Art Dykstra, CEO of Trinity Foundation and the Cherry Hill Consulting Group, is a well-known author and speaker whose major interests are leadership development, organizational culture, and working to support people with disabilities. He has more than 50 years of experience in leadership and the support of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and/or mental health issues.

After receiving a BA from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, and an MA in clinical psychology from Bradley University in Peoria, IL, Art began his career working with the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. While there, he served as a Facility Director for two state-operated developmental centers and as the Chicago Regional Administrator for Developmental Disabilities for seven years. He also worked as a Policy and Program Advisor to the Director of the Department. After a distinguished 20-year career with the state, he became the President and CEO of Trinity Services in 1987.

When the Trinity Services Board of Directors hired Art, Trinity was operating two programs, a school, and a developmental training center. It had a budget near $500,000 and employed 33 staff, who served children and adults.  Since that time, Trinity expanded a wide range of services and supports throughout the state of Illinois, including to people diagnosed with a mental illness. It employs approximately 1,000 people, operates several support businesses, and provides residential supports to more than 600 persons.

In addition, Art has taught classes at the undergraduate and graduate level in psychology, public administration, and executive leadership at several state and public universities. He is also a frequent speaker at local, state, and national conferences, sharing ideas on such topics as leadership, organizational culture, strategic planning, and systems thinking.

Art has authored numerous journal articles, publications, and thought pieces, as well as four books. Outcome Management provides insights and person-centered applications for leading disability-based organizations, Creating a Positive Organizational Culture offers tips for developing a more positive working environment in the human service organization, and Gossip: You Won’t Believe This addresses the destructive impact of gossip within organizations. Co-authored with Tim Williams and Elaine Porterfield, Gossip was published in the summer of 2015. His latest book, A New Plan, uses insights from positive psychology to reinvigorate person-centered planning for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

Art’s other contributions to the field include his past service as President of the Board for The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL). He was also president of the Illinois Chapter of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), the Illinois Council of Executive Directors of the ARC, and the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF). He currently serves on numerous other board and advisory councils and is a fellow of the national American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Art has been recognized for his leadership and dedicated work with and for people with disabilities.

He has been recognized with:

• The Lifetime Achievement Award from Lewis University.
• The Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Bradley University.
• The Distinguished Friend to the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Award, presented in November 2007 by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
• The Autism Ally Public Policy Award by the Autism Program of Illinois through the ARC of Illinois in 2012.

Art and his wife, Anita, reside in New Lenox, IL.  In his spare time, he and Anita enjoy fishing, gardening and bike riding.

Thane Dykstra, President and CEO of Trinity Services, began his career at Trinity in 1995 when he became a clinical director of Trinity’s Behavioral Health Network. From 1995-to 2016, he oversaw a significant enhancement of the network through its group homes and apartments, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, the Trinity Autism and Family Resource Center, the Trinity Counseling Center, and the Illinois Crisis Prevention Network. From 2016-to 2017, he served as Trinity’s Chief Operating Officer, supervising Trinity’s specialized residential services and its assistive technology program.

Thane is a past president of the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis. He has written for numerous professional publications related to his field of study, and has presented extensively at national conferences and invited trainings. In addition, he and Art Dykstra have co-authored A New Plan, a book applying insights from positive psychology to the practice of person-centered planning for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

His current professional interests include contextual-behavioral therapies, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He is especially focused on applying these models in work with persons who exhibit challenging behavior.

Thane holds a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. He also completed a pre-doctoral internship at Brown University in Providence, RI. While at Brown, he served as an assistant project coordinator at the university’s Center for Alcohol and Addictions Studies.

Thane has been involved in numerous Illinois state agencies. He served on steering committees and workgroups for the Department of Human Services (DHS)–both the Division of Mental Health and the Division of Developmental Disabilities–and the Department of Children and Family Services. and appointed by the Governor to the state’s Quality Care Board, an advisory committee for the DHS Office of the Inspector General.

Thane lives in Chicago’s south suburbs. He enjoys spending time with his family, camping, hiking, geocaching, fishing, and disc golf. As a committed runner, he has also completed several marathons.

Eric J. Frank works at a large state agency that serves people with developmental disabilities. He facilitates a risk management program and provides training to psychologists in the areas of forensic risk management, risk assessment and treatment.  

He received his B.A. in Psychology at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, in 1990 and his Psy.D. from Adler University in Chicago, IL, 1996.

