Advisory Council
The Advisory Council serves as a critical community champion of The Shaken Baby Alliance. Members of the Advisory Council share their gifts in service to our mission by providing our organization with their personal and/or professional expertise; their diverse knowledge of constituent perspectives; their connections to local, national or international resources, colleagues or peers; their philanthropic support or other forms of needed assistance. In return, SBA supports the mission of their agency.
If you are interested in joining our Advisory Council, click here.
The Shaken Baby Alliance is proud to present the members of our Advisory Council:
Assistant Chief Steve Carpenter (Ret.) – Chair
Fort Worth Police Department (Retired)
Steve Carpenter retired from the Fort Worth Police Department as a Captain after thirty-three years of service. As a Detective with the Fort Worth Police Department, Steve investigated domestic violence, sexual assault, and crimes against children cases. After retiring from FWPD, he was the Assistant Chief of the Lake Worth Police Department, where he supervised the Criminal Investigation Division.
Because community is important to Steve, he served on various boards, including the Tarrant Council on Family Violence Alliance for Children, North TX. Human Trafficking Task Force, High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDA), Project Safe Neighborhoods, and TX. Anti-gang Task Force.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Arts in Professional Development through Dallas Baptist University. Steve is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and completed an eighteen-month executive leadership training with the City of Fort Worth.
Today, Steve serves as the Chair of the Advisory Council, where he leads a diverse group of individuals to support the mission of SBA (SBA), and is on the Case Consultation Services Team, where he uses his years of experience and vast investigative knowledge to provide technical support for investigators and legal professionals.
Susan Bragg, M.A. – Vice Chair
Arlington Police Department (Retired)
Susan Bragg has over 35 years of experience as an advocate working with victims of violence in North TX. Ms. Bragg specializes in law enforcement training (e.g., death notification, family violence, trauma, and victims’ rights), counseling special victim populations, and all areas of grant management. As an adjunct professor, she has taught classes in Criminal Justice and Psychology at university and community college levels.
The TX. Governor’s Office, the TX. Attorney General’s Office and the MADD National organization have recognized her for exemplary victim programs. Susan created Lawyers Against Domestic Violence, an award-winning pro bono group of family attorneys who assist battered women with their legal needs. Ms. Bragg earned a master’s degree in psychology from TX. Woman’s University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Christopher Newport University in Virginia. She is also a Certified Law Enforcement Planner from the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners.
Susan is Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council for SBA, Co-Leads the Victim Family Peer Support Group, Adult Leader for the Youth Advisory Council, and Sponsor Committee Chair for the We Love Kids Telethon.
Kim Brandon,
SW Regional Director
Youth Advocates Programs, Inc.
Kimberly Brandon is the SW Regional Director for Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. of Tarrant County, TX. (TCAP). TCAP has been featured as a national model for developing community-based alternatives for serious juvenile offenders. It has been cited in the Chronicle of Social Change (John Kelly, Editor) for its outstanding work for over 25 years.
Ms. Brandon presides over TX., Louisiana, Arkansas, the Bay Area of California, and Tennessee. In this capacity, she oversees Juvenile Justice, Gang Intervention, Prevention, Child Welfare, and School-Based Programs that serve children, youth, and families.
Ms. Brandon served as the Recruitment and Marketing Director (Therapeutic Foster Care Director) in charge of advocacy, recruitment, training, and marketing outreach efforts at the Lena Pope Home (Fort Worth, TX) from 1999 to 2007. She worked for TX. Department of Family and Protective Services from 1992 to 1999. She served as a Child Protective Specialist/Investigator for abused and neglected children and children placed in the foster care system, including work with Wednesday’s Child.
Ms. Brandon is highly interested and committed to advocating for youth and families and ensuring their communities are racially equitable. She serves on various boards throughout TX. in Tarrant and Dallas Counties to further her services to children, youth, and families. She graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice, an emphasis in Criminology & Correction, and a Minor in Marketing. She holds a CNM/SMU Non-Profit Leadership Certification, which she obtained in 2019.
Detective Melinda Clark
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
Detective Melinda Clark attended Tarrant County College and earned an associate in arts and science. Detective Clark then completed the Tarrant County College Police Academy, graduating in 2008. Detective Clark began her law enforcement career with the Alvarado Police Department, where she worked in the Patrol Division. Detective Clark became the Community Resource Officer in 2010 and coordinated their National Night Out Program before leaving.
