medically fragile, sensory disorders, and severe developmental delays. This year they have been recognized as Foster Parents of the quarter by Jefferson and Arapahoe counties. Vince also volunteers hundreds of hours each year to a variety of community organizations.
Mr. Secor trains Healing Traumatized Children in Substitute Care for the Butler Institute for Families.
Collette Solano
Collette.Solano@du.edu
Collette Solano, MSW, Training & Project Specialist, joined the University of Denver in 2005. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Denver in 2003. Ms Solano has expertise in the field of Child Welfare through her work at Denver County Department of Human Services as an Ongoing Child Protection Caseworker in the Bilingual Unit. In her context as a Bilingual Worker she also provided support to Spanish speaking Kinship, Relative and Foster Care Providers working with abused and neglected children on her caseload. With the implementation of the Family to Family Initiative in Denver County she was hired as a Team Decision Making Facilitator. Ms Solano has worked extensively with the community in collaboration with the agency to identify and utilize community based resources to support and strengthen families in the Child Welfare system. Ms Solano worked with The University of Kansas in developing and delivering training regarding working with Hispanic/Latino families as part of a grant from the Children’s Bureau looking at Effective Child Welfare Practices with Hispanic Families. A Healthy Marriage and Family Formation’s grant was awarded to the Butler Institute for Families providing, Ms Solano an opportunity to also deliver training regarding Fatherhood in Child Welfare. She currently trains New Case Worker training Core II, III and IV along with a Foster Parent training entitled Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children and an advanced Case Worker training regarding Family Reunification.
Ms. Solano trains New Worker Module 1: Beginning your trip on the Child Welfare Path, New Worker Module 2: The Initial Assessment, New Worker Module 3: Interviewing, Child Development and Effects of Maltreatment, New Worker Module 4: Sexual Development in Children and the Nature of Adolescents, New Worker Module 5: Ongoing Service Provision, New Worker Module 6: Achieving Permanency for Children in the Child Welfare System, New Worker Module 7: Winding down the Path, Family Reunification, and Teens, Tweens, & Everything In-Between for the Butler Institute for Families.
Melissa Thompson
Melissa.Thompson@du.edu
Melissa Thompson, Design & Operations Manager, joined the Butler Institute for Families in 2002. Prior to coming to the University of Denver, Melissa graduated summa cum laude from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in General Business. Her current work within the Institute includes planning, developing, designing, and managing the Institute’s marketing strategy; overseeing technology purchasing and support; proposing, designing, and managing administrative policies and procedures for training registration; managing the Institute's operations and logistics support staff; report and material design for Institute projects; as well as creating and managing Institute data bases, web sites and technical systems.
Jan Tomski
Jan Tomski, M.A, LMFT, Contract Instructor, has 27 years of clinical experience, including 16 with foster care and adoption. She is the Clinical Director of Adoptive Family Resources and is an active board member of the Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families. Her private practice focuses on adopted children, many of whom survived extensive trauma. She co-facilitates ongoing support and educational programs for adults and children. She advocates for children in the courts and in the educational system. She has trained at the national, state and local level, has taught at the junior college and graduate level and is involved in retreats for adoptive parents and families. Jan has been a birth, foster and adoptive parent.
Ms. Tomski is one of the instructors for the Adoption Therapy Certification program.
Cindy Whittemore
Cynthia.Whittemore@du.edu
Cindy Whittemore, Accounting Assistant, joined the Butler Institute for Families in April 2009. Cindy graduated from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley with a degree in Marketing. Cindy specific duties include; Processing purchase orders and direct pay invoices, utilizing the banner system, bank deposits, providing technical assistance to staff for purchase card transitions, and entering time sheets. Cindy also, performs miscellaneous clerical and administrative duties required in support of the accounting department.
Beth Woods
Beth Woods, Contract Trainer, began training for the Butler Institute for Families in 2001, co-training with her husband Bob Woods and past Institute trainer Larry Wright on the topic of parenting the sexually abused foster child. Beth has been a foster parent since 2000 and has had the opportunity to foster children with a variety of special needs. Prior to becoming a foster parent, she worked for Adams County Department of Social Services on the Sexual Abuse Unit providing treatment and case management to sexual abuse victims and their families. Beth has also worked as a supervisor in a residential treatment center, has trained Foster Parent Core Training since 2001, and currently works full time as a social worker for a local non-profit adoption agency.
Ms. Woods trains Working with Sexually Abused Children in Foster Care and Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children for the Butler Institute for Families.
Bob Woods
Bob Woods, Contract Trainer, began training for the University of Denver in 2001 along with his wife Beth Woods, on the topic of parenting the sexually abused foster child. He has been a foster parent since 2000 and has had the opportunity to foster children with a variety of needs. He works full-time as the owner of a small trucking company.
Mr. Woods trains Working with Sexually Abused Children in Foster Care for the Butler Institute for Families.
2148 S. High St. | Denver, CO 80208-7101 | p: 303.871.4435 | f: 303.871.4980 | www.thebutlerinstitute.org
