A group of passionate professionals, who have observed youth floating through school with little hope or dreams for their future, shared a vision to support students within our schools and communities to inspire them to reach their maximum potential.
Dr. Barb Brady, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MA, LPC, Ph.D
Dr. Brady holds a Ph.D. in Leadership in Educational Administration, MA in School Counseling, and certifications in Superintendent (PK-AD), Supervisor General Instruction (PK-AD), Principal (PK-AD), (PK – Adult), Marriage, Couples and Family Therapy and is a Licensed Professional Counselor.
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She has over 30 years of experience building student support systems in public schools. Dr. Brady is also a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer and a certified Connections Matter Trainer.
Dr. Brady served as a school counselor for nearly 25 years, then as the WVDE Coordinator for School Counseling and the Expanded School Mental Health lead for 10 years; developing inaugural school counseling performance standards, state model, and an aligned standards-based evaluation system.
BOARD MEMBERS
Tiffany Pittman, PRESIDENT
MA, LPC, AADC
Tiffany holds an MA in Counseling, specializing in child/adolescent mental health, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and is a certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor.
She was named the 2019 Counselor of the Year by the WV Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. She is currently employed by Marshall University Research Corporation as the School Mental Health Coordinator. With over 20 years’ experience in behavioral health, Tiffany provides school-based technical assistance, evaluation, supervision, and program development on local, regional, and state-level initiatives including Expanded School Mental Health, School-Based Health Centers, telehealth, and Substance Use early intervention and prevention.
Heather McChesney, VICE-PRESIDENT
Born and raised in Charleston, WV; McChesney has made many areas of the Mountain state her home.
After graduating with her BA in English and her Master’s in Secondary Education, Ms. McChesney taught in Harrison, Monongalia, and Morgan counties before making her way back home to continue her teaching career in Kanawha County. For the last decade, she has served as the Coordinator of Curriculum and Professional Development for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. In this position, she and her team oversee and manage multiple college- and career- readiness initiatives that help students throughout the educational pipeline work to make their dreams a reality.
John Barton
Funding and Philanthropy Committee - Co Chair
John has worked directly with at-risk, disabled, & disadvantaged youth in rural and impoverished communities across West Virginia for 20+ years.
As the parent of three neurodiverse teens, John has extensive experience identifying and addressing the needs of neurodivergent youth, particularly in terms of identifying barriers and solutions.
He holds a Master of Arts in School Counseling from Marshall University and a Bachelor’s in Education with certifications in English, Speech, and Theatre from Concord University.
Linda L. Bragg
Training and Development Committee - Co-Chair
Wife to her childhood sweetheart, mother of two grown children and grandmother to two. She has proudly served as an educator and education administrator for approximately 35 years.
The education positions she has held include: teacher, academic coach, district level curriculum coordinator, state-level project director and coordinator through her 10-year employment with the West Virginia Department of Education, regional project director, executive director of Regional Service Agency (RESA 1), and finally a district educational consultant and trainer.
Debbie McClintic
Training and Development Committee - Co-Chair
Debbie McClintic is a native of Lewisburg, WV and holds degrees from Marshall University; BA in Counseling & Rehabilitation, MA in School Counseling, and EdS in School Leadership.
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Licensed Professional Supervisor through the WV Board of Counselors, National Board Certified Counselor, and National Board Certified School Counselor.
Ms. McClintic has 25 years of experience working with children and teens as a school counselor in GA, VA and WV. Additionally, she has been a high school administrator and is currently serving as Director of Secondary Schools for Greenbrier County Public Schools. She also works part-time as a therapist via tele-health for Better Help.
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Eric Murphy
Marketing, Communication, and Partnership Development Committee - Co Chair
Clinically trained Health educator, Neuro-psychotherapist and has been employed in corporate, private and community settings since 1992.He currently serves as the Assistant Director in the WVU Center for Service and Learning.
Eric attended West Virginia University and Fairmont State College. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with and emphasis in special education and art education, Eric then earned two Masters Degrees from the West Virginia University: a Masters of Arts in Community Counseling and a Master’s of Science in Community Health Promotion. Between earning my post graduate degrees he worked at various not for profit organizations such as Independent living centers, youth treatment facilities and programming in both disability and the aging communities.
Jim Strawn
Funding and Philanthropy Committee - Co Chair
Owner and President of Jim Strawn & Company, a marketing company that specializes in helping civic organizations, non-profits, municipalities, associations and businesses of all sizes engage their customers and followers through results-driven marketing strategies.
He is an energetic leader doing his part to make America, WV, Kanawha Valley and his city of Charleston a better place to live, learn, work and play. Jim is an Author, TV Show Host, Speaker, Marketing Strategist, Professor, Trainer, Event Planner, Fundraiser, and Auctioneer.
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Jim earned his BS degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1983 and received his MA degree from WVCOGS in 1992.