James Lewis, a Professor of Pediatrics at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, is board certified in both pediatrics and the sub-specialty of neurodevelopment disabilities. He received his pre-clinical training at Houghton College and the State University of New York School of Medicine at Buffalo. After two years of residency in Family Medicine at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, James completed a three-year pediatric residency at the same institution. During his final year, he served as Co-Chief Resident with educational and clinical responsibilities that included supervising the ER, hospital wards, and PICU. His background in family medicine stimulated his interest in children with special health care needs both physical and emotional, which led him to complete a one-year fellowship in Ambulatory and Community Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

After two years back in Baltimore, he and his family moved to Huntington, WV, in 1983 to join the Department of Pediatrics at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University. He practiced both general and behavioral pediatrics and cared for hospitalized newborns, children and adolescents. In 2002, he developed the School Solutions Center at the University, devoting his practice exclusively to children with school and behavioral problems. He continues to see new patients, who have been referred for evaluation and follow-up care on a daily basis; teach medical students, and train pediatric residents. Throughout the process, he successfully employs a parent-centered multidisciplinary team following the medical home model.

James lectures regularly on ADHD and coexisting conditions to parents and professionals. He has presented his research interests in ADHD and its association with autism, anxiety, parental stress, learning disabilities, and adverse childhood experiences at national and state meetings of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Pediatric Academic Society, the Learning Disability Association of America, the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and CHADD. He has published more than 25 scholarly journal articles, book chapters, and scientific abstracts.

He is currently the Chairman of the West Virginia AAP Committee for Children with Special Health Care Needs and Foster Care. He was also awarded West Virginia’s first five-year, Healthy Tomorrows grant from 2007 to 2012 to coordinate medical care, with a focus on ADHD, for homeless children. James also received the inaugural Abraham Finkelstein Resident Teaching Award and two Special Recognition Awards from the AAP.

James and his wife, Libby, have six grown children including twins, all with careers in medicine or teaching. Two of the boys have ADHD with associated educational and behavioral issues. They are particularly proud of their three grandchildren and are happy to provide pictures on request.

Michael Mecozzi is a licensed clinical psychologist, author and speaker. In addition, he and his wife, Dr. Aimee Echevarria, own Hope with ME, a private psychology practice that specializes in supporting adults with anxiety and couples. Mike works as a psychologist at the Trinity Services Family Counseling Center, an outpatient mental health center that supports children, teens, adults, and families. It is his mission to help people live the life they are created to live.

Mike was previously the Director of Trinity Services’ Behavioral Health Department. During his tenure, the Behavioral Health Department secured grants to deliver homeless support services, obtained a grant to deliver mobile crisis services with local police departments, built two new apartment buildings that supported persons with mental illness, collocated therapists in local junior and senior high schools, and continued to provide residential supports to more than 100 persons with a mental illness and intellectual disabilities.

In 2008, Mike graduated from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology with his Psy.D. in clinical psychology. His path to becoming a psychologist was anything but direct. While his initial ambition was to practice as an attorney, he experienced significant anxiety, panic, and intrusive thoughts during his first year of law school. Through this painful experience, he discovered that his true passion was to support people, who are experiencing emotional and physical pain, a realization that led him to pursue his doctorate in clinical psychology.

In 2013, High Tide Press published Mike’s first book, The Other Side of Pain: Discovering Meaning When Life Hurts. In the book, he highlights how our most painful moments can illuminate what matters most to us.

In 2023, High Tide Press published Mike’s second book, The Tortoise and The Hare Retold: Learning to Run and Win the Races That Matter, which is a contemporary reimagining of Aesop’s classic fable. In this version, the story is not just about speed, but also about understanding and winning the significant races in life. Hare, realizing there’s more to success than just being fast, seeks guidance from Tortoise. Tortoise becomes a mentor, sharing insights on avoiding meaningless, destructive races and focusing on what leads to well-being and true fulfillment, ultimately leading to a redefinition of what winning truly means.

Mike enjoys reading, speaking, traveling, and spending time with his lovely wife Aimee and their two children, Michael and Alivia.

Jim Mullins is a well-respected, retired organizational consultant and executive coach. A former President and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois Prairieland, he has also served as Associate Director of Operations, Development and Public Relations at Trinity Services, Inc.; a director of organizational development in a hospital; and a pastor.

