Advisory Committee
COOR
DINATOR Kim Gage Ryan is the Coordinator for the TREE program. She develops TREE trainings for religious groups’ teams and resources those teams to bring important information to teens concerning healthy, unhealthy, toxic and abusive relationships. Having served as a congregational pastor for 25 years, Kim brings a passion for teens’ well being and the importance of strong communities in the formation of that well being. Kim is available to speak with community groups, religious groups and worshiping communities. She is the primary contact person with TREE’s funding source, the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Peggy Baum, Grant Writer for the Center on Religion & the Professions, was the primary author on the successful TREE grant application to the Missouri Foundation for Health. She serves as a consultant on the advisory team, assisting with interim reports and seeking out future grant possibilities for TREE.
Tina L. Bloom, PhD, MU Assistant Professor of Nursing, studies intimate partner violence and has collaborated on a number of federally funded, interdisciplinary research projects designed to evaluate violence interventions. Her research on domestic violence is a boon to TREE’s work.
M. Heather Carver, PhD, MU Professor of Theater, along with Elaine Lawless, directs and produces The Troubling Violence Performance Project (TVPP), a student storytelling troupe that initiates dialogue by presenting true narratives of women’s’ experiences of violence in their lives and relationships. The troupe is currently developing monologues and debriefing exercise for the TREE project.
Jenny Dills, MPH, is the Prevention Coordinator with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Jenny brings great experience in the area of prevention and the wider connection with MCADSV, which is a wealth of experience, knowledge, and connections.
Tammy Gerhart, Operations and Finance Manager at Broadway Christian Church, works with the financial record support for TREE including personnel payments and lots of other wonderful administrative support concerning budgetary issues and workshop preparations.
Elaine J. Lawless, PhD, Curators’ Professor and Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor at MU, along with Heather Carver, directs and produces The Troubling Violence Performance Project (TVPP), a student storytelling troupe that initiates dialogue by presenting true narratives of women’s experiences of violence in their lives and relationships.
Debra Mason, PhD, Directs the Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP), which works to improve the understanding of religion among the professions to help them serve a diverse public. An interdisciplinary team coordinated by the Center spawned the TREE project. The Center continues to offer technical support and administrative support to TREE.
Emily Rollie is a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the University of Missouri Theatre Department. At MU, Emily serves as the associate director of the Troubling Violence Performance Project, which is dedicated to opening the lines of communication about issues of domestic violence through the performance of personal narratives. She coordinates the schedules and stage needs of the troupe and works closely with youth-group leaders to tailor performances to meet their needs.
Kim Webb, MEd, is assistant director of Sexual Assault and Community Health Services at Washington University. Webb graduated from the University of Missouri- Columbia. She has 14 years experience working with issues of violence against women. In 2007 she received a Catalyst Award in recognition for her work in the LGBT community. She serves on the Board of Directors for Step Up: American Association for Rwandan Women and on the traveling Trauma Training Team that serves Rwandans. As violence continues to be a huge issue in our society, Kim has an increased interest in addressing the growing prevalence of violence against men.
Kendra Yoder served as the TREE program’s first administrator. Currently she is a PhD candidate in the MU Department of Sociology, studying local church responses to addressing issues of domestic and sexual violence.
