Resource & Referral Staff
Debra Gibson, Resource and Referral Coordinator, Ponca City
Email Debra | 918.337.6524
My name is Debra Gibson and I am a Resource and Referral Coordinator for Delaware Child Development. From my office in Ponca City, I supervise Specialists in a nine county region encompassing North Central Oklahoma. I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) through the State of Oklahoma with a Master's of Behavioral Science degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. I began working with Delaware Child Development as an R&R Specialist in September of 2006 and moved to the Coordinator position in April of 2007.
I have enjoyed working with clients, providers, community members and staff to enhance the quality of child care in the state of Oklahoma. Although my background is in counseling, I have found that the basis of the work remains the same ... helping improve the lives of children and their caregivers. There is truly nothing as rewarding as working to improve the quality of life for our children. I am a strong advocate for preventative mental health and believe that the earlier issues are identified and dealt with, the greater the probability of a positive outcome. I believe that the key to healthy well-adapted adults is stability and nurturing in early childhood and that educating and assisting parents and providers is a crucial link in this process. In addition, community awareness, advocacy and education serve as an ideal avenue to promote quality of life for children.
My previous work includes six years of individual and family homebased therapy and case management. I am co-founder of Raindrops, Inc., a non-profit organization which provides support, training and resources to families and professionals affected by pregnancy and child loss, and continue this work on a volunteer basis. I worked as a bereavement counselor for Hospice of Ponca City for five years as well. I currently serve on the Kay County Community Crisis Response Team and as a rotating teacher of Co-Parenting Through Divorce classes. I am a bereaved parent and the parent of two surviving birth children and two adopted children. I enjoy photography, spending time with my children, walking, reading, and singing in my church and the community. I believe that life is a precious gift and that we can share our gift by working to help improve the quality of life for others.
Mandy Karleskint , Resource and Referral Specialist, Ponca City
Email Mandy | 918.337.6520
My name is Mandy Karleskint and I am the Resource and Referral Specialist in Ponca City. I provide services to Kay, Noble, and Pawnee counties. I started working with Delaware Child Development in April of 2010.
I have a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Pittsburg State University in Elementary Education. I taught in the public schools for 6 years before opening a family child care home. I have also worked as a child care center director. I have many years of experience both in the family child care home setting and in a large center setting.
My husband, Dean, and I have been married since 2002. We are the parents to two beautiful children, Kamden and Kendall. In my spare time I enjoy participating in sports and church and watching my children play sports. I love to travel and spend time with my family. The best part of my professional and personal life is knowing that I have positively impacted the lives of children.
Serenity Keeling, Resource and Referral Specialist, Bartlesville
Email Serenity | 918.337.6500
My name is Serenity Keeling and I am the Resource and Referral Specialist for Washington, Osage, and Nowata Counties. I have the privilege of serving and working with families, child care providers and communities in many ways. I work with parents and families by providing child care referrals and guidelines to help families choose quality child care. As a parent, I understand that choosing a child care provider can be a very stressful ordeal. My goal with each parent is to help alleviate as many concerns as possible by giving them the resources they need to select the right child care setting. On the provider side, I have the honor of working with child care providers by offering monthly training and professional development programs. Part of my duties include increasing the supply of quality care by recruiting new family child care homes and helping with start-up, expansion and quality improvement of new school-age programs and child care centers. I serve as a resource to providers by offering information to child care decision makers to help them assess need and allocate resources. In regard to the communities, I advocate for quality child care at state and national levels on pertinent child care related issues.
I have 15 years of combined experience in regard to child care and licensing requirements. Previously, I owned and operated a family child care facility in which I was extremely blessed by the children and families I was able to work with. I have also served as the operations manager for a large company child care center. During that time, my work also included duties relating to sales, marketing, accounting, customer relations, and training of staff.
I am currently working towards the completion of my Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. I plan to continue my education by acquiring my teacher’s certification and obtaining my Master’s in Early Childhood Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and church family. In my spare time, I also like to read, go horseback riding, fishing, camping, and work in the garden. My husband and I are the proud parents of three wonderful boys. I firmly believe that the best way to contribute back to society is to invest in the lives of children.