Program Staff
Tawny Davis, LCSW
Executive Director
Tawny is a fabulous role model for the girls at Kolob Canyon. A licensed Clinical Social Worker with over a decade of experience, Tawny mixes compassion and kindness with excellent boundaries and insight. Always smiling, she brings energy and an excitement for life that is infectious with the girls and staff.
Originally from Seattle, WA, Tawny completed her Bachelors degree at Brigham Young University and her Master's degree at University of Utah in Social Work. She has worked as a therapist, a Program Director and a Residential Director for a large treatment program. Tawny's interests and expertise include adolescent treatment, family work, groups, substance abuse recovery, and program management. She's excited to be working with the girls and families of Kolob Canyon.
Heather Harris, LCSW
Therapist
Heather Harris earned her Bachelors degree in Social Work from Utah State University and her Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from Walla Walla University in Washington. She is a Utah Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She spent the past four years working with at-risk youth in residential treatment and providing aftercare services to families across the nation. Prior to coming to Kolob, Heather worked with individual couples and families in an outpatient setting and with adolescents in the juvenile justice system. She has a wide range of clinical experiences including working with trauma, mood disorders, attachment, oppositional defiance, family relationship issues, adolescent substance abusers, battered women, Clinical Director of children’s therapeutic programs, she worked with the Guardian Ad Litem pro bono services to children in the foster care system and sexually abused women. She is interested in helping girls and families develop healthy, positive relationships. Heather loves to laugh and believes that humor is an important part of life. She enjoys reading, hiking, photography, playing volleyball and laughing with her family and friends.
Ruth Morrow, LPCI
Therapist
Ruth is an LPC and has worked in residential treatment for over ten years. She is excellent at cultivating relationships with her girls and inviting them to change, and knows how to do the little things that cumulatively make such a difference in the course of treatment. For this and other reasons, Ruth is loved by the girls on her caseload! Ruth is also major adventurer - always camping, hiking, biking, or otherwise enjoying the outdoors. One of her major draws to coming to Kolob Canyon was our Recreational Therapy program and her ability to be with your girls in their activities and adventures. Ruth lives in Cedar City with her husband, Eric.
Dr. Ryan Williams, MD
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Dr. Williams is board certified in both psychiatry and pediatrics and has also completed training in child psychiatry as well as child abuse and neglect. He completed his adult and adolescent psychiatric as well as pediatric training at Tufts University in Boston MA, where he served for two years as the chief resident. Here he learned from prominent members of the field of psychiatry and developed a broad understanding of development, human behavior and brain functioning. From this breadth of understanding, he is able to see the whole patient in a way that can be lost in the compartmentalized world of modern outpatient psychiatric care, where psychiatrists and therapists often practice independent of each other. Dr. Williams believes that it is the knowledge of the individual patient and not the diagnosis that should direct care and interventions. Furthermore, medication, in most adolescent patients, carries an adjunctive role to therapy in treatment and while helpful, it has definitive limits. Many of the patients who come into long-term residential psychiatric care know these limits all to well. Dr. Williams views most adolescent mental health problems, not in terms of chemical imbalances, but in terms of abnormal patterns of neuronal firing that can be modulated by medications but only repaired through corrective experience, which in turn is facilitated and hastened through psychotherapeutic techniques. You will find Dr. Williams to be a caring and thoughtful physician who recognizes your investment in your daughter as he coordinates with the treatment team in her care.
Scott Henningson, BS
Academic Director and Social Studies Teacher
Scott originally grew up in Central Utah, attended Snow College and is a graduate of Southern Utah University with a degree in the Social Sciences, and is licensed certified in Secondary Education. Upon graduation, Scott spent time teaching and being involved with students in the Iron County area public schools. Scott first joined the CERTS Schools programs teaching Social Studies at Mountain Springs Prep Academy. Later, he joined the other CERTS Schools in Southern Utah at Kolob Canyon and Moonridge RTC's. Starting in August 2011, Scott became Kolob Canyon and Moonridge's Academic Director.
Scott considers himself a continuous student of history and cultures. He loves everything and anything there is to learn about foreign countries and peoples. He loves traveling. So far, Scott has traveled through several European countries, was a temporary resident of Brazil and has visited 24 of the 50 states (personal goal ofvisiting all 50). He also loves music, the outdoors and gardening. As a teacher, Scott hopes he can influence student lives beyond classroom teaching. Besides teaching school subjects, he strives to teach life skills and lessons that will apply to student lives after leaving Kolob and Moonridge.
Marcia Payton, BA, RN
Nurse Coordinator
Marcia has a B.A. in Elementary Education and A.D. in Nursing. Marcia has worked in psychiatric inpatient units for the past 18 years. Marcia has also worked on general medical inpatient units and in the surgical unit. During these work experiences, she has held the positions of Staff Nurse, Charge Nurse, and Nursing Coordinator. Marcia has developed a network of services available in the community that enables Kolob Canyon Residential Treatment Center to develop a quality medical program. Marcia lives close to the facility and is easily available to meet the students' medical needs.
Tiffany Neibaur
Program Director
Tiffany has with Kolob Canyon for five years, and manages the residential portion of our program. Tiffany has worked with adolescents in treatment for over ten years, she has experience working with a variety of issues, including substance abuse, mental health issues, and troubled teens. Tiffany values spending time with the girls in our program and watching them grow, always learning from them as well. Tiffany has two beautiful daughters; four and five years old that keep her more than busy. She loves reading, shopping, spending time with friends and family, and collecting shoes.
Janell Stephenson
Assistant Program Director
Janell has been with Kolob with over two years and has really enjoyed being a part of Kolob. She grew up in central Utah and has lived in southern Utah for the past five years. She attended Southern Utah University where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in sociology and has been working with female adolescents for over five years. She and her husband enjoy the outdoors camping, four-wheeling,hiking, fishing, and playing sports.
Jared Robinson
Recreation Director
Jared is a certified Recreation Director, graduated from Southern Utah University. Jared specializes in rock climbing and has extensive experience with hiking, mountaineering, ropes courses, and other recreational and team building activities. Jared is an avid athlete and can always be found outdoors playing with our girls and leading them on new adventures and experiences from whitewater rafting to snowshoeing. Jared is married and
has three beautiful children.
Breanna Bragg
Science and Health teacher
Breanna has worked for Moonridge Academy and Kolob Canyon for over 2 years. She began as a line staff as she completed her teaching degree at Southern Utah University. While she was finishing up her degree she won awards from the National Science Teachers Association for being the student chapter president at SUU. She has a great love for the girls at Kolob and Moonridge. She loves to share her knowledge and interests with them which include; swimming, cooking, reading, photography and watching movies. She has 4 nieces that she loves to spend time with and spoil. She grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and has seen many young people go down the wrong road for one reason or another. She loves to use her experiences in her life to help teach the girls to make better choices. She is a resident of Enoch, Utah.
Ellen Zaifnejad
Math Teacher
Ellen attended Brigham Young University while studying math, English, science, humanities, social sciences, art, and PE. She focused on secondary education, majoring in Math and minoring in English. Married and the mother of 4 children ranging in ages from 13 to 20, she has lived in several states. Ellen has worked with teenagers in numerous capacities over the years. She loves working in the small groups that characterize education at Kolob Canyon and loves to personalize her instruction.