Betting, Howes, Peterson bring unique experiences, passions to organization

MELBOURNE, FL – November 20, 2014 – Brevard Family Partnership, Brevard County’s lead agency for child welfare has welcomed three new community members to its board of directors. Board chair and Brevard County manager Stockton Whitten introduced the three at BFP’s October board meeting.

New members include Andrea Betting, managing director of the Florida Adoption Center in Satellite Beach and vice president of the Florida Crisis Pregnancy Resource Center; Dr. Gregory Howes, CEO of Treaty Consulting Group; and Mark W. Peterson, a seasoned trial and appellate attorney.

Ms. Betting is a native of Great Britain. She spent her early career working for Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, Lloyd’s of London Member’s Agencies, and the University of Cambridge. Eventually settling with her husband and daughter in Melbourne, Ms. Betting earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Social Work from the University of Central Florida. Today, she puts her business background and her experience as a Clinical Social Worker together to serve her adoption and counseling clients.

Dr. Howes is a practitioner, educator, author, and scholar of business and management. Over his career working with small businesses and fortune 500 companies, Dr. Howes has championed numerous change efforts, steered market penetrations and business pursuits, led Post-Merger Integrations (PMIs), and ran various departments at the management and executive level. He is adjunct faculty at Florida Institute of Technology and Webster University where he teaches Strategic Management, Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship, Operations & Logistics, and Program Management. Dr. Howes holds a Bachelor’s degree with a Computer Science Emphasis from Barry University; a MBA in Technology Management from the Florida Institute of Technology; and a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix.

Mr. Peterson’s legal career has lent to extensive experience and expertise representing individuals and corporations in state, federal, circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Minnesota and his Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. He served as an adjunct professor, clinical instructor and guest lecturer at the University of Minnesota Law School and William Mitchell College of Law in trial practice, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, ethics and legal writing. A Minnesota native, Peterson contributes a significant amount of time to community causes here in Brevard, as he did in his home state. He is a court-appointed representative for children through the Guardian Ad Litem program and also serves as a volunteer with Children’s Home Society, Brevard Rescue Mission, and the Brevard Zoo.

The new members bring varied and invaluable experience to a board that includes members of Brevard County government, private industry, and nonprofit organizations. The all-volunteer board guides the mission and vision of BFP and oversees the fiscal health and organizational welfare of the agency.

About Brevard Family Partnership

Established in 2004 by a Legislative mandate to privatize foster care and related services in Florida (Section 409.1617, Florida Statutes), Brevard Family Partnership is Brevard County’s lead child welfare agency. Working in partnership with over 70 community organizations, its mission is to protect children, strengthen families and change lives through the prevention of child abuse and the operation and management of a comprehensive, integrated, community-based system of care for abused, abandoned and neglected children, and their families.

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