 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
|
|
Contact Information Texas Office |
|
Phone: |
(972) 417-3900 |
Fax: |
(972) 539-7006 |
About Our Staff
Owners
Cheryl Lenheiser, LCSW has been practicing since 1990. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Texas Christian University majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. She received her Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1992. Cheryl has extensive experience in mental health and medical social work and developed a social work department for a Dallas/Fort Worth area hospital. She has developed and taught numerous educational courses on resources across the continuum or care for professional health care workers and lay persons. She has served on several non-profit boards of directors and participates on numerous professional association committees, including the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers and the Society of Social Work Leaders in Health Care. She is an approved supervisor for mentoring younger social workers working towards their Advanced Clinical Practitioner certification. Cheryl is a native of a Fort Worth suburb, currently residing in a suburb of south Denton County with her husband and three children. Cheryl is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. |
Michele Osentowski, LMSW-IP has been practicing social work since 1992. Michele earned her Bachelor of Science at the University of North Texas majoring in social work. She went on to complete her Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1999. Michele has extensive experience working in the criminal justice system. She authored "An In Depth Look at Housing Locator Services for the Elderly". She has been a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers since 2001. She has been active on the South Central Chapter of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers public relations committee. She has been practicing Professional Geriatric Care Management Services since 2001. She is the co-coordinator of monthly events for the Society in Social Workers Leaders in Healthcare Dallas Chapter. She has developed educational programs for the continued development of the Social Work professional. She is a native of Dallas, Texas. Mother of two "humans with fur", Finn, an Anatolian German Shepherd mix and Mistro, a border collie mix. Michele is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Masters of Social Worker. In 2008, she received her Independent Practice designation from the Texas Board of Social Workers. |
Licensed Professionals
Melinda Chance, LCSW has been practicing since 1991. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. She went on to complete her Masters of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1994. Melinda has extensive experience in medical social work, specifically, in the areas of hospital, long-term acute care, hospice work and mental health/mental retardation services. She has developed and facilitated a number of support and educational groups. She has served on several nonprofit boards of directors and participates in numerous professional association committees, including the National Association of Social Workers. Melinda lives in a suburb of Fort Worth. Melinda is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Masters Social Worker. |
Lisa Schmidt Estrella, LCSW has been practicing social work since 1995. Lisa earned her Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. Lisa completed her Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996. Lisa has extensive experience working in the family violence, family courts and criminal justice system. Lisa instructs law enforcement in Dallas and Tarrant County in the areas of Family Violence and Victims of Crime. Lisa holds a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education Instructor License. She had a case example published in "Battered Women and Their Families" in 1998. Lisa moved to the DFW Metroplex in 1991 and currently resides in South Arlington with her husband and two American Eskimos. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Lisa is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. |
Sonya Butler, LMSW has been practicing social work since 1995. Sonya earned her Bachelor of Science at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (Lafayette) majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. She completed her Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas-Arlington in 1995. Sonya has extensive experience working with dual diagnosed clients in the criminal justice system. She also has medical social work experience with workers compensation, geriatric and home health care patients. Sonya is a member of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers. She resides in a suburb of South Dallas with her husband and twin daughters. Sonya is licensed by the state of Texas as a Licensed Masters Social Worker. |
Jennifer R. Owens, L.M.S.W., was formerly the Social Services Director at Good Samaritan Village in Denton, Texas. Jennifer has been a medical social worker since 1991 and has worked extensively with youth, families, and the elderly in schools, group homes and nursing homes across the country. She is currently licensed in Texas as a licensed Master Social Worker.
She is a family development specialist and worked as a licensed social worker with the states of New York & Maryland. She is also a certified teacher with the NYS Department of Education and was a college professor at Cazenovia College for seven years. She has consulted in the area of family development and preservation on several occasions as a professional, to domestic violence agencies, youth centers and churches. In addition, she was a diversity trainer and member of the National Coalition Building Institute for several years, and has been an independent contractor in social work since 2006.
