Our Staff
The Butler Institute's staff is nationally recognized for its leadership and collaborative work at the national, state, and local level in evaluation, research, technical assistance, education, and training.
Staff
- Cathryn Potter, Executive Director
- Sandra Spears, Director
- Charmaine Brittain, Program Manager
- Karli Cunningham, Training Specialist
- Christa Doty, Senior Training & Project Specialist
- Sheridan Green, Research Associate
- Robin Leake, Research Manager
- Chris Lynch, Training Specialist
- Kasey Matz, Training Specialist
- Nancy McDaniel, Program Administrator
- Linda Metsger, Training & Program Administrator
- Debra Mixon Mitchell, Senior Training & Project Specialist
- Ann Moralez, Senior Accounting Assistant
- Caren Nixon, Senior Logistics & Operations Specialist
- Kathy Schmitz, Logistics & Operations Assistant
- Patty Schroeder, Financial Officer
- Collette Solano, Training & Project Specialist
- Melissa Thompson, Design & Operations Manager
Contract Trainers
- Catherine Arnold
- Jim Baroffio
- Cynthia Carey
- Jeanne Downes
- Kathleen Holt
- Marlene Husson
- Lori Parker
- Sheryl Stefaniak
- Jan Tomski
- Beth Woods
- Bob Woods
Cathryn Potter
cpotter@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
sspears@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 12 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.
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.
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
kcunnin7@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 Caseworker Core I, New Caseworker Core II, Assuring Safety & Building Parental Capacity, In the Best Interest of Our Children: A Hands-On Approach to Safety Assessment & Planning, and Enhancing Safety Through Supervision for Child Welfare Supervisors for the Butler Institute for Families.
Christa Doty
cdoty@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. In addition, she provides consultation and technical assistance in the area of child welfare practice, training, and curriculum development on a number of Institute projects.
Ms. Doty trains New Caseworker Core I, New Caseworker Core II, New Caseworker Core III, Specialized Interviewing Skills for Children of Latency Age, Trainer's Boot Camp, The Intake Link: Advanced Skills for Stronger Protection Connections, and Initial Intervention with the Non-Offending Parent for the Butler Institute for Families.
Jeanne Downes
Jeanne Downes, BA, Contract Trainer, has been doing contract training for the Butler Institute for Families since 2002. Ms. Downes comes to the Institute with over 10 years of experience as a foster parent. Fostering for the county as well as a child placement agency, Ms. Downes has fostered over 27 adolescent boys. Ms. Downes is also a kinship care provider for her granddaughter and works as Director of the Kids Café at the Food Bank of the Rockies.
Ms. Downes trains Healing Traumatized Children in Substitute Care for the Butler Institute for Families.
Sheridan Green
sheridan.green@du.edu
Sheridan Green, M.S., 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.
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 & Medications for Children in Placement for the Butler Institute for Families.
Robin Leake
rleake@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.
Chris Lynch
Christopher.Lynch@du.edu
Chris Lynch, BA, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute in 2008. Mr. Lynch comes with a great deal of experience in the area of Child Welfare and Family Engagement. He began his work with adolescents and families for 4 years as a residential counselor. Mr. Lynch then moved to the State Hospital in Denver to work with adolescents with dual diagnosis as well as severe mental health problems. Mr. Lynch then spent several years working at Jefferson County Human Services as an ongoing case worker specializing in children 6 years and under. From there Mr. Lynch moved to the position of the Parent Partner Coordinator under a Systems of Care Grant in Jefferson County. Mr. Lynch created and developed the Parent Partner program that recruits and utilizes former child welfare clients to change the system so that professionals and clients can work together more effectively. Out of that program Parent Mentors were established to assist families in working through the Child Welfare System. Mr. Lynch is a Contributor to the following Publications; Family Involvement in Public Child Welfare Driven Systems of Care:A Closer Look, Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care, Systems of Care: Guide for Strategic Planning and Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care, Building the Infrastructure: A Guide for Communities. Mr. Lynch continues to strive to develop family centered practice as a trainer with the Butler Institute.
Mr. Lynch trains New Caseworker Core II, New Caseworker Core III, New Caseworker Core IV, and Teens, Tweens, & Everything In-Between for the Butler Institute of Families.
