Instructors

Katie Albin graduated from Avila College with a B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Women’s Studies, and received her M.S. in Counseling Psychology. She spent two years working as a Prevention Specialist for Employee and Family Resources in schools and with coalitions dedicated to improving their communities. She currently works in Substance Abuse Prevention with the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.The majority of Katie’s time is spent in Ritenour School District and the St. Louis Public Schools teaching life skills such as anger management, conflict resolution, problem-solving, decision making, self-esteem, respect, friendship, bullying, and drug education and resistance to children attending elementary and middle schools.

Marilyn Bader is currently the Prevention Training Coordinator for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse – St. Louis Area (NCADA). In this position she coordinates and trains a wide variety of programming for youth, adults, community members, professional church workers and school staff. Ms. Bader’s experience ranges from direct student service programming at the local level to working with community teams throughout the Eastern Region of Missouri. She has done extensive training in Missouri as well as at the national level. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Education from Southeast Missouri State University, M.S. in Education and Counseling from Kansas State University and an honorary doctorate from Concordia University at St. Paul, Minnesota. She has served in a variety of leadership capacities both in the prevention field and beyond.

Dr. Gina Bueneman-Cooper is the primary training specialist with Cooper Management Training & Consulting. She is an international speaker with a clientele that includes schools, small businesses, large corporations, non-profit agencies, and government entities. She has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, a Master of Arts in Management, a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources/Psychology, and an Associate’s degree in Human Services. Also, she has completed a Certificate in Ministry. Gina is currently completing a second doctorate in Christian Counseling. In addition to running her own business, Gina is an instructor at Missouri Baptist University and Midwest University. She teaches many of the Management courses, but specializes in Economics. Gina has written numerous workbooks and training materials, including her most popular course – "Eggshells in the Workplace: Working with people who get on your nerves!"

ELLEN M. BURKEMPER, Ph.D., LCSW, LMFT, RN is an associate professor at the Saint Louis University School of Social Work. She is an expert in the area of ethical behavior in today's practice in the field of Social Work. She has been recognized for her expertise and knowledge in the area of ethics with grants and speaking engagements in the area of ethics locally, nationally and internationally. She is also a recognized family therapist and consults throughout the state.

Attorney Douglas A. Copeland of Copeland Thompson Farris PC is a founding member Copeland, Thompson and Farris, PC of Clayton, MO.  He received his Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University in 1980 and has been admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He practices law in both Missouri and Illinois. He is a frequent presenter at legal and public conferences in the areas of estate planning, healthcare and school law.  He has served or is currently serving as general counsel to the Webster Groves, Rockwood and Valley Park School Districts, the Cooperating School districts of the St. Louis Suburban Area, Missouri Baptist University, Missouri Baptist Medical Center and Healthcare System, Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and several other institutional clients.

Dominic L. Daher, MAcc, JD, LLM in Taxation is the founder, Chief Audit Executive and Director of Internal Audit and Tax Compliance for the University of San Francisco. He also teaches an array of courses in the University of San Francisco’s School of Law and School of Business. He holds a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law; a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law; and both Master and Bachelor of Accountancy Degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has more than 35 published articles in accounting and law and 4 books dealing with various accounting and law topics which will be published during the next 2 years.

DR. RANDALL C. FLANERY earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Univ. of Wisconsin in Madison. He is an adjunct associate professor of Community and Family Medicine at St. Louis Univ. School of Medicine. He is Director of the Eating Disorders Program and of Child and Adolescent Services at the St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Dr. Flanery has over 20 years of experience in the treatment of eating disorders and other child and adolescent conditions. He publishes and gives presentations on these topics. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, the National Eating Disorders Association and the Academy of Eating Disorders.

REENA HAJAT serves as the Executive Director for The Diversity Awareness Partnership. Hajat holds an M.S.W. from Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work with an emphasis on social and economic development. She was the Interim Executive Director of the Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls. During her time there, she immersed herself in St. Louis’ faith communities to increase understanding and foster respect among our faith communities.

