Charmaine Brittain, MSW, Ph.D.
Director
Butler Institute for Families, University of Denver
Charmaine Brittain, MSW, Ph.D., Director, Practice Innovation, has worked extensively over the past three decades throughout the United States to improve training, organizational effectiveness, and implementation and to strengthen professional development for human service professionals. At the Butler Institute for Families, she serves as the lead on multiple projects, including consulting with child welfare agencies on organizational and workforce development, managing training projects on a range of topics and approaches, overseeing practice improvement projects, and developing professional educational materials. Dr. Brittain serves as Vice Chair for NSDTA and leads the engagement committee. She’s been participating in NSDTA for over twenty-five years.
Leslie B. Calloway
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Workforce Development
Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services
Leslie oversees the agency’s statewide child welfare recruitment, retention, workforce development, and performance improvement practices to promote optimal child and family outcomes. Ms. Calloway has managed Louisiana’s partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), a nationally recognized Child Welfare Workforce Development initiative sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, which focuses on improving child welfare practice, employee retention, and family outcomes. Ms. Calloway has over 23 years in state government, serving various roles in the Child Welfare Division. Ms. Calloway believes her greatest personal assets are her compassion for others, appreciation for their diversity in all capacities, and being an active part of the change we all want to see.
Laurie Jicha, MSW
Oahu Section Administrator, Adult Protective and Community Services
HI Department of Human Services
Laurie Jicha, MSW, is the Oahu Section Administrator for the Adult Protective and Community Services (APCS) Branch of the Department of Human Services in the State of Hawaii. As the Oahu Section Administrator, she oversees 2 Oahu investigation units that ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable adults and the Hawaii statewide Adult Intake Unit that receives reports of vulnerable abuse and neglect for all Hawaii Islands. She has more than twenty-eight years of experience in protective services, including training, supervision, and direct-service casework. Ms. Jicha is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a bachelor's and master's degree in Social Work.
Dawn Konrady-Fanslau
Director
Child Welfare Education Institute, Stockton University
Dawn Konrady-Fanslau, EdD, LSW, MBA, MA, manages three statewide Title IV-E programs--the Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP), Masters Child Welfare Education Program (MCWEP), and New Jersey Child Welfare Training Partnership-Southern Region (NJCWTP-SR), and serves as the lead for or consults with the NJ Department of Children and Families to organize several other statewide initiatives. Dawn is a member of the NJ Child Placement Review Board and sits on the university Committee for the Protection of Minors. She served in leadership roles on several boards and is an adjunct instructor of management, social work, and leadership courses. Her research interests are child welfare, organizational development, and child welfare workforce development.
Edwin Lebron, M.B.A.
Training-of-Trainers (TOT) / Virtual Learning Specialist,
Ohio's University Consortium for Child and Adult Services (OUCCAS)
Edwin Lebron is the Training-of-Trainers (TOT)/Virtual Learning Specialist for Ohio's University Consortium for Child and Adult Services (OUCCAS). OUCCAS is the state training coordinator for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program (OCWTP) and the Ohio Human Services Training System (OHSTS). OUCCAS is a team of professionals from three Ohio public universities whose goal is to provide Ohio’s child and adult protective workers and resource families an array of innovative learning opportunities to achieve the knowledge and skill needed to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of vulnerable children and adults. Edwin has worked in various capacities for Ohio’s state training vendor and the North Central Ohio Regional Training Center for over 23 years.
Lawrence Mirabal
Staff Manager, Income Support Division
New Mexico Human Services Department
Lawrence Mirabal represents the New Mexico Human Services Department serving as a Staff Manager specializing in Leadership Development. Lawrence brings over 30 years of experience in organizational leadership, development, and training in the public and private sectors. He credits his success to his holistic leadership approach to inspire and motivate high-performing teams to realize personal and professional fulfillment.
Laurence Nelson
Director of Training and Professional Development
Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Laurence is responsible for improving the knowledge, skills, attitudes and practice of new and veteran staff through the implementation and delivery of competency-based training, coaching and supervisory mentoring. Laurence attended Florida A&M University for his undergraduate studies and holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Georgia. Laurence is no stranger to Child Welfare and supervision. Having spent the past 18 years with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Laurence has served in the capacity of case manager, supervisor, administrator, training coordinator, data manager and county director. Laurence’s greatest accomplishment was organizing the Every Day is Father’s Day festival while at Clayton County DFCS and assisting with implementing simulation in the DFCS Child Welfare Training Academy. Laurence is passionate about being a father and social worker and enjoys sports, jazz, woodworking and cooking. Laurence is a member and past-President of the Georgia Professional Human Services Association, a graduate of Leadership Clayton and recently received his professional coaching certification through the University of Denver, Butler Institute.
Cynthia “Cindy” Parry, Ph.D.
Evaluation Consultant
C.F. Parry Associates
Cynthia Parry, Ph.D., has thirty years of experience evaluating human services at state and national levels. Dr. Parry is currently an evaluator for the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), specializing in testing and measurement. She has led training evaluation efforts in multiple states. She serves on the Executive Advisory Council for the National Staff Development and Training Association and the steering committee for the National Human Services Training Evaluation Symposium.
Marlo A. Perry, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Marlo A. Perry, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor in the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work. Marlo leads evaluations of multiple statewide projects with Pennsylvania’s child welfare system. To date, this has included enhancing the rigor of the evaluation of Pennsylvania’s core caseworker and new supervisor curricula, evaluating processes and outcomes of a Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, and assessing mechanisms of transfer of learning to the field. Her research interests also include family engagement in child welfare and emotional intelligence and well-being in child welfare caseworkers.
Lonetta Richardson Bryan, M.A.
Staff Development Manager
County of Riverside, Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Lonetta has been in training and development for over 20 years. She started her career with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. She currently is a Staff Development Manager at the Riverside County (CA) Department of Public Social Services. Lonetta is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and enjoys providing executive-level coaching. Lonetta received her BA from Spelman College and her MA from Clark Atlanta University (Educational Psychology), Azusa Pacific University (Clinical Psychology), and Golden Gate Theological Seminary (Theological Studies), respectively. Lonetta enjoys spending time with her family and enjoying the great outdoors.
Terrance Stroud
Deputy Commissioner
NYC Department of Social Services
Terrance Stroud is the Deputy Commissioner for New York City’s Department of Social Services, overseeing the Office of Training & Workforce Development. Terrance has been honored for his work and contributions to the community with distinctions such as Home Reporter News’ “Star of Brooklyn," City & State's “Top 40 Under 40,” and a Black Enterprise Modern Man. Terrance serves on the alumni and advisory boards of Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn College & Indiana Maurer School of Law and is an Adjunct Professor of Law overseeing Maurer’s NY Externship Program. Terrance was appointed to the NY State Staff Development Advisory Committee in 2019 and joined NSDTA in 2019.