Presenters

Mark A. Johnson received his Master's of Science in Social Work Degree (MSSW) from the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. He is employed at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department as a Community Health Planner and at AIDS Volunteers, Inc. as a Prevention Specialist. Mark has been working in the field of HIV/AIDS for approximately 15 years.

Barbara Helm has been in the field of aging for nearly 30 years, primarily focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care since 1987.  She has provided direct care in various settings, including nursing homes, adult day programs and residential care facilities.  She has presented 100’s of educational programs and seminars to literally thousands of people throughout the country.  She is currently Educational Services Coordinator, Council on Aging, UK College of Public Health.

Darlene Thomas has worked as an advocate for families for 18 years.  She is the Executive Director for the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program in Lexington, KY but has been fortunate to have served in multiple advocacy roles across the Commonwealth.  Darlene has trained and educated community professionals regarding the issues of domestic violence locally, statewide, nationally and internationally.

Blake L. Jones, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience as a clinician, researcher and adjunct professor in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work (UKCOSW).  Dr. Jones is the former program coordinator for the Kentucky Fatherhood Initiative and is a husband and the father of two young sons.  He is the coordinator of the UKCOSW’s Continuing Education program and does national consulting in the area of child abuse and neglect.

Chris Flaherty, MSW, PhD is an assistant professor of social work at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. He teaches research methods in the graduate and undergraduate programs. His research interests are in child welfare, social work in health care, and social work with incarcerated populations. He is currently conducting numerous program evaluations for university-contracted service delivery programs in the child welfare arena.

Prior to joining the College of Social Work, Dr. Flaherty worked for twenty years in the U.S. Air Force mental health and social services systems. His military practice experience includes mental health, child and family violence intervention, prison-based treatment, and post-graduate medical education in primary healthcare. He holds an advanced clinical social work license in South Dakota, and the Board Certified Diplomate from the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work.

Neil Chethik is author of two books on men's psychology. FatherLoss (Hyperion 2001) is about how men deal with the deaths of their fathers, and VoiceMale (Simon & Schuster 2006) focuses on men and marriage. Currently, he is publications editor at Hospice of the Bluegrass, and writer-in-residence at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Ky. Go to www.NeilChethik.com for more.

Dr. Latonya Hesterberg graduated from Morehead State University in 1984 with a BSW, received her MSW from the University of Kentucky in 1990, and PhD in Social Work from the University of Kentucky in May 2005. Professor Hesterberg’s areas of research are social work education, child welfare, and family violence.  She has a combined 22 years of social work experience as a child protective services worker, administrator, consultant, Cabinet for Health and Family Services Trainer, and professor. In addition to teaching social work classes, Dr. Hesterberg coordinates the Public Child Welfare Certification Program at the MSU at Prestonsburg Campus. Dr. Hesterberg also teaches practice and ethics courses for the University of Kentucky College Of Social Work

Dr. Bob Huwieler has worked primarily with trauma patients for the past 30 years, in private practice, community mental health and the Veterans Administration. He is presently the Chief of Psychology at VAMC Huntington WV, where he is also assigned to the PTSD Clinical Team. Dr. Huwieler received his master’s degree in “Pre-clinical” Psychology from North Texas State University (now, University of North Texas) and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Kansas University. He taught upper division courses at Kansas University in Abnormal, Clinical and Psychoanalytic Psychology. He served as the Director of the Clinical Psychology Internship Program at the VA in Leavenworth Kansas.  He has done workshops and trainings on PTSD diagnosis and treatment, Borderline Personality Disorder, and professional ethics.  

A graduate of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Psychology, Dr. Carmella P. Yates is a clinical psychologist licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In addition to receiving her doctorate, Dr. Yates is also certified by the University of Kentucky, College of Medicine in the Medical Behavioral Sciences. Within the specialized field of substance dependence and addictions, Dr. Yates has experience working with both males and females in residential treatment, outpatient treatment, and in the Federal Prison System. Other relevant experience includes tenure as a research coordinator for the University of Kentucky, Center for Drug and Alcohol Research and over eight years as a college level instructor. Currently serving as the Director of Clinical Services at Chrysalis House, Inc. in Lexington, Dr. Yates manages a staff of approximately 40 therapists, case managers, support staff and other personnel for the delivery of substance abuse treatment services to women and their children.

