2021 Presenters Utah Children's Justice Symposium - Utah Children's Justice Centers

Utah Children’s Justice Symposium
                                         2021 Presenters

Alissa Black
Alissa has worked for the Murray City Police Department as a Crime Victim Advocate for over 15 years. Alissa
moonlighted and helped the mobile advocate team at West Valley Police in 2005 while they were short
staffed for a few months. Alissa also worked as an advocate at the San Diego County District Attorney’s
office. In 2006 she founded and still manages a volunteer-run nonprofit organization called the Salt Lake
Valley Emergency Fund. The Fund assists certain victims with emergency financial expenses. Alissa has a
bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from San Diego State University. She cleans up after two
girls, a husband, a giant dog, and two cats her girls adore.

Lawrence Jay Braunstein
Lawrence Jay Braunstein is a partner in the law firm of Braunstein & Zuckerman, Esqs, in White Plains, New
York, and an adjunct professor of Law at Hofstra University Law School in Hempstead, New York. Since 1985
his practice has concentrated in the areas of Matrimonial and Family Law and related civil and criminal
litigation, specifically focusing in the areas of child custody litigation and litigation involving allegations of
child sexual abuse, physical abuse and abusive head trauma (shaken baby).

He serves on the faculty of the NYPD Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigation Course and NYPD Homicide
Investigator Course. He has conducted hundreds of trainings with police departments across the United
States, with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Units, and with police agencies in England, Scotland, Wales, and
South Africa.

Since 2007 he has been named as one of the “Top Attorneys in the New York Metro Area” as published in
the New York Times Magazine’s Super Lawyer Section, and one of the top Twenty-Five “Super Lawyers” in
the Westchester County, New York, area. In 2018 he was included in Best Lawyers in America.

Deondra Brown
Deondra Brown performs as a member of the piano ensemble group, The 5 Browns. She received Bachelor
and Master degrees from The Juilliard School and has released seven albums. Deondra formed a national
organization, Foundation for Survivors of Abuse to be a voice for victims of sexual abuse. She also works
with the Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Children’s Justice Center Program.

Michelle Busch-Upwall
Michelle Busch-Upwall has been the Education Specialist with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Internet
Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force since 2014. Before joining the Utah Attorney General’s Office, she
was the Community Coordinator for the Salt Lake Area Gang Project for 11 years. Prior to working in Metro
Gangs, she worked as a Creative Coordinator at FranklinCovey for three years and was in the Marketing and
Advertising industry for over 10 years. She has also worked for social service agencies including DCFS and
Vista Adolescent Treatment Center. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Sociology, and a certificate in Criminology and Corrections.

Kara Byrne
Kara Byrne, PhD is an assistant research professor at the Social Research Institute College of Social Work, at
the University of Utah. Her research interests include implementation of trauma-informed care in primary

care settings, child welfare, and child advocacy centers. Kara Byrne is also a clinical social worker working
with children with trauma exposure.

Amber Choruby-Whiteley
Dr. Amber Choruby Whiteley has her PhD from the University of Utah in Counseling Psychology with a special
proficiency in trauma counseling. Amber is a therapist at Encircle, where she serves the LGBTQ+ population
at the Salt Lake City location. Amber works with clients with various presenting therapeutic concerns in an
affirming way. In addition to her clinical work, Amber has numerous research publications, including co-
authorship of a chapter in the American Psychological Association book, the Handbook of Counseling and
Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients.

Ekolu Delos-Santos
Ekolu Delos-Santos currently works for the Utah Attorney General's Office, in the Internet Crimes Against
Children Task Force as a special agent. Ekolu has 23 years of law enforcement experience from corrections,
deputy sheriff/patrol Sargent, SWAT operator and assistant team leader, and state special agent. Ekolu is a
member of the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Force with the United States Marshal's Office. Ekolu
has also been a firefighter/engineer for 17 years and EMT/Paramedic for 25 years.

Kathy Franchek-Roa
Kathleen Franchek-Roa MD is an Associate Professor at the University Of Utah School Of Medicine. Dr.
Franchek-Roa is the Chair of the University of Utah Health Domestic Violence Committee. This Committee
has developed guidelines for assisting physicians and staff in the identification of and interventions for
patients who are victims of abuse, neglect and/or exploitation, including human trafficking. In addition, she
is the co-chair of the Utah Trafficking in Persons Task Force Medical Subcommittee. This Subcommittee is
providing guidance to healthcare providers in our state on the appropriate response to victims of human
trafficking.

Tony F. Graf, Jr
Tony F. Graf, Jr. is a Deputy District Attorney for Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office prosecuting child
and adult sex crimes and homicide cases. Tony received his undergraduate degree in History at the
University of Utah, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Weber State University, and a Juris Doctor
degree from the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah.

Tony began his legal career as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. prosecuting
domestic violence cases. From there, Tony moved to Pioche, Nevada where he prosecuted for Lincoln
County District Attorney's Office. Tony later moved to Pago Pago, American Samoa prosecuting sexual
assault and other felony cases for the Office of the Attorney General of American Samoa.

