Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 8-20-21

Features
Attorney Fights Claims While Asserting Her Own
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
A year after Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Authority Board of Directors approved an inde- pendent audit to investigate a whistle-blower complaint against Interim CEO Car- olyn House Stewart, ESQ., the investigation found she had violated HART’s Professionalism Pol- icy, but Atty. Stewart did not violate any laws.
The complaint was filed by several white employees in Operations who accused Stewart of hostile, humiliat- ing and bullying behaviors.
During the saga, some media outlets clouded the issue by alleging that HART paid Atty. House Stewart close to $100,000 while she was under investigation.
However, it’s much more complicated than that. Atty. House Stewart had filed her own EEOC complaints against HART for discrimi- nation and retaliation. The $100,000 paid to her was a result of the settlement agreement. HART also paid Stewart’s attorney fees.
According to reports, HART’s legal counsel re- ceived the final report from investigating attorney Dottie Green on Friday, August 13, 2021. Atty. Stewart has been gone from HART for
ATTORNEY CAROLYN HOUSE STEWART
several months.
The complainants were
identified as former Interim Chief People Officer Crystal Hundley, Director of Com- munications Carson Chambers, Chief of Com- munications and Marketing Jacqueline Halldow, and former Deputy Chief of Transporta- tion Ruthie Reyes Bur- ckard.
Atty. House Stew- art was chosen to be interim CEO on Nov. 4, 2019, when it suspended its former CEO, Ben Limmer. He was later fired.
Stewart resigned as HART Interim CEO a year later, but remained as Direc- tor of Risk and Legal Serv- ices. She resigned from HART in May 2021.
Woman Persevered During COVID To Complete Dissertation For Doctorate Degree
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
While Ms. Christine Li’Chele’ Moore was preparing her Dissertation for her doctor- ate degree, COVID struck. She had previously been in pursuit of African-American partici- pants for the dissertation, which at first proved difficult.
Anyway, she completed her dissertation defense on May 11, 2021, which was accepted for publication on May 20, 2021. The title is African American Blended Parent Strategies’ And The Influence On Children’s School Per- formance.
She has graduated via Zoom and is now of- ficially, Dr. Christine Li’Chele’ Moore, with a Ph.D. degree in Human and Social Serv- ices with a specialization in Family Studies and Intervention Strategies (2012-2021), from the School of Behavioral Sciences Program with Walden University. She’s just waiting for the opportunity to walk down the aisle.
Having been selected an “Influencer,” the Zoom Commencement Ceremony included an invitation to filming an interview with Isaac Cudjoe, the Director of the Center for Social Change.
“The purpose of my generic qualitative study was to determine what strategies African American parents in blended families adopted to lessen the impact that family structural changes had on their children’s school per- formance,” she explained. Her work was se- lected by Walden University and submitted for publication to ProQuest.
Dr. Moore will be introducing her re- search findings to the Hillsborough County School District and other school districts in the surrounding area. To that end, she has ac- cepted a partnership with the District and has been awarded office space for her business, Di- verse Family Interventions Human and Social Services (DFIHSS), in the Just Full Service Center.
“I am humbly excited and ready to move forward in offering pertinent focused semi- nars, workshops and groups to the commu- nity.”
Looking forward, Dr. Moore finds that she’ll be quite busy. She will also be sharing her findings with school administrators/teach- ers in the form of seminars. And, she’ll offer a
CHRISTINE LI’CHELE’ MOORE, Ph.D.
workshop on implicit vs. explicit biases for teachers and organizations. Additional semi- nars and workshops will be oriented to blended family parents and their school-aged children. In addition, seminars and workshops will be focused on Diversity/Professional Team Building. This will include holding sem- inars for pastors and ministers.
Dr. Moore didn’t just get on the track of helping young children. It all started in the late 1990s, when she opened a Home Daycare, which prompted her to help our children in the early phases of their education. This led to the opening of her first Childcare Center. A 5-year stay in Japan led to the beginning of PhaZes Pre-School Enrichment Center. She was able to incorporate what she had learned in Japan to America’s children.
Furthering her efforts to help children, Dr. Moore earned her B. S. Degree in Human Services, with a concentration in Early Child- hood Education; followed by a M. S. degree in Human Services, concentration in Mental Health from Springfield University. During this time, she wrote her first book, “Blended Family Dilemmas, Are You Making It? Or, Breaking It?”
Dr. Moore is a member of the National Organization of Human Services, National Honor Society Sigma Alpha Pi, and the National Leadership and Success.
Christine Li’Chele’ Moore, Ph.D., owner of Di- verse Family Interventions, may be contacted at: 727.277.9317, 813.531.5380, or diversedfamilyinter- vention@yahoo.com.
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