Shannon Freedle

Shannon Freedle has dedicated his career to helping others, primarily in the field of behavioral health. He has served in a variety of positions, ranging from providing direct service to serving in administrative roles developing and overseeing programs, and organizations. He has experience with and understands all aspects of the industry. Shannon is able to quickly identify areas for change and growth, and is adept at developing and carrying out action plans to achieve necessary improvements. This is enhanced by his ability to relate to employees on a variety of levels through his own experience. He understands the challenges that they face.

His most recent accomplishment was serving as the co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of TeamBuilders Counseling Services, a non-profit agency that provided a wide range of behavioral support services to children and families. During his time with TeamBuilders, he oversaw fiscal and administrative operations for the company. He was also responsible for the following areas of service:
• Program development
• Policy development
• Administration
• Grant writing
• Staff training and development
• All levels of networking and collaboration

Freedle helped TeamBuilders to grow and develop into an organization that provided necessary and essential care to the community and surrounding areas. People were able to access resources and services to help them better support their children and families. With the right amount of support and professional services, they could overcome challenges and obstacles and utilize their strengths to improve their quality of life.

Shannon Freedle uses his training, experience, and passion to make a positive impact on the lives of others. He strives to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the behavioral health industry and to identify areas where he can provide valuable assistance.

Over the years Shannon Freedle has developed an extensive background of knowledge and experience in the nursing and behavioral health industries. Shannon has worked his way up through positions of increasing responsibility, creating a strong foundation on which he has continued to build. Possessing a natural ability and ease for working with others, he has found much success in each role he has assumed.

A Diverse Education--
Shannon Freedle did not start out in the medical field. He was led there later in his career. He first began his education at Southwest Texas State University, where he studied liberal arts. This provided him with a well-rounded background that incorporated a variety of subjects. He did not focus on one area in particular, but instead expanded his knowledge in multiple areas of study.

It was during this time that he took a position as a Mental Health Worker at the San Marcos Treatment Center, a Brown School Psychiatric Hospital. Here he provided care to young males who suffered from severe and chronic illnesses such as schizophrenia, Autism and other pervasive development disorder. Freedle developed a deeper understanding of the mental health field and got hands-on training and experience working with patients.

Moving to Hawaii, he started working at Kahi Mohala, another Brown School Psychiatric Hospital, as a Mental Health Specialist on a long term residential treatment unit and the Crisis Intervention Unit. Working primarily with emotionally impaired youth, he was responsible for various aspects of case management, supportive counseling, programming, activities and interventions. Freedle was later promoted to Team Leader and took on responsibilities for program development, milieu management and supervision of line staff, a more supervisory role. He was in charge of overseeing other direct care workers, conducting training, facilitating staff meetings, and designing and evaluating facility programs.

During this time he also began taking classes to earn his nursing certification. He attended the University of Hawaii’s Kapiolani College. Becoming a licensed nurse would allow him to take on new responsibilities and increase the level of service and care that he could provide to patients. Upon graduation, shannon sought experience in the physical health and medical fields, becoming a staff nurse at Wahiawa General Hospital working on medical/surgical and skilled nursing facility units. After a year he decided to head back into the behavioral health field while continuing to expand his expertise by getting experience in geriatrics and work with the developmentally disabled population.

Expanding his skills--
Transitioning back into behavioral health, Shannon Freedle assumed several different positions of increasing responsibility over the next few years. He started at Heights Psychiatric Hospital as a Team Leader responsible for supervising line staff and managing the milieu on the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program Unit. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, he played an integral role in developing and implementing psycho-educational programming. This included focuses on pro-social skills, anger management, communication skills, vocational planning, substance abuse education, independent living, study skills, relapse prevention, group therapies, and more. It gave him additional experience in the many facets of a comprehensive treatment program.

While doing this he also began working as the Charge Nurse on an Alzheimer’s unit at Manor Care Nursing Home, and as a behavioral health nurse at the Center for Behavioral Services where he supervised line staff and ensured that all patients were safe and properly cared for while coordinating with other medical staff on their cases.

