OUR PRESENTERS:

(for a full listing of presenters please check back after August 11, 2011)

Allen Anderson, M.A., President at EMP Inc. and Dover Training Group in Toronto.

Allen is an international speaker and employment program designer specializing in creating solutions for generating employment outcomes for people with employment barriers. His strategic approach to employment outcomes focuses on the employer relationship and the how to’s of building and maximizing this connection. He is known for being able to build innovative practical models and techniques to manage virtually any level of employment barrier’s entry into the workforce.  

Allen has worked as a job developer, Director Job Placement, Director of Training & Development and Vice President and President of training companies. He has developed numerous training programs for job development professionals (management and line staff) in marketing skills for job development, written numerous articles and spoken extensively on job development internationally. Allen has a M.A. in Sociology, won the ASDT Disabilities Awareness Network Quality Service Award 1993, and the Ontario March of Dimes 2006 Vocational Rehabilitation Award.

Sixteen state agencies in the USA and many programs in Canada use his materials to guide their employment programs for people with employment barriers. Some current state agencies implementing these programs include South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and Florida Division of Blind Services. 

Dan Baker, Ph.D.

is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dan's areas of interest and expertise include positive behavior support, special education transition services, supported employment, and mental health for persons with developmental disabilities.  He has provided consultation for over 100 community programs & schools, and teaches nationally, educating thousands of care providers every year.  He has authored book chapters on positive behavior support, and is the co-editor of the National Association on Dual Diagnosis Bulletin. He has many years of direct experience, and is described as a fun and engaging presenter whose passion about his work shows in his teaching style.

John Dineen, M.A.

holds a dual appointment with the Region X Technical Assistance Center for state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and with the Northwest ADA Center, both located at the University of Washington.  His background includes more than thirty years of supported employment experience, as well as providing technical assistance to employers and workers with disabilities on ADA issues.  He is most known, however, for being thrown into a swimming pool by IDVR counselors during his first workshop in Idaho as a much younger “expert from Seattle.”

Frona Erickson

has worked with Community Partnerships of Idaho, Inc. for almost 15 years, currently as the Adult Developmental Services Director in Boise.  She has extensive experience leading developmental groups and providing center and community-based developmental therapy.

Rebecca Evans

is a motivational speaker, author and empowerment coach. She founded Inner Element as a way to combine her experiences as a woman in the military, mom and world class athlete into an organization that provides effective life breakthrough strategies. Her core philosophy, “fitness from the inside out” resounds for men and women of all ages.

Jackie Frey

has been the coordinator for the Department of Emergency Services in Twin Falls County for the last 13 years. She is currently the President of the Idaho Emergency Mangement Association. She is a recipeint of the 2001 Governors Award in Emergency Managment, the Idaho Coordinator of the Year in 2000, and is certified in the following: Idaho Certified Emergency Managment Accreditation (ICEM), Advanced Professional Series (APS) and the Professional Development Series (APS) Certifications from FEMA, and over 35 Independent Study Certifications in Emergency Management. Jackie is a parent of a special needs child, and strongly believes in her position as a parent and as the Emergency Manager in her county.

Ann D. Kirkwood, MA

Ann specializes in social marketing relating to mental illness stigma and children’s mental health and suicide prevention. She is a winner of a 2000 International George Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting and the 2009 SAMHSA VOICE Award. She has directed the Better Todays. Better Tomorrows. school-based children’s mental health gatekeeper training program, winner of a RAND Corp. recognition, since its inception in 2000. Better Todays is designed to reduce stigma about mental health problems in children and encourage appropriate treatment. Since June 2006 she also has served as director for Idaho’s Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act project, Awareness to Action for Youth Suicide Prevention. She frequently presents on various topics such as rural mental health services and the link between mental illness and stigma. Ann serves on the national Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee for the Lifeline network of suicide hotlines and the SAMHSA center focused on stigma and discrimination. She consults for the HRSA Office of Performance Review on social marketing and strategic planning, offering services in Savannah, GA, Tuscaloosa, AL, Byhalia, MS, Penasco, NM, Irwin County and Wrightsville, GA, Fort Meyers and Jacksonville, FL. She is a previous reporter, editor and publisher as well as public relations professional for the State of Idaho. She is a mental health consumer.

Stephanie Leavell, MT-BC

Stephanie Leavell (formerly Johnson) is a Boise native who grew up singing and playing the harp.  Through her years as a performer, she was often drawn to the ability of music to encourage relaxation and expression.  Shortly after discovering the field of music therapy, Stephanie was hooked and received her bachelor's in music therapy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stephanie feels incredible passion for her career and is committed to providing this cutting-edge service to individuals in her beloved home town.  Stephanie provides private and group music therapy sessions through Music Therapy of Idaho and is also the founder of a new non-profit, called The Idaho Music Therapy Initiative, Inc.

