Stephanie Alvstad
CEO and President, J Bar J Youth Services
“Seeing teens that are struggling or facing great challenges turn their lives around and become happy, healthy, productive adults is a great honor and joy. At J Bar J Youth Services, we see kids succeeding every day.”
Stephanie started with J Bar J in 1989. She began working with teens and families providing mediation, shelter, groups, and individual case management at Cascade Youth & Family Center. In 1997 she became CEO and began moving J Bar J to a positive financial position, building a healthy reserve, and establishing an endowment.
As a result, over these 30 years, Stephanie has developed the organization with the addition of multiple programs serving youth. These include the Academy at Sisters, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon, Street Outreach, the LOFT Transitional Living Shelter for Homeless Youth, the at: project providing services for human and sex trafficking survivors, and J5 Parole and the Revocation program.
Stephanie saw the need and benefit of collaboration with other community programs serving youth and created mergers with Grandma’s House and Kindred Connections. Most recently she oversaw the building of a Vocational School that will prepare boys from the Boys Ranch for employment.
Stephanie’s focus has been on building the capacity of the organization through a continuum of services, to assure youth are prepared to be productive adults. She believes in the potential of young adults and has committed her career to support them. To assure quality drives all activity, J Bar J Youth Services became accredited with the National Council on Accreditation in 2021. J Bar J Youth Services is one of eight COA accredited programs in Oregon and the only program accredited on the east side of the Cascades.
Stephanie has served on many Boards and is a state resource for legislation. She is at the table for important issues related to kids and families. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for First Story, the Oregon Alliance for Children, a member of the Governor appointed Interstate Council for Juveniles, the Oregon Youth Authority Partner’s Advisory Council, and a member of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend.
Stephanie graduated from the University of Montana summa cum laude with a B.A. in Social Work. In her early career, Stephanie acquired her private pilot’s license, as well as worked extensively with breaking and training horses. When not at work, Stephanie can be found hiking, riding horses, or spending time with her family including the family dogs Bill Murray and Züg.
Bruce Waldrup
Chief Programs Officer, J Bar J Youth Services
Bruce has been advocating for youth in Central Oregon since 1992 and joined the J Bar J team in 2000. He has vast experience with sex offender treatment and has focused on addressing the unique and varied challenges for all adjudicated youth. Bruce works to model the J Bar J mission of providing innovative solutions for at risk youth and their families in their journey toward personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. His education includes an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies from Long Beach State. Bruce currently serves on the Oregon Adolescent Sexual Offender Treatment Board (OASOTN) and in the past has served on the Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Board.
Keith Riggs
Interim Chief Business Officer, J Bar J Youth Services
Keith’s passion for education and helping others is derived from his parents, both of whom made careers working in different public servant positions. A graduate of the University of West Georgia with a B.S. in Education with a concentration on math and science, Keith began his educational career in 2013 with Arnall Middle School in Newnan, Georgia. He strongly believes in the value of education, and enjoys the opportunity to help shape the minds of tomorrow’s future leaders.
When not working he enjoys spending time outdoors. He and his wife enjoy hiking and backpacking, camping, and exploring Central Oregon. He also enjoys fly fishing the pristine waterways that abound in the region and spending time with friends.
Jenn Davis
Program Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon
A native Oregonian, Jenn began working with non-profits in college while at the University of Oregon where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. Jenn has lived in Central Oregon since 2006 and has over 15 years of experience working with children and families. Jenn has worked in nonprofits as a Program Administrator and in direct service assisting families in reunification with their children and stabilization of families. Jenn has extensive experience working with at-risk youth, homelessness, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She has also been trained in child forensic interviewing. Jenn is committed to providing positive youth development services, providing trauma informed care in her work and believes in the strength and resilience of children and youth. Jenn’s focus is growing the Big Brother Big Sister program as she has found that mentoring for youth is vital to enriching their lives and helps young people avoid negative behaviors and achieve success. Jenn spends her free time skiing at Mt. Bachelor, paddle boarding, exploring Central Oregon and spending time with her family and two dogs.
Liz Langmas
Community Programs Director
Prior to this position, Liz was the Coordinator of CYFC’s Basic Center Program providing an array of youth and family services that included family mediation. Liz holds a certification for mediation through the Oregon Mediation Association. A true passion of Liz’s is her desire to see better outcomes for the families in Deschutes County.
Liz has been a resident of Bend for over twenty-five years and believes that philanthropy and service to community are essential, “Service to community is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” Liz is a member of P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) and has held many offices within her chapter. She recently held the office of President. Liz has been a participant in a number of trainings specific to working with at-risk youth. Included in these are Suicide Prevention, Crisis Prevention, Mental Health CPR, Human Trafficking, and Trauma-Informed Risk Reduction training. Prior to her long history with J Bar J Youth Services, Liz started and ran an interior design company, while raising her three daughters. In her spare time, Liz enjoys all of the amenities that Bend has to offer, most especially any activity with a view of the mountains and the sound of the river.
Mindy Elliott
Quality Assurance
Mindy is a Bend native and chose to pursue a career working with young people after graduating from Oregon State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies. She has been with J Bar J since 2005, starting as a Resident Monitor and moving into the Treatment Coordinator position later that year. Throughout the years of working closely with our youth and families, Mindy has developed a strong sense of respect and admiration for the challenging process they go through. She is a firm believer in empowering the youth to tap into their own strength and resilience along their journey of self-discovery and transformation.
Away from work, Mindy enjoys spending time with her family along the Oregon Coast, as well as taking advantage of the many outdoor amenities Central Oregon has to offer such as hiking and snowboarding.
Peggy Carey
Director Strategic Initiatives, J Bar J Youth Services
“As a Registered Nurse and community activist I am interested in the components of a healthy community. Working with J Bar J Youth Programs is an opportunity to work with kids and families to affect the health of the communities served in the deepest, most fundamental ways. Healthy kids and families are the bones of a healthy community. As our communities grow and change, the need is greater than ever to support healthy kids and families. I believe in the simple but powerful mission of J Bar J Youth Programs.”
Peggy has worked as both a nurse and an administrator in health care, with an emphasis in cancer care, for 35 years. Peggy led the development of St. Charles Cancer Program for 30 years before moving to Colorado. She recently returned to Bend from Vail, Colorado where she provided leadership as Vice President for Shaw Regional Cancer Center from 2010-2016. In both communities Peggy supported initiatives connected to healthy communities by building prevention strategies and leading coalitions of citizens committed to making a difference in the wellness of their community. Peggy received her Bachelors in Nursing from Southern Oregon University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She has served on many committees and boards at the local, state and national level and has had the pleasure to be involved in several Bend projects such as the Ronald McDonald House and Hospice House, now Partners in Care.
Tami Lee
Administrative Assistant