Darlene Ellison

Darlene Ellison
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leader
“There is No Box!”
Are you looking for a professional speaker who consistently:
• Delivers a personalized keynote with enthusiasm and energy?
• Engages the audience with candid revelations from her own gripping story?
• Inspires professional women?
• Produces lasting results with the audience, challenging them to apply it to their own lives and
careers?
• Exceeds your expectations and guarantees to “WOW!” your audience?
Author and speaker Darlene Ellison does just that! She quickly engages audiences with her gripping
personal story which she uses to inspire and compel audiences into changing their own lives; and
which experiences form the foundation of her High Touch Alliances™ and Betrayal Recovery
concepts.
High Touch Alliances is the back-to-basics approach of dealing with people. Within minutes the
audience is inspired and ready to overcome obstacles and create balance, success and excellence in
their lives through better relationships with others.
Darlene presents a proactive, powerful approach for professional women who don’t want to be
“boxed in” one role and who want to realize success in all the overlapping areas of their lives. See
how Darlene can help your employees or members:
• Unleash their creative soul
• Network with a purpose
• Break free from paralyzing situations
• Make clear decisions
• Create strong alliances for successful partnerships
• Become a High Touch leader
• Be empowered to thrive
Darlene Ellison motivates, entertains and transforms groups through her dynamic presentations: The
High Touch Woman; Hit the Business Woman’s Home Run; High Touch Solutions; and E5
Model of Excellence. She has spoken to such organizations as Professional Bank, N.A.; Women’s
Business Council Southwest; Women in Business, eWomen’s Network; Dallas Children’s Advocacy
Center; Fiserv; United States Christian Chamber of Commerce and others. See for yourself why
Oprah, 20/20, Dateline NBC, D Magazine, CBS-11and others find her so compelling.
For more information on Darlene Ellison and her keynotes and workshops contact: Tracey Jackson at
469-467-8184 or [email protected].
www.DarleneEllison.com | P.O. Box 140098. Dallas, Texas 75214-0098 | 214.803.9769
Most Requested
Presentations
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
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Darle ch alliances
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• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
I used to think of myself as
innovative because I could
look outside the box. It was
only through my ultimate
punch in the stomach that
I realized…
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in Your
Workforce
there is no box!
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
High Touch Alliances™…Unleash Your Creative Soul One Relationship at a Time
“High Touch” is not simply a descriptor—it
is a way of life. High Touch is the warm,
creative, human element in all that we do,
professionally and personally. High Touch
refers to both the quantity and quality with
which we reach out to our alliances. It is
not high tech—High Touch Alliances™ is
the back-to-basics approach of dealing
with people. It is your ability to create…
create balance, create success, and create
excellence.
• Unleash their creative soul
Darlene’s personal and professional journey
has been touched by tragedy and triumph.
She brings an authentic, motivating
energy to her audiences with compelling
stories and strategies that will empower
professionals – busy executives, business
owners, employees – to:
• Be empowered to thrive
• Network with a purpose
• Increase productivity
• Break free from paralyzing situations
• Make clear decisions
• Create strong alliances for successful
partnerships
Darlene is extremely engaging and is
one who can “walk the talk.” She has
an incredible gift to connect, help others
connect and most importantly, she is
sincere in her approach. She has taken
her experiences, both professionally and
personally, to assist others in the art of
building high touch alliances and create
healthy relationships that last a lifetime!
Mary Anne Wihbey
Owner, Peak Performance Solutions
• Become a High Touch leader
Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Story
Darlene Ellison’s gripping personal story forms
the foundation of her High Touch Alliances
and Betrayal Recovery concepts that she uses
to inspire and compel audiences into changing
their own lives.
Through her speaking, workshops, executive
retreats and consulting, Darlene helps
businesses, organizations and associations
transform and empower their employees and
members with High Touch Alliances™.
Her charmed life as wife, mother,
philanthropist and successful businesswoman
spiraled out of control when she learned
that the man to whom she had been married
for over 10 years, and with whom she had
children, was arrested as part of an FBI sting
operation. He was revealed to be a longtime sexual predator of young boys both
in the United States and other countries.
Engulfed by a very public situation that left
her emotionally paralyzed, Darlene made the
choice to not just survive, but thrive! She
overcame the humiliation, anger and fear to
turn her experience into one that could help
others. She eliminated the “elephant in the
room” by talking openly and proactively about
her situation. Darlene turned lemons into
lemonade!
Darlene’s book, Predator Next Door has been
released in February, 2009 and High Touch
Woman is due for release in 2011.
Professionally, Darlene uses her personal
“punches in the stomach” as a catalyst to
her business success. At Professional Bank,
N.A., in Dallas, Darlene has created a unique
business development strategic plan that
focuses on niche positioning, High Touch
customer service and building the business
one relationship at a time. She is also the
founder and coordinator of two awardwinning “Women In Business” community
organizations that assist women business
owners and executives to gain personal and
professional growth. As an extension of these
programs, she has also created the Future
Women In Business internship program for
college-aged women.
Darlene is a captivating, motivational
speaker who energizes every person
in the room, drawing from a tapestry of
varied and inspirational experiences.
Were life a box of tinker toys, she is
the round connector from which all
possibilities emanate.
Jennifer Culbertson
Founder/Publisher, CityARTCal
Partial List of Clients
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Darlene Ellison, M.S. High Touch Alliances™
Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
Dallas Needlework & Textiles Guild
eWomen Network
Garland Chamber of Commerce
Garland Women’s Business Initiative
Lakewood-area Women in Business
Lakewood Service League
National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children
North Texas Women Conference
Park Cities-area Women in Business
Professional Bank, N.A.
