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October 31, 2009

New director a familiar face at The Saville Center

Chris Day

A new director means new challenges and some new directions for Stillwater’s child advocacy center.

Brandi White, a familiar face at The Saville Center, is its new executive director, replacing Teresa Tully. White took the reins Oct. 1, but was the agency’s administrative assistant for the previous five years.

“We accomplished so much in the first 10 years,” she said. “We will build on that base.”

The Saville Center was established in 1998 to improve Payne County’s investigation of child abuse and child sex abuse incidents.

Its Child Abuse Reponse Evaluation and Support team shares information in child abuse investigations. The team is comprised of law enforcement officers, Department of Human Services Child Protective Services workers, mental health and medical professionals and district attorney’s office employees.

The agency uses forensic interviewers from Oklahoma City to conduct recorded interviews with children who are victims of sexual abuse.

Forensic interviewers have worked with about 100 children so far this year, and the CARES team about twice that number, White said.

The center receives approximately 65 percent of its budget through grants. The rest comes from donations. It is a United Way agency, White said.

The center has two employees – White and victim/family advocate Holly Shelton.

Two new programs will start soon, and more changes are ahead, White said. The center’s Board of Directors will develop a 10-year strategic plan at its December retreat.

Shelton said she’s excited about the new programs and changes.

One of the new programs brings mental health counselors to the center to work with parents and child abuse victims, she said. Previously, center clients were referred to off-site counselors.

A volunteer program is in the works, White said. The center has a few volunteers, but White plans to develop a training program and recruit volunteers.

The program is still in the planning stages, but The Saville Center will accept volunteers in the interim. People interested in volunteering should call the center at 405-377-5670 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.

White hails from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

She moved to Stillwater with her family more than six years ago. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Oklahoma State University and is certified to teach. She is married to Dr. Jason White, a licensed psychologist, and has two children, Harrison, 8, and Audrey, 6.

Although White joined The Saville Center primarily as a grant writer, she said she decided to broaden her focus after attending a child-abuse convention a few years ago.

“After that, I just wanted to get more and more training,” she said.

Now she can put her grant writing and child advocacy skills to work.

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