Staff and Partner Agencies Directory

Kathy Deserly has worked in the field of child welfare in Native communities since 1974. She spent twelve years working in tribal communities in Southern California, as Assistant Director of a Native American foster and adoption agency before going to work as a policy analyst and technical assistance specialist for the National Indian Child Welfare Association. In those positions, she provided extensive training and technical assistance to Indian and non-Indian programs on topics related to tribal child welfare and social services. Kathy served as Indian Child Welfare Specialist for the State of Montana from 1996-2000. In 2004 Kathy became a founding board member of the Indian Child and Family Resource Center (ICFRC) based in Helena, Montana, a training and technical assistance center for Tribal social service programs, private providers and state agencies. She currently serves as ICFRC Executive Director. Through the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI), Kathy has provided technical assistance to states and tribes, including strategic planning, child welfare program reviews, and assisted in the development of a statewide Tribal child welfare association. ICFRC is a partner agency with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, the lead agency for the new National Resource Center for Tribes. Kathy has also served as the Associate Director of the National Child Welfare Resource Center on Tribes (NRC4Tribes) since its establishment in October 2009.

Joe Walker is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma. He has a experience in providing evaluation services for various projects such as: Sacred Child Project (systems of care for children with mental health needs), Medicine Moon Initiative (systems of care for tribal child welfare), Oniyapi (suicide prevention), Clear Visions (adolescent substance abuse prevention and treatment), Meth Initiative (methamphetamine prevention), and a Mental Health First Aid project.  Joe also currently assists in the evaluation for the National Resource Center for Tribes, and assists in coordinating and providing evaluation services for the Tribal Western Workforce Projects in North Dakota. Joe has a Masters of Management Degree from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Maria Alidio is the Administrative Manager for the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes. She joined the team in December 2009 as a Program Specialist bringing in with her over 25 years of office administrative experience in the fields of Educational Research Studies, Internal Medicine, and Development Construction. She also proudly served 10 years in the United States Naval Reserve, under the Commander Naval Forces Korea Headquarters as a Yeoman 2nd Class Petty Officer and was decorated with the United States Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, by Rear Admiral Daniel S. Mastagni for establishing a comprehensive muster report which ensured that all personnel were accounted for during a period of high tension in Korea.  Maria works closely with the Director to assist with administrative functions for all of the NRC4Tribes offices and is involved with national and regional meetings and conferences for the NRC4Tribes, playing a significant role in technology issues, website management, travel coordination of scholarship recipients, volunteers and staff as well as assistance with the compilation of event training materials, resources, and registration of participants. Maria lives and works in Las Vegas, NV with her partner Margaret and their dog Zoey.

Jessica Allen (San Carlos Apache) is the Operations Director at the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI). She has been with TLPI since 2008 and is responsible for the financial management, human resources and overall administrative operations of TLPI. She provides grants management on all TLPI projects including the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) 11th, 12th and 13th National Indian Nations Conference: Justice for Victims of Crime, OVC SANE-SART Training and Technical Assistance Initiative, and the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes. She coordinates grant proposal submissions, semi-annual and quarterly grant reports and supports the execution and implementation of program deliverables. Her background includes 14 years of experience in the areas of executive assistance, event coordination, corporate and tribal sponsorships, and ethnic marketing.

Jerry Gardner(Cherokee), JD, is an attorney with more than 30 years of experience working with Indian tribes, tribal court systems, tribal child welfare programs, and victims of crime in Indian country. He is a graduate of Northwestern University (B.A. in 1976) and the Antioch School of Law (J.D. in 1979). He is the founding Executive Director of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute www.tlpi.organ Indian owned and operated non-profit corporation established in 1996 to design and deliver education, research, training, and technical assistance programs which promote the improvement of justice in Indian country and the health, well-being, and culture of Native peoples. He has also served as the Director of the National Child Welfare Resource Center on Tribes (NRC4Tribes) since its establishment in October 2009. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) from 1995-2000, at UCLA School of Law from 2002-2006, and at Southwestern School of Law (presently). He has been a tribal appellate court judge for various tribal courts including the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota and the Poarch Creek Band in Alabama. He served as the Administrator for the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) from May 1998-December 2000 when he established NAICJA’s National Tribal Justice Resource Center.  He served as the Senior Staff Attorney with the National Indian Justice Center (NIJC) from NIJC’s establishment in 1983 until December 1996where he designed and developed the first comprehensive Child abuse in Indian Country training sessions for tribal court personnel. He has also worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (1978-1979), the national office of the Legal Services Corporation (1979-1981), and the American Indian Lawyer Training Program (1981-1983). Since 2006, he has been a Council Member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities (IRR) and the Tribal Courts Council of the ABA Judicial Division.

