Meet the Advisors

Meet the Advisors

Tim McGowan – President and Founder of Networks of Support and Tim McGowan Consulting

Tim McGowan was an educator for 32 years. He taught Science and Math, has been a director of a residential program for abused and neglected children, a school counselor and Internship Coordinator. For the past three years, he worked side by side with students to help them find relevancy in their education through mentoring, volunteering and community service projects. Tim conducts prevention and peer leadership workshops for students and staff that focus on increasing connectedness and capacity for leadership by increasing the participants’ sense of humanity. Developing real and authentic voices, inclusiveness, student led programming, understanding our protective factors and the belief youth have the skills and knowledge to lead are the foundational pieces of Tim’s work. See Tim's Teacher of the Year speech.

Lynne Riddle

Lynne Riddle is a South Dakota native. She graduated from Augustana University with a bachelor of arts in Communications and Psychology. After graduation she worked as a pharmaceutical representative for Merck and Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

She has three children. Jesse attends Augustana University, Rachel is at the University of Minnesota and Allyson is a junior in high school.

Her son was involved with Cobbler to Cobbler when he attended Central High School. He loved the experience and being able to help students feel welcomed and accepted. Tim McGowan’s programs fostered a desire in him to give back to his community and be a good role model.

Lynne and her husband Brett are part of a family business.  Lynne occupies her time caring for her children, working and spending time with family and friends.  She is a volunteer for the Made for Shade foundation. It provides shade structures and education to local youth in hopes of decreasing skin cancer.  

Taylor Schad

This is Taylor’s first time serving as a director for Networks of Support. Taylor grew up in Rapid City, SD where she attended Rapid City Central High School and was one of the first participants in Central’s Cobbler to Cobbler mentoring program.

She has spent the last four years at Stanford University working towards her BA in Native American Studies with honors in Education. Her studies focused on the representation of Native Americans in US high school history textbooks used in the South Dakota school system.

Over the last few years she has collaborated with various programs through her university, some of which include Rural America Initiatives and Partnership with Native Americans.

Taylor is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and currently positioned as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud in which she serves as their Resource Development Specialist and Cultural Education Coordinator.

Taylor has seen firsthand how Networks of Support has helped the community within her own high school and truly believes in the support it provides to students; by being directly involved she hopes to help many more communities.

See Taylor's TEDxRapidCity talk Prevent teen suicide with peer to peer mentoring.

Jr. Bettelyoun

I have worked in the field of education for forty-seven years, serving in the capacity of a classroom teacher, jr.- sr. high school principal, university professor, and a director of Indian Education.

The past nine years I have worked in the Rapid City School District, with the last seven years serving as the Director of Indian Education.  While working in the Rapid City School District I have become acquainted with Mr. Tim McGowan and learned about the program that he is directing, the Cobbler to Cobbler Peer Mentoring Program based on the Networks of Support approach.  After seeing the program in action and what it is doing for our youth I became a strong supporter of the program.  The most impressive part of the program, beyond what it is doing for our youth, is the fact that the program is in the hands of the student leadership.  It is powerful that Tim McGowan has the confidence in the students that he is able to let them take charge and leadership of the program and activities.  It is truly a student led program. 

As Director of Indian Education for the Rapid City School district I have had the opportunity to observe and participate in many of the activities that the Cobbler to Cobbler students have presented.  They have demonstrated the professionalism to facilitate and direct activities for both student and adult participants.  They are masters at getting everyone involved, including those who are shy and reluctant to participate.

Based on my experiences with the program I put full confidence it what the program stands for and the results they get.  I am proud to be a Director of Networks of Support and the Peer Mentoring approach, and look forward to seeing the program introduced across the country under the direction of Mr. Tim McGowan.