We are very excited to introduce Courtney Gaskins, PhD who started on November 1, 2021 as our new Executive Director of Residential Services for the Alice C. Tyler Village here in Lignum, VA.

Courtney comes to the Village with significant and successful Executive Leadership in multiple roles at Youth For Tomorrow (YFT) and most recently as a Division Director at the US Department of Health and Human Services Family and Youth Services Bureau. Prior to coming to ChildHelp, Courtney worked for over 16 years at Youth for Tomorrow where she was instrumental in the development, diversification, and implementation of program components in the areas of residential, education, therapeutic foster care, day treatment, and clinical counseling.

Courtney has a B.A. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Education from George Mason University and an M.Ed. and a Certification in Education Leadership from the University of Mary Washington. She is published and the recipient of numerous awards, including the GMU, College of Education and Human Development Service Award in 2010. Courtney states that her greatest passion is working and teaching others to work and make a difference in the lives of children and youth. She currently mentors young professional women who experienced homelessness, foster care, and/or trafficking.

In her down time Courtney is an amateur portrait and figure artist using a diversity of mediums including painting, sculpting, and drawing. She is currently seeking a B.A. in Fine Art with the Academy of Art University. She also enjoys reading, writing and spending time outdoors.

Dr. Chester grew up in Chicago, and attended Boston University School of Medicine, where he was awarded Summa cum Laude. Moving to New Orleans for Internship and further medical specialization, he trained in Psychiatry, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and Medical Psychoanalysis at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Board Certified in Psychiatry, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, he has practiced and taught Psychoanalysis and has lectured on subjects within Adult & Child Psychiatry and public health. With over 30 years of professional experience, Dr. Chester has held such titles as a Consulting Psychiatrist, Medical Director, and Clinical Director in several hospitals; including Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, DePaul Hospital, Coliseum Medical Center, River Oaks Hospital, and Acadian Oaks Hospital. He has been a consultant at the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, Lutheran Social Services of the South, Methodist Home for Children, and Bethlehem Children’s Residential Treatment Center. He has also consulted formally on behalf of New Orleans and St. Tammany public schools, juvenile justice/courts, and juvenile forensic centers in Louisiana.

In 2005, Dr. Chester re-located to Virginia, and has spent the last 15 years as the Chief Child Psychiatrist and Director of Psychiatric Services for Horizon Behavioral Health, while operating his own private practice. He has also been a Child Psychiatric Consultant in Virginia for the Ragged Mountain Home, The Hughes Center, Region 10 CSB, and the Blue Ridge Medical Center.

Over the years Dr. Chester dedicated his time to organizations that furthered his work with children on many levels. He worked in Central America as a paramedic, he studied comparative culture and Family and Geriatric Medicine abroad in Europe, completed volunteer work in lead poisoning assessments, and in psychiatric hospitals. He was most recently named Psychiatrist and Medical Director of the Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp, located in Culpeper County, Virginia.

Nancy started life at the Village almost 24 years ago when the Air Force assigned her husband to the Washington DC area. She studied Education and Nutrition at Kent State University and The University of North Dakota. Nancy is a Registered Dietitian and is passionate about good health at all ages. She has worked with children throughout her career. Beginning in the teaching field, she later worked with women, infants and children for the USDA WIC Nutrition Program.

Nancy was introduced to the residential world when she worked in the Long Term Care business while her husband was assigned to Malmstrom AFB in Montana. In her free time she is a big fan of HGTV and enjoys home remodeling projects with her husband. She and her family are torn between their love of the mountains and ocean, so vacations vary in landscape. They have two daughters that are a big part of their lives. One of the highlights of her spare time is her job as “Nana” to their grandson, enjoying his sense of adventure, zest for life and reminding her to laugh! 

Ayla is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Ayla graduated from Liberty University with the Masters of Arts in Clinical Counseling. Ayla has been a direct care worker and Residential Program Manager for Childhelp. Ayla also has experience in community based and school based clinical services. Ayla is bilingual in English and Spanish. She has spoken about child abuse on Telemundo and Univision. Ayla is also certified lifeguard.

Brooks graduated locally from the University of Mary Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and began working at Childhelp shortly after graduation. He has been employed at Childhelp for 17 years, first starting out as a Direct Care Staff and has worked up through management to the Director of Residential Services. Brooks is certified both as a Therapeutic Options Instructor and in the Residential Child and Youth Care Professional Curriculum. Brooks is passionate about the therapeutic care and treatment of the children and believes strongly in the impact of just one caring adult in turning a life around. In his free time, Brooks enjoys playing golf and spending family time with his wife and four children 

Jessica is very excited to take on her role as Education Director at Childhelp! After receiving her B.A. in Psychology and B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education, she obtained her M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. Following her schooling, she spent 11 years in the public education system teaching 5th grade students while obtaining her Administrative Certificate in Educational Leadership. Jessica loves working with the students, supporting the instructional staff and collaborating with all other departments to best meet the needs of the students we serve. She strives to help all kids meet their individual potential and assisting staff in becoming stronger instructional leaders.