Elizabeth Deserly  has served for the last 5 years in administration and coordination activities for the Indian Child and Family Resource Center, a partner of the NRC4Tribes. In her work, she communicates and coordinates T/TA information with tribes, Native organizations and state agencies throughout the country. Elizabeth played an instrumental role in the outreach and coordination efforts of the NRC4Tribes National Tribal Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance Needs Assessment during the NRC4Tribes first year. She also was key in working with TLPI logistics staff to assist in the planning implementation of the 3 regional Fostering Connections Tribal Gatherings in year two. Elizabeth’s background includes 10 years of event coordinating experience as well as more than 10 years as a co-owner of a professional photography business. She brings this photographic studio experience to various meetings and events through Indian Child and Family Resource Center and NRC4Tribes. Elizabeth has earned an Associate of Applied Science degree from Northwest College in Powell, WY. Elizabeth is a descendent of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas and lives and works in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, Matt and their four children.

Kim Just (Gros Ventre/Arapaho) joined the NRC4Tribes team in November 2012 and is currently working part time as the Program Assistant. Kim has many years of experience planning large scale trainings and conferences, such as the National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse & Neglect for the National Indian Child Welfare Association, where she worked for 10 years before going to work for the Native Wellness Institute. Kim also planned events and trainings and performed administrative duties for the Native Wellness Institute. Kim is an enrolled member of the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservation in North central Montana.  She resides on the Walker River Paiute Reservation in Schurz, Nevada, with her husband, Carl and their two wonderful children who are the joy of their lives. Carl is an enrolled member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and was recently elected to the tribal council. Rodeo is also a big part of her family’s lifestyle; Carl competes in rodeo events and Kim serves as the Treasurer for the Western States Indian Rodeo Association.  Rodeo is definitely a passionate hobby they carry forward with their children.

Naomi Miguel, (Tohono O’odham) is the Program Assistant for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. She maintains overall office maintenance and assists with coordinating travel, equipment and logistical details for national and regional meetings. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College where she majored in Political Science with minors in Pre-Law and Art. While in college, she interned with the tribal liaison at the Federal Communications Commission, and the Office of Inspector General at the National Science Foundation. After college, she worked as a field organizer for Arizona’s Coordinated and Congressional District One campaigns. Currently, she serves as a board member for Pukúu, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing cultural community services for Native Americans in Los Angeles County.      

Deborah Painte (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) MPA, is a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes) of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Ms. Painte is the director of the Native American Training Institute (NATI) in Bismarck, North Dakota. NATI is an inter-tribal child welfare training organization created and governed by the four North Dakota Tribal Child Welfare agencies serving the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Deborah was a former Director of two systems of care initiatives through the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services and the Children’s Bureau. Currently, NATI is a partner with the National Resource Center for Tribes lead by the Tribal Law & Policy Institute in conjunction with the Indian Child & Family Resource Center and University of Denver, Butler Institute for Families. NATI is also a collaborating partner with the Mountain & Plains Child Welfare Resource Center located at the University of Texas, Arlington in collaboration with the University of Denver, Butler Institute for Families. Previously, Ms. Painte served as the Executive Director for the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission for seven years. She has over thirty years of experience working in or with tribal communities in the area of strategic and program planning, community development, program administration, policy development & analysis, tribal advocacy, community mobilization & engagement, training & technical assistance for tribal human service agencies, financing strategies, program evaluation and research in tribal communities.

