Jodie is President of KVC Nebraska. Prior to her work at KVC, Austin was active in child welfare reform with supervision of safety and in-home service programs. Jodie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and earned her BSW and MSW from University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has completed clinical work in the areas of child welfare; women’s issues; child, adolescent and adult mental health; intellectual disabilities and substance abuse.

A native of Nebraska, Austin has served the needs of Nebraska children and families in significant ways, including serving on the Foster Family Treatment Association National Board of Directors, Secretary for Nebraska Friend of Foster Children Board of Directors and the Foster Family Treatment Association Research Committee. Austin was a recipient of the Midland Business Journal’s “40 under 40″ Award for her work in foster care in 2011.

In her current role, Austin continues to support child welfare reform in Nebraska with a focus on safety, permanency and wellbeing for children in Nebraska.

Ashley came to KVC Behavioral HealthCare Nebraska in 2009. Prior to her work at KVC, Ashley worked in child welfare in a variety of capacities to include foster care, in-home services and outpatient mental health services. Ashley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with her BSW from the University of South Dakota, and her MSW from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Raised in South Dakota but a proud Nebraska resident for over 15 years, Ashley serves the needs of Nebraska children and families including her current status as the Chair for the Foster Family Treatment Association Nebraska Chapter, the Secretary for the Nebraska Association of Homes and Services for Children and a Child’s Commission appointed member of the Normalcy Task Force. Ashley was a recipient of the Nebraska Association of Homes and Services for Children “Kevin H. Orr Supervisor of the Year” award in 2012. In her current role as KVC Nebraska’s Vice President, Ashley continues to support child welfare reform in Nebraska with a focus on safety, permanency and well-being in assisting in oversight of KVC’s child welfare and juvenile justice programs, as well as the growth of KVC’s services to the developmental and intellectual disabilities population and out patient services.

As a Director, Cassandra Dittmer is responsible for guiding our In-Home Supervisors and their staff as they help families remain intact through achieving safety and stability. Cassandra is proud to be a part of KVC’s initiative to employ evidence based practices and she enjoys the environment of ingenuity. Cassandra completed her Master’s of Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; she is currently licensed as an Independent Mental Health Practitioner and Marriage and Family Therapist. Prior to her role as the Director of Family Preservation and Model Fidelity, Cassandra was an In-Home Services Supervisor at KVC.  In addition to her role at KVC, Cassandra is a Board Member at Large for the Nebraska Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Liz currently provides clinical and programmatic oversight as the Program Director for Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. Liz has worked in the Human Services field for approximately 15 years and graduated with her Master’s Degree in Social Work in 2007. Liz’s work in the field has primarily focused on mental health, behavior modification, and developmental disabilities. Her current position allows her to work closely with individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities, their families and other supports, and DHHS administration and Service Coordination. Additionally, Liz has experience working closely with community providers on several initiatives to increase quality of life for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and mental illness.

From mental health to Juvenile Justice, Theresa Goley has been working with youth for over 20 years. Theresa accepted a new opportunity with KVC in 2014 as a Service Area Director and is now serving in her role as Permanency Director. Theresa began her career working on an acute mental health unit in South Dakota. She moved to Nebraska in 2002 started doing in-home work and eventually moved on to be the Program Therapist on an acute mental health unit for adolescents. When the Child Welfare Reform started in Nebraska in 2009, Theresa saw this as an opportunity to be part of a much needed change and accepted a position with KVC. She served as a Supervisor and was then promoted to Director a little over a year later.

During her time as Director of OJS, Theresa was involved with both the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative in Douglas and Sarpy Counties and the Crossover Youth Practice Model in Douglas County.. While employed with State Probation, Theresa served as the statewide JDAI Coordinator and took the lead in working with the Georgetown Center for Juvenile Justice Reform on the expansion of Crossover from Douglas County to other counties across Nebraska.

Theresa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of South Dakota and a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the North American Baptist Seminary. She is currently licensed in Nebraska as a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner.

Lauren graduated in 2007 from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor’s in Social Work and Psychology. She then went on to pursue her Masters of Social Work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She graduated with her Masters in 2009.  Lauren started with KVC Nebraska in August of 2010 as a Licensing Specialist and through hard work and dedication became a Supervisor in October of 2015.  Lauren has been working in child welfare for over seven years.  In her downtime, she loves to play golf and spoil her puppy Brody.

Jen is a CPA Supervisor at KVC Behavioral Health Care in Omaha, Nebraska. She received her B.S. from Grace University in Counseling. Upon graduation, Jen traveled and lived abroad for 7 years working with military teens as a life coach with Cadence International. Jen then moved to Alaska where she was the co-director of youth ministry with a local church for almost 5 years. After having her international appetites appeased, Jen moved back to the Midwest and started working with KVC as a case manager. She transitioned to Nebraska Families Collaborative where she continued to pursue case management and assisted with mentoring new employees. In August of 2013 Jen was thrilled to be back at KVC as a foster care specialist and a month later was offered her current position. Jen resides in Bellevue with her husband Erik, their 4 awesome kids, and their dog Skoda.

Jamie is the Intensive Family Preservation Supervisor and has over 12 years of experience in the Child Welfare field. She is responsible for overseeing her staff regarding stabilization and strength based services in order to see lifelong changes regarding the family unit. Jamie’s favorite part of her job is empowering and guiding her staff on creative ways to make a difference for families within the Omaha, NE community. She is proud to work at KVC and loves the supportive environment each and every day.

Jamie has served on the Metropolitan Child Advocacy Coalition Board (MCAC) since November of 2012 and is an Adjunct Professor at Bellevue University teaching Human Services, Research Methods and Multicultural classes.

Becca graduated in 2006 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences. Becca began working for KVC in July of 2010 as a Kinship Specialist and transitioned to a Foster Care Specialist before becoming a Supervisor in November 2014. Becca has been working in child welfare since 2006 to include In-Home Services. Outside of work, Becca enjoys spending time with her husband Evan and son Ledger and, spending time in the outdoors.

Jessica has been a dedicated KVC employee for over 6 years. She was a foster care specialist and licensing specialist before moving into her current position as a Foster Care Supervisor. Jessica has over 10 years of experience in the Human Service field which has included the following; group home settings, in-home services, and foster care. She enjoys the daily challenges within her position and strongly supports the KVC mission. Jessica received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of Nebraska. Outside of work, Jessica likes to read and spend time with her family and friends. 

Jesse is honored to be with KVC furthering it’s mission in improving lives of children and families. Jesse completed his Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2013. Jesse supervises the Lincoln in-home family preservation team as they diligently assist families to overcome trauma related events, access community resources, and rebuild trusting relationships through improved communication and problem solving.

Jesse has spent 12+ years in the Child Welfare field and has worked in several capacities. Jesse considers a few highlights of his career spending 2 years as a direct care staff on an Autism unit of a residential treatment center, working with the Native American population as he completed his clinical internship near the Fort Duchesne Indian Reservation, and being a frequent blogger for a parenting website. Jesse enjoys writing, playing music, public speaking, studying the stock market and spending time with his family.