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Contact Us > NRC-CWDT Staff and Consultants
NRC-CWDT Staff and Consultants
Below is our staff listing with contact information and bios. The NRC-CWDT is a partnership led by Child Welfare League of America (CWLA). For more information on either of these entities, please visit the corresponding website.
Lynda Arnold, MSW, Director
larnold@cwla.org
Julie Ohm Chang, MS, Senior Child Welfare Data Specialist
johm@cwla.org
Ronna Cook, MSW, Consultant
ronnacook@comcast.net
Penelope (Penny) L. Maza, Ph.D., Consultant
pennymaza@gmail.com
Debbie Milner, MSW, Project Manager
dmilner@cwla.org
Cheryl Montoya, Consultant
montoya.cheryl@gmail.com
Joe Murray, Consultant
murrayj@cox.net
Tom Pomonis, Consultant
tpomonis@bis.midco.net
Donald G. Thompson, Senior Information and Technology Specialist
D_gene_thompson@yahoo.com
Lynda Arnold, MSW, Director
Lynda Arnold currently serves as Director of the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology (NRC-CWDT). Prior to her current position, Lynda retired from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services after 29 years, the last six of which she served as the Child Welfare Director. During that time Oklahoma became the first state to implement a federally compliant Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS). Since then, Lynda served as the co-director of the National Resource Center for Information Technology in Child Welfare from 1999 until 2003, where she worked nationally on child welfare data issues and outcomes-based management. Most recently she was an Associate Director of the National Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRC-OI) working on leadership, systemic change, change management and workforce issues. Lynda's household includes Arnie, a 70-pound "doodle" who is a live teddy bear and "the boss", Niki, a black miniature schnauzer.
Julie Ohm Chang, MS, Senior Child Welfare Data Specialist
Julie Chang joined the resource center in October of 2003. She is responsible for providing technical assistance to states and tribes on the analysis of child welfare data. Her experience includes database administration and software/website development, most recently with CWLA’s National Data Analysis System. She received her master’s degree in Child and Family Development from Virginia Tech. Julie has two preschool sons named Ryan and Alex who are looking forward to the day they get their first puppy.
Ronna Cook, MSW, Consultant
Ronna J. Cook is a program evaluation and survey research consultant with 30 years of experience in survey and evaluation research, social services delivery, and special education. Her primary interests are child welfare and education studies. Ms. Cook has designed and directed some of the most innovative and challenging national studies on services to children and their families conducted over the past 25 years. She spent many years at Westat, a leading national research contractor, most recently serving as Associate Director of Westat's Human Services study group. She is a nationally recognized expert in researching the transition of older youth from foster care. Before joining Westat, Ms. Cook served as a statewide director of children and family services programs for the Arizona Department of Economic Security in Phoenix and also worked as a special education teacher in Chicago public high schools. She earned Master's Degrees in Social Work (MSW) and Special Education with Emotionally Disturbed Children. Ronna has a 17 year old cat named Tiger.
Penelope (Penny) L. Maza, Ph.D., Consultant
Penny has been working in the child welfare field for over thirty years, primarily as a senior staff member and a manager in the federal government. She has also served as the Research Director of the Child Welfare League of America. Her career has involved a variety of activities related to a wide range of child welfare programs. Her work includes research, program evaluation and innovation, quality assurance, analyses of administrative and other data sources, and analyses of management systems of public and private child welfare agencies. Her over 50 publications in child welfare and other work have not only influenced the operation of State child welfare programs, but has also had an impact on and been incorporated into federal legislation. For the past ten years, she has been analyzing Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data to inform child welfare policy and practice. Integral to that work, she has worked closely with State program managers to identify critical issues to be explored and to interpret findings. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology.
Debbie Milner, MSW, Project Manager
Debbie Milner became a CWLA staff member in October of 2008, but has been working with the NRC-CWDT team since April 2001. She began her career in social work as a county caseworker. Most of her career was at the state office with varied roles in system development, state foster care recruitment, and constituent services. Her 25 year career with the Alabama Department of Human Resources culminated as the functional program director for the development of their SACWIS system, ASSIST. When you call Debbie for TA, be prepared to hear Oscar and Chico. Her two black and tan dachshunds are often heard on conference calls yelping to go outside and inside and outside again and inside again and outside.
Cheryl Montoya, Consultant
Cheryl Montoya joined the resource center in 2007 and has been employed with New Mexico State government for 20 years. The last 10 years she has been a management analyst with the FACTS (NM SACWIS) support unit. Cheryl has worked with her team on SACWIS, AFCARS, NCANDS compliance by writing requirements, being involved in design sessions and user acceptance testing and serves as the bridge between program and information technology as well as between field staff and management. She is currently earning a Masters of Information System Management from DeVry University. Cheryl's dog, Vinny (aka Vinny the Hood) loves to slide down the kids' slide when they are outside playing. He looks like he's surfing!
Joe Murray, Consultant
Joe Murray joined the NRC-CWDT as a consultant in November, 2006, following 28 years of service in public agencies within Oklahoma. He has experience in both juvenile justice and child welfare services, having worked in a variety of capacities in both the field and central offices. His various roles have included responsibilities for statewide program development and continuous quality improvement. Joe hopes to one day emulate the beatific nature of his dog. Those who know both Joe and Baxter the Boxer hope that Joe can one day develop realistic aspirations.
Tom Pomonis, Consultant
Tom Pomonis has more than 17 years of experience in Child Welfare. He has had the opportunity to work successfully in many aspects of the child welfare system. As a long time state employee he was involved in writing policy, computer system development and implementation (SACWIS/AFCARS/NCANDS), research, and the Federal review processes (CFSR, and IV-E). Tom earned a Master’s Degree in Regulatory Economics (1989), is married, and has two sons, a dog, and a mini-van.
D. Gene Thompson, Information and Technology Specialist
Gene Thompson joined NRC-CWDT in March 2003, after more than 28 years of public service with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. He assisted with the development and implementation of the Oklahoma KID’s Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, as well as a prior automated system supporting child abuse and neglect services. Gene started his career with the Department of Human Services as a social worker for the developmentally disabled. Prior to his work with Oklahoma’s Division of Children and Family Services, he worked for seven years with the Data Services Division, as a DP Manager with responsibility for providing end user training and support to all DHS staff. He has a Bachelor of Education from East Central Oklahoma State College and a Master of Education from East Central Oklahoma State University. After retiring from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, he spent three years working with the State of Arkansas, Division of Children and Family Services, as a Business Analyst for SACWIS requirements and AFCARS/NCANDS data quality issues. The most recent addition to Gene’s four-legged family members was named Rambo by his wife, but his foster kids mispronounce it Rainbow, which really fits him better since he is pretty much of a coward even though he weighs about 85 lbs.
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