John Holton Ph.D., has served Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA) as its vice president for Research and Director of the National Center for Child Abuse Prevention Research since 1999. He is a social psychologist who has specialized in urban education, juvenile delinquency, infant mortality, and child abuse. He formerly served as the site director for the Harvard School of Public Health’s "Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods." In this role, Dr. Holton managed an interdisciplinary longitudinal study of child and adolescent development concomitantly exploring the onset, desistance, and persistence of social competence and anti-social behavior from infancy to young adulthood. Prior to Harvard, he worked for the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (now PCAA) as the executive director of the Greater Chicago Council for Prevention of Child Abuse, the Westside Association for Community Action, the Better Boys Foundation, and the Cook County Juvenile Court.

Dr. Holton is the author of articles on culture and its relationship to child abuse, and has lectured for parents, practitioners and researchers throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Third World, including Brazil, China, Barbados, Ghana, Kenya and the Ivory Coast. He has also testified before Congress on what works to prevent youth anti-social behavior and crime.

Dr. Holton attended Howard University where he received a bachelor's degree in political science, and the University of Hartford where he received a master's degree in education. He completed his doctorate in the College of Human Development at The Pennsylvania State University. Currently, Dr. Holton is a member of the visiting faculty at the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago. Dr. Holton is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, American Public Health Association, and the National Black Child Development Institute. He presently serves on the editorial board for Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin, and as a board member for two foundations, two graduate colleges, and a proprietary business.

Susan Buelow has over 20 years experience in the mental health and chemical dependency field. She has worked in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings in psychogeriatrics, behavioral management, personality disorders, chemical dependency, and detoxification.

Since 2001, Ms. Buelow has served as Nursing Director/External Program Development in a private psychiatric system in the midwest, Prairie St. Johns, where she is responsible for assuring regulatory compliance of the organization, program development and provision of care, policy/procedure development, and community education. Ms. Buelow also works for the licensure team of the State of North Dakota, where she visits mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities across the state to insure the quality of care and compliance with state rules and regulations. She is also an Associate Professor at Concordia College in Minnesota, as well as preceptor for advance practice nursing students specializing in mental health.

Ms. Buelow is a member of the American Psychiatric Nursing Association and the North Dakota/American organizations of nurse executives. She received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Bethel College in St. Paul, and a master’s degree in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Minnesota.

Karla McFarland is currently the Interim Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Medical Services of Planned Parenthood of Delaware (PPDE). As CEO, Mrs. McFarland manages the public affairs, education, development, administration, and finance departments, and as the Vice President of the medical services department, she is responsible for the operations of five medical centers throughout the state. She has almost 15 years of management experience in the human services field, in both non-profit and for profit agencies, and a wealth of direct clinical experience. She has extensive experience in Behavioral Health and Social Services management, and has worked with developmentally disabled and dually diagnosed adults for several companies including the Devereux Foundation.

She has experience in strategic planning, budgeting, risk and quality management, numerous accreditation and licensing agencies and processes, operations systems development and implementation, grant writing, and human resource issues. Staff recruitment, development, and retention are other strengths. Mrs. McFarland has extensive training experience, including: American Red Cross CPR/First Aid, medication administration, ethical issues, OSHA, CLIA, crisis prevention/intervention, and management topics for entry and mid-level managers.

Mrs. McFarland earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She earned her masters degree in Business Administration from West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Current OPEN MINDS Advisory Board Members include:

• Jess C. Jamieson, Ph.D., M.S.H.A., Chief Executive Officer, Compass Health
• John W. Kuenning, MHS, Chief Operating Officer, Metro Community Provider Network
• John Heffner, Chief Executive Officer, SemperCare Hospital of Savannah
• Susan Buelow, Nursing Director/External Program Development, Prairie St. Johns
• Karla S. McFarland, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Planned Parenthood
• John Kingsley Holton, Ph.D., Director of Research, Prevent Child Abuse America
• Dee Brown, Vice President of Administration, Comprehensive Behavioral Care, Inc.
• Belinda Hazelwood Willis, Chief, Division of Children's Services, County of York, Virginia
• Richard Galica, MS, Product Manager, Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare
• Philip Sowders, Clinical Director, Franklin Family Services

For more information, contact John Talbot, Ph.D., Vice President, OPEN MINDS, 163 York Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325, 717-334-1329, fax: 717-334-0538, E-mail: jtalbot@openminds.com, web site: www.openminds.com.

Shopping Cart | Contact Us | Home

OPEN MINDS