Staff...
Scott Henderson, Executive Director
Eric Nation, Director of Training and Development
Stacee Read, Director of DEC Network Development
Jim McDonald, Financial Manager
Carrie Jensen, Project Specialist
Dave Closson, Project Specialist
About Scott
Scott joined National DEC on February 24, 2020, as a full-time executive director. He brings 20 years of nonprofit executive leadership experience to the organization. For fifteen years he served as the executive director for organizations that provided experiential education, outdoor education, leadership development and developed partnerships with organizations serving children and youth at risk. For the next five years, he served organizations in the transition leading strategic planning, board and staff development and clarifying mission, vision, and service.
The experience of serving children and youth at risk due to a variety of circumstances was a transformation for Scott. The programs and partnerships he developed were designed around recognition, action and on-going support in order to provide a future filled with hope for those children, youth and their families. That is what connected Scott to National DEC’s mission. Scott is excited about National DEC’s opportunities to continue to grow and expand impacts. “We have opportunities to not only hear a need; we have an opportunity to do something tangible to meet that need.” Scott shares.
Scott grew up in the Midwest, mostly in Kansas City, Missouri. His family lived in St. Andrews, Scotland for three years when he was a youth. He graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Scott enjoys sports and the outdoors. He is an avid tennis player, golfer, hiker, skier and relaxes by riding his motorcycle in the mountains.
About Eric
Lieutenant (retired) Eric Nation began his career in law enforcement in 1994 where he has held numerous positions. From 1996-2002, Nation was assigned to an undercover narcotics unit and from 2007-2012 was assigned as the Commander of the M.I.N.E. Taskforce – Eastside.
Nation is a founding member of the Jasper County Drug Endangered Children Alliance, where he worked to build collaboration across multiple disciplines and worked to create a series of DEC response protocols; he is also a member of the Iowa Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Steering Committee and was a member of the National DEC Criminal Justice Working Group. In 2009, Lieutenant Nation was honored with the “Ongoing Law Enforcement Victims Service Award” from Jasper County; in 2011, he received the National Drug Endangered Children Collaborative Leadership Award.
Nation has trained thousands of professionals across Iowa, the United States, and internationally. He has participated in the United States Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative, Working Group Meeting on Law Enforcement and Children’s Exposure to Violence in Washington D.C. He has also assisted with the development of the International Association of Chief of Police’s Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Children Exposed to Violence project tools and deliverables. He has appeared on Court TV for Langley Productions’ documentary, Methamphetamine Labs in the Heartland, a public education piece about the hazards of methamphetamine and methamphetamine labs in the Midwest.
About Stacee
Stacee has spent nearly 20 years working in the child welfare field, gaining insight and experience on a variety of key child welfare issues. Before working for National DEC, Stacee’s previous positions included the Associate Ombudsman position with the Office of Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman and the Child Protection Safety Specialist for the Colorado Department of Human Services and Child Abuse and Neglect Investigator. Stacee participated on the Fatality Review Team and was a key member of the Substance Exposed Newborns Steering Committee, the Rural Law Enforcement Meth Initiative, the CDHS Child Fatality Review Team, and the CDHS Prone Restraint Workgroup.
Stacee started working for National DEC in November 2011 as the Director of DEC Network Development. She is responsible for the development and oversight of State and Tribal DEC Alliances, and she provides technical assistance to National DEC network. Stacee is also an integral member of the training team and has participated in curriculum, online training, and publication development.
Stacee received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Illinois focusing on Mental Health and Administration in 2002 and her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Iowa with an emphasis on abnormal psychology and dependency behaviors in 1997. Stacee is an adjunct professor at Metro State University in Denver, Colorado where she teaches in the Master’s Social Work Program.
Board of Directors...
Michael Rice, Board President
Kiti Freier Randall, Board Member
Candace Lightner, Board Member
Tabatha Curtis, Board Member
Chuck Daugherty, Board Member
Allison Smith, Board Member
To connect with any of our board members please contact us at info@nationaldec.org.