Sandra Bercier is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; she was born and raised on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.  Sandra earned her Bachelor degree in Social Work from the University of Mary in 1985 and her MBA from Gonzaga University in 2008.  Much of Sandra’s career has been spent working with people with disabilities and their families.  She has five biological children, four grown daughters and one teenaged son and has adopted into her heart many more children over the years.  She has six biological grandchildren; and again many more that she has adopted by heart.  Family, education, the environment, and spirituality are very important to her.  Sandra does extensive volunteer work in the field of Domestic Violence.  Sandra loves her work at the Native American Training Institute where she is the Training Director.  She is also an adjunct instructor at the United Tribes Technical College. 

Dr. Cathryn Potter has extensive experience in child welfare practice and management, supervision, capacity building, policy analysis, curriculum development, training and technical assistance. Since 1990, she has managed the Butler Institute for Families, a leader in child welfare, children’s mental health and juvenile justice research and technical assistance. The Butler research team is actively involved in many research projects related to workforce development, practice model integration, organizational intervention, and implementation science in child welfare.  In addition, Butler's training and technical assistance groups are working with numerous states and tribes to support child welfare practice innovations, including work related to differential response, practice model development and training of child welfare workers, supervisors and managers.  Dr. Potter is active in national human services research networks, serving on statewide and national workforce committees and consulting on practice, systemic and policy issues.  The Butler Institute is honored to be involved in numerous partnerships with tribes and Indian organizations, with a focus on support for culturally appropriate practice model development and implementation, and culturally appropriate evaluation of practice initiatives. 

Robin Leake, Ph.D, is the Research Manager for the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver. The Butler Institute serves as the Evaluation Partner for the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes). Robin is a primary author of the NRC4Tribes National Needs Assessment of American Indian/Alaska Native Child Welfare Programs. Robin Leake has over 15 years of experience in social science research and program and training evaluation, with an emphasis on implementation research. She has expertise in research design, selection and development of instruments, data collection, analysis and interpretation, utilization-focused reporting, grant writing, consulting, and project management. She is skilled in qualitative and quantitative research methods, as well as all levels of program evaluation. Dr. Leake currently manages the evaluation and research team at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver, overseeing the design and implementation – of all projects, including four HHS-ACF Children’s Bureau Grants. Dr. Leake is the lead evaluator for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and the National Resource Center for Tribes. Dr. Leake holds a Ph.D. in Social/Health Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She a member of the California Social Work Education Consortium Training Evaluation Symposium, the Society for Social Work and Research, and the American Evaluation Association, and has authored several publications and presentations.

Stacie Hanson, MSW, is a Research Associate with the Butler Institute for Families at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. She is currently managing tribal child welfare evaluation projects for the National Resource Center for Tribes and the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center. Most recently, Stacie worked as a Child Welfare Program Associate for American Humane Association, focusing on safety and risk assessments, differential response, and youth permanency. She served as the project evaluator for the Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Safety and Risk Assessments, providing direct technical assistance and coaching to state and tribal child welfare agencies to resolve problems related to data collection, evaluation and systems improvement. She has ten years’ experience in the social services field, including program evaluation, distance and on-site technical assistance, policy analysis, grassroots and legislative organizing, direct practice, and organizational strategic planning. Topical areas of expertise include child welfare, poverty and asset accumulation, youth mentoring, and prevention. Stacie also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with Denver CASA and sings with Kantorei, a local semi-professional choir. She loves living in Colorado and spending time her husband and two young daughters.

Roshanda Shoulders is a Program Specialist for the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, in the Capacity Building Division in Washington, D.C. She is the Federal Project Office for the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes), In-Home Services, and the Training and Technical Assistance Coordination Center. Roshanda has been in child welfare for more than 10 years. Roshanda has worked in child welfare as a social worker at the Department of Social Services in Connecticut and at the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency. In addition, she was a social worker at Yale Child Study Center.