Desiree holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Oral Roberts University, a Master's degree in Adult Education/Human Resource Development from Oklahoma State University, and is a Leadership Tulsa Class 21 alum. Her professional experience is primarily in nonprofit leadership, program development, management training, fund raising, donor engagement and board development.
She was the Executive Director of The Parent Child Center of Tulsa for 10 years, retiring in 2017. During that time, she led the organization to become nationally accredited and grow to reach over 53,000 children and adults annually. At PCCT, she was active in collaborative efforts to launch Project East Tulsa (a co-location of PCCT with Emergency Infant Services), Tulsa Area United Way's "nexTulsa" leadership training program, Tulsa's Anti-Bullying Coalition, Family Safety Center of Tulsa's Child Advocacy Partnership, and Tulsa County's Safe Babies Court Team pilot project with Zero To Three. Prior to joining PCCT, Desiree worked for Hillcrest Healthcare System and Dowell Schlumberger.
Recently Desiree has consulted with the George Kaiser Family Foundation's BEST initiative and with Parent Promise in OKC. She is an OKCEO and Advisory Council member with the Potts Family Foundation in OKC. Desiree is a member of Prevent Child Abuse America and served on the Steering Committee for Prevent Child Abuse Oklahoma. She was also a charter member of Tulsa County Child Protection Coalition, and is a past member of Children's Consortium of Tulsa and Oklahoma Women's Coalition.
Desiree lives in Jenks, Oklahoma, with her husband Doc, and volunteers with the LifeChurch Jenks, Jenks Community Food Bank, and LifeSteps World Ministries.
Ed is Vice President of Metafund, a nonprofit community development financial institution. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma with specializations in public policy and public management, and completed all coursework for a Ph.D. in political science, with a focus on public administration, public policy and American politics and government. He has co-authored journal articles related to strategic planning and the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. His experience includes strategic planning, evaluation, public policy, public/nonprofit management, program development, communications, community & consumer engagement and government relations.
Melissa Griffin is the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Wellness Specialist at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with her Bachelor's Degree in Family Relations and Child Development and her Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has experience as a therapist and as a trainer working in areas that include domestic violence and victim's services, child development and parenting, and family therapy. Her current position focuses on the development of early childhood systems in Oklahoma to support the promotion of early childhood mental health and the prevention of mental health disorders through co-leadership of the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Strategic Plan: Oklahoma's Framework for Change.
Monika is a Tax Senior at HoganTaylor, LLP. Monika attended Oklahoma State University, where she earned a double major in Accounting and Economics and a Masters in Accounting. Monika also attended the University of Oklahoma, School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctorate. After teaching accounting at Oklahoma State University for nine years, Monika joined HoganTaylor, LLP in June 2017. She has authored the following published articles: "Potential Pitfalls for Direct Sellers," Tax Notes Volume 158, Number 4 (January 22, 2018); "Developments in Ethics Guidelines for CPAs," Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance (August 24, 2016); "Risks and Abuses of Crowdfunding for Charity," Tax Notes (June 27,2016); "Changing Standards for Leases: What Lessees Need to Know," Corporate Finance Insider, AICPA e-newsletter.
A native of South Louisiana, Mary Ann holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Louisiana State University and a Master of Arts degree in English from Georgetown University. Mary Ann began a career in education working as an adjunct professor in the English Department at Stevenson University in Maryland, then as an English instructor and tutor at the University of Tulsa and an adjunct professor in the English Department at Tulsa Community College.
For the past 16 years, Mary Ann has worked as a grant writer at several Tulsa area non-profits. Most recently, Mary Ann was the grant writer at The Parent Child Center of Tulsa where she learned the importance of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Mary Ann has also worked as a grant writer for Domestic Violence Intervention Services and YWCA Tulsa and was the Development Director for Up With Trees.
Elizabeth Bard, PhD is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, in the Department of Pediatrics. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and completed her post-doctoral training program at the Center of Child Abuse and Neglect at OUHSC. Her primary clinical and research interests include the assessment and treatment of infants and children who have experienced child maltreatment. Elizabeth serves as the Co-Director of the A Better Chance Clinic, which serves infants and young children with prenatal exposure to substances and/or whose mothers are in substance abuse treatment. Further, she is the Co-Director of the Treatment Program for school-age children with Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB). Dr. Bard has been trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT),she is a Level II Trainer in the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) model, an evidence-based treatment for young children with disruptive behavior disorders. Further, she provides national training and consultation in the PSB-CBT school age model and in PCIT. Elizabeth is a certified therapist in Attachment Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), which is an evidenced based treatment for infants who have experienced an early adversity. Currently, she is directing an infant mental health program, in partnership with OKDMHSA, to provide in-home prevention services to infants and their families, who have been impacted by substances.
Amy Chlouber, LPC-S, is the Early Childhood Services Mental Health Coordinator at Sunbeam Family Services. She has worked in the mental health field for 20+ years, specializing in infant and early childhood mental health in public, private and non-profit organizations. Amy developed and served as Clinical Director of a private mental health agency satellite office and served on the Board of Directors of CASA in Canadian county. She was one of the original therapists selected in Oklahoma's Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation pilot in licensed child care facilities. Amy served as the Mental Health/ Disabilities Coordinator for Early Head Start through Sunbeam Family Services where she provided consultation and training for direct care and administrative staff and was instrumental in the design of the mental health program of OKC Educare. At the state level, Amy provided leadership and oversight of the Oklahoma Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Strategic Plan. She serves on numerous local, state and national early childhood committees and work groups and is currently President-elect of the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health (OK-AIMH) Board. Amy is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor/IMH-E®.