Jim has been practicing meditation since 1981 and has taught mindfulness meditation for over eight years. He participated in a seven-day professional training program under the direction of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli as part of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Professional Education and Training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is particularly interested in the integration of mindfulness in the workplace.

Jim has taught courses in leadership since 1985 and served as a faculty member at a New Mexico Indian college, the Albuquerque Supervisory Institute, and the Graduate School of Business Management at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. In addition to holding positions on the board of directors of several nonprofits, he has been a popular speaker. He has worked with a variety of groups, from municipal governments to international corporations. And, he has spoken to civic clubs, retreats, and national conferences. He is also the author of Champs and Chumps, a book of inspirational quotations.

Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in history and languages from Mid-America Nazarene University, a master’s degree in pastoral care from the Nazarene Theological Seminary, a master’s degree in history from Truman State University, and a doctoral degree in history and communication from the School of Theology at Claremont. He was a Rotary Fellow in Residence in Jerusalem, Israel, and the Presidents Ministerial Fellow at Point Loma University in San Diego.

The Reverend Dr. Dale Turner (1917-2006) began his career as a minister in Michigan in 1943. He had first stepped inside a church at age 18. Since his parents were of different faith backgrounds, Catholic and Protestant, they had chosen not to attend church. Dale attended West Virginia Wesleyan, a Methodist College, because of its athletic program. He intended to become a high school football coach, but he was offered two graduate school scholarships, one for physical education at Columbia University and one for the ministry at Yale Divinity School. The ministry won out, and his decision would affect the lives of thousands over the next six decades.

Dale spent ten years in Lawrence, KS, teaching at the University of Kansas and preaching at the Plymouth Congregational Church. He moved to Seattle in 1958 to lead the University Congregational Church. As a minister and activist, he spoke out against the war in Vietnam during the 1960s, vocally supported the rights of gays and lesbians, and was instrumental in forming the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He retired in 1982, then wrote a weekly column for the Religion page of the Seattle Times until autumn of 2004. His final book, Imperfect Alternatives: Spiritual Insights for Confronting the Controversial and the Personal, was published in 2005.

Dale passed away on June 5, 2006. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Leone, as well as three sons, three daughters-in-law, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. One of his sons preceded him in death. To learn more, visit reverenddaleturner.org.

With over three decades of experience providing support to people with disabilities and organizations serving at-risk populations, Amy’s areas of expertise focus on enriching individual outcomes and enhancing service delivery systems. This often includes project management, leadership development, strategic planning, incident reporting and prevention, independent monitoring, and other quality enhancement efforts. She is well-networked with providers across the U.S. through these and other consulting endeavors.

Amy began her career as a behavior specialist in a community residential setting for people with autism and has held a variety of positions within organizations—including direct support, case management, program evaluation, staff development, and executive leadership. Much of her work has been dedicated to the prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable people, and, specifically, the importance of human rights committees.

As President of Organizational Dimensions, Amy travels extensively partnering with provider agencies to enhance service effectiveness within these organizations. She regularly presents at local, state, and national conferences where she shares her knowledge, experiences, and perspectives on a variety of topics.

Amy holds two degrees in sociology, completing undergraduate work at North Central College and graduate work at Northern Illinois University. She is an accomplished writer who continues to create new resources to assist organizations in their efforts in providing high-quality, effective services to vulnerable populations. To help establish best practices in preventing mistreatment of people with disabilities, she has co-authored three books, co-authored a ground-breaking curriculum on abuse, neglect, and exploitation prevention for a national credentialing entity, and regularly facilitates teaching/learning events.

She is currently working on a new book, All Aboard, a guide to developing meaningful learning experiences in organizations serving vulnerable people to be published in 2022.

Amy lives in her home state of Alabama in Fairhope on Mobile Bay near the Gulf Coast with her husband, Jim. They have three grown children and one grandchild.

Dr. Carl Tyler is a physician, medical educator and researcher.  He is Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and is Director of Geriatric Education and Research at Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency. 

His clinical work and research have primarily centered on improving the health and health care of individuals with developmental disabilities, particularly in adulthood and later life.  To that end, he has been involved in health system-level interventions, community-based collaborations, and interprofessional education around developmental disabilities, including the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry’s National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine. 

Carl established and continues to direct the Developmental Disabilities – Practice-Based Research Network, a community-based multi-stakeholder collaboration of self-advocates, advocates, family members, health professionals, researchers, and government agents who support and conduct research to improve the quality of health care provided to individuals with developmental disabilities. 