Jennifer Stamper is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in Correctional Administration and Juvenile Justice. Ms. Stamper is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and an Honorable Kentucky Colonel. She has worked in women’s services for almost two decades with emphasis on substance abuse for the last fifteen years.  Jennifer has worked to promote women’s issues through many venues.  As a service provider, public speaker, trainer and program administrator she has demonstrated effective practices for women throughout the Bluegrass.   Jennifer is proud to represent Bluegrass People Advocating Recovery (PAR) as a committee member since 2005.  She has also been a member of the University of Kentucky’s Women’s Coalition Steering Committee for several years guiding women’s issues throughout Kentucky.  She annually presents at the Kentucky School for Drug and Alcohol Studies promoting best practices in service.  Jennifer has addressed the media on women’s substance issues promoting positive change throughout her career. As the Treatment Director for Chrysalis House, Inc. she continues daily to advocate for the women of the Bluegrass and provide client centered services.

Rob Durham, MS, CADC has 29 years of experience working with adolescents and adults in individual, group, and family counseling. He has worked in and applied SFT in various clinical settings including residential, inpatient, and outpatient. At present, he is in private practice and is the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Medicine Network’s Chemical Recovery Program.

Dr. Sophia Dziegielewski has a gift for teaching that receives continuous praise from her students and associates. Her deep knowledge and broad experience in social work comes across beautifully in the concrete examples, songs and stories she uses to communicate in her teaching techniques. Dr. Dziegielewski has a real talent in her ability to make complicated topics easy to comprehend and enjoyable to learn. Her methods of instruction are enormously effective for retention and understanding. Dr. Dziegielewski is also an affluent and prolific writer with over 70 publications that include numerous articles, books and book chapters. Dr. Dziegielewski's book titled "The Changing Face of Health Care Social Work: Professional Practice in the Era of Managed Care", now in it's Second Edition (Springer Publishing, 2004) has been praised as a cutting edge source book and references to this book and her other numerous publications are widespread. Her other books address social work practice, human growth and development, and psychopharmacology in social work practice.

Theodore M. Godlaski, M.Div., CADC is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Social Work at the University of Kentucky. He spent 23 years doing treatment, program administration, and clinical supervision before coming to the University of Kentucky School of Medicine, Center on Drug and Alcohol Research in 1993. In August of 2002 he moved from the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research to the Training Resource Center of the College of Social Work in order to devote more time to teaching. He is former Chairperson of the National Ethics Committee for the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Counselors and worked on the revision of their code of ethics. He is also an editor for the journal Substance Use and Misuse (formerly International Journal on the Addictions). He has been involved in treatment outcome and treatment effectiveness research as well as research to develop a treatment approach specifically for rural substance abusers.

Michael McFarland is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and currently works in the Department for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addiction services as the State Suicide Prevention Coordinator. Michael has a clinical background of working in a Psychiatric Hospital facility, participating on a mobile assessment team and maintains a current private practice in Louisville. He is a Master Trainer for the QPR Institute which is community based suicide awareness/prevention program and a certified instructor for the American Association of Suicidology curriculum “Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk”.

Susan Reynolds, a native Kentuckian, is the author of Swings Hanging From Every Tree: Inspirational Stories for Foster and Adoptive Parents and Breaking Open, a book of poetry. She is a social worker who uses writing as a therapeutic tool with clients and teaches the use of writing to other professionals. She is currently guiding a variety of individuals in writing their life stories and continuing to write poetry in her spare time.

Bernadette Barton is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Morehead State University. She is the author of Stripped: Inside the Lives of Exotic Dancers (2006), New York University Press, and numerous articles on sexuality studies. Dr. Barton’s current research project examines the experiences of gays and lesbians, and is the focus of an upcoming book titled, Pray the Gay Away: Religion and Homosexuality in the Bible Belt. Dr. Barton writes and lectures on contemporary issues of gender, culture, sexuality and the sex industry.

Bob Blaylock is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, and a Master Addictions Counselor. He is currently Program Director, Employee Assistance Programs at Behavioral Medicine Network in Lexington, Kentucky. He was formerly Clinical Director at Metro Group Homes, Inc. in Lexington. He has thirty years experience in individual, group and family psychotherapy with adolescents and adults.

