President

Denis McCarville

Denis McCarville has been with Uta Halee and Cooper Village since 1980, when he began as a house parent. Since then he has served as Group Living Coordinator and Program Director. He was promoted to his current role as President and CEO in 1988. Denis serves on the board of and as consultant to many nonprofit agencies in the region and country, including the Children and Family Coalition of Nebraska (CAFCON) and the National Association of Children's Behavioral Health (NACBH) in Washington, D.C.

Denis holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is an adjunct faculty member at Buena Vista University in IA, where he teaches in the Health and Human Services department.

Read Denis' message about the campaign.

Clinical Operations Director

Margaret (Peg) Mahoney LMHP

Peg received her Bachelor of Social Work Degree from Creighton University and her Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Peg has held various positions in the human services field including direct care experience as a Youth Life Educator, Recruiter and Trainer for foster parents, Psychiatric Social Worker II, Permanency Plan Reviewer, Therapist, and Admissions Therapist. Peg has been the Clinical Operations Director at Uta Halee and Cooper Village since 2002 and has worked for the agency for 16 years.

Peg's professional areas of interest include: Organizational Psychology, trauma-based disorders, Jungian Psychology, Ecopsychology and Integrated Treatment (co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders). Peg received post-graduate training in Feminist Psychodynamic Psychotherapy through the Women's Therapy and Learning Center and The Stone Center (Jean Baker Miller Training Institute) in Wellesley, MA.

Medical Director

David Walker, M.D.

Dr. Walker provides psychiatric oversight for all the programs at Uta Halee and Cooper Village. It is extremely rare for a residential treatment center to have a full-time medical director on its staff. He is supported by two additional part-time Psychiatrists.

Dr. Walker completed general and child/adolescent psychiatric training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He has acted as Medical Director at Mercy Behavioral Care in Sioux City, IA, and has extensive experience in residential adolescent care at Aviva Center in Los Angeles and Shandin Hills Adolescent Center in San Bernardino, CA. Dr. Walker also worked with high-needs adolescents at the Los Angeles Free Clinic and is proud to have served in the United States Air Force.

Director of Donor Relations

Tracy Wells

Tracy Wells joined Uta Halee in 1999 as Development and Volunteer Coordinator. She was named Director of Donor Relations in 2007. Previously, she was a grant director and drug prevention educator for Heartland Family Service in Omaha. She is actively involved in community organizations including Church Women United and the Tip Top Shop Board of Directors; she has served as a Girl Scout leader, local PTA president and member of the Junior League of Omaha.