Region 10 Education Conference
Sachse Chamber of Commerce
US Christian Chamber of Commerce
Women’s Business Council –
Southwest
Darlene Ellison has been a breath of
fresh air for our young institution. Her
energizing personality and authentic
way of combining her motivational skills
and positive outlook have proven to
be a great example for those around
her. The business alliances resulting
from Darlene’s innovations, such as the
Women in Business initiative, continue
to build the foundation of our growth for
years to come
James Miller
CEO, Professional Bank, N.A.
Darlene Ellison, M.S. High Touch Alliances Darlene Ellison’s gripping personal story forms the foundation of her High Touch Alliances and Betrayal Recovery concepts that she uses to inspire and compel audiences into changing their own lives. Her charmed life as wife, mother, philanthropist and successful businesswoman spiraled out of control when she learned that the man to whom she had been married for over 10 years, and with whom she had children, was arrested as part of an FBI sting operation. He was revealed to be a long‐time sexual predator of young boys both in the United States and other countries. Engulfed by a very public situation that left her emotionally paralyzed, Darlene made the choice to not just survive, but thrive! She overcame the humiliation, anger and fear to turn her experience into one that could help others. She eliminated the “elephant in the room” by talking openly and proactively about her situation with her children and, later, to concerned adults who wanted to learn from her experience. As sole provider, Darlene made professional adjustments in her career to meet the emotional and physical needs of her children. She used her strong educational background in both psychology and business, her business “stepping stones” as a business owner and consultant, and her profound network of personal and professional alliances to build a new career that put her children’s emotional nurturance needs first, while providing for them financially. Darlene’s expertise in overcoming obstacles is best illustrated by her story and personal fight against NAMBLA (North American Man‐Boy Love Association). Darlene has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “What Pedophiles Don’t Want You to Know,” in a 20/20 interview with Deborah Roberts, and in Dallas’ D Magazine. She also appeared in a special television segment of Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” in an educational video created as a part of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas’ Safe Environment Plan, and in a parent education video produced by Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. Professionally, her role as the Business Development Officer for Professional Bank, N.A., allowed her to create a unique business development strategic plan that focuses on niche positioning and High Touch customer service. She is also the founder and coordinator of two award‐winning community Women In Business organizations that help women business owners and executives gain personal and professional growth. As an extension of these programs, she has also created the Future Women In Business internship program for college‐aged women. Darlene’s personal and professional journey led her to become an expert and consultant on overcoming obstacles and building meaningful alliances. Today, through her speaking, workshops, executive retreats and consulting, she helps businesses, organizations and associations transform and empower their employees and members with High Touch Alliances™. One of the brightest parts of her journey to date, Darlene is now married to husband Scott and her two now‐teenaged children are thriving! Darlene’s books, “Predator Next Door” published in February, 2009. “High Touch Woman” is due 2010. Presentation Topics
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
Shattered…But Picking Up the Pieces:
Overcome Obstacles to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
February 12, 2005 changed her life. But today,
Darlene has re-named that “punch in the
stomach” as her “greatest blessing.” This
passionate portrayal of her faithful healing
journey is nothing short of mesmerizing.
With great compassion, Darlene discusses
Betrayal Recovery with audience members.
Perfect for anyone who has ever been the
victim of betrayal—betrayal by a spouse,
betrayal by a trusted adult, betrayal by a
friend, just to name a few. Each attendee
will:
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
• Understand how our fundamental belief
systems affect our approach to a crisis of
betrayal
• Be enlightened by how our faith affects
our healing journey
• Learn “practical therapy” strategies that
include H.E.A.L. to be REAL™, Circle of
Support, and creating a Dark Day Plan
• Be empowered to create a world for
themselves and their family where it is OK
to be fragile, strong and honest, to touch
lives and to be REAL!
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
The Predator Next Door…Protect Your Children from Predators at
Home, at School and Online
Your child’s coach. Your neighbor. A
volunteer at your child’s school. He could be
any of these and he could be watching your
child, warming you and your family up to
trust him, waiting for the perfect moment to
strike. In Darlene’s case, he was her husband
and a well-known, trusted member of the
community.
Darlene passionately presents parents,
school personnel and childcare providers
with insightful stories and critical strategies
to protect children. This is a “must have”
presentation for schools, churches, parent
organizations -- anyone who works with
children. It includes vital takeaways compiled
from Darlene’s personal experience and
psychological training, plus law enforcement
and children’s advocacy organizations.
Concerned adults will learn:
• How to identify potential predators
• How to empower children at any age to
protect themselves from predators
• Critical guidelines that everyone who
spends time with children should follow
• The do’s and don’ts for children in our high
tech society
• How to be a High Touch Parent and create
a communication comfort zone between
you and your child
• Helpful resources
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
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UVT
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
Obstacles Happen…
Get Out of the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
Obstacles happen. Roadblocks stand in
the way of optimal performance. Whether
it be the economy’s pressures on us all
personally and professionally, trouble at
home, or feelings of insecurity in our job
performance—so many times employees
become stagnant, going along to get along,
accepting mediocrity as a “safe place” to be
for job security. This is the Quiet Zone.
Create energy, new dynamics and greater
productivity in your business with this fun
and enlightening presentation for your
employees! Darlene’s unique style will help
your employees:
• Find tremendous value in the unique gifts
each brings to his/her job
• Be empowered to work more
independently, take initiative and be a
team player
• Increase productivity in their jobs by
enjoying positive relationships with coworkers, management and customers
• Enjoy the intrinsic value of personal
satisfaction with their job performance and
professional relationships
• Create a relationship-driven marketplace
where high touch service wins out and
customer retention is high
• Anticipate obstacles so that the impact on
the company or individual job performance
is minimal
• Realize a new-found energy for their role
in your business
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience You Want with Finesse and Success!
He successfully compartmentalizes. She
exasperatingly multitasks. If his business
style were a house, it would have many rooms
with doors. In her business style/house, she
would have open spaces, no doors, and she’d
inevitably have a hand or foot in every room!
Neither is right or wrong…each is unique.