In 2011, Detective Clark began working at the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, where she was assigned to the Patrol Division and then promoted to Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division. Her investigations include crimes against children, adult sexual assaults, homicides, and jail investigations. In 2017, Detective Clark received a Medal of Merit for her hard work and dedication and many Letters of Appreciation for her outstanding professionalism and compassion. During her time in law enforcement, Detective Clark obtained her master’s Peace Officer License and Instructor’s License and often teaches law enforcement and other multi-disciplinary team members about child abuse. Detective Clark is an active member of the law enforcement community and participated in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Work Group, assisting in setting up required documentation, procedures, and standard protocols used by most of the Tarrant County law enforcement agencies.
Detective Clark is a tireless advocate for children, which shows her serving on SBA Advisory Council. Detective Clark is also an Adult Leader for the Youth Advisory Council and a member of the Tarrant County Sexual Assault Response Team headed by JPS. She is a member of the Case Consultation Services Team, where she uses her many skills to provide technical support for investigators and legal professionals.
Alex C. Lewis, J.D.
Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney
Northern District of Texas
Alex Lewis, J.D. began his career as an Assistant County Prosecutor in Springfield, Missouri. After a brief stint in civil practice, he joined the United States Department of Justice in 2003 and has been a criminal prosecutor for over twenty years. Mr. Lewis has been an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of TX. since 2007 and currently serves as the Deputy Criminal Chief of the Fort Worth Division. He served as the Computer Hacking Intellectual Property (CHIP) point-person for the Fort Worth Division and Co-Project Safe Childhood coordinator for the Northern District of TX. Mr. Lewis handles various criminal investigations and prosecutions, but his primary focus has been prosecuting child exploitation crimes. He has played a vital role in over 50 jury trials throughout his 15-year career as a federal and state prosecutor.
Alex passionately believes that all children, the elderly, and people with disabilities deserve safety, and justice should serve all innocent victims. He is a tough prosecutor whom his peers respect well for his knowledge, compassion, and kindness.
Alex serves on SBA Advisory Council, We Love Kids Telethon Committee, and the Case Consultation Services Team, where he uses his years of experience and vast legal knowledge to provide technical support for investigators and legal professionals who request assistance
Bennie Medlin, Director – Chief Probation Officer
Tarrant County Juvenile Services
Services Bennie J. Medlin serves as Director/Chief Probation Officer for Tarrant County Juvenile Services, the agency charged with administering juvenile probation services for Tarrant County. He has over forty years of professional experience in the juvenile justice system. He started his career at Dallas County Juvenile Probation and was promoted to Superintendent of Detention Services. He has been employed with the State of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), managing multiple juvenile detention centers. He left the Florida DJJ for senior executive positions in the private sector with Ramsey Youth Services, Inc. and Psychiatric Solutions as a Division Chief Executive Officer and Youth Services International Vice President of Juvenile Operations. In these positions, he managed various long-term residential treatment programs and behavioral healthcare hospitals in multiple states. He joined Tarrant County Juvenile Services in 2005 as an Assistant Director and was appointed Director/Chief Probation Officer in 2016.
Mr. Medlin is a Dallas native. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in criminal justice and Criminology from the University of TX at Arlington. He is the past Chairman of the Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County, a member of the Project Safe Neighborhood Steering Committee, Fort Worth School After School Coordination Board, and Vice President of the TX. Probation Association and a United Way of Tarrant County One Second Collaborative Steering Committee member addressing youth gun violence in Tarrant County.
Susan Spangler
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Retired)
Susan Spangler. LMSW is a retired social worker who spent over 30 years working for child welfare agencies in Nebraska, Indiana, Kansas, and most recently in TX. for the Department of Family and Protective Services.
She worked as an investigator, a contract manager, a trainer, and a specialist in a grant-funded prevention program based on the Healthy Families model. She has also led a class for children with autism and worked as a Case Manager for Tarrant County Meals on Wheels.
Susan’s husband, Bob, is an engineer and an Adjunct Professor at UTA. They are the proud parents of 5 adult children and eight grandchildren aged 5 to 20. When not involved with her very talented and busy children and grandchildren, Susan sings in the church choir and acts as prop mistress for Southwest Reprise Theater in Fort Worth. Susan is pleased to be able to share her experience with SBA.
Joe Woodard
Member Emeritus – Texas CASA Association
Joseph Woodard entered Federal service in 1968 as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) auditor/evaluator. Following an interlude of service with the U.S. Army, he returned to GAO as a Congressional auditor/program evaluator. In 1978 Joseph transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Social Security Administration, where he worked in the AFDC program, including the AFDC foster care program. Upon passing Public Law 96-272 and creating the Title IV-E program, he followed the foster care program. Upon retirement from Federal service in 2008, he was one of the longest-tenured Federal staff with title IV-E experience throughout the program’s history. He is now an independent consultant.
