2022 NARME Plenary Speakers

Seth Chamberlain is a Division Director in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF’s) Office of Family Assistance (OFA), with oversight of the Healthy Marriage (HM), Responsible Fatherhood (RF), and Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) programs. Prior to work in OFA, he was a Senior Social Science Research Analyst in ACF’s Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE). He has spent over fifteen years working on federal HM and RF programs and evaluations, as well as evaluations of federal sexual risk avoidance education and teen pregnancy prevention programs. Prior to joining ACF, Mr. Chamberlain taught middle school Spanish in Chicago, interned at a program for men convicted of domestic battery, and interned as a clinical social worker at the University of Chicago Hospital. Mr. Chamberlain holds a B.A. from Goshen College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. 

Clarence H. Carter was appointed to serve as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services in January 2021. Mr. Carter leads the state’s second largest agency. The Department is responsible for administering programs and services to support the overall well-being of individuals and families through employment assistance, vocational training, protective services and programs to meet essential needs.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Carter served on the federal level as Director of the Office of Family Assistance and Acting Director of the Office of Community Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While there, Mr. Carter led the administration of seven federal programs including the $16.5 billion Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

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Dennis Stoica is one of the most versatile leaders in the Relationship and Marriage Education (RME) field, having been trained in 15 different RME programs,  founded or co-founded four organizations (Orange County Marriage Resource Center, Healthy Relationships California, NARME and the Community Marriage Initiatives Fund), and played each of the following roles multiple times:  RME Program Facilitator, Trainer of Trainers, Federal HMI Grant Project Director, Division Manager, President, Board Member, and Philanthropist.  His current area of interest is Community Marriage Initiatives as a vehicle to drive down county-wide divorce rates.  He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and stepped away from the corporate world in 2002 to pursue his passion of changing the world through empowering healthy relationships.

Joneen is the president / founder of the Center for Relationship Education which houses the Healthy Marriage Project in Denver, Colorado. She is also the lead author of the nationally-used REAL Essentials curriculum. Joneen is also a popular national speaker and trainer. 

William Wubbenhorst, MBA, is the Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). He has worked in state government and consulted for the federal government on youth issues. Over the years, Mr. Wubbenhorst has collaborated with professors from several prestigious universities, most recently co-authoring a national study published through Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion entitled Assessing the Faith-Based Response to Homelessness in America: Findings from Eleven Cities.

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Wubbenhorst co-authored Demonstrating the Value of Social Service Programs: A Simplified Approach to Calculating Return on Investment – a peer-reviewed article published in the Foundation Journal. In total, he has co-authored over 20 journal articles and evaluation case studies on subjects ranging from prisoner re-entry, faith and health initiatives, sexual risk avoidance program, high-risk youth mentoring and marriage and family strengthening.

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Mr. Wubbenhorst attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, receiving a B.A. in intercultural studies. He earned an MBA with a concentration in public and non-profit management from Boston University. Wubbenhorst has been married for over 31 years to Alfreda Alvarez, and they have two adult children.

Pastor Corey B. Brooks, founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D. Communities Development Corporation has become a leading voice and presence in the fight against the violence gripping Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.

He established New Beginnings Church of Chicago in November 2000 in the heart of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhood - this opportunity was his first glimpse into the despair in the city of Chicago served as the catalyst to his ongoing efforts to date.

Pastor Brook’s efforts received national acclaim when he spent 94 days living on the roof of a rundown motel located across the street from the church. It had become a center of drugs, prostitution, and violence. Within three months he raised enough money to buy the building and tear it down. The land is now earmarked to be the location of a 23-million-dollar state-of-the-art community center. The goal of the proposed community center is to offset violence, provide the support necessary to make the neighborhood a safer place, and give children the tools to reach for a brighter future.

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Pastor Brooks and his wife Delilah have fully invested in the community of Woodlawn on Chicago’s South Side. He and his wife are spearheading a community initiative called Project H.O.O.D. to revitalize the neighborhood. Through it, they are raising up a new generation of peacemakers, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs.

Current Project H.O.O.D. programming includes a Core and Carpentry Level I course, which places participants in entry-level construction jobs post-program, an entrepreneurship course, and separate business workshops for aspiring and new business owners, a co-working office space for business owners, job placement programs, and community-wide events including The World’s Largest Baby Shower.

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Pastor Brooks attended Ball State University, University of Florida, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace Theological Seminary. He has been pastoring since 1990.