Darlene knows the struggle of playing many
roles and gives an energetic and hilariously
entertaining keynote on the topic. The High
Touch Woman in attendance will leave
this presentation feeling energized and
transformed! She will:
• Minimize guilt and maximize quality in her
High Touch relationships
• Learn simple techniques to be a High
Touch Wife, High Touch Mom, High Touch
Friend and High Touch Businesswoman
• Recognize that High Touch strategies can
be implemented across tasks and roles
with grace and finesse
• Laugh a lot!
• Be energized by compelling stories of other
High Touch Women
• Leave the presentation with High Touch
goals and a new-found air of confidence
that truly is contagious
• Be empowered to create balance among
her High Touch roles
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
5
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
High Touch Solutions…
Build Your Business One High Touch Relationship at a Time
Economic pressures, combined with
technology designed to minimize human
communications with customers seems to
have left high touch, relationship-based sales
and customer service in the dust!
A tough economy means picky customers
demand more “bang for their buck,” and
yet companies are cutting back on personal
service to save money. Darlene’s “High Touch
Solutions” works with companies to create
an empowered workforce that continually
differentiates itself and overcomes day-to-day
challenges. Her proven tools and strategies
can take your company’s productivity to the
next level and:
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
• Revitalize your workforce or sales team
with strategies for niche positioning in the
market
• Create strategic alignments within your
company’s sales force for profitable
partnerships
• Introduce High Touch customer service
strategies to ensure that every customer is
touched by great service often and with a
personal touch
• Enable your workforce or sales force to
reduce self-imposed roadblocks and reach
optimal success in their job performance
• Understand the difference between
training employees to be “service
providers” vs. building high touch alliances
with customers that create customer
loyalty and repeat business.
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
E 5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your Workforce.
Ideal for your company’s executives,
management and training professionals!
E5 Model of Excellence™ is Darlene’s highly
regarded formula that bridges the gap
between management and staff, while it
empowers a workforce or sales team to be
the best they can be for themselves and for
the company.
This formula is “people-driven” and “peoplefocused.” Darlene has implemented this
formula many times in her consulting career
with tremendous results both in the numbers
and in the satisfaction employees feel in
their positions. This “back to basics” training
model enables the company to:
• Implement research ideas and strategies
created specifically for a particular sales
team that helps them overcome objections
from prospects
• Learn creative empowerment tools to
inspire independence in your staff
• Create a work environment that is fun,
innovative and inspires great production by
all employees
• Be empowered to be a High Touch Leader
who inspires confidence and professional
comfort zones for his/her employees
• Teach your sales force to anticipate
obstacles and reduce the fear and anxiety
that create roadblocks to desired outcome
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
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Media Appearances
The Oprah Winfrey Show
20/20
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
D Magazine
KTVT-CBS11
Darlene’s Speaking Topics
• The High Touch Woman…
Create the Life Experience
You Want with Finesse and
Success!
• Hit the Business Woman’s
Home Run…Find Your
Professional Strike Zone and
Succeed There!
• High Touch Solutions…Build
Your Business One High Touch
Relationship at a Time
• Obstacles Happen…Get Out of
the Quiet Zone and Thrive!
• E5 Model of Excellence…
Educate, Empower, Encourage
and Lead by Example to Create
Professional Excellence in your
Workforce
I used to think of myself as innovative
because I could look outside
the box. It was only through my
ultimate punch in the stomach
that I realized… there is no box!
Hit the Business Woman’s Home Run…
Find Your Professional Strike Zone and Succeed There!
Darlene loves to network and is a natural
connector, but on her own terms in her own
personal style. She has found her own
professional strike zone in her Women In
Business networking programs and wants to
share her simple secrets with you and your
organization’s women in business!
Her audiences gain great ideas and strategies
in the art of networking and how to ask others
for their business. No more “swimming
against the current in a man’s world!”
Darlene’s unique innovations energize you to
create your own ideal professional strike zone
that is productive and successful! Attendees
will:
• Learn how to create a personal brand in
order to be successful in creating alliances
with others
• Recognize that the same strategies many
women apply in making friends outside
of the workplace is no different than
“networking” as a business woman
• Be enlightened to the difference between
finding a comfortable environment in
which to do business (Strike Zone) vs. a
cookie-cutter, generic networking strategy
that leads to apathy and stagnation (Quiet
Zone)
• Create a self-marketing strategy based on
uniqueness and niche positioning rather
than competition
• Shattered…But Picking Up the
Pieces: Overcome Obstacles
to Not Just Survive but Thrive!
• The Predator Next Door…
Protect Your Children from
Predators at Home, at School
and Online
Contact Darlene
Darlene Ellison, M.S.
P.O. Box 140098
Dallas, Texas 75214-0098
214.803.9769
www.DarleneEllison.com
www.HighTouchAlliances.com
[email protected]
In the News
Darlene on TV…
"Secrets Revealed"
The Oprah Winfrey Show, September, 2006
"Perfect Marriage Ends in Shocker
It Seems to Good to Be True - And it Was"
ABC News 20/20, March 3, 2006
by: Deborah Roberts
“Dallas Woman Talks About Living with Pedophile”
CBS-11, Dallas, February 20, 2009
By: J.D. Miles
Plus…
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”
WFAA – Mid-day Newscast
www.DarleneEllison.com | P.O. Box 140098. Dallas, Texas 75214-0098 | 214.803.9769
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Lakewood woman finds light after romance goes dark
07:59 PM CST on Wednesday, February 18, 2009
As our popular True Romance features go, surely theirs has the worst-ever outcome.
Unbelievably, disgustingly worst.
Darlene Ellison was sure she had found her Prince Charming in good-looking dentist Todd Calvin. Our
Sunday True Romance column told their story in May of 1993.