While representing the Federal program agencies, he was involved in several unique initiatives, including ‘child welfare managed care.’ He worked closely with the American Bar Association’s National Resource Center on the interface of juvenile justice, child welfare, and Title IV-E funding in five states. He was involved in several precedent-setting Departmental Appeals Board issues and successfully resolved significant disallowances and Federal/state cost allocation disputes.
During his tenure with the State of Hawaii, he provided the state with nearly 40 years of child welfare experience. Notably, he introduced HFLM to Hawaii. Joseph’s commitment to child welfare, foster care, and juvenile justice systems carries through to his community and volunteerism as he continues to serve as Board Member Emeritus of the TX. CASA Association remains active as an Advisory Council Member for SBA and works with HFLM both on the mainland and in Hawaii.
Tobi Jackson
Fort Worth ISD School Board President
Fort Worth SPARC
Tobi Jackson is a parent, educator, and administrator. An FWISD graduate and lifelong resident of East Fort Worth. This FWISD education prepared her for a successful transition into college, where she received a B.A. from The University of TX. at Arlington and an M.S. from the University of North TX. She and her husband, Bruce, have two children, Alexis, a 2018 FWISD graduate, and Zoie, who graduated in 2022.
Ms. Jackson’s professional experience has focused on education, healthcare, and volunteerism. Her education experience includes being an administrator and faculty member in public, private, and corporate arenas. With over three decades of community service and volunteerism in Tarrant County, Ms. Jackson focuses on sustainable, outcomes-driven efforts for ALL Fort Worth youth. Focused on reducing the pervasive “opportunity gaps” encountered by Fort Worth youth every millisecond, she consistently partners with the community to address: substandard schools and housing, food deserts, healthcare deficits in education and access, and lack of family resources and social opportunities. If left unaddressed, these challenges consistently deliver troublesome academic and developmental sequelae in our youth and their families. The recent reconstruction of Eastern Hills and Polytechnic High School exemplifies the conversion of substandard to “cutting edge” technology-driven schools designed to deliver top-tier education to ALL students for decades forward equitably.
Sherry Hudson
Senior Director Comin' Up Gang Intervention Program- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County
Sherry Hudson is the Senior Director of the Comin’ Up Gang Intervention Program with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County. She has 16 years of experience helping at-risk youth achieve life-changing goals. Previously, she served 14 years with the Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and spent eight years teaching children in after-school programs and English as a Second Language to adults. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a Master of Arts in Criminology/Criminal Justice, and a TX. Adult Education Teacher Credential. Outside of work, she enjoys volunteering in the community. Some of her current services have been with the Alzheimer’s Association, Marvelous Men of Hope, Botanical Research Institute of TX., and community-organized cleanups. She firmly believes in giving back to the community and raising awareness.
Michelle Morgan
Executive VP & Director - One Safe Place
Michelle Morgan is the Executive Vice President and Director of the Family Justice Center for One Safe Place in Fort Worth, TX. She has been an advocate for victims of crime for 22 years and led the planning and development effort to build one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive Family Justice Centers in the country.
Michelle previously worked 12 years for the Fort Worth Police Department Victim Assistance Section, which included eight years as the Victim Assistance Director, supervising advocates, coordinating assistance to crime victims, protecting crime victims’ rights, developing new advocacy programs, and serving as the liaison to law enforcement.
Michelle Morgan has a bachelor’s degree in social science from Criminal Justice and a master’s in management in Public Administration from TX. Wesleyan University. Additionally, Michelle teaches at the university level, is an expert and trainer in domestic violence, serves on multiple community councils, and is a court-certified mediator.
Fortunately, She has a retired law enforcement husband who cares for her and their two children. Her oldest daughter is pursuing a career in real estate, and her youngest son is a freshman at TX. A&M University pursuing a degree in Forensic Investigations
Monique Lopez-Hinkley, J.D.
Managing Partner – Legal Aid of NW Texas
Monique Lopez-Hinkley is the Managing Attorney at the Fort Worth and Weatherford Offices of Legal Aid of Northwest TX. She has been with Legal Aid since May of 1994 and has enjoyed serving this community throughout her career. She attended the University of TX. of Austin for her undergraduate degree and the University of Houston Law Center for her law degree. She has been married for 29 years and has two wonderful daughters.
