Meet The Dearing House Team
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Maggi Hutchason, Executive Director
Maggi has served as Executive Director since 2003 when Dearing House first began. and has over 25 years of experience in responding to child victims as well as non-profit management. Her master’s degree is in education, and she has advanced training as a child abuse specialist. In addition to the administrative duties of Executive Director, such as budgeting, grant writing and accreditation standards, Maggi conducts many of the forensic interviews at Dearing House. Maggi admits that interviewing children is a favorite part of the job and emphasizes the importance of compliance with current research and best practices to assure that children and families are consistently receiving the best care. Maggi also provides training to law enforcement and child welfare professionals across the country and serves on local, state and national boards and task forces promoting teamwork and abuse prevention efforts. Maggi’s favorite title is “Gigi” to 4 grandkids and dog mom to Red (who is often at the center to greet guests!) |
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Halie Shirley, Family Advocate
Welcome to our new Advocate Halie Shirley. To qualify as an Advocate under National Children's Alliance guidelines, Halie is required to complete 24 hours of training on specific topics such as child abuse, crisis intervention, risk assessment and safety planning, professional ethnics, multidisciplinary team response, victim's rights, domestic violence intervention, community services, etc, etc, etc. As a demonstration of her dedication and drive to be well-prepared to help families at Dearing House, Halie has (to-date) completed 40 hours of instruction on these topics and many others. She will complete her degree at Northern Oklahoma College in a few months with an interest in furthering her degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology. Halie has more than skills and education...she has heart and a strong passion to right wrongs and wants children to be heard and understood. She wants kids to know they have a team at Dearing House that will see them through any challenges. Halie says she has known since she was a kid that she wanted to help kids, and we are happy to have her on our team! Kayla Lobsinger, has moved into the position of consultant and continues to facilitate the Break the Cycle Safe Parenting Class and provide training and support on strategic issues at Dearing House. |
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Mark Bean, Forensic Interview Specialist/MDT Coordinator
Mark Bean has two jobs: Forensic Interview Specialist and Multidisciplinary (MDT) Coordinator. In addition to his degree in Psychology from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Mark has completed specialized training in forensic interviewing and team facilitation as required by the National Children’s Alliance. Mark credits his 12 years in the U.S. Navy for being able to effectively communicate…whether it’s interviewing a child victim or facilitating case review with a dozen different agencies. Outside of work Mark devotes time to hunting and fishing. Mark joined our staff in February 2021 after six years as a Child Welfare Specialist with the Department of Human Services. |
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Kelli Thurman, Administrative Assistant
The duties of Kelli Thurman as Administrative Assistant vary from financial reporting for the board of directors to stocking the snack cabinet for kids, and Kelli has all the skills necessary to assist both our staff and our clients. Kelli has a degree in Family Relations and Child Development from Oklahoma State and has work experience in business administration, so both were an advantage when she joined our staff in January 2021. Her management skills as a wife, mother, and now grandmother are put to good use at Dearing House, and she still has time for family activities such as golf and motorcycle rides with her husband. |