Tony is a member of the Utah Minority Bar Association, the Utah State Bar, and Salt Lake County Bar
Association and is a member of the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence, on
the Advisory Board for Tooele County Children’s Justice Center and was recently elected to Tooele City
Council. Most importantly, Tony has two amazing little girls and a boy that keeps him and his wonderful wife
young at heart.

Bob Hamer
Bob Hamer spent twenty-six years in the FBI as a special agent. Many of those years were undercover. In
assignments lasting anywhere from several days to more than three years, Bob successfully posed as a drug
dealer, contract killer, pedophile, international weapons dealer, and white-collar criminal.

Bob received numerous awards throughout his career including the coveted FBI Director’s Award for
Distinguished Service and five United States Attorney Awards for Distinguished Service.

He is an award-winning, best-selling author and has written and consulted for Hollywood. A Marine Corps
veteran, Bob is married. He and his wife have two children and five grandchildren.

Alex Hatch
Dr. Alex Hatch is a fellow currently training in Child Abuse Pediatrics at the Center For Safe and Healthy
Families affiliated with Primary Children's Hospital and the University of Utah. Raised in Utah, he is a
graduate of Utah State University where he studied Biological Engineering. He attended medical school at
the Ohio State University and completed a pediatric residency at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health
Education Consortium. He is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Lauren Hunt
Lauren Hunt was a prosecuting attorney with the Utah County Attorney's Office where she specialized in
SVU cases. She now works for Parsons Behle, in a group devoted to representing victims of sexual assault
civilly.

Christy Kane
Christy Kane Ph.D., CMHC, has over 20 years of experience leading and guiding in the mental health world.
Christy Kane is a sought-after presenter and author who focuses her work on neurology, mental health
stability, and how electronics are affecting the human brain.

She has served in a variety of roles that contribute to her extensive mental health knowledge and expertise
in the field of Psychology. As a former owner and Clinical Director of two residential treatment centers,
Christy has helped youth learn the skills necessary to effectively contribute to society, manage their mental
health, and make positive changes in their lives. Christy has also owned an outpatient clinic where she
provided counseling services.

From parent nights at local schools to TEDx talks, and from national conferences to local intervention with
companies, Christy is a coveted advisor in the area of mental health. Christy knows that corporations,
schools, and families are facing mental health challenges that can, when ignored, lead to instability and
crisis. Using therapeutic topics, tools, guidance, and solutions, Christy offers information to help protect
individuals from mental health crises.

Alisa Lee
Alisa is currently the Indian Child Welfare Administrator for Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services and
where she also serves as the Native American Liaison for the Department of Human Services. She received
her B.S in Psychology and a minor in Native American studies and J.D from Brigham Young University. Alisa
has a Master’s degree from UCLA in American Indian Studies and her thesis focused on the implementation
of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA).

Alisa is Paiute and Shoshone and enrolled with the Fort Independence Reservation and she currently serves
as the Vice Chairwoman of her Tribe. Alisa experiences on her Reservation fueled her desire to improve child
welfare and become a foster and adoptive parent. She is active in her community where she served as the
Board Chair for the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake City and recently joined as Board Member of the Child
Welfare League of America.

Stacie Mecham
Stacie Mecham is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for Primary Children's Hospital Safe and Healthy Families
Department. She is the APP Director for Safe and Healthy Families. She leads and manages all of the nurses
and nurse practitioners that work for Safe and Healthy Families in the different Children Justice Centers
around the state. She is passionate about advocating for children that have been victims of maltreatment
and loves to make a difference in the life of a child. She and her husband are parents of seven children. Her

favorite thing outside of work is being a grandma to three handsome grandsons! She has a saying in her
office that she lives by, "I can do hard things... with a Diet Coke!"

Dan Powers, LCSW, LSOTP
Dan Powers is a clinical social worker and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Children's
Advocacy Center of Collin County in Plano, Texas. He oversees all professional services offered to victims of
child abuse and family violence as well as their non-offending family members. Dan has 30 years of
experience working within the field of child abuse, sex offenders and family violence. He frequently testifies
as an expert witness in state and federal courts. He has also testified on several occasions before Texas
legislative committees. Dan has been appointed by the governor on two occasions to state agency boards
addressing sex offender treatment and violent sex offender management. He is the past chairman and
current member of the Texas Children’s Justice Act Task Force and has been a member of the Texas
Statewide Multidisciplinary Team. Dan is a nationally recognized expert and speaker in the areas of sex
offenders, the sexual victimization of children, and the multidisciplinary response to child abuse. He is best
known for his spirited presentations on wellness and survival for child abuse and family violence
professionals.

Carrie Rogers-Whitehead
Carrie Rogers-Whitehead is the founder of Digital Respons-Ability, the state sponsored provider of digital
citizenship education. Her company provides trainings to thousands of students, parents and educators
across the state of Utah and beyond. Carrie is also the author of Digital Citizenship: Teaching Strategies and
Practice from the Field, just released by Rowman & Littlefield and is also the author of the upcoming
Routledge title in early 2021: Becoming a Digital Parent. She regularly writes and researches on technology
and has been a regular tech contributor to KSL News Media, ISTE and other outlets. Carrie is also a mother
and practices what she preaches at home with her child.