Virgina Loudermilk
Victim Family Member
Virginia spent nine years working in corporate childcare. She started as a cook and became the center’s director, where she worked in San Antonio, TX. 2003 she began Medical Assistant school and graduated in April 2004 as class Valedictorian. She enjoyed working with an incredible team of OB/GYN physicians for the next five years at Institute for Women’s Health in San Antonio. In October 2009, she made the move to Fort Worth. She worked with a great team of OB/GYN physicians in TX for about seven months at Texas Health Care before starting a new adventure and career in clinical research with Benchmark Research in July 2010, helping pharmaceutical companies continue to provide effective and safe medications and vaccines. In July 2016, she became a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator. She is currently an Associate Site Director for Benchmark Research.
Virginia has been a wife for over 30 years, a mother to a son and daughter, and a grandmother to 2 of the most amazing kids she has ever known. She has a granddaughter who is 11 years old and a grandson who is three years old. Her family learned about Bonnie and SBA through the shaken baby tragedy. Her grandson is a shaken baby survivor.
Trina Gilliam
Victim Family Member
Trina’s daughter, Brittany Henry (currently 27yrs old), is a Shaken Baby Survivor. Brittany, her very first child, was born in 1995. She was born a healthy, strong, and beautiful baby girl. She was ecstatic about becoming a mother.
Brittany’s father and her both worked full-time jobs. She worked days, and he worked nights. She worked in Corporate America, where one of the amenities included an on-site childcare facility for employees. Brittany was placed on the waiting list when she initially took her maternity leave, and upon returning to work, there was still an additional two-week waiting period. Therefore, her husband worked out a schedule where she would care for Brittany at night, and he would care for her during the day.
Her first week back at work would end on that Friday when she discovered Brittany in a condition that required immediate medical attention. Brittany had sustained a traumatic brain injury after being violently shaken at six weeks old. The events in 1996 included the hospital, police, CPS, a civil and criminal case, and her introduction to Bonnie Armstrong with SBA.
For over 27 years, Bonnie and SBA has continued providing Brittany with all the support services needed to navigate this unthinkable process. A process where she had to go through the Civil courts, where she was ultimately found innocent of causing any harm to Brittany and awarded sole custody. Brittany’s father was convicted and sentenced to time in prison. She filed for divorce, and Brittany and she began to rebuild our lives. She continued to work a full-time job, and Brittany attended private and public daycare, and later she enrolled her in public school, where she successfully graduated at 19. During that time, she remarried, and Brittany now has two brothers, ages 19 and 21. Her husband and her have been married for 20yrs. Brittany is far beyond a Shaken Baby Survivor. She’s a living miracle from God.
Over the past 27 years, she’s died three times, but God had bigger plans for her—a life filled with numerous hospitalizations and surgeries resulting from her being shaken. Yet, through it all, God continued to show his mighty healing powers, and Brittany has continued to grow and thrive. Being shaken at six weeks old devastated her ability to perform functional life skills independently. Her baby girl, now a young adult female, has lived a life of total incapacitation. She’s never walked or talked. Yet her life has purpose and meaning. She’s been blessed to live an inclusive life where she’s won trips to Disney World and Morgan’s Wonderland. She has sailed and been deep sea fishing and attended the Tim Tebow Night to Shine Special Needs Prom. Brittany has been on helicopter and airplane sightseeing adventures over the DFW Metroplex. She also competed and earned a silver medal in Special Olympics in Assisted Bowling, participated in SBA team-building activities, and has enjoyed family vacations to Galveston, South Padre Island, Destin, Florida, and Mississippi.
While in high school, Brittany participated in student council and the cheer squad, where she met several Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She even traveled to playoff games, one out of state when the team played in Oklahoma. Brittany was right there on the sidelines. Brittany’s presence in church opened an opportunity for Bonnie to come and speak on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
As a mother of a Shaken Baby Survivor, Trina also spoke on the Alliance’s behalf at training seminars. She eventually retired from Corporate America and became a full-time wife and mother. She also took advantage of an opportunity to attend a school where she became a Certified Medical Assistant—skills she uses daily in caring for Brittany. Her entire life has been entirely devoted to all 3 of her children. Yes, it takes more of her to care for Brittany, and she thanks God her boys understood this and grew up eager to learn ways they could help care for their sister. Brittany is the jewel that’s kept their family together. She’s taught them how to love unconditionally and persevere, but most importantly, she’s taught them to always have Faith and Trust in God.
Their entire family states they are beyond blessed and thankful for Bonnie Armstrong and SBA—27yrs of continued support and services. They genuinely thank us for all that we have done for them. She looks forward to continuing our relationship by spreading awareness of this PREVENTABLE FORM OF CHILD ABUSE.