He was new to town, setting up a dental practice in the Lakewood area of Dallas, where Darlene grew
up and still lived. He jokingly let it be known that he was in the market for "a house and a spouse."
Darlene's dad played matchmaker, and the couple married in the spring of 1993. Two children followed.
Calvin's dental practice boomed. He became known as "the singing dentist" for entertaining patients
with his beautiful voice.
His dental ads featured the line: "We love kids."
You probably remember the rest. In 2005, Calvin was arrested in San Diego, where he had gone for a
spree of sex with underage Mexican boys. It turned out to be an FBI sting.
If True Romance was the mind-boggling start to this saga, the newest chapter is almost as unbelievable.
Darlene took the devastating life experiences and turned them into a new book and a busy sideline as an
upbeat inspirational speaker.
"It's crazy. I've got four speeches scheduled this week," she said when we visited Tuesday morning.
Calvin served two years in federal prison and remains on intense-supervision parole.
Darlene has no contact with him but learned recently from the National Sex Offender Registry that he
now lives in San Francisco.
For her book, The Predator Next Door, Darlene chose a dark, sinister-looking front cover. But for her
own photo on the back cover, she chose a jaunty pose with a beaming smile.
"I don't know if anyone will notice it, but I did that on purpose," she said. "It really conveys my story –
from dark despair at the start to the incredible happiness I feel today."
To be sure, Darlene's fairy-tale marriage began unraveling long before the lurid arrest in San Diego. She
said Calvin was distant from the start and gradually became emotionally abusive.
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"He told me I was fat and ugly. Over and over, he said he hated me."
He often threatened divorce. Finally, after 10 years, Darlene took him up on it.
Because of the children, they remained in close contact, however. And his arrest 15 months after their
divorce was a complete shock.
Darlene was thrown into a pit of anguish like she had never known. "Everything was a lie," she said.
And had he molested their children? Their children's friends?
Careful, expert interviews in the following days revealed he had not. But Darlene was still full of anger
and confusion.
She tortured herself. "How did I not know this? How could I have been such an idiot?"
Her book and her speeches detail her slow journey out of shame and humiliation. She hopes to help
others overcome obstacles and betrayal in whatever form.
Today she is happily married – a true romance this time. She is vice president of a Lakewood bank and
dotes on her courageous 14-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter.
In being so public with her story, Darlene said she is trying to live up to a quote she recently read. It's a
new favorite:
"She not only saw a light at the end of the tunnel, she became that light for others."
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File Photo
Darlene Ellison, pictured with her father, Bud Doxey
Fighting off the ‘Predator'
Posted March 3, 2009, 3:00 a.m. by Linda Marie Ford
To say that Darlene Ellison has recovered from betrayal is an understatement.
As many people in the community know, Ellison's ex-husband, Phillip Todd
Calvin, was arrested in February 2005 after an FBI sting targeting members
of a organization of pedophiles called the North American Man/Boy Love
Association, or NAMBLA. He was eventually sentenced to two years in prison.
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Upon his release, Calvin was evaluated and deemed sexually violent. He now resides outside the state
of Texas.
The life that Ellison had known was shattered. Throughout the initial shock, gossip and media frenzy,
Ellison's first priority was healing herself and her two now-teenage children.
Rather than withdraw from the world, Ellison chose to fight back by becoming an advocate for
children and families touched by abuse.
She began by learning all she could and speaking out at discussions hosted by women and church
organizations. As her knowledge and comfort level grew she expanded her audience via the local and
national media and appeared on the "The Oprah Show," "20/20," and "Dateline NBC."
Ellison's continuing journey has lead to the publication of her first book: "The Predator Next Door:
Detect, Protect and Recover from Betrayal."
Her book serves as a guide to detection and protection for concerned parents.
When asked what has been the biggest surprise of this book, Elllison quickly answers, "Adults who
were abused as children are now revisiting their experience and thinking, ‘I can get better.' They
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understand why they couldn't talk about it as a kid, but now the times have changed so they can. Some
have never gotten therapy or even told their spouses. They will read something like this, realize that
they are not as healed as they thought, and take steps to get better."
The book is an engaging, quick-read presented in three sections. Section one is a true crime story in
which Ellison recounts step-by-step how her life unraveled. She spares no details and shares the depth
of the deception and pain.
Section two covers the information gathering she did afterward.
"When you go through a betrayal, you think that being an expert will heal you because you think, ‘I can
control this.' But becoming an expert in knowing predators still hadn't healed me. I had shame, my
spirituality and emotions were out of whack. You may think that you are better, but you're not"
Healing serves as the focus of section three.
"I had not even begun to scrape the surface in healing emotionally until March 2007," Ellison said.
She has written this section in journey steps and then adds her own experience as she moved through
them.
"I now realize that my mission is to get the elephant out of the room and help people heal from
betrayal."
It took two years but she has forgiven Calvin. Through it all Ellison says that the glue that held her
together was her children.
"I had to go to hell and back but now I am smiling and thriving."
A book signing for Darlene Ellison's book "The Predator Next Door: Detect, Protect and Recover
from Betrayal" takes place at 5:30 p.m. March 4 at Professional Bank-Lakewood.
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Issue Date: D Magazine JAN 2006, Posted On: 1/1/2006
Picking Up the Pieces
Trey Garrison
No day would trouble her as much as that day did, February 12, 2005. No day after would begin as
normal.
Darlene Doxey Calvin woke that Saturday, slipped on a robe, and padded barefoot down the stairs of
her two-story Lakewood home to make breakfast for her 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. The
weather would turn chilly and drizzly by afternoon. Darlene figured on going to work for a few hours, and
then maybe taking the kids out to dinner and renting some movies.
A single mother, Darlene regularly took her son and daughter to church, drove them to their various
practices, worked two jobs—development director for both an elementary school and a pediatric cancer
research organization—and co-directed a yoga studio. Other needs were covered by her ex-husband.