As president of AIFF, Lynn A. Johnson drives the mission, fundraising, operations, and
engagement with the board of directors and volunteers. Her focus for AIFF is to bring the
nonprofit to a national initiative that empowers communities, nonprofit agencies, faith-based
organizations, government, and businesses to combat the crisis of children aging out of the foster
care system, adoption, poverty, and human trafficking. Her determination, passion, and strong
belief in the dignity of all people are paired with her deep faith in Jesus Christ to bring value and
dignity to all people no matter their challenges.
Exuding to her solid and compassionate leadership style, Lynn has held many positions in the
child welfare system and, most recently, served as the assistant secretary for the Administration
for Children and Families in the US Department of Health and Human Services in a Senate-
confirmed appointment. She led an agency with a $60 billion budget and over sixty programs
designed to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children, individuals, and families.
Under this appointment, she created the ALL IN for Foster Care and Adoption Challenge — a
national call for partners in every state, including governors, agencies, courts, churches,
community organizations, foster alumni, and the public, to commit to being ALL IN for finding
“forever families” for the 122,000 children per year awaiting homes. These children are at
imminent risk of ending up in other systems like juvenile justice, homelessness, or human
trafficking. Lynn believes that these are “America’s children.” With a combined strategy of
primary prevention on the front-end, when families need intervention and wrapping around
those who step up to adopt youth waiting for homes, the 122,000 children would be rapidly
reduced. Lynn knows we all have a role to play and is making connections for success for
vulnerable families and children.
As the executive director of Jefferson County, Colorado, Department of Human Services, she
provided dignity and respect for our most vulnerable community members to end poverty,
eliminate abuse and neglect, and stop the trafficking of children. Lynn served as chief of staff
for former Colorado Lieutenant Governor Jane E. Norton. She was also deputy director for
policy and human services policy advisor for former Colorado Governor Bill Owens. With her
expertise in child welfare, welfare reform, and criminal justice, she has been appointed to
numerous committees and won multiple awards for excellence in human services
transformations and customer service.
Lynn has been married for thirty-seven years and has three adult children.

Gary Chapman, Ph.D.—author, speaker, and counselor—has a passion for people, and for helping them form lasting relationships.

Chapman is a well-known marriage counselor and director of marriage seminars. The 5 Love Languages® is one of Chapman’s most popular titles, topping various bestseller charts for years, selling over twenty million copies and has been on the New York Times bestsellers list since 2007.

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Chapman has been directly involved in real-life family counseling since the beginning of his ministry years, and his nationally-syndicated radio programs air nationally on Moody Radio Network and over 400 affiliate stations.

Alan J. Hawkins is a Professor and current Director of the School of Family Life at Brigham University in Provo, Utah. He earned a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University in 1990. Professor Hawkins has taught and conducted research and outreach at Brigham Young University since 1990.

Nick Metz is a 36 year law enforcement veteran who has served as Deputy Chief of Police of the Seattle Police Department and retired in 2020 as Chief of Police of the Aurora Colorado Police Department where he oversaw over 1000 law enforcement personnel in a city of almost 400,000 residents. Nick has had a long passion in caring for First Responders where he created full-time wellness units in both Seattle and Aurora. He has assisted in countless programs and training centered around promoting mental health wellness for First Responders and their families.

She is responsible for ongoing development of educational materials and oversees the SRA certification training program offered by Ascend throughout the United States. She is dedicated to continuous program improvement, research, and public policy impacting the SRA approach. As a strong advocate of Sexual Risk Avoidance education, she is committed to building the protective assets all teens need to ensure they are given the opportunity to reach optimal health and life success.

Mary Anne is the former Executive Director of Operation Keepsake, an SRA program that during her tenure served over 27,000 students in 140 schools in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. As a result of her leadership, rigorous program evaluations provided one of the first peer-reviewed, published studies showing the effectiveness of SRA education for high-risk teens.

Mary Anne is frequently interviewed by various media outlets regarding SRA education. She has delivered numerous presentations on effective communication strategies including for conferences of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. She has served as an SRA program evaluation and development consultant to the Administration of Children and Families (ACF), working to engage stakeholders throughout the country in partnering to build cohesive community networks to support positive youth development at the local level. She is also co-author of The War on Intimacy, which demonstrates how explicit sex education negatively impacts the ability to develop healthy relationships.

As a strong advocate of Sexual Risk Avoidance education, she is committed to building the protective assets all teens need to ensure they are given the opportunity to reach optimal health and life success.

Ron L. Deal is a bestselling author, licensed marriage & family therapist, podcaster, and popular conference speaker who conducts “laugh and learn” marriage and family seminars and professional training around the country and online. He specializes in both marriage enrichment and stepfamily education.

Frequently featured in the national media, Ron is a leading national expert and the most widely read and viewed author on blended families in the country. He serves as President of Smart Stepfamilies™ and Director of FamilyLife Blended®, a division of FamilyLife®.