Please excuse the "unfinished look." 
This section of the website remains under construction.

This brief resume was composed in 2004 for our old website and will be revised soon. It is here to provide basic information until we can complete our web update.  Time references are as of 2004.

About Tom Croke:

• Comes to you with 37 years of professional experience working to improve the quality of life for children and young adults. These positions have involved education, therapeutic intervention, spiritual growth, and facilitation of referral and placement processes.

• Brings to you the knowledge from visiting and evaluating over 400 traditional and special needs schools and facilities that provide educational and therapeutic services for children and young adults (within the last 15 years).

• Has been a parent for 36 years, including raising and subsequently adopting a foster child who presented very special challenges.

• Conducted in-service training sessions for many schools, programs, and treatment centers including the following: Grier School (PA), Coronado Academy (Costa Rica), New Dominion (MD), Shalom et Benedictus (VA), Heritage Schools (UT)

• Evaluated Grand River Academy (boarding school) which culminated in a comprehensive report that the headmaster termed more thorough than one from an accrediting agency

• Owned and published BRIDGE TO UNDERSTANDING and BRIDGE TO UNDERSTANDING ONLINE - Established in 1997 to provide information and assistance to professionals and parents dealing with children and young adults who have behavioral, emotional, psychological, or substance abuse problems.

PAST PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• LCSW (Licensed Certified Social Worker) in Massachusetts, License No. 201339, honorably resigned license October 1998
• Former certified trainer, The SASSI Institute (Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory), Bloomington, IN
• College advisor training by the Educational Policy Council, Grafton, VT
• Former member of Board of Directors for ATTACh (Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children)
• Admission Officer - Brown University, Providence, RI
• Founder and Director of two substance abuse treatment and intervention programs, Taunton, MA and Fall River, MA
• Thirteen years as director of a chemical dependency program within a JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations) accredited hospital, Fall River, MA
• Marketing and outreach work for six regionally accredited schools and JCAHO accredited treatment facilities
• Consultation with special schools and treatment centers on program, marketing, and outreach strategies
• Contributing writer to WOODBURY REPORTS, a professional periodical evaluating special purpose schools
• Contributing writer for GROWTHLINE and RECOVERY WAY, two consumer-oriented publications in the chemical dependency field
• Director of Youth Ministry - Charter Oak United Methodist Church, Greensburg, PA

EDUCATION

Wayne State University, Detroit, MI - three years of post-graduate study in philosophy and mathematics
Brown University, Providence, RI - A. B. Honors in Philosophy

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

IECA (The Independent Educational Consultants Association)

PROFESSIONAL AND/OR PRIOR CLIENT REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Last revised 8-10-08 / minor edits up to 10/12/09