MARY LYNN HALL, MA, LPC, has more than 20 years of experience in education as a teacher and as a school counselor with specialties in child development psychology, social psychology and counseling techniques. Her experience also includes employment as a mental health and substance abuse therapist and a psychology consultant to the Arizona Governor’s Committee on Child Protective services. She was a charter member of the Kansas City Conflict Resolution Task Force. Ms. Hall has presented numerous in-service training topics for professional educators including aggressive behavior and bullying in school, full inclusion, ADD/ADHD, character education, substance abuse, special education issues, conflict resolution, sexual abuse, special education issues, sexual abuse and grieving. She is a member of the St. Louis Psychologists Association and American Association of University Professors.

Alysia Harris serves as a Prevention Services Coordinator for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse – St. Louis Area, where she provides a variety of interactive life skills programs for youth, school faculties, and parents. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and has been with the NCADA for nine years.

Dr. Richard Harvey is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Industrial Organizational Psychology at Saint Louis University. He has more than 18 years of experience consulting with non-profit and for profit organizations on strategic planning and program evaluation.

SHARON DANIEL HINES, MSW, LCSW, QCSW, is a clinical social worker who works for Magellan Health services in providing care management for federal employees who seek mental health services though their Employee Assistance Program. Ms. Hines has worked in the field of social work as an Appeals and Complaints Manager, Social services supervisor, Case Management Supervisor and has been an adjunct instructor at Eastern University.

CLAIRE HUNDELT is the Director of Programs and Services for Nonprofit Services Consortium (NSC) where she oversees the capacity building programs supporting Missouri nonprofits including technical assistance, workshops and training assistance, consultant services and leadership pathways training for nonprofit leaders. She has served as trustee for the Vatterott Foundation where she founded the Vatterott Foundation Youth Board. She received her MSW from Washington University, Brown School of Social Work with an emphasis in non-profit management. Claire is currently an adjunct professor at Washington University, Brown School of Social Work. Claire was the Program Manager for Sister of Mercy Ministries where she managed more than $1 million in annual grant support for community-based ministries serving low-income individuals in Louisiana, Mississippi and Belize, Central America. She was the Director of Donor Services for the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive, and has worked in development for Lutheran Family & Children’s Services Foundation and the American Red Cross St. Louis Bi-State Chapter.

Dr. Raymond R. Kenison, President of Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, has been with the agency for more than 30 years. He came to MBCH as a Development Officer and started the first recorded fund solicitation program. Since 1993, he has led five capital campaigns and raised more than $8 million. Under his leadership, the agency’s budget has grown to an annual $9 million. He has been an officer and board member of the National Association of Homes and Services for Children (now the Alliance for Children & Families) and the Missouri Coalition of Children’s Agencies. He is on the board of the Missouri Alliance for Children and Families, LLC. He is President and co-founder of Viability Study and Research Group which provides consulting services for non-profit agencies. He has received a Declaration of Recognition from the Governor of Missouri for Leadership in Child Care. Dr. Kenison was instrumental in the development of the Missouri Senate Bill 614 which created the Residential Treatment Agency Tax Credit Act. This act allows businesses or individuals who make donations to qualified residential providers to receive tax credits that are worth 50% of their gift amount.

PROFESSOR JACK KIRKLAND has taught at Washington University for more than 30 years. He has served as visiting Professor at universities throughout the world. He was Missouri’s Director of Transportation and founder of the Social Group Work concentration, Saint Louis Univ. He was Co-Founder and Former Chair of the Black Studies, (renamed African American Studies Program) at Washington University. He is Former Training Director for Peace Corps, Honduras and Costa Rica. He was a Consultant to the Native Americans of the Southwest, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Dean of Conferences of the Southwestern Association of Homes for Children and Group Child-Care Workers. He has served as an international consultant for East, West and South Africa, Israel and Latin America. He is President of Kirkland & Associates and Annual Dean of the National conference on Understanding African American Youth. He serves as a consultant to schools, childcare institutions, foundations, and corporations and has consulted extensively in over 20 states. He has presented major papers in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Egypt, Israel, Sri Lanka, Germany, South Africa, Portugal, Hong Kong, Italy and has consulted in Ghana, Kenya, Honduras and Brazil. He was invited to the White House by President Carter and to the Blair House by Vice President Mondale. He has spoken at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. He served as a member of the Board of Education, University City, Missouri.

