Leadership
Curt Huston
Managing Partner and Interim CEO
Huston is a founding principal of Evidence-Based Associates and joined the organization
with more than 35 years of business management and strategic planning experience. In addition
to his involvement with Evidence-Based Associates, Huston is the founder of Huston Consulting
Group Inc., a business development consulting firm, and president of Valley Forge Watershed
Association. Huston's commitment to helping at-risk youth is apparent in his work and
dedication to the juvenile justice industry. Huston and his wife reside in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Keller Strother
Managing Partner and Board Chair
Strother has more than 20 years of experience in organizational development and
consulting. He is a founding member of both Evidence-Based Associates and MST Services and has
been involved with the development of evidence-based programs in more than 30 states and
numerous international sites. Strother places a high value on research and the role
it plays in shaping service systems and funding structures. The focus of his work with
Evidence-Based Associates is helping communities to bridge the gap between their service networks
and effective research-based treatment models. Strother resides
in the San Francisco Bay Area, with
his wife and son.
Dan Edwards, PhD
President
Edwards is currently the president of Evidence-Based Associates, and formerly served as EBA's chief operating officer. Before joining
Evidence-Based Associates, Edwards worked for MST Services, an affiliate of the Medical University of South Carolina and the Family Services Research
Center. As vice president at MST Services, Edwards coordinated several large-scale implementation projects in the
United States, as well as in northern Europe. Since joining EBA in 2007, he has co-authored several
publications on evidence-based programs and has been instrumental in the growth and success of EBA's Redirection project.
Edwards resides in Washington, DC, and enjoys giving back to the community and spending time with
his three amazing children.
Robert "Bob" Rhen
Senior Advisor
Rhen brings more than 25 years of management and consulting experience to his post.
He oversees the growth of the company and has been instrumental in the oversight of Evidence-Based Associates' Florida
Redirection project. He previously held a series of marketing and management
positions at Westinghouse; and formed and operates his own management consulting practice dba
KRBS Ventures, Ltd. Rhen enjoys golf and living on the Carolina coast in Wilmington, NC, with his wife.
Clay Yeager
EBA Consultant
Yeager has served the interests of at-risk children for 34 years in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Yeager was the first recipient of the 'Visionary of Pennsylvania Award' for his role as one of the principal architects of the Commonwealth's far-reaching and
coordinated evidence-based prevention strategies - recognized as one of the most comprehensive in the nation. Yeager has
spoken to groups and organizations across the country on the importance of utilizing prevention programs that work on behalf of children. He is a Pennsylvania-based consultant to Evidence-Based Associates and resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Suzanne Johnson
Vice President, Business Development
Johnson graduated from West Chester University with a bachelor's degree in education and from Penn State University with a master's degree in administration. She comes to EBA with experience in education and business. Johnson taught in a gifted program for junior high school students for five years and became an assistant junior high principal in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1982. In 1986, Johnson joined Honeywell International and was assigned to their office in Manhattan as an account representative. She has held numerous management and sales positions across the country with Honeywell over the last 24 years. Johnson has 22 years of performance contracting experience in health care, education and with the federal government.
Jessica Munday
Director, Communications
Munday attended the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she obtained her bachelor degree in marketing and management. Additionally, she completed her graduate degree in health care administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. Munday has worked with EBA since its inception and is responsible for the company's overall marketing communications strategy and oversight for the day-to-day communication needs of the organization. Munday has more than 20 years experience in the field. She and her husband and three children reside in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Bob Sayles
Director, Information Management and Technology
Sayles has 18 years of experience working in the data management and internet technology field and has worked in finance and audit areas within multiple corporations. He has a bachelor's degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree in business administration from Regis University. As director of information management and technology, Sayles will be responsible for the daily maintenance of the company databases and dashboards. Before joining Evidence-Based Associates, Sayles was the director of information technology for Liberty Resources, a New York-based human services provider and was responsible for the daily maintenance and upkeep of the agency's computers and software.
Allison Simpson
Administrative Assistant
Simpson joined Evidence-Based Associates in 2007, as administrative assistant. Simpson
coordinates office services for the Evidence-Based Associates team. She received her bachelor's degree in
English from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a master's degree in deaf education
from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Simpson taught hearing-impaired children for nine
years in Massachusetts, North Carolina and South Carolina. She works out of the company's
South Carolina office and resides in Summerville, with her husband and their children.
