President
Reclaiming Youth
Dr. Brendtro is the president of Reclaiming Youth, a national training institute that sponsors the Black Hills Seminars' strength-based training for professionals working with delinquent and troubled youth. In addition, he is professor of special education and behavioral disorders at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. He previously served as president of Starr Commonwealth, which serves troubled youth through alternative education, treatment, and community programs. He has authored, coauthored, and edited more than 100 articles, chapters, books, and monographs, including Gangs, Guns, and Kids: Rage and Aggression, Breaking Cycles of Conflict, Alcohol and Kids, Courage for Troubled Girls, Positive Peer Culture, Re-Educating Troubled Youth, and Reclaiming Youth at Risk. Dr. Brendtro has conducted consultations and training seminars on juvenile justice, special education, and mental health for several organizations including the Council for Exceptional Children, the Child Welfare League of America, the Correctional Education Association, the University of Trondheim Child Research Center, the National Association of Social Workers, the Russian Bureau of Youth Welfare, and the International Association of Workers for Troubled Children and Youth. In January 1997, he provided consultation for the South African Interministerial Commission on Young People at Risk, designing young offender programs in the postapartheid democracy. Dr. Brendtro received a bachelor's degree from Augustana College and a doctorate in education and psychology from the University of Michigan.