Ex-husband. The word didn't have as much sting as it once did. Divorced for 15 months, she'd come to
terms with the fact that, despite his humor, despite his talk of raising a family, she and Todd had never
connected in their decade of marriage. Yet they'd remained close enough. Todd Calvin lived two miles
from Darlene, and his dental office was a little less than a mile and a half away. The weekend before,
they'd all gone out to dinner. Darlene was the contact person for his home security company, after his
own cell phone and office numbers.
MOVING ON: Darlene Calvin says of her ex-husband: "He threw
away every memory I cared to still have."
And it was a call from his home security company that day, a little past noon, with Darlene at her office,
catching up on work, that changed everything. Her cell phone rang, and the voice on the other end said an alarm had gone off at Todd's home on Palo Pinto Avenue. The
security company couldn't get in touch with him. And here was the weird thing: when the security company called his home number, a man answered the phone and identified
himself as an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Did Darlene have any idea where Todd was?
"The FBI? That couldn't be right," she says. "I tried to call Todd and got no answer. I called my home and asked my son if anyone had come to the door. He said no, and I
reminded him not to let anyone in the house if they did. Then I called my parents—they live just down the street. If there was anything to this, I didn't want the FBI coming to
my house and scaring my kids. So I asked my father to go over to my house and hang out with them. I decided I had to go over to Todd's house."
When she pulled up to his two-story brick and wood frame home, there were Dallas Police cars and black SUVs parked in front and on the driveway. A few neighbors were
milling about outside.
"I sat in the car for a couple of minutes, and I thought, 'What the hell have you done, Todd?' I mean, he's a lot of things, but doing something illegal? No. I couldn't fathom
something like that from him."
Darlene got out of her car, and a woman in a dark suit asked if she was the ex-wife. Darlene nodded, rendered speechless for a moment. The FBI agent asked if she would
come into the house with her, but to be sure not to touch anything. It was surreal. Was Todd in trouble? Was he dead?
The lead FBI investigator, Special Agent Michael Call, sat down with Darlene in Todd's living room.
"Do you realize that Todd Calvin is in San Diego?"
Darlene shook her head.
"Did you know that he was trying to go to Mexico?"
Mexico?
"You mean in his airplane?"
"No, ma'am. He flew commercially. American Airlines flight 1675 from Dallas to San Diego yesterday."
"That can't be right. Todd never flies commercially. He always flies his own plane. You got the wrong guy. He won't fly commercially."
"We have his ticket. He's under arrest in San Diego right now."
Call continued, explaining to Darlene the charges against her ex-husband. Based on an investigation headed by the San Diego office of the FBI and assisted by a number of
state and local departments, Todd Calvin was charged with conspiracy to travel and traveling in interstate and foreign countries for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual
conduct—specifically, sexual conduct with young boys.
Darlene let out a scream. She fell over and began sobbing. Her cell phone rang a number of times—Darlene's father, trying to find out what was going on—but she didn't
answer. Agents brought her some water. They asked her if she had ever heard of NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association. They asked her questions about
her own children. It only sunk in after a few minutes that they were asking if her ex-husband might have sexually abused her children. They had been with him just a week
before.
None of it made sense. A picture. Did the agents have a picture of the man they'd arrested in San Diego? Darlene held onto a desperate belief that it was a case of mistaken
identity.
She said to Call, "You can't go throwing our lives into something we'll never recover from unless you're sure."
Call showed her a photo.
It was him. Phillip Todd Calvin.
FOR PHILLIP TODD CALVIN, NO DAY WOULD begin as well as February 12, 2005, did. And how could it? He was known as the Singing
Dentist of Lakewood because he belonged to the Dallas Symphony Chorus and was known to sing to his patients. He earned as much as
$250,000 a year, affording him a spacious two-story home, a white Mercedes, a Beechcraft Bonanza single-engine plane, frequent
international vacations, and, on this morning, a hotel room in San Diego with the promise of a Valentine's Day trip to Mexico where he'd
have sex with young boys.
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In Mexico, he would be free to explore his sexual fantasies in the company of other men who shared his tastes, who told him that his longings were not wrong. This was the
support he'd found in NAMBLA: a departure from the guilt and fear he'd felt for decades. He found people there who told him that it was society and its laws that were unjust,
that sexual relations between grown men and young boys were healthy and normal. Speaking to his fellow NAMBLA members was liberating. They understood. They
welcomed him. He didn't have to go through the effort of maintaining a façade of normalcy—a marriage and children and all the other things society and his own family and
friends expected. NAMBLA knew who he was and what he wanted.
Calvin had met his new friends, David Cory Mayer, 49, of Chicago; Paul Ernest Zipszer, 39, from Deltona, Florida; and Robert Hamer, from Los Angeles, at a NAMBLA
convention in Miami during the weekend of November 12, 2004.
On Saturday, November 13, the national meeting had adjourned for the day, and Calvin, Mayer, Hamer, and another NAMBLA member had dinner together. Over burgers and
fries, amid the throng of young couples and families, the men discussed putting together a trip to Mexico where they could indulge their desires with local youths. Mayer and
Calvin hit it off, discussing the places they could go and when it might be possible.
Calvin flew back to Dallas after the convention, and within days he and Mayer were firming up plans. About two weeks later, a date and place had been selected. In a
December 5 e-mail to Mayer and Hamer, Calvin could barely contain himself.
"The whole thing sounds fabulous, almost too good to be true. I'm so excited, just thinking about it."
Through December and January, in telephone calls and e-mails recorded by the FBI, Mayer and Calvin discussed techniques for picking up young boys on the beaches of
Mexico. They discussed the kinds of boys they wanted and what sorts of gifts they could use to bribe them. Robert Hamer reached Paul Zipszer, who agreed to join them on
the Mexico cruise. Hamer helped coordinate the whole thing.
