Gary benton

Gary is a native Northwesterner. He grew up in the greater Seattle area and attended Federal Way High School. He attained his Associates of Arts degree in business from Highline Community College, his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare from the University of Washington and his Master of Counseling degree from Seattle University. He is a licensed minister with the International Ministerial Fellowship.

Gary has been in social work for over 34 years, providing marriage and family therapy, anger management courses, and domestic violence treatment. During his career, he has served as the Director of the Family Anger Management Institute of Family Services, the Executive Director of Federal Way Youth and Family Services, and the Executive Director of New Hope Child & Family Agency, which provides adoption, pregnancy counseling and foster care services. He also served as a Vice President for CRISTA Ministries. Prior to becoming the Director of Member Care for Life Center, he served as the Executive Director of Life Manor Retirement Community.

Gary is a frequent local and national seminar speaker and trainer, addressing a number of different topics to a broad range of groups. He provides training to audiences as diverse as national corporations, Parent-Teacher Associations, foster parents, school teachers, juvenile court workers, and ministers.

He teaches at the national level for professional educators on the topic, "Succeeding with the Difficult Young Child." Locally, he presents seminars such as: Managing Change in the Workplace, Improving Communications, Living with Teens, Developing a Vision and Mission, Dealing with Difficult and Angry Clients, Domestic Violence Treatment, Stress Reduction, Grief and Loss and many others. His has published a workbook for parents of difficult and angry children, titled "Firespitters."