Dr. Dawn Koontz is a Missouri Licensed Clinical Child Psychologist. She has her own private practice in Ellisville, MO. Dr. Koontz works with children, adolescents and their families for a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, behavior disorders, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders and parent training. Dr. Koontz also conducts psychological and educational testing for diagnostic purposes and frequently lectures on childhood and adolescent disorders and issues for parents, teachers, healthcare providers and mental health professionals.

Tracie Lambert received her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Texas. She is the Director of Admissions, Marketing and Case Management at The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis which is a Partnership of BJC HealthCare and Healthsouth. She received her Certified Case Manager (CCM) status in the initial year of the certification and has also had Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM) status from the National Association of Social Workers. Her experience in case management has been in the medical field but she has also worked closely over the years with case managers within the insurance field and the community.

Dan A. Leeman, JD, CEBS is a seasoned charitable estate and financial planner. For 31 years he has dealt with members, donors, and friends of Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, the Boy Scouts of America, the Lutheran Church, and a number of other clients. He has led divisions of national charities with up to 32,000 employees, serving up to 7,000 employer-charities around the USA. He has managed annual revenues of $250 million and investment assets of over $2.5 billion. Educated in Arkansas and Missouri, Dan obtained the status of a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. Now as CEO of Charitable Business Services, Dan also serves a number of national, Mid-West and Missouri clients.

BARBARA RICHTER, MSW, LCSW, has served in clinical positions treating families and children and has served as Associate Executive Director of a not-for-profit agency. For the last 20 years, Barbara has taught training in personnel management and supervision as adjunct instructor at Washington University, George Warren Brown School of Social Work.

Dr. Jim Schroeder is a licensed child clinical psychologist in Missouri. He is employed as a staff psychologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. He specializes in the evaluation and assessment of children and adolescents for a variety of difficulties, including learning problems, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, behavioral disorders, and autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Schroeder also sees children, adolescents, and families for therapy and parent training, with special focus on externalizing problems and parent-child relational difficulties. He graduated from Ball State University with a B.S. in Psychology and earned his Ph.D. from Saint Louis University.

DANIEL SMITH is a licensed clinical social worker, and a Board Approved Clinical Consultant for the Gambling Counselor Certification Board, National Council on Problem Gambling, Inc. He is also Clinical Director, BetNoMore Gambling Programs, with Assessment Counseling Solutions of St. Louis, where he counsels dual diagnosis, gambling, and substance dependent clients. He is a Substance Abuse Professional as defined by federal DOT guidelines, and a Certified Critical Incident Stress Debriefer. Dan is a popular speaker especially on topics of recovery, spirituality, & clinical training, in both North & South America. In 2003, Dan was recognized by Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling for his contributions to assisting problem gamblers and their families. He received a Masters from St. Bonaventure University and completed a Doctoral Teaching Fellowship at Miami University. He has taught at St. Bonaventure, Miami University, Lindenwood University, University of Oregon, and the University of Missouri, St. Louis and Columbia.

Dr. Robert C. Springate is Vice President for Public Relations for Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and Chief Operations Officer for the MBCH Foundation. He is a certified trainer in both planned giving and estate planning. He has developed curriculum for and led hundreds of money management seminars as well as estate planning seminars. He has an extensive background in training personnel for employment in the field of insurance and securities.

Dr. Daniel Weinstein has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is licensed specializing in working with children and young adults struggling with difficult emotional, behavioral and relationship issues. He has worked in a variety of settings with children, adolescents and adults, including outpatient care at mental health centers, acute and long-term hospital psychiatric units and long-term residential facilities. He has also written articles on childhood diagnosis of Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and has worked with and presented to faculty, school counselors, parent groups and many schools in the area.

Linda York, PhD; APRN,BC; CARN-AP is an advanced practice nurse specializing in Chemical Dependency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis. In her role, she provides consultation to hospitalized patients with known or suspected substance abuse problems as well as to physicians and staff, and to community groups. She is a member of Missouri Nurses Association and serves on Board of Directors of Third District. Also, Dr. York is a member of International Nurses Society on Addictions and serves on the Board of Directors for Catholic Community Services Midtown Community Center. Dr. York earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from St. Louis University, a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Indiana University and Bachelor of Science (Nursing) from Indiana State University. She holds certifications as an Adult Psychiatric/Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist and as an Advanced Practice Nurse in Addictions.

________________________________________________________________________________
© MBCH 2002 * Last Modified 4/7/2008 * Webmaster