Gizane Indart, Executive Director
Gizane Indart is a bilingual and bicultural professional with over 20 years of experience working with traumatized children and their families. Gizane is a ChildTrauma fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy under the direction of Dr. Bruce Perry. She is a seasoned public speaker and trainer, presenting locally, nationally and internationally on the impact of abuse and neglect in early development, attachment difficulties in children exposed to maltreatment, and sexualized behaviors in children. Gizane is a contributing author to The Web of Meaning, by Gail Ryan and Associates (1999 Safer Society Press), writing on the short-term outcomes of sexual abuse.  Gizane  has served on the Kempe Children’s Center Perpetration Prevention Study Group since 1992; she is also a member of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Advisory Counsel for the Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families and the Women's Foundation of Colorado Program Committee.

Karen Blackwell, Manager, Forensic Interview and Evaluation Program
Karen Blackwell leads DCAC’s Forensic Interview Program. She has played a key role in organizing the multi-disciplinary team to ensure a prompt and coordinated response to crime victims.  Karen holds a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed clinical social worker. For the past 12 years she has worked in various capacities on the investigation of child sexual abuse, forensic interviewing, and sexual abuse assessment and treatment for children and families. She also has considerable experience on working with adult victims and child witnesses to domestic violence and serves on the board of the Denver Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. Karen is the recipient of the prestigious “2002 Excellence in Practice Award” presented by the Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare.

Lauri VanderMeulen, Forensic Interviewer
When Lauri joined DCAC in 2007, she already had 17 years of experience working on crimes against children.  After an award-winning career as a police officer and detective, Lauri was looking for a change within her field. In addition to her forensic interviewing skills with children, and her understanding of criminal investigations, she brings a wealth of additional knowledge in children’s legal issues concerning physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.  Lauri has also worked as a teacher, training police officers, other professionals and students about child abuse and the law. She is a very welcome addition to our multi-disciplinary team and the Forensic Interview and Evaluation Program.

Becky Bethards, Training Manager/Senior Child & Family Therapist
Becky Bethards is a licensed clinical social worker with an emphasis on children, trauma and community collaboration. Becky is a trained forensic interviewer.  Becky has taken the lead in implementing and coordinating an integrated evaluation system that includes NCATrak. In 2009, Becky began developing and managing DCAC’s growing training and consulting program.  She is attending the train-the-trainer program with the ChildTrauma Academy.

Monica Belford, Bilingual Care Manager
Monica Belford is bilingual in English and Spanish. She holds a master’s degree from Spain in Interculturalism, Immigration and Education, and has completed undergraduate studies in Nursing and Communication. Monica has worked with children who have special needs and histories of abuse, including those that crossed the Mexico/U.S. border alone. She has also worked on case management and interpretation with refugees and asylees in Spain. Special areas of interest for Monica include medical translation and interpreting, immigration and human trafficking.

Angela Davidson, Assessment and Treatment Program Manager/Prevention Manager
Angela Davidson is a bilingual, bicultural therapist with more than eight years of direct clinical experience in working with traumatized children and their families.  Special areas of interest for Angela are: early childhood development, the impact of trauma on the developing child and the effects of immigration on young children.  At DCAC, Angela has played a major role in supporting the growth of DCAC’s Spanish-speaking caseload. She has also been a lead player in the development and expansion of the successful pre-school pilot program, “Denver Safe from the Start,” which focuses on at-risk children and families. 

Catherine Ann Hay, Child and Family Therapist
Cathy is a master’s level marriage and family therapist with extensive experience in working with child and adolescent survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She also specializes in working with children who have special needs or severe emotional disturbances, as well as with youth caught up in the criminal justice system. While pursuing her master’s degree at Pepperdine University, Cathy worked as an intake specialist and therapist with the Coalition to End Family Violence in California where she became expert in crisis management and meeting the immediate needs of mothers and children traumatized by violence.

Raquel Hernandez, Victim Advocate
Prior to joining DCAC in 2007, Raquel worked as a victim advocate intern with COVA (Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance) as well as the Westminster Police Department and Project Safeguard.  She has experience in providing crisis intervention at crime scenes, referrals to community resources, and ongoing support as victims progress through the Criminal Justice System.  At Project Safeguard, Raquel worked with victims of domestic violence and their children. At both organizations, she had key responsibility for providing bilingual, bicultural services for Spanish-speaking victims; she is also experienced in providing language interpretation between victims and members of the criminal investigation and prosecution teams. When the Forensic Interview and Evaluation Program moves into its new facility, Raquel will be at the heart of the program, ensuring seamless coordination between team members, child victims, and families. 

Courtney Holmes, Child and Family Therapist
Courtney Holmes is a master’s level marriage and family therapist whose area of specialization is working with children that have developmental delays due to trauma or genetic factors.  She has extensive training in administering developmental assessments and in working with children who have sleep disturbances. Courtney also specializes in DIR-Floortime (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based, or "DIR® Floortime), which is particularly helpful in working with children who have developmental problems. Courtney previously worked as a parent education specialist, leading trainings for the California Office of Childcare on how to recognize the warning signs of abuse in families under stress.

Catalina Lema, Child and Family Therapist
Originally from Colombia, Catalina has a background in finance and business, as well as psychology and programs for at-risk children. In Bogota, she directed an education center for the children of low-income single mothers, and she also provided parenting classes. In the U.S., Catalina has worked as a bilingual, bicultural sexual assault counselor and as a child, adolescent and family therapist in a mental health center. Catalina joined DCAC in July 2008 to serve our growing caseload of Spanish-speaking children and families. She holds a degree in business administration from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia and a master’s in counseling psychology from Naropa University in Boulder.

Mandy M. Rigg, Fundraising Consultant/Grantwriter
Mandy has worked with the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center since 1993 and she takes great joy in having participated in its incredible growth and development.  Mandy has worked with nonprofit organizations since 1990 when she joined the Colorado Nonprofit Association.  She spent six years at the association as editor of Nonprofit Colorado and director of information services.  After that she helped to build a start-up publishing company for nonprofit grantseekers (headed up by Richard Male, founder of the Community Resource Center) where she was editor for five major grant guides—New York, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Mandy became a consultant in 2000 and has since worked with many Colorado, national and international nonprofits—but DCAC is like family!

Tara Roesener, Community Development Manager
As Community Development Manager, Tara will work with DCAC’s donors, volunteers and key stakeholders to increase support and leadership through events and individual and corporate giving. Tara has worked extensively in the non-profit fundraising and development sector for many years most recently for the Arthritis Foundation, Judi’s House and Colorado AIDS Project. Tara is passionate about helping others and is excited for this opportunity to work with DCAC.

Katy Tuleja, Office Manager
As office manager, Katy handles all of DCAC’s in-house bookkeeping and budgeting, as well as overseeing daily operations. She works closely with the Board’s Finance Committee to ensure the integrity of financial reports to the Board and DCAC’s public and private funders.  Katy also works closely with the treatment staff to handle the administrative details of program implementation. Katy’s previous positions have been with for-profit businesses, and she brings a wealth of experience in accounting and tax issues, data management, desktop publishing, and the ability to create and manage complex administrative systems.

Consultants
Anne DePrince, PhD. - Research Director Psychology, University of Denver
Bruce Perry, M.D., PhD. - Senior Fellow, ChildTrauma Academy
Jerry Yager, PsyD. - Executive Director, Denver Children's Home
Kathryn Wells. MD, Medical Director- Denver Family Crisis Center-Denver Health Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics-University of Colorado