Eagle Valley Youth Ranch - Staff

Eagle Valley Youth Ranch Staff

Tad Draper graduated from Southern Utah University in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice. He earned his Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Child Protective Services and In-Patient Behavioral Medicine.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Tad has been a Clinical Director in residential treatment programs for the past 7 years. Prior to that, he worked 11 years for the State of Utah in Youth Corrections were he had extensive experience with substance abuse, positive control, adjudicated youth and providing individual therapy for a wide range of common mental disorders within the criminal justice system.

While working with residential treatment programs he has expanded his experience to include, individual, group and family therapy using an equine platform and is certified through the EAGALA psychotherapy organization. He has found that using horses provides a great experiential forum to draw out underlying problems that many youth and their families face.

As well as being involved with youth at work, Tad is married and the father of five children (four of which are daughters). He and his family love to spend time outdoors where activities such as horseback riding, camping, 4-wheeling and hiking help to unite the family against the problems we all face.
Email: therapy@eaglevalleyranch.com

Greg Sorenson is originally from Koosharem, Utah where his family owns and operates a farm and residential treatment center. Greg has been involved with treatment centers practically his whole life. As an on-line staff for over a decade, he has worked extensively with troubled teens dealing behavioral and substance abuse issues. His most recent work as a therapist included working with at-risk teens in an outpatient substance abuse environment.

Greg obtained his Bachelors degree in Behavioral Science, with an emphasis in Psychology from Utah Valley State College and then graduated with a Masters degree in Social Work from Brigham Young University.

Greg, his wife Michelle, and son Jaxon, recently relocated to Tropic from Provo, Utah. Greg enjoys spending time outdoors with his family—especially camping, hunting and fishing. He also enjoys spending time working on the ranch as well as a variety of sports.
Email: therapy@eaglevalleyranch.com

Chad and his wife, Jennifer, recently relocated to Tropic, Utah. Chad is a Provo, Utah native and has been working in residential treatment centers for the last four years. His past experience includes work with adjudicated youth as well as working with at-risk youth in an experiential ranch setting. Chad is also a licensed EMT and a certified CPR / first aid instructor.

In his spare time Chad enjoys playing the bass guitar. He has over 15 years of experience with the bass and has had the opportunity to tour in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. Chad has been with his current band (The Matt Lewis Band) for over 5 years and they have recorded two full-length albums.

Chad and Jennifer have two dogs (Max and Boomer) and also own several horses. Chad is a passionate horseman and firmly believes in the positive therapeutic influence that horses can offer. As Program Director, Chad is responsible for the daily structured activities at the ranch, including coordinating time for academics and therapy. He is also very excited to incorporate his love of horses into the program.
Email: chad@eaglevalleyranch.com

Earl and wife Jacque are Utah natives and are no strangers when it comes to educating children. Having been an award winning classroom science teacher for the first fifteen years of his career, Earl has spent the last nineteen years as a high school administrator. As an advocate of education, he himself possesses degrees from both Brigham Young University Rexburg and Utah State University and continues to upgrade skills through in-service workshop participation and attending State and National meetings.

For many years, Earl spent his summer months working as a wilderness ranger with the responsibility of overseeing the operation of Death Hollow Wilderness in Southern Utah, and monitoring several research plots for the Dixie National Forest. Earl is a decorated veteran and former member of the Utah National Guard having recently retired after spending twenty years of dedicated service.

Earl is passionate about community and church service and spends a great deal of his time to that end. He is the recipient of the silver beaver award for his service as a leader in the Boy Scouts of America, has served as a member of the BLM’s advisory board for over 12 years and is currently serving his ninth year on the Garfield Memorial Hospital Board of Directors.

He and wife Jacque are the parents of four children all of whom are experiencing success in their own careers. Earl is an avid gardener, is noted for his Dutch oven cooking, loves spending time outdoors hiking and fishing, and enjoys being with his wife, children and grandchildren.
Email: academics@eaglevalleyranch.com

David Nibley is from Provo, Utah. He graduated from BYU with a degree in English. David is currently working on his Masters in Social Work through the University of Nevada Las Vegas. His experience includes working at a wilderness therapy program, teaching at a high school for at risk youth and working at another residential treatment center on a ranch in Mapleton, UT.

David's favorite things to do include any sport, but right now his is focused on mountain and road biking, horse back riding, racquetball, roller hockey and swimming. He and his wife also like cooking, (especially grilling), camping, reading, and going to rodeos. David's goal at Eagle Valley Ranch is to help the girls become excited about learning and applying knowledge to life.
Email: david@eaglevalleyranch.com

Email: tricia@eaglevalleyranch.com

Jennifer was born and raised in San Diego, California and has been living in Utah for the last 6 years. Although she grew up near a big city, she is no stranger to small town life—she spent most of her youth on her family's strawberry farm. Jennifer and Chad met while they were both working for the summer in Alaska. Chad and Jennifer have a special place in their hearts for Alaska and travel there as often as they can.

Jennifer takes care of the day-to-day office responsibilities at the Ranch. She has been working in an office setting for the past six years with a majority of her career spent with Utah Community Credit Union where she held several positions including, Executive Office Manager. She looks forward to the opportunity to help you stay informed about the status of your child in the program and facilitate communication between you and your child, their therapist, and other staff at the ranch.
Email: jennifer@eaglevalleyranch.com
1-866-514-4744

Reed and Mary LeFevre have been married for over 45 years. They have six children, seventeen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Mary is an avid gardener and Reed runs his own business. In their spare time both enjoy visits from their grandchildren and fishing trips. Reed has owned his own business since 1984 and has served as mayor of the town of Tropic as well as on the town council. Reed will be responsible for planning and overseeing community service projects for the students in the community. Mary will use her expertise in gardening along with her green thumb, to assist in the agricultural and ranch care program. She will also be using her many years of cooking experience to help out in the kitchen.

Travis has been a business manager for an area business for the last ten years. He has volunteered his time over the last year at local residential treatment facilities. He is a certified Positive Control Systems (PCS) instructor and will be responsible for staff training in de-escalation techniques at Eagle Valley Youth Ranch. Travis has been an active volunteer firefighter for ten years. During this time, he has studied firefighter skills at Utah Valley State College and has earned his Firefighter II certification. He currently serves on the Search and Rescue Team and District 5 Regional Hazmat Team. Travis teaches fire fighting classes throughout the state on behalf of the Utah Fire Academy.
Email: travis@eaglevalleyranch.com