Shirley Dwyer has over 30 years of experience working for a variety of child welfare organizations, including the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, the State of Kansas Department of Children and Families, The Family Initiative (TFI) Inc. and other non-profit service agencies including some which serve runaway and homeless youth, and battered women with children. Ms. Dwyer earned a Master of Social Work degree with an administrative concentration from the University of Kansas and has continued her education in the areas of public policy, management, and executive processes. For over a decade, Dwyer served the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF) as a federal grants panel Chairman and reviewer of many federal panels.

Ms. Dwyer is also experienced in research and co-authored the journal article, “Prevention of Sexual Abuse for Preschoolers: Evaluation of a Pilot Program” a ground-breaking study published in Psychological Reports, 1988, Volume 62, pp. 387-396. Dwyer has served as an Officer and on the Board of Directors of other organizations in her communities, including as an Executive Board member of the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas Regional Board for Runaway and Homeless Youth, and for the Family Preservation Coalition in Wichita, Kansas.

Ms. Dwyer has successfully earned accreditations for Case Management, Foster Care, and Psychiatric Residential Treatment programs in multiple states with multiple accreditation agencies including the Council on Accreditation (COA), HAGUE and CARF. Ms. Dwyer has been a principal participant and leader in the drafting and negotiation of multiple privatized contracts for Foster Care, Reintegration Case Management, Family Preservation, and Adoption services in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Dwyer currently serves as the as Chief Operations Officer (COO) of The Family Initiative, Inc. (TFI), and as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Texas Family Initiative LLC, a subsidiary of TFI, Inc.