Calvin's own taste ran to 12- and 13-year-olds, preferably hairless. The few experiences he'd had with young boys were the highlights of his sexual memories, ones he never
shared with Darlene Calvin. According to e-mails, phone transcriptions, and in-person interviews collected by the FBI, Calvin recounted his days as a nursing aide, bathing
young boys, and how he'd get "slight opportunities while bathing a kid ... You might get to touch it, for like half a second." He also recalled a time, years before, while he was
in dental school, when he had a frantic encounter with a boy who was just days away from his 14th birthday. They had met in a health club.
Calvin told Hamer one day over the phone, "We got in my car and I drove around the neighborhood. ... He was in a rush. He had to get back before his mom was ready to go
home. I'm trying to drive. I'm looking for a place where, hopefully, nobody would spot me and, like, call the police. He, uh, came down on me once. Me on him twice, and then
we rushed back to the gym."
Calvin had another sexual encounter with the same boy two years later. And on a trip to Costa Rica, Calvin had paid an underage boy to perform sexual acts on him. To his
NAMBLA friends, Calvin admitted he held no regrets about his past encounters. In fact, he wrote in an e-mail to Mayer and Hamer how much he was "really looking forward to
the [Mexico] trip!" He told them he wanted to have encounters with several boys, but only one at a time. In a phone call with Hamer on December 14, 2004, Calvin said he
really hoped to be able to have anal sex with the boys, because he was "into that kind of stuff," but he also had trouble imagining "the typical 10- to 12-year-old having the
ability to accommodate in that way ... ." He even talked about finding a way to bring a boy back to Dallas with him.
By January 14, Calvin had paid a $558 deposit on the trip to a travel agency that was actually an FBI undercover operation. The plan was for him, Mayer, and Zipszer to fly to
San Diego on Friday, February 11, and stay there overnight. The boat was to depart for Harbor Island at 10 am Saturday.
The week before the trip, Calvin worked feverishly to get patients in and out of his dental office. The Singing Dentist had to clear his calendar. He had his kids over for their
weekend and ate dinner with Darlene that Saturday. Things were looking great.
But for Calvin there was one problem. Robert Hamer, the NAMBLA member from Los Angeles, was actually an undercover agent from the FBI.
THE NORTH AMERICAN MAN/BOY LOVE Association was founded in 1978 and bills itself as a political and civil rights organization. Unincorporated and based in New York
and San Francisco, NAMBLA has been protected by the courts on a First Amendment basis because it positions itself as an advocacy group intent on changing, not violating,
laws prohibiting sexual relationships between adult men and young boys. While the group's membership is small—the FBI estimates about 300 formal members
nationwide—its rationalizations lend support to pedophiles, says FBI Special Agent Brooke Donohue, head of the Dallas office of the national Innocent Images initiative, which
targets child sex predators. Donohue investigates and refers for prosecution about 50 federal child sex and child porn cases a year in the Dallas region. He has more cases
than his agents can handle.
"What they do is use the model of other legitimate groups who have fought for acceptance, legally and socially," Donohue says. "They want to numb people to what their
agenda is, which, at the end of the day, is to have sex with children. A lot of the pedophiles I've arrested don't think they've done anything wrong, and it's because they are
supported by groups like this."
Disturbingly, the NAMBLA web site echoes the wording of the civil rights, gay rights, and women's rights movements. "NAMBLA's membership is open to everyone
sympathetic to personal freedom. Our goal is to end the oppression of men and boys who have freely chosen, mutually consensual relationships," the web site proclaims.
The association holds regular conventions across the country, and various chapters have monthly meetings. These are done in a low-profile manner, of course. Law
enforcement and child advocates say that the meetings are a cover for members to exchange information on child porn, methods of child seduction, techniques for skirting
child-protection laws, and child sex tourism.
The feds take child sex tourism seriously. In 2003, the government passed the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today
(PROTECT) Act, increasing the penalty to 30 years for engaging in child sex tourism and making it easier to prosecute the crime. Since then, there have been more than 20
indictments across the nation and a dozen convictions of American child sex tourists, according to the U.S. State Department.
CALVIN WAS SO EXCITED THE MORNING OF THE cruise he was jittery. He wanted to break into song. On the dock in San Diego, he double-checked his designer travel
bags. He and Mayer had brought DVDs, CDs, and video games to offer Mexican boys. He knew it was going to be a Valentine's Day weekend he wouldn't forget.
At 10:05 am, a dozen FBI agents in dark suits surrounded the four men on the dock. The would-be travelers were under arrest. In a related sting, at almost the same time, four
other NAMBLA members were arrested on similar charges at a Los Angeles marina.
Five minutes later and 2,000 miles away, in Dallas, agents armed with a search warrant entered Calvin's home. Items seized included NAMBLA bulletins and publications, a
novel titled Diary of a Pedophile, a graphic novel with illustrations of men having sex with pre-pubescent boys, and several computer hard drives.
A few days later, employees at Calvin's single-story dental offices found NAMBLA publications and a book with pictures of nude boys and men together.
A week earlier, Calvin's office had mailed out a four-color promotional brochure. It told prospective clients: "Put your family's dental care into the hands of a respected dentist."
IN THE HOURS FOLLOWING THE ARREST, Darlene Calvin felt as though she were living outside her body. She was, at times, in near physical shock, shaking and cold.
Todd Calvin? A pedophile? NAMBLA?
While an agent explained to her the support that the FBI's Victim Outreach Program would offer her and her children,
Darlene called her family and a few close friends to tell them what was happening. There was a coppery taste in her
mouth that wouldn't go away. She didn't cry. It was as if she was standing behind herself, watching her body go
through the motions.
By the time she got home that same Saturday afternoon, February 12, her parents, her brother and sister, her
attorney, and her closest friends were already there. Knowing it was only a matter of days, maybe hours, until there
would be a swarm of media at her door, she asked her best friend to take her son and her daughter for a few days.