David Zidar has been working in child welfare since 1982 as an administrator, trainer and therapist. He worked at Catholic Charities, one of the largest providers of residential service in the State of Ohio. He was Vice President for residential services at PCWA. He also has worked in public agencies at the executive level. Currently, he is an independent trainer and therapist through the tri-state area. Dave has a BSW from Capital University, a MSSA from Case Western Reserve and a certification in Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment from the University of Louisville. Dave and his wife Joan live on 7 acres on the Ohio – Pennsylvania border with their seven children.

Teri Faragher has worked as an advocate to stop interpersonal and family violence for thirty years. She is the Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Prevention Board, a local coordinating council on family violence in Lexington, Kentucky. Teri has spearheaded a variety of collaborative community projects aimed at protecting and supporting victims and holding offenders accountable. These projects include efforts to: increase arrests and enforce protective orders, develop supervised visitation services, provide frontline advocacy services to victims, and conduct fatality reviews. She has conducted numerous trainings on domestic violence and developing a coordinated community response (CCR) and was the primary author of a model protocol for the development of CCRs.

Lane J. Veltkamp, M.S.W., is a Tenured Full Professor in the Child Psychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky Medical Center. He did his undergraduate work at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his graduate work at Michigan State University. His interests over the last thirty-five years have focused on family violence and forensic issues. He has published over forty-five papers, chapters, and books. He has given hundreds of workshops and testified in court in six states over 300 times. He is the Director of the Child and Adolescent Forensic Clinic in the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at the University of Kentucky.

Bree Pearsall (BASW, LSW) is the Human Trafficking Outreach Advocate at the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center in Lexington, KY where she provides advocacy, counseling, and case management services to victims of human trafficking. Bree graduated from the University of Kentucky with Bachelors degrees in Social Work and Political Science. Before moving to the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center, she worked with refugee families resettling in Lexington. Bree’s special interests are refugee and immigrant issues, women’s issues and torture and trauma treatment. She is currently pursuing her MSW at the University of Kentucky. Bree currently serves as an officer of the Migrant Network Coalition and is co-chair of the Lexington Human Trafficking Task Force.

Liz Epperson (MSW, CSW) is a social worker at the Bluegrass Community Health Center in Lexington, KY where she provides counseling, support and advocacy services to patients and their families. She is currently pursuing her LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) licensure. Liz obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Spanish from the University of Kentucky. During her studies she completed study abroad programs in both Spain and Mexico and went on to earn her Master’s degree in Social Work from U.K. Liz currently serves on the Migrant Network Coalition Board, Lexington Human Trafficking Task Force Advisory Board, and the Big Sky Dream Project.

Karen Hall has worked in substance abuse prevention at Comprehend, Inc. Regional Prevention Center in Maysville, Kentucky since June 1998. She became the Prevention Program Director in August 2006. Previously, she was a middle and high school English and French teacher. Karen received national recognition June 2007 through Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) for the development of the “Prescription Drug Abuse: A Toolkit for Pharmacists.” She has co-presented “Teens and Prescription Drugs---Motivating the Public to Act” with White House Office of National Drug Control Policy staff at two national conferences: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, February 2008 in Washington, D.C.; and National Prevention Network, August 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was selected as one of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell’s “Kentucky Heroes” for 2007-2008 for innovative work in preventing prescription and other drug abuse.

LeAnn Bruce is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has served children and families for over 19 years in rural Kentucky. She has provided clinical services in a number of environments including community mental health, school-based social work, in-patient acute psychiatric care, military social work and substance abuse recovery programs. She provides direct clinical intervention, consultation, supervision, program development and training. LeAnn is currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Healthcare Administration as the VA Healthcare Liaison to Fort Knox.

She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Western Kentucky University and her Master’s degree from the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work where she is currently completing her PhD in Social Work.

Kathy Reedy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Group Psychotherapist, Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work, Master Addiction Counselor. She has twenty-eight years of experience in individual, couple, family and group psychotherapy with adolescents and adults. She has been attending the American Group Psychotherapy Association's Annual Institutes and Conferences for most of the past twenty years learning the amazing value of this modality of treatment.