Jennifer is a graduate of Cazenovia College, in Cazenovia New York State University of New York (SUNY) Brockport and received her Masters Degree in Social Work from Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
She and her husband, Timothy Owens own a training and development business in which they teach on various leadership topics and consult businesses about how to develop their teams. In 2004 her leadership organization has also launched a "Nurturing Families" Conference and she traveled to South Africa to complete a community development plan to help empower families and youth. |
Lezli Ragland, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Certified-Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM), has been practicing social work since 1998. Lezli completed her Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1998, graduating the top of her class. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication from the University of North Texas 1985, as well as completed her Bachelors of Science from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Allied Health Sciences School in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1996. Lezli has extensive experience in geriatrics, medical social work, dementia and other memory related illnesses. She is well versed in Advance Directives and the end of life decision making process. She was instrumental in the development of a secured memory loss unit which ranked number one within the company. Her outstanding efforts were recognized by the Dallas Alzheimer's Association and she was awarded the R.J. Roper Caregiver Award for Standard of Excellence in the field of Alzheimer's disease in 2006. Lezli actively participates in fund-raising efforts for the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Dallas to help find a cure for this disease. She has facilitated a number of support and educational groups. Lezli has served on non-profit Board of Directors for organizations advocating on behalf of the indigent elder population. She has guest lectured for Nursing Students, as well as provided formalized training to other professionals and families regarding aging and memory loss. She has completed the American Cancer Society Grief facilitator program. Lezli is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers. Lezli currently lives in Dallas with her husband and two fur kids, Sissy, a golden retriever, and CK, a domestic long hair cat. She actively participates in caring for a registered feral cat colony with the SPCA of Texas. |
Pam McKown, LMSW, has been working in social work since 2004. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Baylor University in 2004. She then received her Masters of Social Work with a specialization in gerontology from Baylor University in 2005. Pam has experience with the terminally ill through work with a hospice program. She has worked to advocate for nursing home residents quality of life, quality of care, and residents rights with the state Ombudsman Program. She has experience with the Area Agency on Aging in Waco. She supervises social work students through the Baylor University and is an adjunct professor for the University of Texas at Arlington social work programs.
Pam currently lives in Waco, Texas with her husband, a local Certified Public Accountant. She is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Master of Social Work. In addition to her license she is a certified Advanced Social Worker in Gerontology. |
Donna Work, MFCS; Gerontologist, has been working as an advocate for older adults since 2004. She received her specialist in aging certification from The University of North Texas and earned her Master's degree in Gerontology from Iowa State University. She was a top honor graduate student at both universities. Her undergraduate studies were completed at Texas Christian University where she achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management. She is a professional member of the National Gerontology Academic Honor and Professional Society, the Texas Association for Adult Development and Aging, and the Texas Counseling Association. She serves as a member of a non-profit advisory committee as the older adult specialist and has written and edited for a local senior adult publication. She has volunteered for Meals on Wheels delivering meals to the homebound elderly in her area. Her gerontological research interests include the study of centenarians and learning their secrets to longevity of life and also the subject of understanding the health benefits for the spiritual well-being of older adults. She is a native of Fort Worth and currently resides in a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth with her husband of twenty-nine years. |
Deborah Ann Gardner, LMSW has been practicing social work since 1996. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work at Our Lady of the Lake University, Worden School of Social Work. Deborah completed her Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2003. She has extensive experience working as an advocate in the field of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Deborah instructs law enforcement in Tarrant County in the areas of abuse. She holds a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education Instructor License. Deborah also conducts many seminars for school and hospital professionals on the issue of violence. Deborah moved to the DFW Metroplex in 2001 and currently resides in a suburb of Fort Worth with her child and her Schnoodle Terrier. She is a member of the Tarrant County Sexual Abuse Advisory Council and the Tarrant County Council on Family Violence. She has been working with senior citizens since 2007 and finds the work especially rewarding. Deborah is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Master Social Worker. |
Vicki Wiechern, LCSW has been practicing since 1972. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas with a major in Sociology. She completed her Master of Social work degree from Louisiana State University in 1972. The first part of her career was in the mental health field, working in hospital and out patient settings. Later, she began working in the medical field working in hospital settings, home health and hospice. She was a manager of a social work department in a local hospital. She has been a Field Instructor for graduate social work students at UTA .Vicki is also an approved supervisor with the State of Texas Social Work Board, assisting young social workers working toward their certification as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is an active member in the National Association of Social Workers, and the Society for Social Work Leaders in Healthcare-Texas Chapter. She has presented workshops on such topics as "Cultural Diversity in Healthcare Settings", and "Why People Utilize Alternative Medicine". She volunteers with several community agencies. She is a native Texas. She is licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. |
 |
|