Kasey Matz
Kathleen.Matz@du.edu
Kasey Matz, MA, Training Specialist, joined the Butler Institute for families in 2008. Prior to joining the DU staff, Ms. Matz worked as an Intake Supervisor for two years in Jefferson County where she was responsible for the supervision of seven caseworkers who worked primarily during the night time and weekend hours and therefore responded to the most critical and emergent cases. Prior to becoming a supervisor, Ms. Matz worked as an Intake Caseworker in both Jefferson and Denver County for over six years. Her areas of expertise include: child welfare intake; safety, risk, family assessment, child fatality investigations, domestic violence; adolescent services; and supervision.
Ms. Matz trains New Caseworker Core I, New Caseworker Core III, New Caseworker Core IV, and Working With Sexually Abused Children in Foster Care for the Butler Institute of Families.
Nancy McDaniel
nmcdanie@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, Back to the Basics: A Refresher for Seasoned Supervisors, and Trainer's Boot Camp for the Butler Institute for Families.
Linda Metsger
lmetsger@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.
Debra Mixon Mitchell
dmixon@du.edu
Debra Mixon Mitchell, MSS, Senior Training & Project Specialist, came to the University of Denver in 1996. She has extensive experience in competency-based training for child welfare workers and supervisors, and has received outstanding training evaluations for each of her current courses. Before joining the Institute, Ms. Mixon Mitchell worked for Adams County Social Services for 19 years as a child welfare caseworker and supervisor. She supervised Therapeutic Foster Care, Adoptions, and a Teen Parent program. Ms. Mixon Mitchell’s areas of expertise include: clinical supervision; ongoing child welfare; developmental consequences of maltreatment; separation, placement, and reunification; placement disruptions; foster parent certification; and permanency planning for children and youth. She currently trains Core III and IV, Enhancing Worker Development Through Supervision, Healing Traumatized Children in Foster Care, and Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children. Ms. Mixon Mitchell also teaches Child Welfare Practice at the Graduate School of Social Work.
Ms. Mixon Mitchell trains New Caseworker Core III, New Caseworker Core IV, Healing Traumatized Children in Subsititute Care, Trainer's Boot Camp, Innovations in Child Welfare Practice, and The Cutting Edge: Fresh Approaches to Supervision for the Butler Institute for Families.
Ann Moralez
amorale9@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
cnixon2@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 Medically Fragile & Developmentally Delayed Foster Children and Sexual Health for Foster Care Children & Adolescents for the Butler Institute for Families.
Kathy Schmitz
kschmit6@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.
Patty Schroeder
pschroed@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.
Collette Solano
csolano@du.edu
Collette Solano, MSW, Training & Project Specialist, joined the University of Denver in 2005. Ms Solano has expertise in the field of child welfare through her work at the Denver County Department of Human Services as an ongoing child protection caseworker in the Bilingual Unit. The Bilingual Unit received the Colorado State Child Welfare Excellence in Practice Award in 2002 for their outstanding service provision to the Hispanic community and their Spanish speaking clients. Ms. Solano was also highly involved in the implementation of the Family to Family Initiative in Denver County and was hired as the Team Decision Making Facilitator. Through this process, Ms. Solano 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 trains New Caseworker Core II, New Caseworker Core III, New Caseworker Core IV, Advanced Topics in Culturally Responsive Practice with Hispanic Families, Developing a Culturally Responsive Team, Effective Child Welfare Practice with Hispanic Families, El Jardin Simulation & Workshop, La Frontera Nueva . . . The New Frontier: Working with Hispanic/Latino Families, Fatherhood in Child Welfare, Family Reunification, and Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children for the Butler Institute for Families.
Sheryl Stefaniak
Sheryl Stefaniak, MD, Contract Trainer, is a Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist & the Associate Medical Director of the Children’s Programs at the Aurora Mental Health Center, where she has been for the past 10 years. She is Board Certified in both General Psychiatry as well as Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Ms. Stefaniak did her Medical Internship, General Psychiatry Residency & Child Fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and currently works with children who are in foster care from ages approximately 3 to 7 years old. She also runs a clinic for kids with developmental delays from ages 6 to 21 years.
Ms. Stefaniak trains Mental Health & Medications for Children in Placement for the Butler Institute for Families.
Melissa Thompson
mmcwhirt@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 administering the Institute’s marketing strategy; managing technology purchasing; providing hardware and software support; proposing, designing, and managing administrative policies and procedures for training registration; managing Institute 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.
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 | p: 303.871.4435 | f: 303.871.4980 | www.thebutlerinstitute.org