Dr. Tyler is a graduate of Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine.

Steve Baker is a consultant on issues of abuse and neglect, who provides guidance to organizations supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Up until his retirement in 2012, he was a leader for more than 20 years at Trinity Services, Inc., serving as chairperson of the human rights committee, and director of both High Tide Press and Cherry Hill Bookstore.

As a young man, Steve became involved in the human services field with a part-time college job. Since then he has worked in and managed many aspects of public and nonprofit service. For more than 30 years, he has continually worked to provide better lives for persons who have a disability or other major life challenges.

Steve has written articles dealing with work in the field of disabilities, and co-authored Scanning the Horizon with Amy Tabor, a book offering strategies for preventing abuse and neglect in human service organizations. He and Amy also wrote Human Rights Committees. A collaboration with Dr. Carl Tyler of the Cleveland Clinic produced Intellectual Disabilities at Your Fingertips, a handbook for medical professionals.

Steve enjoys bicycling, canoeing, camping, and just about anything else outdoors. He and his wife Jackie live in New Lenox, IL, with their two very spoiled dogs.

Linda Cofield-Van Dyke is a therapist, program leader, consultant and teacher, who specializes in life cycle issues, such as spirituality, grief and death, and sexuality. She has been serving persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities for more than 50 years.

Linda’s love and concern for the welfare of people with disabilities led her to found Luvability Ministries in 1997. This unique nonprofit in Niles, MI, offers a variety of programs based in the arts to nurture participants on their journey of faith. Currently, Luvability’s staff serve more than 600 people a month in a two-state, out-of-building outreach to a number of different communities.

Her experience and ability to communicate with a broad spectrum of people with disabilities made Linda a respected speaker at conferences and disability organizations across the United States for years. Many who work in the field endeavor to incorporate her compassionate, person-centered methods.

At present, Linda is semi-retired and works as a consultant to Luvability’s new director, and provides guidance to the director of social media and digital communication. In addition, she offers personal or agency consulting via zoom for those experiencing problems with persons with severe behavioral issues.

Linda began counseling in the area of death and dying while developing a life-cycle curriculum to help persons with disabilities understand problematic issues. Out of this experience came the book Lessons in Grief and Death: Supporting Adults with Developmental Disabilities in the Healing Process. She has also authored a curriculum called Creating a Meaningful Day: An Innovative Curriculum for Adults with Significant Intellectual Disabilities. She also plans to write a booklet for grandparents of children with disabilities, a text that offers methods of effective communication with people who are nonverbal, and guide for worship and expressive methods for people with disabilities.

Linda has won many community and national awards recognizing her life’s work. Among them is the Shining Light in the Community award given by the major agency associated with the Protective Services Department in South Bend, IN. It honors recipients who have a history of supporting persons with disabilities in the area of abuse and neglect, isolative behaviors and loss, it is bereavement of loss of other supports. Luvability Ministries carries out this message daily.

Linda earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management and a master’s degree in ministry from Bethel College in Mishawaka, IN.

She is the mother of three sons, including one who has an intellectual disability, and grandmother to a grandson and two granddaughters.

Nathan Ory has 45 years of clinical experience working in interdisciplinary settings for children and adults with developmental disabilities and emotional/behavior disorders. He has specialized in supporting individuals with fetal alcohol, autistic spectrum disorder, extremely challenging behavior, and/or diagnosis with a concurrent mental illness.

Nathan has recently retired as an international speaker, but continues to contribute articles to various websites and has short video training topics posted on YouTube. A second edition of his book dealing with behavioral issues, Working with People with Challenging Behavior: A Guide to Maintaining Positive Relationships was published by High Tide Press in 2007.

He has a Master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University (1968).

Nathan is married to Bonnie, a special education teacher. They have a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.

Vincent D. Pettinelli has over 40 years of senior management experience in the organization, administration and provision of services in both the public and private sectors to persons with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, mental illness, and geriatric dementia. He is an author, lecturer, and educator on the subjects of entrepreneurship and human services management, and developed a Master’s Degree Program for Human Services Managers for National Louis University and the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX, and in the National Lewis University, Chicago, IL. He also has management training from the University of Alabama Business School.

Vincent began his career in government administration, serving as Director of Education for the Mental Health Association of Houston/Harris County, TX; Director of Regional Services for the South Carolina Department of Mental Retardation; Commissioner for Mental Retardation for the Pennsylvania State Department of Public Welfare; and Director of the State of Ohio Joint Mental Health and Mental Retardation Advisory Review Commission.

