Contact: Jackie Shelton
jackieshelton@sbcglobal.net / 775.772.6543
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Emilio Parga Named Recipient of the University of Phoenix
2012 Alumni Community Service Award
Reno, NV (August 18, 2012) – Solace Tree Executive Director, Emilio Parga, has been selected as the recipient of the University of Phoenix (UOP) 2012 Alumni Community Service Award. His story will be featured in the UOP alumni magazine. He has also been invited to throw out the first pitch at the UOP Alumni event, being held at the Reno Aces game, Sunday, August 26 at 1:10pm.
In addition to the Solace Tree, Parga has co-founded four other grief centers in Nevada, as well as one in New York, with more planned for the future. He is the author of No Child Should Grieve Alone and four journals written with children for children who have experienced a death, all of which are sold internationally. You’ll Always Be With Me, the Solace Tree documentary he worked on with the local KNPB (the Reno PBS affiliate), was selected as a 2011 Silver Communicator Award winner.
Emilio also serves as an Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, as a bereavement consultant to local schools, social service agencies, universities, hospitals and funeral homes, as well as providing in-service credits, trainings and lectures related to children and teens dealing with death. Working as a volunteer for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), he has provided counseling for military families, as well as the families of 9-11 victims. He is also a national speaker for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and he facilitates on-line support groups for the National Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation. He is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC), and the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC).
For more information on Parga and the Solace Tree, visit www.solacetree.org.
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