UINTA ACADEMY FOUNDERS
R. Jeffrey Simpson MS, LCSW
Founder
Jeff received his B.S. in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Nebraska. Jeff has a Masters degree in Child and Youth Care Administration from Nova University in Florida. He also holds a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Utah. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified Equine Assisted Psychotherapist. Jeff has directed programs at a number of residential treatment centers including Father Flanagan’s Boys Home in Nebraska, St. Labre Home for Indian Children in Montana, and the Youth Village in Utah. Wherever he has worked, Jeff has been known as an innovator who can make things happen. Some of the programs he has developed and directed include treatment foster care, residential treatment, family preservation, casework management, and outpatient clinical therapy programs. Jeff has used his expertise to provide consultation and evaluation for a number of residential treatment centers in the U.S. and Canada as a site evaluator for the Teaching-Family Association (TFA).Jeff served for many years on the Certification and Ethics Committee for TFA and has previously served on the board of directors for the National Association of Therapeutic School and Programs. He currently chairs the NATSAP government relations committee. Jeff and Becky started Uinta because it had always been their dream to run a program that was clinically intense and sophisticated, but also very warm and nurturing. Jeff directs all aspects of the daily operations at Uinta. As a therapist he also carries a small caseload of girls. Since he lost both of his parents as a teenager and understands the emotional implications of loss, Jeff facilitates the Bereavement group. Jeff and Becky are the parents of four children, three of whom have worked at Uinta. Jeff loves horses, old Western movies and TV shows, motorcycles, and hanging out with his children and grandchildren. If you attend one of Uinta’s family weekends, you’re bound to see a clip from the Andy Griffith show, one of Jeff’s favorites.
Becky Simpson
Founder
Becky studied music education at the University of Arizona with the goal to teach high school music. She has spent her entire professional career working with adolescents, but in a different capacity than she originally envisioned. Becky started working with children in Arizona as a youth care worker at Desert Willow Ranch. She was a Certified Family Teacher at Father Flanagan’s Boys Town in Nebraska and was the Director of Training and Evaluation at the St. Labre Home for Indian Children in Montana. She was responsible for staff training and evaluation at the Youth Village in Utah. There she developed and ran a parenting program that consisted of community parenting classes and support groups. She also trained teachers in the Granite School District on classroom management and trained foster parents for the Utah Department of Child and Family Services. Her experience includes being a foster parent, consulting to treatment foster homes, providing in-home training to parents, and supervising a sexual offender program. Becky is a certified Teaching-Family Model Trainer, Evaluator, and Consultant. She is a Crisis Intervention Specialist certified by the Crisis Prevention Institute and a Level I Parelli student. Becky also served as a site evaluator for the Teaching-Family Association and a lecturer for the Governor’s Initiative on Families. At Uinta, Becky supervises the therapeutic milieu, conducts staff training, instructs Parelli natural horsemanship, manages human resources, and does a little interior decorating. Becky’s experience with applied behavioral analysis makes her a valuable member of the treatment team. She also runs the Culinary Club and Singing Club. On a personal note, Becky still loves music; she plays the piano, writes music, sings and accompanies her church choir. She enjoys gardening, sewing, reading, and most of all, her grandchildren.
"Girls who come to Uinta are pleasantly surprised that they live in a home in a residential neighborhood, that the mountains are right outside their door, and that they get to do all the normal things that teenagers like to do."
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