Shari Simmons

About Shari Simmons

At the age of 12, over our usual \"after breakfast\" treat of coffee and cookies, I sat on the couch with my mother and heard snippets about her tragic childhood. I had known a bit of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother but I hadn\'t heard about her orphanage experience after the Department of Social Services removed her from her home. With ten years of her childhood spent in an institution wrought with severe abuse and neglect, her story was hard to hear. However, in that moment, it solidified the trajectory of my career. I made a pact with myself to eventually run my own \"institution\" for youth. Today, we call them Residential Treatment Facilities. I wanted a facility that housed children in crisis, where they were cherished, respected, had the safety to heal, and permission to rewrite their own stories. Speaking of stories, I co-authored Which Way, a memoir and manual for healing with my mother and together, we offer audiences a talk filled with inspiration and hope. With over twenty years’ experience as an Executive Director for various psychiatric/residential programs for youth, I\'ve had every role from milieu counselor to therapist to CEO. I currently provide consultancy services to organizations across the nation who provide mental health services to children, adolescents and families from diverse populations. I recently developed the Trauma Informed Provider Academy for the Colorado Department of Human Services that released this year and will be offered to all treatment providers in the state. I speak, train, coach, and consult on evidence-based practices and unpack what \"trauma informed\" really means. My training is geared toward mental health professionals, educators, parents, and first responders. I speak to the reality that when we provide safety for others, they can heal. That starts with our own emotional regulation. Being the \"strongest nervous system\" in the room is paramount in any relationship and I pepper my audiences with tools/strategies for how we can actually \"walk the walk\" with our clients, our kids, our partners, and our colleagues. When I’m not serving my clients, I love chasing my grandkids, traveling, reading, hiking, and camping. Oh, and I still have coffee and cookies every morning for breakfast!Please feel free to contact me at s••••••••@gmail.com or 97••••••36. I\'d love to connect with you!

Experience

1. Adjunct Professor

   Metro State University

   Jan 2020 — Present

   Adjunct Professor at Metro State University*Provide on-line instruction to studentsClasses Taught - Groups, Teams, LeadershipGeneralist Practice I & IIAdvanced Generalist Practice

Education

• University of Denver

  MSW, Social Work

  1994 — 1995

• Colorado State University

  BSW, Social Work

  1989 — 1993

Skills

• Adolescents
• Healthcare Management
• Social Services
• Healthcare
• Public Speaking
• Anger Management
• Management, Therapy, Teaching, Consultation
• Leadership
• Interventions
• Psychology
• Working with Adolescents
• Treatment
• Group Therapy
• Mental Health
• Therapists
• Clinical Supervision
• Nonprofits
• Healthcare Information Technology
• Program Development