Advisory Council

The 13-member Promoting Justice Statewide Advisory Council that provided input on the original website included parents of adult children with disabilities, law enforcement staff, educators, disability experts, and prosecuting attorneys. Other members included staff from Children’s Advocacy Centers, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Child Protective Services. We are grateful to the following Advisory Council members for their expertise and enthusiasm in guiding the content of this website:

Pam Bell, Ph.D.
Program Manager
Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX

Mikey Betancourt
Executive Director
Children’s Alliance of South Texas ~ A Child Advocacy Center
1108 Railroad St.
Floresville, TX

Valinda Bolton
Community Affairs Liaison
Child Protective Services
Department of Family and Protective Services
Austin, TX

Laura G. Buckner
Training Consultant, Founding Partner
of the Institute for Person-Centered Practices
Texas Center for Disability Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
Longview, TX

Leslie G. Carranza
Assistant District Attorney
Atascosa County
Floresville, TX

Tim J. Cromie
Detective Sergeant
Criminal Investigation Division
Dickinson Police Department
Dickinson, TX

Lindsey Jordan, LMSW
Program Specialist
Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas, Inc. (CACTX)
Austin, TX

Nicole Martinez
Program Manager
Advanced Child Abuse Investigation
Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)
Austin, TX

Rosalinda Mercado-Garza, PhD
General Manager & Senior Coach
E-Colors in Education
Harlingen, TX

Marilyn K. Mungerson
Assistant County Attorney
County Attorney’s Office, El Paso County
El Paso, TX

Anna Phillips
Education Specialist
PPCD/PBIS/Parent Coordination/Autism
Region 17 Education Service Center
Lubbock, TX

Lisa Saucedo
Executive Director
CASA of El Paso, Inc.
El Paso, TX

Dr. David Scott
University of Texas at Tyler
Department of Social Sciences
Tyler, TX

SAFE

Michelle (Shell) Schwartz
Director of Disability Services

Dianne King
Technical Writer

Nancy Clark
Grant Administrative Coordinator

Other Contributors

Some of the material in this website is based on SAFE’s Promoting Justice, an Essential Resource Guide for Responding to Abuse Against Children with Disabilities. We thank the following people for providing informational interviews and/or reviewing that guide:

  • Allison Benesch, Assistant District Attorney/Child Abuse at Travis County District Attorney
  • Bridget Crawford, Developmental Disability Specialist, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
  • Daniel J. Estabrook, LCSW, CPS Investigations Quality Assurance Team Lead, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
  • Kristin Hensley, LPC, SEP, RPT, Counselor, SAFE
  • Kimberlie Mansell, MSSW, Permanency Program Specialist, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
  • Kristine H. Mohajer, MPA, PHR, CPS Education Program Specialist, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
  • Elizabeth Parsons, LCSW, Board of Directors of Disability Rights Texas
  • John Roppolo, Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Chief Investigator; father of child with disabilities; Board of Directors of Disability Rights Texas; member of HHSC Texas Autism Council
  • Ian Spechler, Attorney, Disability Rights Texas
  • Deya Velasco, Child Advocacy Specialist, CASA of Travis County and parent of two children with disabilities