NRCYS Personnel

TeRessa is responsible for the management of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living Program. She facilitates training and technical assistance to youth serving agencies nationwide in the areas of strategic planning, Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment and the implementation of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. She has served as a direct care worker for a youth services' shelter, a shelter administrator and a group home assistant director. TeRessa received her master of social work degree from The University of Oklahoma.
Email: tkaemmerling@ou.edu

Eprise works with NCWRCYD on techniques to increase youth engagement and to incorporate youth-friendly technology into best practices.  She is involved in collaboration with NRCYS and Casey to integrate technology skills into the Life Skills Assessment and to develop marketing strategies for the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD).  Eprise has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Taylor University.
Email: earmstrong@ou.edu

Kathy works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program as an IL Specialist. She provides training, conducts assessments, and serves as a resource person for child welfare, tribes, care providers, community collaborators and young adults. She also coordinates area and statewide projects including group work and case management. Kathy also assists in providing life skills training through teen conferences, youth service boards and seminars. She works closely with the OKDHS SWIFT Adoption unit in Area V to help place older youth for adoption through matching party. Kathy has twenty-one years of experience in working at OKDHS and is a certified trainer for Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care), Creative Life Skills, Person Centered Planning, and Residential Child and Youth Care Professional. She earned her bachelor of science degree from Northeastern State University.
Email: kathy.ctr.chamberlain@okdhs.org

Misty works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) and is the program supervisor for aftercare services provided by the Yes I Can! Program. She also provides training, implementation and coordination of independent living events and conferences, with an emphasis on providing technical assistance to youth, child welfare workers and contract service providers in the promotion of successful transition through the implementation of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. Misty is a certified trainer in the areas of Managing Aggressive Behavior, Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care), Creative Life Skills, Person Centered Planning, Positive Youth Development, and True Colors. Misty received her master's degree in criminal justice administration and management at The University of Central Oklahoma.
Email: mcodrey@ou.edu

Laura works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program as an IL Specialist. She provides training, conducts assessments, and serves as a resource person for child welfare, tribes, care providers, community collaborators and young adults. She also coordinates area and statewide projects including group work and case management. Laura is a certified Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care), and Residential Child and Youth Care Professional trainer. Previously, Laura has worked as direct care staff and case manager in a group home setting serving adolescent girls. Laura has a master’s degree in behavioral science from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Email: laura.ctr.osbun@okdhs.org

Michelle provides services to eligible youth through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program and the Yes I Can! Program. These services are designed to help youth transition to adulthood and to assist young adults leaving foster care. Services include case management and referral to other community resources. Michelle worked with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services as a Child Welfare Social Worker III. She and her husband are also foster parents. Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Langston University.
Email: mowens@ou.edu

Mitch works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program as an IL Specialist. He provides training, conducts assessments, and serves as a resource person for child welfare, tribes, care providers, community collaborators and young adults. He also coordinates area and statewide projects including group work and case management. Mitch's experience in youth development includes working for the Oklahoma State Department of Human Services as a child welfare specialist, as a supervisor in detention centers, and in wraparound services. He is a certified Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, Managing Aggressive Behavior (MAB), S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care), and Residential Youth and Child Care Professional trainer. Mitch has a master’s degree in education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. 
Email: mitch.tindell@ou.edu

Barbara is part of the Resource Family Training Program and is involved with curriculum development and training for kinship, foster, and adoptive parents, and OKDHS foster and adoptive staff.  She contributed to the creation of a curriculum designed around the unique needs of Kinship caregivers and to the updating of the 12-hour Behavior Crisis Management Training offered nationally by NRCYS.  Barbara’s responsibilities for RFT include the scheduling, coordination, and delivery or pre-service training to resource parents across the state, as well as the training and development of contracted trainers for the Resource Family Training program.  She provides contracted trainers with a vital link to programmatic changes through the RFT newsletter Keeping Up. Barbara has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Oklahoma and worked in the mental health field through the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse before moving into the area of child welfare services.  Barbara brings 10 years of experience in child welfare to the RFT program. Her areas of specialty include permanency planning, court related services, investigation, and foster care services.
Email: bwells@ou.edu

Theresa works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program and serves as an IL Specialist. She provides training, conducts assessments, and serves as a resource person for child welfare, tribes, care providers, community collaborators and young adults. She also coordinates area and statewide projects including group work and case management. Theresa has worked as a supervisor for Oklahoma Children’s Services and Director of a Day Treatment Program with Integris. She has also worked as a Director of an Independent Living Home through Youth and Family Services of North Central Oklahoma. Theresa is a certified trainer for Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care), and Residential Child and Youth Care Professional. Theresa earned her bachelor of arts degree in sociology, with a minor in psychology, from The University of Central Oklahoma.
Email: theresa.ctr.west@okdhs.org

Stacy works under a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Independent Living (IL) Program and serves as an IL Specialist. She provides training, conducts assessments, facilitates youth service boards, and serves as a resource person for child welfare, tribes, care providers, community collaborators and young adults. She also coordinates area and statewide projects including group work and case management. Stacy is a certified trainer for Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, Creative Life Skills, Group Facilitation Methods, Person Centered Planning, Revitalizing Your Program Through Youth Development, Tribal Parents Speak Up!, and S.T.A.R.T. (Trauma Informed Care). Stacy has direct care experience working in a residential treatment center with latency age children and adolescent females, and as a therapeutic foster care counselor and IL coordinator for supervised practice living and transitional living programs.  Stacy has a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Email: stacy.ctr.williams@okdhs.org