
Kelly Powell has been serving as the Safe Kids Coordinator and Program Director in Palm Beach County, Florida for the past 13 years, but has been in the field of injury prevention for over 18 years in Florida. Additionally, Kelly has been a National Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor for 17 years and has trained many of the technicians throughout the State of Florida, the United States and globally. Kelly is currently working with the University of Virginia as a Subject Matter Expert for Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention with the national Tribal Technical Assistance Program. Kelly supported the development of a child passenger safety and injury prevention program in the country of Qatar. Kelly is a member of the Florida Injury Prevention Advisory Council’s Public Information, Education and Relations Committee and has been instrumental in developing a statewide child passenger safety program for transportation on ambulances. She is a member of the Florida Safe Kids Advisory Board, Florida Occupant Protection Coalition and is an appointed member of the Florida Child Fatality Review Team. Kelly has served on the Florida Booster Seat Coalition and has been instrumental in passing the current booster seat law in Florida.
Matt Tyler is a Violence Prevention Educator with Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. Originally from Upstate NY, he moved to south Florida in 2004. Matt received his Bachelor degree in Social Sciences from Florida Atlantic University. He spent four years in behavioral health and professional medical training. Matt has over six years’ experience of professional instruction and classroom presentation. He has spent the last three years facilitating and developing professional and community trainings on the dynamics of domestic violence and healthy relationships with a focus on primary and secondary prevention with youth. Matt works specifically under a federal grant around engaging men and boys to prevent violence against woman and children.
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Kathryn A. Wall
After over 20 years working with nonprofit and public health with HIV, Kathy was recruited in 2008 to begin the work of the BRIDGES initiative. Today working with Community Partners Inc., she is the Public Education – System of Care Director for the initiative that has expanded from that one original pilot site in 2008 to ten sites across Palm Beach County. Kathy works to create, foster and enhance strategic partnerships with agencies, businesses and residents that have similar investments in having children grow up healthy, safe and strong. On a daily basis she is meeting and working with BRIDGES sites, partners and community residents to create that ideal system in Palm Beach County to have healthy babies, children ready for Kindergarten and free from abuse and neglect, on grade level by the time they reach 3rd grade and have access to early childcare and afterschool programming. Kathy is the proud mother of two boys, 21 and 17. She has her Bachelors of Science from Florida Atlantic University. Her philosophy is that parents are their children’s first teachers. She believes our work is to give parents and communities the tools, model and support opportunities to master that job. Clay Walker is a native Floridian with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology from Florida State University.
Clay served as a police officer in Florida for 34 years, the last twelve as the Chief of Police for the Town of Manalapan, Florida. He has worked in all facets of law enforcement and has received numerous hours of specialized training. He is a sustaining member of the Florida Police Chief’s Association and has served on numerous local and state boards and committees for public safety interests. As chairperson for the Palm Beach County Law Enforcement Planning Council in 2003, Chief Walker chaired the committee that designed and implemented the Child Abuse Investigations Protocol between local law enforcement and the Florida Department of Children and Families. Again, in 2009 he also led the local collaborative to design and implement the Vulnerable Adult Investigations Protocol. Both are models for mutual cooperation between local law enforcement and the Department of Children and Families in investigating the abuse of children and those adults with special needs. Because of this partnership, Clay came out of retirement in August 2012 to serve as the Community Development Administrator for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Circuit 15 (Palm Beach County). Clay Walker has served as a volunteer and is a former board member for the Deaf Service Center of Palm Beach County for 30 years and the Florida Legal System Accessibility Task Force to design and present a curriculum to ensure persons with hearing loss have access to the legal system. For the last 5 ½ years, Clay has served as the Circuit 15 Community Development Administrator for the Florida Department of Children and Families and serves on numerous boards and committees in Palm Beach County to address the needs of families. |
Rebecca Wagner, has a passion for helping kids in need! She was first introduced to the adoption community at the age of 17, after choosing an open adoption for her daughter. Several years (and 24 foster children) later she has come full circle in her adoption journey by adopting 2 brothers from the foster care system.
Rebecca is an advocate for the foster children of Palm Beach County while raising awareness by speaking at women’s groups and churches. She and her husband now have 5 children and live in Boynton Beach, Florida. She currently serves on the board of Friends of Foster Children Palm Beach. |
Marsha Guthrie, is a Community Planning & Partnerships Officer with the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County (CSC).
Marsha is on countless committees and has been essential in many advances in child welfare including Birth to 22, Palm Beach County Unites, the Domestic Violence Council and many more. |