Meet Our Team
Debbie Reed, Ph.D.
Debbie Reed has more than three decades of nonprofit marketing, strategic planning, and organizational leadership experience. She has been with Chaddock since 1994, having served as Director of Marketing, Director of Planning and Special Projects, Chief Operating Officer, and starting in 2006, President/CEO of the agency. Debbie is the author of two books, Attachment Theory in Action and Raising the Challenging Child, both written in collaboration with colleague Karen Doyle Buckwalter. In addition, she writes a weekly leadership blog, Reed About Leadership
Debbie is passionate about developing and supporting nonprofit leaders and helping nonprofit organizations maximize their mission impact. In addition to offering executive coaching for nonprofit leaders, Debbie leads a nine-month Nonprofit Leadership Academy and offers training and consultation for nonprofit organizations and boards. She has conducted a national study on Aspects of Strategic Leadership Unique to Nonprofit Organizations and is a frequent conference speaker on topics related to nonprofit and organizational leadership.
Karen Doyle Buckwalter, LCSW, RPT-S
Karen Doyle Buckwalter is one of The Knowledge Center’s most requested speakers. She is known for captivating audiences with her passion and energy. Some of her most popular workshops are Engaging Parents in Child Therapy, Clinical Application of the Adult Attachment Interview and Working with Adoption Issues in Therapy. Karen is also a Theraplay® Trainer and Supervisor as well as a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor. She provides consultation to both individual and organizations both nationally and internationally related to attachment and trauma issues in clinical work.
Karen hosts the Attachment Theory in Action podcast, which has had over 400,000, downloads. She has interviewed many well-known researchers and clinicians in the field of attachment including Daniel Siegel, Bob Marvin, Howard and Miriam Steele and Stan Tatkin. She also hosts the Attachment-Based Therapist Facebook group comprised of over 10,000 members from 100 countries. Karen is a published author having most recently co-authored Raising the Challenging Child. She’s written for specialty magazines such as Adoption Today as well as contributed to peer-reviewed journals. She’s been interviewed by numerous radio stations, newspapers and podcasts. Outside of work you will find her hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Josh Carlson, LCSW
Josh Carlson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Director of The Knowledge Center at Chaddock. He oversees the training and consultation endeavors TKC offers and is one of the lead trainers. Josh’s areas of expertise are training and coaching related to trauma-informed schools and managing secondary trauma through self-care. He offers workshops in both private and public schools and has spoken regionally and nationally on these topics.
Josh combines his over 17 years of experience at Chaddock with humor and fun to that engages his audiences as they learn. He has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Josh is trained and certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) as well as Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS). Josh loves being a father to his four children and you will also find him volunteering at the local Community Theater as an actor in plays and musicals.
Kirsty Ruggles, MS
Kirsty Ruggles, MS has worked with children and families at Chaddock for over 6 years within Outpatient Services, Residential Services, Chaddock’s Special Education School and within various local school districts. Her experience has made her one of The Knowledge Center’s top trainers. Kirsty’s expertise lies in the areas of Trauma-Informed Schools, Trauma-Informed Relationship Focused Interventions, School and District Culture Changes, early attachment and developmental trauma, sensory interventions and parent-child interventions. She has successfully trained individuals throughout the state of Illinois in all education settings. Prior to her work at Chaddock, Kirsty worked with children and families in both the U.S.A. and U.K..
Kelly Green
Kelly Green has been working with children, adolescents and families for over 25 years, including residential, outpatient programs, school settings, juvenile courts and child welfare. In her current role as The Knowledge Center Manager, Kelly brings vast experience in project management; grant writing, program development, data analysis and program evaluation to our team. She also leads the implementation of our agency’s systematized clinical assessment process and continues to be an active affiliate member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN).