Brian Bumbarger
Email: bkb10@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Brian Bumbarger is the Director of the EPISCenter, as well as Research Associate and Director of Policy Research and Outreach at the Prevention Research Center at Penn State.
Brian has been studying the dissemination and replication of evidence-based programs and community prevention coalitions for over a decade, and has provided research and technical assistance support to PCCD since 1999. In addition, Brian has been Principal Investigator of randomized trials studying the effectiveness of low-cost interventions to improve the implementation quality of evidence-based programs and the efficacy of using of police officers in the delivery of school-based drug prevention. He is also involved in 10-year, multi-state PROSPER randomized trial testing the efficacy of the Land-grant Cooperative Extension system as a mechanism for diffusing evidence-based programs, and a randomized trial on the adaptation of evidence-based programs for rural schools and communities.
Brian has served as Instructor of Criminal and Juvenile Justice at Penn State; Director of Technical Assistance for the National Coalition for Juvenile Justice; Drug and Gangs Specialist for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and project manager for the Pennsylvania Center for Safe Schools. He has been a member of peer review and expert panels for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Journal of Prevention Science. He has provided training and technical assistance to juvenile justice and social service agencies in nearly every U.S. state and territory, as well as consulting with a number of foreign governments, and has published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and state and federal policy papers.
Kimberly McCarthy
Email: kxc255@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Kimberly McCarthy is a Prevention Coordinator for the EPISCenter. Her main role is to provide technical assistance to sites implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs.
Kimberly is a Penn State graduate with a degree in health policy and administration and human development. She has also been certified as a health education specialist. Through her work experience, Kimberly has become intimately familiar with the dynamics and impact of collaborative processes, including Communities That Care (CTC), Drug Free Communities (DFC), and the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). She has served collaborative boards in communities throughout Pennsylvania and has had the privilege of serving on a variety of state advisory boards focused on promoting community-driven prevention, including the PA Department of Health’s State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) Steering Committee and the Pennsylvania Association of Community-based Prevention Coalitions (PACPC). Kimberly championed CTC as a community mobilizer and was involved in securing funds for and implementing five evidence-based programs. In addition, she served as a coordinator of the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 and she is a certified trainer. Kimberly has experience in outreach and event planning, marketing, and data collection, and grant writing. Kimberly participated in and graduated from Leadership Centre County in 2009.
Kim Peters
Email: kap265@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Kim Peters is a Prevention Coordinator for the EPISCenter. Her main role is to provide technical assistance to sites implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs.
Kim earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State in Rehabilitation Education. Kim Peters has worked with schools and prevention programs since 2002. She has worked collaboratively with school districts and communities to promote, fund, and implement several Evidence-based programs including PATHS, LifeSkills, Project TND and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Her training as a grant writer, evaluator, and administrator gives her a well rounded and solid background for assisting sites who are currently or considering implementing Evidence-based programs. Kim also has experience with the Communities That Care (CTC) process that empowers communities to use prevention science to guide their prevention efforts and has participated with two county CTC boards.
Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D.
Email: emc20@psu.edu
Phone: 717-233-1350
Elizabeth Campbell is a Prevention Coordinator for the EPISCenter. Her main role is to provide technical assistance to sites implementing the evidence-based intervention programs Functional Family Therapy, Multisystemic Therapy, and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.
Liz earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her doctorate in clinical psychology at Miami University in Ohio. She has been a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania since 2003, with a focus on children and families. Liz spent several years as a consultant for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare in the Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS). During her time with the state, she was involved with program development and policy, and became familiar with the process and regulations surrounding Medical Assistance (M.A.) funding. As M.A.-funded evidence-based programs proliferated in PA, Liz became familiar with the MST, FFT, and MTFC models, and developed relationships with evidence-based providers, program disseminators, and various stakeholders. In relation to these evidence-based programs, she also participated in a cross-agency workgroup, facilitated presentations in a variety of forums, and visited EBP sites across the state. Liz joined the EPISCenter in June 2010, bringing knowledge of the state system and specific EBP's, as well as an understanding of research and mental health. In addition to a history of consulting to the state, Liz has previously worked as a BHRS evaluator and a therapist in private practice, and has taught several psychology courses as an adjunct professor.
Brittany Rhoades, Ph.D.
Email: blr162@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Brittany Rhoades is an Evaluation Research Specialist for the EPISCenter. Her role is to provide support for collecting and reporting accurate data to sites implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. Brittany Rhoades received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2002 and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2009. During her graduate career she worked on a wide variety of projects including the evaluation of an early childhood initiative to improve the school readiness and long-term achievement of urban, disadvantaged youth. To this end, she aims to inform key community stakeholders (e.g., school administrators and policy makers) about how research can be used to inform policy and practice in order to help create change that translates into public health impact.
Sandra Hinkle
Email: sah41@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Sandy Hinkle is a Communities That Care consultant with the EPISCenter. Her main role is to provide technical assistance and training opportunities to community coalitions.
Sandy has a bachelor degree in Technical Education from the University of Akron. She also holds a national Prevention Specialist certification. She has spent 25 years in the field of prevention and education, working closely with state agencies in Ohio as an advisor for the Ohio Department of Education Safe and Drug Free Schools, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Association of Ohio and the Ohio Statewide Prevention Coalition Association. On the local level, Sandy has served as a Safe and Drug Free Schools coordinator and as an Executive Director coordinating Drug Free Community coalitions. Sandy has experience in all aspects of coalition development which has helped her to lead local collaboratives to receive state and national recognition for their efforts. Most recently, Sandy has been trained as a trainer in the Communities That Care Model.
Phyllis Law
email: pcl13@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2637
Phyllis Law is a Communities That Care consultant with the EPISCenter. Her main role is to provide technical assistance and training opportunities to community coalitions. Currently, her assigned area of responsibility encompasses the Central, Northeast, and Southeast sections of Pennsylvania.
Phyllis has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from the Troy State University and is a Certified Teacher in the areas of English and Business for grades 6-12. She has spent more than 20 years working with families and youth in varying capacities and began her prevention career by teaching high-risk youth and overseeing programming for females held in a Florida Detention Facility. After acting as Director of several Sylvan Learning Centers, Phyllis became a Safe & Drug-Free Schools Program Specialist with the Florida Department of Education where she provided technical assistance to school districts to implement their Safe & Drug-Free Schools program. This position lead her to be named Chief of Prevention in the Florida Governor's Office of Drug Control where she worked with leadership at all levels to develop and implement effective prevention programming, policies, and practices including the use of the Communities That Care model on both the state and local levels. Phyllis then established Strategic Solutions for Schools & Communities Consulting where she worked with many state agencies to provide program oversight, coalition development, event planning, training, and technical assistance in many areas of prevention. She is a trainer for several prevention programs including Guiding Good Choices and the School Health Index. Most recently, she became a Pennsylvania Certified Trainer of the Communities That Care Model.
Roger L. Spaw
Email: rls74@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Roger Spaw is a Prevention Coordinator for the EPISCenter. His main role is to provide technical assistance to organizations implementing Big Brothers Big Sisters, Olweus Bullying Prevention, and Aggression Replacement Training programs.
Roger is a Penn State graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Itegrative Arts. He has worked in the human services field for over 20 years. His early work experience included counseling adolescents and adults in MH/MR residential facilities and as a county mobile crisis worker. He has worked for a non-profit organization serving youth and families, both as a program director for a Street Outreach and ATOD Prevention program, and as an Outcomes and Information Technology Specialist. He served as a key leader on two Communities That Care prevention boards and as board chairman on one. Roger's skills include program administration, program management, training, community outreach, data collection, graphic design, computer software/hardware support, network administration, and web-design.
Liz Kulling
Email: euk13@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2568
Liz Kulling is the Administrative Support Assistant at the Penn State EPISCenter. Her role is to provide support to the EPISCenter staff through database management, budgetary tracking, and general office support. She brings years of experience to the team having worked previously as an administrative assistant for the Senate of Pennsylvania and as Executive Secretary for the Clearfield and Blair County District Attorney’s Offices. Liz graduated from the DuBois Business College with an Associate’s Degree in Specialized Business.