David, better known as “Chaplain Dave” has been a staple at the Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp for 23 years.

42 years ago he graduated college with a degree in biology and agriculture. Following his graduation from Seminary, he worked in local churches for almost 12 years.

Chaplain Daves’ focus at Childhelp has been to develop ways to meet the spiritual needs of the children we serve and the adults who serve in this unique and natural space. At the Village we seek to help the children stay connected to their religious heritage. But we also hope to help the children flourish as human beings by strengthening connections to the natural world and giving them opportunities to serve. Animal care, nature hikes, digging, gardening, service visits to senior care centers, singing, and chapel are included in the spiritual care programming at the Village.

Debra comes to Childhelp with nearly 20 years of Human Resources exposure to include Risk Management at Cox Communications in Northern Virginia. She oversaw Safety, Security, various lines of Liability, Workers’ Compensation and more. Most recently Debra was the Human Resources Director at Youth For Tomorrow – New Life Center, Inc., a facility in Bristow, VA similar to ours. She spent eight years establishing a Human Resources Department of Excellence. Highlights include COA and Joint Commission Accreditations, licensing compliance, electronic employee files, new HRIS implementations and she was an appointed member of the Employee Engagement Committee. Debra has been married to Mark for over 30 years and has one son who is now living in Wisconsin. Debra is very happy to live only 8.5 miles from home after many, many years of long commutes. 

Wade has been with Childhelp Alice C. Tyler Village since April 1995. He started out as a Direct Care staff member and over the years held multiple positions to include Senior Direct Care, Resident Manager, Administrator on Duty and Training Coordinator.

For the past 17 years he has truly enjoyed his position as Director of Community Relations working with the volunteers, donors, community supporters and local businesses to enhance the childrens’ quality of stay while at the village.

Away from work his passion is motorcycles. He loves the open road and meeting people from all over the USA. He have an amazing wife and loves the lake life. He loves to relax on the lake, floating, noodling, playing lake volleyball and hanging out with family and friends.

Amanda Stone directs the Villages business development and marketing team across multi-state lines. She focuses her efforts on avenues of revenue growth to be pursued for the future success of Childhelp’s program in Culpeper, while cultivating long-lasting relationships with community stakeholders.

Amanda has a BS in Psychology, with a focus on child human development. Before joining Childhelp nearly 8 years ago, Amanda was a Regional Marketer for one of the largest hospital systems in the US. She has also held various admissions, sales, and social service roles throughout the Richmond, VA area treating both children and the elderly.

In her time at Childhelp, Amanda and her team have been able to successfully secure contracts with Tricare, various MCO’s, and state Medicaid contracts in PA, NJ and MD. The Villages first website, advertising, and social media presence were built under her leadership, and Childhelp has become a provider of choice in Virginia and beyond.

Amanda is a co-founder of the Central Virginia Coalition, a private provider group that works together in serving our community and the children in it. She has devoted a number of years to the Boys Scouts of America organization as a leader and secretary. In her spare time she enjoys her 3 children, family trips to the beach, reading and football.

Jeffrey Hines has been with Childhelp for over 25 years. He started working with Childhelp in 1997, just 3 years out of high school as a Building Maintenance Worker and was promoted along the years to Maintenance Supervisor, Physical Plant Manager, Assistant Director of Facilities, and most recently to Director of Facilities for all of our Childhelp locations. Jeff is a Licensed Class A Contractor in the State of VA and currently holds his Master’s Tradesman licenses in the Electrical, HVAC, and Plumbing Trades and also has a Locksmith Certification. In is free time, his hobbies include spending time with his family, fishing, and being actively involved at his local church.

Philip Rudd is the Facilities Manager for the Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp. In March of 2014, he began his career as the painter and has worked his way up through the various maintenance positions over the last 8 years. While at Childhelp he has received his certification as a fiber optic technician, obtained his HVAC Journeyman’s license, and expanded his knowledge in other building trades such as plumbing and electrical through on the job training. In his current role, he also serves as one of the two on site IT representatives that assist our corporate IT Department with the villages IT needs. His hobbies/interest include spending time with his wife and 2 daughters, as well as being actively involved in his church.