Local activities in Three Forks during the Spring Ethics Conference

• Lewis & Clark Caverns tours run from May 1st through September.  They have 2 hour guided tours and the cost for adults is $10.00.  Hours in May have the first tour around 9:30 A.M. and the last tour is at 4:30 P.M.
• The Headwaters State Park is open year round.  Day use is $5.00 for non-residents and it is $3.00 for walking or biking on the trails. 
• The Headwaters Public Golf Course in Three Forks is open in May.  this is a public 9-hole golf course.    No tee time is required and the cost is $25.00 for 9 holes with a cart during the week, and weekends is $28.00 per person.  Club Rental is $15.00.

 

Speaker Biographies

Keith Sofka
Mr. Solfka has practiced the provision of assistive technology services for the past 20 years. Mr. Sofka provides consultation to hundreds of companies, schools, government agencies and individuals. A major focus of Mr. Solfka's work has been to provide recommedndations for and implementation of school and workplace reasonable accommodation recommendations for individuals and organizations. He has also taken training and practiced in other areas of assistive technology including custom seating and positoning for individuals with severe orthopedic involvement. His work has alsways been focused on ways to use technology to increase the independence of the individual. A a part of a federally funded grant, he trqveleld extensively around the
State fo Illinois presenting information and providing assistive technology asesssments to schools, businesses and other organizations.

During his tenure as the Director of Technology Services, Greater New Haven Disabililty Rights Association in New Haven, CT, he participated in developiing materials used by Senator Lowell Weicher in "floor-fights" that helped pass the ADA. He has worked as an expert with the EEOC on legal cases related to ADA employment discrimination. As a partner in Caragonne and Associates, he develops recommendations and testifies as an expert regarding the assistive technology needs of individuals with catastrophic injuries.

He work on the idea of a portable office comes as a natural extension of his interest in technology and his need to carry with him as much information about a case as possible as he traveled. Although it doesn't always feel like it to him, he is now semi-retired and living in the mountains outside of Guadalajara, Mexico

Thomas A. Hardy, J.D.
Thomas Hardy is an attorney in Private Practice concentrating his work in Social Seclurity and Long Term Disability Appeals. Previously, Mr. Hardy worked for a long term disability insurance carrrier as the nationwide Manager of Vocational Rehabilitation Services; subsequently he took on Management of Medical Services and later also assumed the Supervison of Local Counsel. He was previously employed in the private sector as Vocational Disablity Counselor. The combination of Medical, Vocational, and Legal knowledge made him a locigcal choice for a position on the IOTF (Inter Organizational Task Force) were he served for five years as a representative of the Prvate Insurance Industry to the Social Security Administration and Department of Labor.

Mr. Hardy earned his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University, his Masters Degree from the University of North Texas and Bachelors Degree from St. Charles Borromeo College. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars. Mr. Hardy also holds professional certification from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NCC), Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRC) and Commission of Insurance Rehabilitation Specialists (CIRS). He resides in Philadelphia.

Shirleen Roth,
Senior Analyst Social Security Administration
Shirleen Roth has 23 years of SSA experience, working in field offices, disability deternination services (DDS), and disability policy components in SSA headquarters. She began her career at SSA in 1976 as a Claims Representative, adjudicating Title II claims for retirement, survivors, and diability benefits as well as Title XVI claims for aged, disability, blindness, and child's benefits. She worked in field offices, as a Claims Representative and an Operation Supervisor, from 1976 to 1984 and then from 1994 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001 she was on the staff of the Federal DDS as a Disablity Examiner and Prgram Analyst. Form 2001-2007 she was a Senior Policy Analyst in the office of Disabliity Programs (ODP), working on occupational information references and analysis, on policy issures related to SSA's use of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, and SSA's medical-vocational policy. >From January 2007 to July 2007 she was a participant in SSA's Advanced Leadership Development Program. From July 2007 to April 2009 she worked in ODP's Office of Vocational Policy, first as a Branch Chief and then as the Deputy Director. In April 2009 she joined the Occupational Information Development Team in the Office of Program Development and Research to assist with the research and development of occupational information tailored to SSA's disability programs and with research on the vocational factors of age, education and work experience.

Mrs. Roth is a magna cum laude graduate of California State University, East Bay with a bachelor of arts degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Research. At Dominican Universithy of California she completed graduate course in education leading to a teaching credential.

 

Katherine Dunlap, MS, LCPC, CRC, ClCP received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Risk Management and Insurance form the University of Georgia in 1982 and a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling form Georgia State University in 1995. Following graduate school, M. Dunlap began work with a neurophsychologist in private practice and at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA providing cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy services to people with acquired brain injuries. Ms. Dunlap subsequently trained for two years in the administration and scoring of neuropsychological instruments and worked as a psychometrist. In the early years working at Shepherd and in private practice, she assisted survivors in re[entering the community/workplace settings by developing on-site compensatory strategies to increase cognitive functioning. She also designated/implemented home programs for neurobehavioral clients to assist them laving tn the community. When Ms. Dunlap relocated in Montana in 2001, she began providing vocational services to workers’ compensation claimants.

