Online Foster Parent Education

Denise Arnold

Social Services (Credit courses) & "Success beyond Care"

Thank you for being a caregiver! Our community needs you and your work is more valuable than anyone can foresee. Denise has been working at Pierce College for many years teaching online and overseeing the Social Service Program. Her background is in counseling and mental health.

Education wise, Denise learns all she can from her students. She has a Ph.D. from Gonzaga University in Leadership (Organizational Behavior) and a Masters in Human Relations (counseling) from Oklahoma State University. Her BA is from University of Washington.

Denise loves to garden and has trained to be a Master Gardener at Washington State University. She also loves scuba diving, hiking, working-out, and photography. Most of all, Denise loves teaching and helping others to work through a very difficult job while becoming the best they can be.

Wes Hamilton

"Skills Series-Introduction to Online Learning" & "Addiction Basics: Alcohol & Chemical Abuse"

Wes Hamilton retired in the year 2000, following a 27 year career with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. He worked in various capacities with DSHS, including working with the colleges to set up the educational training requirements for Chemical Dependency Professionals. While retired, he remains busy teaching at Pierce College, pursuing a consulting practice, and to spending time volunteering for legal services and other social justice groups.

Wes received his education at The Evergreen State College, and those familiar with its learning approach know that it relies heavily on student participation and student leadership. He believes learning on–line encourages critical thinking and a strong emphasis on writing as did his degree program. His degree from Evergreen was in anthropology, with applications to political science, public administration, and community law.

Over the past 20 years, Wes has also served as adjunct faculty at both Pierce College in Tacoma and South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia. Wes has two adult children and two grand children. He enjoys traveling, having lived in London for a period, and tries to spend several months each year on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. If you have a chance, ask him where is now; it may surprise you.

Dinah Martin

"Behavior Management for Foster Parents", "Multiple Placements-Impact on Children" and "Stuck in the Middle"

Dinah Martin is a Program Manager for the DSHS Children's Administration. In the twenty something years Dinah has worked for DSHS, she has been the manager for several statewide programs, a social worker, a community resource manager, and a trainer. Dinah has also been a foster parent.

Dinah's BA is in Education and her MS is in Human Resource Management and Development. Dinah Martin has been part time faculty at Pierce College since 1994, teaching in the Social Service Mental Health program. She has taught several subjects, including Family Disruption, Behavior Management, Identity and the Family, Self Care for Caregivers and Teambuilding for Social Service Professionals.

Alisa Moore

"Educational Advocacy for Caregivers"

In December, 2005, Alisa returned to her beloved childhood home of Bainbridge Island , after living in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. Alisa loves the Pacific Northwest and the wonderful people she has met in her travels as the Program Director for Families For Kids over the last year. After working as an executive secretary, nanny and waitress for 15 years, Alisa returned to graduate school and received her master's degree in Clinical Psychology from SFSU in 1997. Alisa has worked in the field of foster care ever since, doing everything from recruitment and placement, to foster parent training and program management. She also has a small counseling and mentoring practice.

Prior to working with FFK, Alisa developed a program for the Oakland Unified School District that provided comprehensive services for the 4,500 foster youth in the district. Nothing made her happier than using the No Child Left Behind funds for the purpose they were intended - to provide foster youth with educational advocacy, tutoring, mentoring, and counseling services, and to purchase much-needed school supplies, books, and computers for foster youth in the district!

In her spare time, she is an artist - she loves to paint and draw, mostly portraits and nests. Alisa also loves to garden, even though most of the flowers become deer food! Alisa lives in a wooded, rural environment, and enjoys the contrast of taking day trips to Seattle to explore the diversity of the city's unique neighborhoods and to shop in its many used bookstores and thriftshops!

Betty Newson

"Cultural Identity: Self Esteem" & "Maintaining a Connection: Understanding the Importance of Birth Families"

Betty’s background is in special education and she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Western Washington University and is a nationally certified rehabilitiation counselor. Betty retired in 2006 after "35 years of full-time” work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and disability services provider. Her passion for teaching and helping others has brought her back to Pierce College in a part-time capacity working in the Women & Family Services office as a transition support specilaist.

Betty was the vocational consultant with Casey Family Programs and developed and taught her course, Life Is Full Choices©, focusing on life skills for youth and families in foster care. She served as a consultant with Casey staff in developing an updated training for parents of youth in foster care, Youth Safety: Tomorrow's Safety Today©.

She has presented numerous times both locally and nationally in the areas of disabilities in higher education and the impact of disability and limited life skills on youth in foster care. Betty continues to provide private consultation and training in the areas of job development and life skills for unemployed workers who are unable to focus on employment while overcoming physical and mental health issues.

Wendy Warman

"Care-giving for Children with ADHD/ADD", "Caregiving for Children with Extreme Behavioral and Other Functional Mental Health Issues"& "Working with Children with Developmental Disabilities"

Wendy Warman, ACSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Child Mental Health Specialist. She has worked in the field of foster care for many years and is currently the Director of the Washington Association of Family Based Treatment Services. She's the parent of two sons, a 19 year old stepson attending the University of Washington and a 14 year old birth–son.

Wendy received her MSW from the University of Washington and completed her BSW at the university of Oregon after starting as an undergraduate at Cal State University – Northridge.

Wendy is also a certified STARS trainer, having taught for the State–Wide Childcare training program through the YMCA of Greater Seattle. She also teaches classes on child management and mental health issues concerning children.