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The kids asked if their dad was dead. Darlene said no, told them to go and have fun. She wouldn't let them see her
break down. (Darlene asked that the names of her parents and friends not be used.)
Her family stayed with her that evening. They ordered Mexican takeout. Darlene's nachos sat uneaten on the coffee
table as she asked over and over, "Who was he?" between fits of crying. At one point her father had to bring her a
paper bag to breathe into so she wouldn't hyperventilate. Sleep came only fitfully that night, her dreams as bad as her
reality. She felt broken. And the worst part was, she knew more was coming.
Her mother says that at some point during the night, Darlene called a crisis intervention hotline. Darlene has no memory of it. She asked her mother at 5:30 am to bring over
Starbucks coffee. Darlene doesn't remember that, either.
She sat with her mother Sunday morning. Darlene's vibrant, olive complexion was sallow and drawn, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. She curled up next to her mother like a
little girl. But then she started to talk about her children. She sat up on her own. Gone was the refrain of "Who was he?" and in its place she methodically planned out how and
what she would tell her children, how she would guide them through the looming crisis. She leaned forward in her seat, listing her directives for herself as if she were making
a battle plan.
On Monday, February 14, an agent called to tell her that the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office would be releasing the files on the arrest publicly. It would only be a matter of hours
before the local media picked it up.
"I brought my kids home and asked everyone else to stay downstairs," she says. "We went up into my bedroom and I told them what was happening. I told them the truth.
That's what you do when you deal with this kind of trauma. I answered what few questions they had with only what they wanted to know. They didn't understand what it meant
that he was attracted to boys. I knew that when they were done asking what they needed at that moment, it meant they couldn't process any more. I knew that over the next
several years—maybe for the rest of their lives—they will have questions."
The story broke just before the evening news. Todd Calvin's picture was shown on a local news station with the story of the arrest. It was 4:45 pm, Darlene recalled
specifically. Valentine's Day. It led the news at 5 pm and again at 6 pm.
Her first instinct after that weekend was to flee and find a place to hole up. She took her kids out of school for a week and stayed home with them. The school sent a letter to
parents explaining the situation without naming her or her children, asking them to be sensitive to Darlene and her son and daughter. Darlene took another couple of days
after that before she returned to work, and even then she had to will herself out of her car and into the building. She tried to delay that first morning back at the office by
fussing over her outfit.
It was maybe three weeks before she went out—and only then because it was a fundraiser dinner for the Lakewood Service League at Mariano's, a Mexican restaurant.
Everyone she knew was quietly supportive—they didn't want to talk in front of the children—but every moment she spent during dinner, she felt like eyes were on her and
people were whispering, "Isn't that her?"
SIX MONTHS ON, IT'S THE LATTER PART OF summer, and Darlene welcomes a guest to her home. She's barefoot but dressed smartly in a designer skirt and blouse. She
is guarded, but she wants to be candid. While she's dealt with the issue daily since last winter, she hasn't reflected on the time in between all that much. She's willing to talk
now, but she's very clear about what's off-limits.
There are pictures of her son and daughter all throughout her living room. There's not a single picture of Todd Calvin. No trace of his existence in the house.
"Was he a good father?" Darlene asks herself. "I can't answer that. The minute he stepped foot on the plane, the minute he agreed to go on this trip, he stomped his foot on
something beautiful and he threw it away. He threw away every memory I cared to still have."
She says that she and her kids talk about it from time to time. They curl up on the couch or in her bed, and she asks them if they have any questions. They're at the age when
it's hard enough to understand normal sexual issues, much less the idea of pedophilia. Trying to understand it in context of their father—that's going to take time.
About one thing she is sure; however: "I am very comfortable that he did not abuse my children either sexually or in any other way. We really were a separate part of his life.
"During that week that I had my children 'sequestered,' they spent time with FBI counselors who are trained in these issues ... They didn't interrogate them, but they talked to
my kids at length and we're all comfortable that he never directly abused them. There may have been something they saw on his desk or in a closet—we can never be
sure—but as sure as we can be, there's nothing to suggest he abused them in any way, or any kids who may have been here for a sleepover or playing with my kids. But it
may have just been a matter of time."
She says people have asked her whether she divorced Todd because of what he was doing. "That's so insulting," she says, "like I would send my kids off with him every other
weekend and I wouldn't turn him in in the first place. Others have asked, 'How could you miss that? How could you not know?' And the truth is I don't blame them for asking
that, because I ask that every night. I go through moments and memories in our lives and I ask at what point it was present? Could I have seen it? How deep inside him was
it? And will my children ever wonder, 'How could you send us there? How could you not know?'"
When she heard about the items in his home and office, Darlene wondered if they were in her house when he was. She feels like she's interrogating herself.
"He didn't go through my old bags in storage with my old cheerleading outfits any more than I went through his old boxes from his childhood. Do other married people go
through each other's stuff? Was I supposed to? Was there something there in the top shelf of our closet? If he was a member of these organizations, was he getting
newsletters? Where were they?"
At the end of it all, after all the therapy (which she still attends, periodically) and self-recriminations and questions upon questions, after months where the anger at her
ex-husband was only matched by the anger at herself, Darlene came to accept that she couldn't know. There are plenty of moments when she's so angry she could scream or
break down crying. In moments like these, she leaves the house. She goes for a walk or a drive or she sends her kids to the neighbor's house. She's spent entire
afternoons—the bad days—staring at White Rock Lake.
Despite the concern that Todd's estate won't be able to keep its financial commitments, Darlene quit her job at the elementary school because she had to spend more time
with her children. "They only know what they see from me," she says. "If I'm not strong, they won't know how to be. They won't know how to be strong unless they see the one
person they trust be strong. So I choose to be strong. I choose to let them see me being strong, so that they can be.
