PRESENTATIONS BY: TCU INSTITUTE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Karyn Purvis

Dr. Purvis is the director of the Texas Christian University Institute of Child Development. She has devoted the past decade to developing research-based interventions for adopted, foster and other at-risk children. She has lectured and taught all across the U.S. and throughout the world to varied groups – from trainings in the U.S. for parents, churches, judges, social workers and counselors, to international trainings for parents and professionals in England, Iceland, Scotland, Romania, Ethiopia and Rwanda. She and her colleague, Dr. David Cross, write regularly for scientific journals and parents magazines, and co-authored The Connected Child: Bringing Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family (2007). Dr. Purvis also wrote, together with Michael and Amy Monroe, Created To Connect: A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child. She is the recipient of the T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., Texas Infant Mental Health Advocacy Award, and in June 2008 was given the title of Distinguished Fellow in Adoption and Child Development by the National Council for Adoption. Dr. Purvis holds both masters and doctorate degrees in Developmental Psychology from TCU, and is a former foster parent, a mother of three boys and a grandmother of eight.

Amanda R. Hiles Howard, PhD

Amanda is the Assistant Director of the Texas Christian University Institute of Child Development, where her primary responsibilities are to assist the Co-Directors, Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross, serve as executive director of the Hope Connection summer camp, develop and maintain the TCU child development program, and to engage in the research activities of the Institute. She is also an adjunct instructor for the TCU Psychology Department, where she teaches courses such as Vulnerable Child I: Theory, Vulnerable Child II: Practice, and the Child Development Internship.

Amanda earned her B.A. from The Ohio State University with a major in Psychology, and then attended Texas Christian University for graduate study, beginning in 2004. She earned an M.S. in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis on Quantitative Analysis, and then earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis on Human Development. In 2010, she accepted the position of Academic Coordinator and then later Assistant Director on the Institute.

Daren Jones, Child Development Fellow/Trainer

Daren Jones is a Child Development Fellow with the Institute of Child Development. Daren began his career as a behavior instructor of a therapeutic day treatment program serving children and youth who could no longer function in a regular academic school setting. After serving as a behavior instructor, Daren decided to obtain his Masters in Social Work from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Daren also obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Daren has spent the past 12 years serving youth and families within residential and foster care settings as a direct-care worker, residential group home supervisor, Licensed Child Care Administrator, and trainer. Daren currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife Katie Jones and daughter Ruby.

Henry Milton, Child Development Fellow/Trainer

Henry Milton is a Child Development Fellow with the Institute of Child Development, currently working with Dr. Purvis and Dr. Cross to conduct trainings and workshops on the Trust-Based Relational Intervention®. Henry has also been heavily involved in brining TBRI methods to the public schools and residential treatment centers across the country.

He has 15 years of experience in mental health care, residential care, and inpatient psychiatry. While studying for his Bachelors in Psychology, Henry began working with at-risk youth in summer youth camps as a Camp Counselor. His motivation to work professionally with youth began while working in the summer camps. Henry went on to work full-time time as a (PMAB) Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior instructor for inpatient psychiatry, along with being a preceptor/mental health therapist. He believes the key motivator for him and the reason he loves working with at risk populations, are the lasting relationships and overall changes seen in the youth. Henry currently resides in Fort Worth, with his wife Amani Milton-Terrell, MD- Pediatrician and their children: Elijah 8yrs old and Micah 6-yrs old. Henry earned his B.S. from Texas A&M University-Commerce, TX with a major in Psychology and went on to complete his masters from Texas A&M- Commerce/Capella University, in Psychology.

SHOW HOPE EQUIPPING FAMILIES TEAM

Dan and Terri Coley

Dan and Terri Coley are Show Hope founding board members who live in Franklin, Tennessee. Dan also serves on staff at Show Hope as the Senior Director of Programs and Growth Strategies. They have served as foster parents for more than 40 infants and birthmothers, and have adopted children domestically and internationally. Their family is multi-racial and includes children with special needs. It is their heart’s desire for every child to have a family, but through personal experience they have come to know the importance of understanding the challenges and needs of children from “hard places.” Dan and Terri are committed to help educate and prepare families for the adoption journey and empower them with the tools to help children heal while maintaining healthy families. The Coleys have nine children and eight grandchildren. Their daughter Christi lives in Birmingham with her husband Mike and daughters ColeyAnn and Kathren. Rachel and her husband, Corby, pastor in Lookout Mtn., GA with their children, Hank, Reese, Barnes, and Delsie. Carrie, her husband John, and their children, Rider and Leanna, live in New York City. Josh lives in Murfreesboro. Johnson and his wife Catherine live in Franklin. Katie is a college freshman at Tennessee Tech. Michael, Daniel, and Anna live at home with Dan and Terri.