FLORIDA'S REDIRECTION PROJECT TEAM
Nicole Janer
Project Director
Janer is the lead project manager for the Florida Redirection project and has been in this role since the
project's inception in October 2004. Her role incorporates her desire to provide quality services for youth and
families in the State of Florida, while shifting public policy toward a rehabilitative approach for youth, who
are involved in the juvenile justice system. Janer's past experiences as a vocational counselor, director
of a parent advocacy and training organization, implementer of a federal demonstration project for
system changes with youth with developmental disabilities and an administrator of a provider organization
have all proven to be beneficial in her role with Evidence-Based Associates. She shares great enthusiasm
for building local teams that include the Department of Juvenile Justice, legislators, treatment model
representatives and direct service providers of evidence-based treatment services in order to
deliver quality and meaningful services.
Laurie Blades
Project Manager, North Florida Operations
Blades has 25 years of experience working in the human services field and has worked in a variety of children's mental health, child welfare, special education and juvenile justice areas. She holds a master's degree in in mental health counseling from the University of Central Florida. As project manager, Blades manages the Redirection project in North Florida, and is responsible for promoting the project, contract management and renewal, training, ongoing quality assurance and government relations. Before joining Evidence-Based Associates, Blades was the head of Children's Mental Health where she facilitated and participated in statewide workgroups and obtained a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHS) statewide grant to ensure Florida had an evidence-based system of care.
Rick Morris
Project Manager, Central Florida Operations
As project manager, Morris works with Evidence-Based Associates' Central Florida Redirection project. Morris is responsible for promoting the Redirection project, contract management and renewal, training, ongoing quality assurance, and government relations. Morris joined Evidence-Based Associates from the community outpatient mental health field, where he managed programs committed to treating children and teens, with sexually abusive behaviors, within their family and community setting. Morris is a licensed mental health counselor and specializes in treatment of juvenile sex offenders. He has written and published, "Protecting and Parenting Sexually Abused Children," a book for parents and caregivers of children, who have been sexually abused. In addition, he has provided training for community agencies to assist in protecting children from further sexual abuse.
Barbara Byrne
Project Manager, South Florida Operations
Byrne is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 20 years of experience helping families
with at-risk children. As project manager, Byrne works with Evidence-Based Associates' South Florida
Redirection project. She is responsible for promoting the Redirection project, contract management
and renewal, training, ongoing quality assurance and government relations. Byrne joined Evidence-Based
Associates from a private practice as a psychotherapist and parenting coach in Miami. She writes a monthly column
on parenting issues and behavior management for
Miami Family magazine.
Margaret McAlister
Human Resources Generalist
McAlister is currently the human resources specialist for Evidence-Based Associates. She brings more than 20 years of human resource management experience for mid-sized corporations and start-up businesses. Since joining EBA in August 2010, McAlister has worked with the Redirection project regional project managers and their subcontracted agencies to reduce therapist turnover by more than 50% from 2010 to 2011. She co-authored the EBA Best Practices Hiring Manual with the Redirections team and therapy model consultants to be used by all Redirection teams. She is also working with EBA's Washington, D.C. Families First Project by providing guidance to the project team there. McAlister resides in Homestead, Florida. She enjoys volunteering as a facilitator of the Miami PFLAG Chapter, working with GLBTQ youth, serving her Unitarian Universalist Congregation as its Board of Trustees vice president and completing half marathons.
WASHINGTON, DC FAMILIES FIRST TEAM
Leslie-Ann Byam
Project Director, Families First Project, Washington, DC
Byam is project director for the
Families First project in Washington, DC, a project established by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health to help expand the utilization of evidence-based practices for youth and families throughout the district. Byam comes to EBA with 20 years of professional experience devoted to program management and development on a local, state and national level, as well as for the U.S. military. Prior to joining EBA, Byam served as a prevention and education program manager for the U.S. Marine Corps. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Byam received her master's degree in clinical counseling psychology from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She currently resides in Fort Washington, Maryland.