Kerry Leavell, M.A., MT-BC

is a former Centennial High School Patriot, is excited to have returned to the City of Trees  She holds a bachelors degree in music performance with an emphasis in percussion from Wheaton College's Conservatory of Music in Wheaton, Illinois, and recently completed her Master of Arts in expressive therapies with a specialization in music therapy and mental health counseling from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Kerry completed two nine-month internships as a graduate student, which involved music therapy work with a variety of populations (see below).  She is currently working towards her LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) credential, which she intends to receive in September 2012.

Robyn Legaretta, M.A.

Robyn's wish for becoming a steward of the people was realized when she received her Master's degree in Psychology from Pepperdine. Now, over sixteen years later, Robyn's been enlightening, encouraging, and enchanting Idaho's community with her energizing compassion, electrifying resourcefulness, and "knows no boundaries" loyalty.  She's an enthusiastic partner who gently leads and is a welcoming warmth of invaluable intuition. A vivacious visionary, Robyn is a strong and stabilizing support, and a talented and tender teacher of remarkably connected communities.

Janice Lung, Ed.D.

Janice holds a doctorate in educational leadership and brings over 20 years of experience teaching and facilitating groups in the areas of health and wellness, personal and professional development, communication and interpersonal relationships, leadership, group dynamics, and more.  Through "b.Well," a local health and wellness education and outreach center, Dr. Lung inspires and informs individuals who are seeking greater health, joy, vitality, productivity and purpose in their lives. Students value her engaging and personable style of teaching.

Amber Mausling

Amber has been an advocate for people with disabilities with Living Independence Network Corporation (LINC) since 2000 and has served people with disabilities since 1997. Amber lives in Boise with her husband and three children and is committed to the advocacy, activism and equality of people with disabilities.

Dennis Morrow, M.A.Ed., MBA

Dennis has been the Executive Director of Janus Youth Programs, Inc. since 1980. The agency has an $8 million budget, employs a staff of 250 at 18 locations in Oregon and Washington, and provides a wide array of services to high-risk adolescents.  Dennis is also a management consultant working with both nonprofit and for-profit businesses, and he serves as an instructor at Portland State University (Institute for Nonprofit Management) and Portland Community College (Alcohol and Drug Counselor Education). He has provided training and workshops for over 20,000 people and hundreds of businesses/organizations ranging from small nonprofits to some of the largest accounting firms in the world. His primary focus is on Values-Based Management, a unique model for supervision and support of employees in the nonprofit/public service sector, but he has also provided training in the areas of organizational change, team building, staff conflict resolution, and race/gender issues in the workplace. A Licensed Professional Counselor, Dennis has also developed counselor and parent training programs for over 30 years including: Basic Counseling Skills; Advanced Counseling Skills; Parents-in-Charge; Adult Odyssey (impact of race and gender on the therapeutic relationship); Relationships and Addiction; Men and Addiction; and Boys Will Be Men: Gender Specific Treatment for Boys. In 2009, Dennis was recognized by the University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business at their 75th Anniversary as one of the “Significant 75” graduates from the Business School. As a working manager himself and a parent of eight children, Dennis tends to focus on concrete strategies and techniques even for complex organizational/human dynamics.

Robin Rose, M.A.

A renowned trainer, speaker and consultant, Robin’s expertise is in teaching people how to stay calm, professional, and effective — especially during high-stress, high-pressure situations. Robin helps people be their best when it matters most.

Reaching beyond the common model of “anger management”, Robin’s approach helps people understand exactly what happens, chemically and physiologically, when they get stressed. She teaches people how to override the fight or flight response, how to shift from reactive impulses into more effective responses, and how to stay respectful, productive and most importantly — professional. People walk away with immediately useful tools that allow them to move beyond the limited reactions of the survival brain back to their thinking brain. This is where all their best abilities and optimal solutions are easily accessed.

Robin’s work is based upon an in-depth understanding of brain-based research, with a particular focus on high-function brain states. She connects cutting-edge scientific information, creative problem solving, and an uncommon understanding of individual and group process. Her focus is on training people to engage their challenging moments with greater power, ease, and ability. Robin teaches people how to think and communicate clearly under pressure — skills that are essential for success in high-stress occupations and organizations.

Robin works with leaders and teams to enhance skills, integrate new behaviors, and improve performance. She makes it safe to learn new ways of working together. Clients regularly report that working with Robin is immensely practical, personally transformative, and profoundly supportive. She brings powerful learning into many different arenas, working with corporations, small businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and social service, healthcare and government agencies.

Robin holds a masters degree in counseling/psychology from Lewis & Clark College and has been teaching, training, and consulting for over twenty years.