In 1979, he founded PeopleServe, Inc. as one of the first of its kind for-profit company created to serve persons with severely handicapping conditions. Since its founding, PeopleServe had grown to a $350 million company, serving over 7000 individuals in 12 states and the District of Columbia. PeopleServe was acquired by ResCare, Inc. in June of 1999. Vince served as a member of the ResCare Board from 1999 to 2004.

He has authored articles and presented conference papers for distinguished groups, such as the American Association on Mental Retardation, the American Psychotherapy Association, the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. He has written two books: Human Services Management That Works, published by IDS Publishing Corporation, 1990, and his latest, a revised and updated edition of the first entitled Getting IT Done Right: Pragmatic Wisdom for Human Service Managers, High Tide Press, November 2018.

Vincent holds Diplomates in The American Psychotherapy Association, The American Association on Mental Retardation, The American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, and the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy. Vince won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1990.

Vincent received his BA degree from the University of St. Thomas (Houston, TX), and his MSW from Tulane University (New Orleans, LA). In addition, he completed postgraduate study at the University of Alabama and the University of Wisconsin.

As an educator, Vincent has served on the adjunct faculty of the Ohio State University School of Social Work, the University of South Carolina Department of Social Work, and the Temple University School of Social Work. Vincent also served as an Executive in Residence at Franklin University in Columbus, OH. Vince is a current member of the President’s Advisory Committee at The University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX.

Vincent served on the Board of Trustees of Kent State University and as a member of the Advisory Council of the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University. In 1995, he was appointed by the governor to serve a term on the Ohio State Board of Education. Vincent initiated the development of a Human Services Management curriculum for the University of St. Thomas in Houston Texas. In 2010, Vince was selected as a contributor to the book, How They Did It by Robert Jordan. This book details the accomplishments of successful entrepreneurs in the Midwest. 

He and his wife Judy are residents of Naples, FL, and maintain homes in Dublin, OH, and Chicago.

Tom Pomeranz is a nationally recognized authority, trainer, clinician and consultant in the field of services for people with disabilities. Over the last 40 years, he has conducted thousands of seminars and programs throughout the United States and Canada. He was the keynote speaker at the Fifth International Conference on Developmental Disabilities and Aging in Cyprus. His audiences praise his ability to combine information, humor, passion and storytelling into an informative whole that does not just present the information, but really communicates it in a memorable fashion.

Tom is the creator of Universal Enhancement, that teaches strategies promoting community participation and support people as they develop a quality life. Also noted for his innovative approach to leadership and management training, Tom has authored numerous articles in various professional publications and a staff training DVD series in addition to his High Tide Press book.

Tom has held are a variety of top-level administrative posts in community-based service organizations and three large state-operated facilities. Tom is a policy fellow and visiting lecturer for Minot State University’s North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities, a University Center of Excellence.

Tom received his bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees in special education and a doctorate degree in mental health administration from Indiana University. He followed up with postgraduate work at the University of Notre Dame in the area of experimental psychology.

He is the president and CEO of Universal LifeStiles with offices in Indianapolis, IN.

Timothy Williams, an arbitrator, educator, and speaker, is a practicing dispute resolver with 40+ years of experience as a mediator, facilitator, fact-finder, and arbitrator. During that time, he has worked to resolve more than 2,500 labor disputes, including discipline cases involving gossip. He has provided services in both public and private organizations designing and implementing dispute prevention/resolution systems.

He has taught courses in conflict management, organizational communications, negotiations, and interpersonal communications at Hamline University, the University of Minnesota, Southern Oregon University, and Portland State University. At Portland State, he has taught courses in human resource management, labor relations, labor negotiations, and contract administration for the Division of Public Administration, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government.

Tim is an experienced keynote speaker and seminarist. He has presented more than 2,000 one- and two-day training programs on such topics as leadership, employee discipline, supervision, labor relations, performance management and other HR topics. His interest in writing about gossip evolved out of his experience resolving disputes that originated with gossip and his background studying the importance of communication in organizations.

Tim received his B.A. from Bethel College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the Labor Education Research Association (LERA) and the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA).

His primary residence is in Tumwater, WA, and he is blessed with a large, active family and numerous friends, who keep him busy with golf, walking, skiing, travel, and other similar pursuits.