Dr. Lucia Ciciolla is an Assistant Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Ciciolla earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in child and family science and quantitative science from Arizona State University (ASU), and completed an APA-accredited internship at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine in the Child-Community track. Dr. Ciciolla was trained as a clinical scientist with specializations in infancy and early childhood, perinatal and maternal mental health, parenting, trauma, and longitudinal methodology. Her research is broadly focused on understanding processes of risk and resilience within the context of the parent-child relationship, with primary interests in parental caregiving and parent-child interactions as mechanisms underlying children’s development and the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology. To understand these mechanisms, her research program is focused on three overlapping areas of research: (1) risks associated with maternal psychopathology and complex trauma; (2) early-identified developmental risks (e.g., developmental delays, temperament); and (3) social and environmental risks (e.g., poverty, health disparities, early life stress).
Tish Dehart, MS, LCSW, IMH-E® (III) is the Clinic Manager and a Behavioral Health Specialist for the Tulsa Health Department's Child Guidance Program. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Oklahoma State University, a Master of Science Degree in Child Development from the University of California at Davis, and a Master in Social Work Degree from the University of Oklahoma. Tish has experience as a case manager, therapist, and clinical director in inpatient and residential treatment facilities. For the past seventeen years, she has focused her career in the field of infant and early childhood, and has served as the Clinic Manager for the multi-disciplinary Child Guidance Program for the past ten years. She has also been involved in the current LAUNCH and SOC² LAUNCH grants, in the provision of reflective consultation on the state level. Tish is an endorsed Infant Mental Health Specialist through the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health, as well as a Board-Approved Supervisor through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers. She serves on the boards for the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health, and the Oklahoma Family Resource Coalition, and has been an adjunct professor with the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work for eight years.
Linda is a retired educator having taught children with learning disabilities in Moore and Oklahoma City Public Schools and serving as an administrator at Metro Technology Centers. She also worked in OKCPS Curriculum and Instruction Department as a technology trainer, gifted education coordinator and grant writer. At Metro Tech, Linda served as the administrator over a dropout recovery program, supervised two different instructional campuses, managed the school's foundation and served as grants and federal programs administrator. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma. "When Pat Potts - my longtime friend and mentor - asked me to come out of retirement to work for the foundation, I simply couldn't say 'no.' As an educator, parent, grandparent, and life-long Oklahoman, I believe wholeheartedly in the work we are doing here!"
Cynthia has worked in the field of early childhood for the past 20 years. She has over 10 years classroom experience in Early Childhood Education and went on to work with educators to improve the quality for children and families as well as increase the rates of early intervention. She has served on the board for the Oklahoma Association for the Education of Young Children, the Tulsa Early Childhood Association as well as the Tulsa Workgroup for Infant Mental Health. Cynthia is an active member of the Children's Consortium, a legislative advocacy group for children's issues. Currently, Cynthia is the Coordinator for Children's Behavioral Health Initiatives at Mental Health Association Oklahoma.
Ruth Slocum, LCSW, IMH-E® (III) is a family therapist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializing in infant and early childhood mental health. Employed by Oklahoma State University she serves as the Mental Health Manager for the Tulsa Children's Project, a program dedicated to developing interventions to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty. She also oversees the Mental Health Consultation for Tulsa Educare, a high quality early childhood program. Ruth assisted in developing Active Parenting's First Five Years parenting program, is trained in CPP and certified in ABC. Ruth earned her Master of Social Service from the Bryn Mawr School of Social Work and Social Research in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health.
La Toyia Williams, CBHCM, CLC is a graduate of Langston University where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Criminal Justice. During that time she extended her internship with David L moss Corrections Center in Tulsa under the supervision of the mental health director. She is state certified as a Behavioral Health Level II Case Manager through the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services. She is a Certified Lactation Counselor through the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice. La Toyia is currently a Healthy Start Case Manager for the Tulsa Health Department's Healthy Start Program at Indian Health Care Resource Center. She has devoted over twelve years to improving birth outcomes and health disparities that exist within the city and addressing the issues of infant Mortality, low birth weight, access to care and racial disparities in perinatal outcomes that affect the entire community. While In this position she has taken on a key role by co-facilitating a Circle of Parents parenting class for the last nine years. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health.
Carly has a Bachelor's degree in Family Studies/Child Development from Oklahoma Christian University in OKC, and a Master's degree in Family & Child Studies from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
In her early career, Carly was Project Assistant for the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness (Smart Start OK) and an Early Learning Teacher at The Children's Place at Integris Baptist Medical Center. For several years, Carly was the Owner/Operator of Carly's TotSpot in OKC. She also has substantial experience working remotely as an employment research specialist and verifier for an out-of-state firm. She previously interned with Oklahoma County Sooner Start and served on Tulsa Mothers of Multiples and Oklahoma Mothers of Multiples Boards. She volunteered as a writer for Multiples of America’s national magazine, The Notebook. Her family enjoys staying active in their local church.
Carly currently lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, with her husband, Jared, and three children, Gavin, Ryder and Brynn. In addition to her new part-time position with OK-AIMH, Carly is a Fitness Instructor at the YMCA of Greater Tulsa.