Christina Sally
Dr. Christina Sally has been the investigator for the Summit County Attorney’s Office for 10+ years. She came
to Summit County after retiring as a sergeant from the San Leandro Police Department in the Oakland Bay
Area of CA. Christina has a BS in Criminal Justice, an MS in Forensic Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Psychology
with a specialization in Forensic Psychology. Her dissertation research focused on issues related to child
sexual abuse. In addition to her investigative experience, Christina is a forensic artist, a forensic interviewer,
and a presenter at national conferences related to child abuse investigations. Christina has received several
awards for her work in child protection.

In 2012, Christina opened the Summit County Children’s Justice Center. The Summit County Children’s
Justice Center is a child-friendly environment where child abuse victims and secondary trauma victims are
interviewed and coordinated multidisciplinary services provided. The Summit County Children’s Justice
Center is a vital and necessary part of services provided in Park City and Summit County and minimizes
further trauma to our most vulnerable victims. Additionally, in 2012, Christina developed and implemented
Camp Safety, a safety program for children entering kindergarten or 1st grade. Camp Safety is an interactive
week-long program and is unique to the community, state, and nation. Dr. Sally recently published a
children’s book about children learning how to keep their bodies safe.

Heather Stewart
Heather Stewart is the Forensic and MDT Services Specialist with the Utah Children’s Justice Center
Program, Attorney General’s Office since 2018. She is responsible for development and management of the
nationally accredited statewide forensic interview curriculum and training program. She mentors and
provides peer review for forensic interview specialists. Heather assists MDTs to promote best practices in
victim services. She provides consultation and expert witness services to prosecutors in Utah.

Heather previously managed all daily operations and staff at the Salt Lake County Children’s Justice Center
for more than 20 years. She received her Master’s degree in counseling psychology in 1994. She has
partnered with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development on child forensic interview
research since 1997. She has co-authored several articles, book chapters and a report to the U.S. Department
of Justice. She has provided hundreds of local, national and international training sessions on child abuse
related topics to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, social workers, medical
providers, school counselors and psychologists. Heather has peer reviewed 15,000 child forensic interviews.

Brian L Thorn
Brian L. Thorn, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of experience working with children
and adults impacted by child abuse and trauma in a wide range of settings. He is an Associate Clinical
Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine where he is the clinical director for the
pediatric trauma care process model project in collaboration with Intermountain Healthcare with funding
from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. His doctoral degree is in Counseling
Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah. Since
2002 he has been providing clinical, forensic, and psychological assessment services to children and families
at Primary Children’s Center for Safe and Healthy Families where he has also actively engaged in the training
and supervision of psychology interns, graduate students, and psychiatry residents from the University of
Utah. He has received advanced training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Alternatives for Families
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). He is a
nationally approved TF-CBT trainer providing training and consultation support to mental health therapists
seeking TF-CBT certification. In addition to his work at Primary Children’s Hospital, he has previously been
active in the governance of the Utah Psychological Association where he has served two terms on the board
of directors.

Laurieann Thorpe
Laurieann Thorpe is the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Utah where they help children to
recognize, resist, and report abuse and work with adults to strengthen families and family protective factors.
Laurieann was recently appointed by the Governor to serve on the State Board of Education where she
oversees public education.

Prior to her work at Prevent Child Abuse Utah, Laurieann worked for the State Board of Education in Special
Education Dispute Resolution and she before that, she oversaw education for Youth in State Care.

Craig Walters
Craig Walters is the Department of Human Service’s Director of Stabilization and Mobile Response, a
children’s mobile crisis and early intervention program dedicated to children and youth experiencing mental,
behavioral, and developmental challenges. Craig has a tenure of over 11 years with the Department of
Human Services, serving as Director of Quality and Process Improvement and Assistant Director of the
Bureau of Contract Management where he worked directly with the Department’s divisions, offices, and
institutions to maximize operational excellence for front-line employees, the individuals we serve, and
taxpayer dollars. During his tenure with the Department, Craig has completed the Certified Public Manager
Program and earned a Master of Business Administration.

Michael Young
Michael Young is a trial lawyer at Parsons Behle & Latimer with significant experience in administrative,
commercial, and personal injury matters.

Mr. Young began practicing as an attorney in the Special Department for War Crimes in the Prosecutor’s
Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During his time in Bosnia, he worked as part of the legal team that over
several months of trial successfully prosecuted Marko Radic and others for crimes against humanity. His
work on the Radic trial team was particularly focused on crimes of rape and sexual assault. As the

centerpiece of his practice, Mr. Young continues to represent victims of sexual assault in civil litigation
against individuals, governmental entities, and private institutions.

In addition to his sexual assault and abuse practice, Mr. Young also litigates mass tort, Qui Tam
(whistleblower), and personal injury matters and has significant experience in numerous jurisdictions across
the country. His experience in these areas of practice includes litigating product liability, medical
malpractice, fraud, and trucking collision cases.

Finally, Mr. Young also possesses significant general commercial litigation experience in construction defect
and intellectual property matters. As a general litigator, he is consistently rated by his peers as among the
best attorneys in the region.