Biographical Information

Doctor Ronald G. Aldridge is the Executive Director of AIDS Services of North Texas, an agency committed to decreasing the impact of HIV and AIDS in a 6 county area. He has served as a Consultant and expert in non-profit mergers and acquisitions, administration and management, fundraising, and agency health and welfare. His last position was as Deputy Director of the Community Council of Greater Dallas where he was a consultant to Executive Directors and agencies. He helped the Council acquire and manage the Children�s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) community grant and supervised the coordination of a major community Welfare to Work grant. Prior to this position, he was Executive Director of the Child and Family Guidance Centers for nine years. He facilitated three mergers for his agency: Plano Child Guidance Clinic, the CHANCE Center and the Family Guidance Center. Under his leadership, employee size grew from 27 in 1988 to 132 in 1997. During this same time frame, the agency budget grew from $800,000 to $4.6 million and the numbers of clients served from 1,800 to 16,000. He raised $3.5 million dollars for a state-of-the-art new headquarters building for the Centers. In appreciation, the agency made him a life member. He came to Dallas from El Paso where he was Chief, Social Work Service, at William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Regional Social Work Consultant for his six-state medical treatment area. There, he initiated the first counseling program in the military for families dealing with HIV/AIDS. He also founded and chaired the Mayor�s committee on gang intervention. El Paso city and county honored him with their respective highest awards for service to youth. In addition, he received the Mental Health Association of El Paso's first "Outstanding Leadership Award." He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, is listed in Who's Who in the World, holds NASW "Diplomate" status, and is an Associate Editor of the professional journal "Corrective and Social Psychiatry." In the field of criminal justice, Doctor Aldridge is Past President of the Kansas Correctional Association where he received the first "Kansas Correctional Association Award," and was National Vice President of the American Association of Mental Health Professionals in Corrections. His position, prior to El Paso, was Director of Mental Health at the military's maximum security prison in Leavenworth and Social Work Consultant in Corrections to the Army Surgeon General. The sex offender treatment program he initiated there became one of the largest in the world. He has presented professional papers internationally and has numerous publications to his credit. He is Licensed in Texas as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in private practice and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He was State Vice President of the National Association of Social Workers/Texas Chapter, Past President of the Mental Health Association of El Paso, Past Chair of the El Paso mayor's Gang Intervention Advisory Committee, Past President of the El Paso Unit of the NASW, and Past President of the Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Advisory Committee under the West Texas Council of Governments. He served as a national accreditation site visitor for the American Association of Psychiatric Services for Children and as a member of their National Board of Directors. And, he served as a national accreditation site visitor for the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children. At state level, he was a member of the State Board of the Community Resource Coordination Groups of Texas and past member of the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Statewide Advisory Board. In Dallas, he is Past President of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Area Parkinsonism Society, Past Chair of the Adolescent Sex Offender Treatment Subcommittee of the Children's Mental Health Committee, Past Co-Chair of the Dallas Unit Steering Committee of the National Association of Social Workers, and Past President of the Dallas Market Center Rotary Club. In 1997, he was honored by the Dallas Unit of the National Association of Social Workers as "Social Worker of the Year". He was also Chair of the Board of Trustees at Argyle United Methodist Church. He has received the National Eagle Scout Association's Distinguished Service Award for national level leadership. In Rotary International, he was made a Paul Harris Fellow. Areas of research and expertise include the treatment of incarcerated rapists and child molesters, counseling families dealing with HIV/AIDS, and the development of gang intervention programs. He is often called upon to speak about fundraising, capital campaigns, non-profit management, conducting a merger and dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Ron's wife of 35 years, Cheryl, formerly of Fowlerville Michigan, is Senior Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Parkland Hospital in the newborn nursery (in Dallas). Parkland has over 15,000 births a year, more than any other hospital in the country. They have two grown daughters: Michelle and Danielle. Since Ron's Dad was also a social worker, it's obviously in the blood.

Ron and Cheryl live near Argyle Texas which is 15 minutes from Ron's office in Denton. For fun, the family travels and Ron has written books in his hobby, collecting Boy Scout patches.