Delving into Program Administration--
Shannon Freedle then forayed into a more administrative aspect of the field. He used his previous training and experience to support him in his role as Director of the First Offenders program for A New Day, Inc. The program targeted prevention and early intervention for first time offenders and their families to help them get their lives back on track. Freedle utilized his talents in psycho-educational programming to develop, implement, and market these services to probation units, schools, treatment facilities, and other stakeholders and referral sources. In addition to supervising a staff of 18, he was responsible for developing and managing the program budget, and for formal reporting to Probation, State and other funding sources.
Shannon Freedle's experience there led him to be offered and to accept the position of Director of Programs at Youth Panorama. Returning to work with emotionally troubled adolescents in the residential treatment setting, Shannon Freedle developed behavior management systems, daily operating procedures, and other policies to ensure a therapeutic productive and beneficial environment was maintained. He supervised program line staff in the facility and was responsible for developing and managing the program budget as well. In order to provide adolescents and their families with more comprehensive services, he developed networking and collaboration skills as he sought to coordinate with other community organizations serving the same population.

Branching Out--
After years of gaining in-depth knowledge and experience in regards to behavioral health, and realizing that there were many unmet needs in the community, Shannon Freedle decided it was time to branch out. In 1995 Freedle became co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of TeamBuilders Counseling Services. TeamBuilders began work to meet the behavioral health needs of the community one child and one family at a time. Consistent with the Child and Adolescent Service System Project (CASSP) and system of care principles, the company developed a comprehensive array of services utilizing a family-centered, ecological-systems framework. Programs were based on community collaboration, individualized service planning, family-centered programming, and community resource mobilization. Services fell into two categories:

1. Community-Based and Therapy Services
Their goal was to keep children with their families whenever safely possible. Services included:
• Intake
• Assessment
• Triage
• Safety planning
• Care coordination
• In-home services
• Therapeutic activities
• Crisis intervention
• Comprehensive Plan of Care services
• Behavior Management and Skills Development Services (BMS)
• Individual, group, and family therapy
• Telepsychiatry

2. Intensive Residential Services
These services were geared toward children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral problems. Specially trained staff provided therapy, skills development, and psychiatric care that focused on family settings. TeamBuilders developed an extensive Treatment Foster Care program across the state and operated a residential treatment facility, providing 24-hour care for boys from age seven through 12.
In addition, Shannon Freedle helped the company expand to also offer the follow services:
• Licensed child development center
• Alternative educational placement sites
• After school programs
• Adoption counseling/home studies
• Emergency shelter care
• Corporate and family teambuilding services
• Support groups
• Adult and juvenile community corrections services

TeamBuilders became the state’s premier child and adolescent services provider, offering comprehensive wrap-around services to youth and families in need. As the experts, Shannon Freedle and TeamBuilders were often engaged to assist programs or agencies in distress. Whether they became a part of TeamBuilders or received consultation and support services until they were able to get back on their feet, Shannon Freedle and TeamBuilders were instrumental in preserving and/or enhancing many programs and services across the state.
In 2005 Shannon Freedle was a co-founder and the Managing Partner of Zia Behavioral Health, LLP a professional group practice. The company offered outpatient psychiatry, psychological services, and psychotherapy. Their focus was on treating children and adolescents and providing telepsychiatry services to underserved areas of the state. The company worked alongside a variety of behavioral health agencies including TeamBuilders and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. After experiencing substantial success, the practice became part of TeamBuilders in 2011.

While helping to build and develop TeamBuilders, Mr. Freedle also went back to school to study philosophy and religion at Colorado State University. Through the years, Shannon Freedle has sought to broaden his education and experience while working with a diverse clientele and developing a wide range of skills and talents that have served him well and provided valuable support to the behavioral health field.

Shannon Freedle continues to offer his skills and support in the non-profit and behavioral health industry. He is dedicated to serving children, adolescents, and their families. There is always a demand for quality services and programs for this population, and it is an area where he has become well-versed. Mr. Freedle is able to take on a wide array of responsibilities and relate to and with all levels of staff because of his broad experience as both a direct service provider and an administrator. In addition, his experience in start-up and business development, operational analysis and management consultation make him an excellent resource for organizations seeking to identify and improve efficiencies, bring up new programs or locations develop new funding streams and/or grow their market share.

Mr. Freedle continues to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the field in order to provide the most relevant and beneficial service and information. He is a member of several professional organizations and continues to network with other professionals in the field and across the country. Building and maintaining strong relationships is important and keeps him connected.

Shannon Freedle continues to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Mr. Freedle is a leader within the industry and strives to develop beneficial programs that meet the diverse needs of various populations. He will continue to dedicate himself to serving the greater good.