"I've gotten to the point where I'm ready to move ahead with the new chapter in my life. I won't live in grief, and I won't live in anger."
IN SAN DIEGO, TODD CALVIN'S CASE IS pending in the U.S. District Court for Southern California. He and his lawyer, Elizabeth Missakian, declined to be interviewed for
this article. Through court petitions, he has argued that the government violated his first-amendment rights (and fourth and fifth), and that by sending an undercover agent to
the Miami NAMBLA convention without reasonable suspicion of illegal activities, it entrapped him. No trial date has been set.
Portrait of Darlene Calvin by Allison V. Smith
Photos by Elizabeth Lavin
2/12/2009 9:55 AM
9
JANUARY 2, 2009
Darlene Ellison
Motivational
speakertrees
and author
had to overcome intense public trauma.
loves
Christmas
and Motown.
Darlene Ellison came to a
rude awakening three
years ago when her husband was arrested in an
undercover FBI child pornography sting.
He was known as the
singing dentist in Lakewood. Darlene, in shock,
had to help her two children deal with the aftermath, and even appeared
on Oprah’s program about
pedophiles.
Darlene currently has
two books ready for
release...”Predator Next
Door” and “High Touch
Woman”.
Darlene’s personal journey has led her to become
an expert and consultant in
overcoming obstacles and
building alliances. She is
the Founder of Women in
Business for Lakewood
and Park Cities, plus Director of Business and Communications Development for Professional
Bank. She is an engaging
speaker who “walks the
talk”.
The bright side to her story is that she remarried a
year ago and her children
are thriving.
Where were you born and
where did you grow up?
I am a born and raised “Dallas
girl”…actually have spent my
entire life in Lakewood and
‘went away to college’ when I
drove down to street to Park Cities to attend SMU.
&
Questions
Scott and I just watched “Tears
in the Sun”—very powerful
movie about the human struggle/conflict between what we
are told to do/what is demanded of us and what is the right
thing to do based on our own
belief system when it comes to
human rights and the treatment
of fellow humans.
What is the most miraculous
thing about the human body?
Childbirth.
What is something that you
wish you knew how to do?
Play guitar.
"I love what I do and
know I am on the
right path."
how we could create the “college
football experience” we had all
dreamed of!
I remember that we were all
“neighborhood friends” but collectively we attended four different schools!
Tell a vivid memory of college
life?
What have you seen that was
breathtaking or makes you
say “Wow”?
Rainbows; a full moon at nightfall over White Rock Lake.
What house keeping chore do
you most dislike to perform?
Picking up dog hair after three
helping them make their lemons dogs!
into lemonade.
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What is unfathomable to you?
What do you know for sure?
If you gave a commencement
address to a senior class,
what would the theme be?
After having a few “shocks” in
That I LOVE what I do and I am my own life, very little is “unon the right path!
fathomable”
When life throws you lemons,
make lemonade!
What are ten things you are
crazy about?
Tell us about your family today.
First job? Worst job?
It is one of those neighborhoods Babysitting at the tender age of
that has a “small town feel” in a 13. Worst job? No such thing…
really big city!
some were tougher and less kind
than others, but all were GREAT
What were some fun times
stepping stones to the businessyou recall with your parents?
woman I am today!
My parents are both musically
talented (even though they were What is the most difficult thing
a banker and teacher by profes- about your job?
sion), so we all spent a lot of time Successfully juggling my “Mom
singing along to the guitar or first” hat, along with my Business
learning all their favorite danc- Development hat, along with my
es from the 1950s.
motivational speaker and author
hat. Maybe I should just go into
What are some memorable
the “hat business…”
things about your teenage
years?
could watch over and over?
Singing in the Rain and West
Side Story…I’m a sap for old
musicals.
What was the last movie you
saw? What did you think of it?
Married to Scott Ellison (we just
celebrated our One Year Anniversary) and I have two children,
What is something interesting aged 12 and 14.
about your birthplace or
hometown?
Answers
QA
What has been a real struggle
for you?
Becoming a single-parent “overnight’ three years ago amidst a
lot of public trauma for me and
my children.
What has been your proudest
My sophomore year at SMU, moment?
Chocolate mint ice cream, walks
at the lake with my husband, my
children, the feel of cool grass on
my bare feet, hot chocolate on a
cold day, the people I work with,
college football, my book, my
Mom’s spiced tea, White Rock
Lake
Do you have a favorite sport,
as player or fan? What is your
favorite sports team?
College football—I better say
Nebraska Cornhuskers, since my
husband is a HUGE Huskers fan!
Of course, when Nebraska is
NOT playing University of Texas, I am a pretty big Longhorn
fan as well!
What is your wildest dream?
What is the best thing about
being a woman?
Women are “natural connectors”—I love that all my business-women friends want to
promote each other, mentor each
other and support each other’s
endeavors.
If cost were not an object,
what would you buy tomorrow?
A vacation for my family, then
I’d pay off any debt I have.
What made you say, “I’ll never
do that again!”?
Nothing…if I wouldn’t have
done it, I would never have had
the life lesson that came with it.
Every “never do that again” is a
blessing in disguise.
Positively affecting others with
my motivational speaking and You are granted one “dobeing an author. Wait a minute— over”. What will it be?
I wouldn’t change a thing…and
I am living my dream!
that will definitely come as a
shock to some of my friends.
What was your favorite
concert so far?
Def Leppard (of course, I was 16 Dallas is...
home…can’t imagine living
years old)
anywhere else.
What books have been
“unputdownable”?
Eat, Pray, Love is a favorite!
our football program received Seeing my kids through that
the “death penalty”…my “punch in the stomach” and What are some movies you
friends and I spent many a long
By: Sally Blanton
weekends trying to figure out
Life is...
a series of adventures and opportunities. Sometimes it is uncomfortable, but that discomfort
is the catalyst to change and
growth!
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