Jeffrey M. Cory, PH.D Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr. Jeff Cory is in private clinical practice at Rocky Mountain Neuropsychology in Bozeman, Montana, following completion of 2005 of a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology and Medical Psychology at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. Undergraduate training was completed at Stanford University, and doctoral work was at Colorado State University. From a foundation in clinical and counseling psychology, his specialty as a licensed psychologist is primarily focused upon assessment, diagnosis and treatment/rehabilitation planning with adult and pediatric patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. As is typical for neuropsychology, a significant portion of his practice involves patients with acquired traumatic brain injuries (TBI), including patients with mild TBI. He also provides psychological assessments for presurgical spine/pain patients, as well as, evaluations of workers compensation and otherwise referred patients with chronic pain (often-mechanical back). A portion of his clinical practice is with Spanish-speaking patients, although primarily outside of the state of Montana. A native of both Northern California and Missoula, he resides in his wife’s hometown of Bozeman with their two young sons. In his free time and outside of family time he is an avid fly fishermen.

More information can be found at www.rockymountainneuropsychology.com.

Jill Falk, M.Ed., CRC, CDMS Jill has been practicing as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 18 years in Yakima and Kennewick, Washington and is the owner of Advanced Vocational Solutions, Inc. Jill holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling, is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Certified Disability Management Specialist. Ms. Falk provided direct vocational services for State Fund and Self Insured cases along with professional testimony.

Jill is a past Vice Chair of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification and past Chair of the Ethics Committee. As a part of her work on the Ethics Committee at CRCC, Jill assisted in the development and editing of the 2001 CRCC Code of Professional Ethics. She also served as national board member for the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) 2004-2008. She has presented on numerous occasions on the topic of ethics.

John Pavoao John provides leadership and direction to Montana State Government in the areas of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), affirmative action, diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy and program development. He provides policy direction, training, professional technical assistance and analysis to all agencies.

John’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University and a Master’s Degree form Webster University in Human Resources Management. In addition, John has accumulated over 1,180 hours of alternative dispute resolution, EEO, and leadership and management.

John has spent most of his working life with the United States Air Force where he served in a variety of capacities. His work experience includes over 15 years directly related to managing EEO compliance, diversity, and affirmative action. John’s experience includes oversight and management of these programs on a military, civilian, and public sector level across the country. John received the distinguished Air Force-Level Military Equal Opportunity Program Manager of the Year Award for 2004 and 2007.

He currently serves as a member of the Governor’s Disability Advisory Council, Medicaid infrastructure Grant Coalition, and Rocky Mountain ADA Leadership Network

Bonnie Lyytinen-Hale is a native of Montana. After completing her Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Social and Criminal Justice at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, Montana she went on to complete her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Eastern Montana College (now MSU-Billings) in Billings, Montana. She is certified with the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, serves as the President of the Rehabilitation Association of Montana (RAM) the Montana Chapter of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP). She is the Chair of the WorkSafeMT Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work (SAW?RTW) Committee and is actively involved with community and church youth organizations. She has 14 years experience providing return to work services for people who have a disability or work related injury working extensively with individuals, employers, claims examiners, medical case managers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physicians and attorneys as well as volunteer and community organizations in addition to community and formal training programs. She has worked with Federal and State Workers Compensation, Social Security clients, car insurance companies and in forensic rehabilitation.

Mark Schwagger has been working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in the private sector for twenty-five years. He has provided services in a variety of settings, including Workers’ Compensation, Long Term Disability, and Railroad Disability, as well as providing forensic services in personal injury, divorce, and wrongful termination cases. He has testified in Federal and District courts and has been a Vocational Expert for the Social Security Administration for the past sixteen years.

Jerry Keck, Administrator Employment Relations Division: Jerry Keck is the Administrator of the Employment Relations Division of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. The Employment Relations Division provides a wide variety of services and regulations related to the employer-employee relationship. The Division includes the Workers’ Compensation Claims Assistance Bureau, the Workers’ Compensation Regulation Bureau, The Safety Bureau, the Labor Standards Bureau, and the Human Rights Bureau. The division also provides education and technical assistance to employers in understanding and complying with state labor laws, and provides informal investigations and mediation of disputes that do arise.

Jerry has been an employee of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry for 27 years. He has been Administrator to the Employment Relations Division since October 1998. Prior to being appointed as Administrator, he worked as an investigator, compliance supervisor and bureau chief in the Human Rights Bureau.