Feature
Conference Presenters Include
Mary Van Hook, Ph.D., ACSW, LMSW is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Central Florida School of Social Work. She earned her MSW from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in Social Work from Rutgers University. She practiced counseling with individuals and families extensively in communities as diverse as New York City, Fredrick, MD., and rural Iowa. She has taught social work practice with individuals and families at the University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University, and The University of Central Florida Schools of Social Work. She has also conducted research in terms of family coping and services that support individuals and families. Her work has included an international dimension. She has also published in the areas of spirituality. Her current book addresses resiliency as a theoretical tool for understanding and supporting families.
Meagan Dolbin-MacNab is an Assistant Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Human Development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received her doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy at Purdue University. She is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor Candidate. She has over ten years of clinical experience and has worked with individuals, couples, and families. She regularly gives presentations about family therapy at national conferences.
Robert Taylor Smith was educated at California State University, Northridge, and Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine, earning a Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He is a State Medical Board of Florida Licensed Acupuncturist. He holds a Diplomat status and Certification from National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
“I began my journey in the healing arts as a young man, serving in the U.S. Navy as a Medical Corpsman, during the Viet Name Era. After completing my college undergraduate work in Microbiology, I went to the Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles and obtained my license as a Medical Laboratory Technologist. In this capacity I began in community health, working at both the Free Medical Clinic in Los Angeles and at the New River Valley Free Clinic in Blacksburg, Va. It was in Blacksburg that I was introduced to Chinese medicine, through the study of internal Chinese marital arts. Today, I continue to practice and instruct patients and others in Tai Oi an Oi Gong. Through my many years of schooling and independent studies, I have developed an integrated and highly effective approach to health and natural healing.”
Janet Brennend has served as the local long-term care ombudsman for the New River Valley Agency on Aging for approximately 6 ½ years. Prior to serving in this role, she served as the director /teacher at a local Head Start center that provided preschool educational experiences to at-risk children as well as working with the families. In addition to her preschool experiences, she also volunteered as an advanced crisis intervention volunteer for the Women’s Resource Center for 12 ½ years. As a result of her volunteer work, she was awarded the distinct honor of being a “Daily Point of Light” with the nationally recognized Points of Light Foundation. Currently, with the Agency on Aging, she also provides elder abuse prevention services to our communities as the Elder Abuse Prevention Specialist. She is proud to say she has received the Helen J. Knapps award to elder abuse prevention efforts under the long-term care ombudsman program.
She is a wife to an Englishman, proud parent of an adult son and daughter, and better known at “Grammie” to a grandson and two granddaughters. She loves gardening, sewing, and quilting.
If anyone would every write a sentence that could sum up who she is and what her life and work has meant, it is her hope that they would say “she has helped one life breathe a little easier because took a moment to care to listen to someone in need.”
Adam Thompson started his career at the Roanoke County Police Department in 1995 at the age of 21, as a Patrol Officer he served on midnight shift for two years. In 1997 Adam was selected for the K-9 unit, while in K-9 he was promoted to Police Officer II. This assignment was worked until 2001 when he was promoted to the Criminal Investigations Division. Soon after the promotion Detective Thompson started being assigned Child Abuse complaints on a regular basis. The administration realized the need for a specialized position for Child Abuse investigations instead of passing the cases out to different Detectives as they came in. Detective Thompson volunteered to take on this task. Since doing so, Detective Thompson has worked closely with the CAC of the Roanoke Valley, completing training as a Forensic Interviewer, and conducting interviews not only for his own cases but for other jurisdictions as well. In 2005 Detective Thompson was honored as Roanoke County Police Department’s “Detective of the Year” as well as “Officer of the Year” for the County of Roanoke by the Chamber of Commerce.
Detective Thompson strives to educate people of all ages about the epidemic of Child Sexual Abuse that we face on a daily basis, he does this by speaking to civic groups, schools, Law enforcement, and other related professionals in the field.
As of January 2008 Detective Thompson, with the help and support of his administration, is now part of the Roanoke County Special Investigations Division. Along with Patricia Farris, they investigate both crimes against children as well as domestic violence and crimes against women.
Teresa Love O’Bannon chose to become a California foster/adoption parent in 2001. Her first foster placement was an infant, African-American girl whose case led to major court battles. The case social worker was advocating against any transracial placements and the Social Services Department received a Grand Jury indictment for their handling of the case. Dr. O’Bannon is now that child’s adoptive mother and learning more every day about the meaning of family.
Alice King Ingham, MSW, Ph.D., worked for over twenty years in the mental health system, primarily in New York, before coming to southwest Virginia to teach at the School of Social Work. A large portion of Dr. King Ingham’s client load was survivors of trauma, and she was also trained in community disaster response prior to 9-11.
Jo Brocato, Assistant Professor, MSW and Ph.D., Florida International University. Jo Brocato is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia, and a Certified Addiction Professional. She has worked in culturally diverse South Florida with adolescents and adults who have substance misuse and mental health disorders and their families since 1979. For the past ten years she has developed and directed programs in both community based and secure custody settings. Her current interests are in the areas of: Substance misuse; drug policy; administration; social justice; poverty and the empirical evaluation of community-based harm reduction interventions.
Patricia S. Conklin, M.S. in Nursing from University of Virginia.
Master Deputy James R. Bowyer is a Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service certified Crime Prevention Specialist with over 25 years of law enforcement experience. He started his law enforcement career in 1982 as a Physician’s Assistant assigned to Corrections within the Sheriff’s Office. In 1996 he transferred to the Administrative Services Division as a Crime Prevention Officer. In 1997 he became certified as a Crime Prevention Specialist, a DCJS General Instructor, and was certified by the Virginia Department of Education as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education Instructor. Master Deputy Bowyer is also certified in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and assists citizens and businesses in making their homes and businesses more secure through target hardening. Master Deputy Bowyer enjoys working with the school system, citizens, business owners, community leaders, and civic groups in promoting crime prevention.
