Administrative and Supervisory Staff

Mr. Kopp has been working directly with children and staff in Residential programs since 1975. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Education, he started his work with children at a private, non-profit residential treatment center in Pennsylvania.

During his tenure there, he earned his Master’s Degree in Special Education from Shippensburg University. After 11 years of service at the residential facility, Mr. Kopp was invited to join the Murphey School as a Program Manager. In 1992, he became the Executive Director.

Mr. Kopp’s focus is on providing each child with a caring, options-loaded program that will allow each to develop into responsible and capable adults.

He was instrumental in the development of the Independent Living Program, including living arrangements on campus that help young adults successfully transition out of foster care during the ages of 18 to 21.

Mr. Kopp maintains a residence on the campus and is available during emergencies. He and his wife, Susie, raised their three children, Sasha, Seth, and Zachary in that home. They currently have 8 grandchildren

Email Michael Kopp 

With over 20 years of experience working with children and youth, Ms. Clark currently works as the Assistant Director for the Elizabeth W. Murphey School, where she partners with and supports supervisors in the coordination of care for our residents. In 2012, Ms. Clark became employed by Murphey School as a houseparent and was promoted to cottage manager in 2017. Recognizing the need to continue her education, Ms. Clark completed her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership at DESU in 2018. Before Murphey School, she was a Childcare Center Director where she had the opportunity to support families in their children’s early care and education.

Ms. Clark is passionate about providing a loving and safe environment for children through program development, training, and management coaching. Her experience has helped her recognize the importance of Educating, Equipping, and Empowering the next generation of leaders. Quickly seeing skills, gifts, and talents that people don’t realize they have is one of her greatest strengths. Ms. Clark gets great satisfaction from helping individuals discover and develop their leadership skills and seeing them grow in confidence of their abilities.

Outside of work, Ms. Clark enjoys gaining new perspectives on life and the world through travel. She enjoys meeting new people, gaining new information and hearing new ideas.

Email Murlene Clark

Cynthia Liverpool is our Finance Director with over 20 years of experience in Administrative Management. Cynthia specializes in office management where her diverse responsibilities includes overseeing all day to day activities including benefits, payroll, billing and bookkeeping functions, and she uses her organizational skills to ensure smooth operations. In general Cindy is the “Go to” person on campus. She is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Cindy is inspired daily by her husband and their children. In her free time, Cindy likes to bake and enjoy time with her family.

Email Cindy Liverpool 

Mrs. Halama had worked at a Residential Treatment Center for 4 years before coming to the Murphey School. In 1984, starting out as a Houseparent in the cottages, moved on to supervisor, then Manager of Support Services, and eventually developed the position as Director of Personnel. She received her Master’s Degree in Administration of Human Services from Wilmington University.

Her role as Personnel Director entails overseeing all personnel matters, including hiring, training, supervising volunteers and interns, managing safety procedures, worker’s comp, and FMLA issues, etc. She is pictured here with her dog, Doobie.

Email Grace Halama

Ed is a graduate of the University of Delaware (BA ’81), Wilmington University (M.Ed. ’94), and is a Board Certified Practitioner of Human Services (Center for Credentialing and Education, Greensboro, NC, HS-BCP).  Ed brings 30 years of experience working with youth and families.  First, as a classroom instructor and liaison to the families with children in care at a residential treatment facility, and for the past 24 years working to shape the process of family reunification at the Murphey School with the goal of helping children and families achieve and maintain, their best level of reconnection.

In Murphey’s effort to assist with the understanding of the physical and emotional toll the sense of separation, abandonment, and loss can have on families, in 2015 Ed completed a forty-hour training of the Sanctuary Model for Trauma-Informed Care (TIC).  At its core, TIC promotes safety and recovery through the creation of a trauma-informed community.  As part of that informed community, Ed developed a training entitled, “Hole in the Heart” which has become a mainstay of the initial training new staff and interns receive at The Murphey School.

When they are not spending time at the beach, Ed and his wife Heather reside in Dover with their dog Dottie.

Debbie became a nurse in 1997 after receiving her Associates Degree from Wesley College in Dover. She received her Bachelors Degree in Science in 1999 from Wilmington Collage. Her experience in nursing prior to coming to the Murphey School in 2011 was with critical care pediatrics and chronically ill patients. At the Murphey School, Debbie maintains the daily medical records and the residents’ medications.

She communicates daily with staff, Personal Care Providers, Psychiatrists, and Nurse Practitioners in regards to medication review evaluations and other health needs to help provide optimal health care for each child. She also communicates the medical and medication needs of residents to school nurses and assesses clients as needed for medical and follow-up care. Debbie trains personnel in Limited Lay Administration of Medications (LLAM) and all company medical policies and procedures. She believes the best part of her job are the smiles and hugs she receives from residents.

Call Debbie at (302)734-7478, ext. 170

Mrs. Briddell’s passion has always been to work with children in care. After working at the Murphey School as a houseparent from 1999 until 2002, she took a position as a Supervisor with People’s Place until 2007. In that year, she went to work for CEC @ SCI in Georgetown, and subsequently earned her CAAC credentials to become a certified associate drug and alcohol counselor in 2010. In June of 2011, Mrs. Briddell returned to Murphey School as a Program Manager for the teenage boys’ cottage. She graduated from Ashworth College in August of 2013 with a Degree in Substance Abuse Counseling.

Mrs. Briddell and her husband have also served as foster parents, through Pressley Ridge and DMR Services, from 1997 until 2007. She loves to spend her free time with her family.

Email Melissa Briddell 

Victoria Austin is a second-generation Murphey School staff. Ms. Austin currently supervises the Bradford Cottage, maintaining sanctuary for the young girls. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and has served the vision of the school for over ten years. Ms. Austin finds solace in exploration culinary adventures, delighting in introducing new flavors to the residents and cottage staff.

April has been working at the Murphey School since 1999, when she started as a houseparent in the younger boys’ cottage. In 2000, she transferred to the teenage girls’ cottage and was promoted to Assistant Supervisor and then Cottage Manager, while also mentoring youth in the campus’s Independent Living Program.

Some of April’s job responsibilities include managing and training all employees within the cottage, creating monthly schedules, staying in regular contact with social workers, writing service plans for children in care, participating in court hearings, making sure all cottage paperwork is properly completed, and sharing in emergency on-call duty.

April is currently certified in CPR, First Aid, Limited Lay Assistance of Medication, and ServSafe training. She has also attended Trauma Informed Care and Prudent Parenting trainings.

She graduated from Caesar Rodney High School in 1993 and went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Delaware. April has always had a passion and desire for helping people, and feels the most important part of her job is getting the opportunity to teach the kids about unconditional love and self-respect. She feels each client she has worked with in the past, is currently working with, or will work with in the future deserves the opportunity to create happy memories, be loved, and become successful.

Email April Tazelaar

Isiah J. Dunbar started his career at the Elizabeth Murphey School as a part-time house parent. Before being promoted to Assistant Supervisor and now the House Supervisor of the younger boy’s cottage in 2023, he held numerous titles and positions during his tenure at Connections Inc. He predominantly worked as a Certified Peer Specialist and Employment Specialist for over 8 years. Assisting clients in recovery by recognizing and developing strengths, setting, and meeting personal goals. He also assisted clients, that were diagnosed with mental health disabilities, with obtaining meaningful employment in various positions within the local community that he served. Through his empathy, integrity and interpersonal skills, Mr. Dunbar easily creates meaningful relationships with all he works with and serves. His great passion brings healing to the youths who have been through a traumatic/stressful experience. His work and work ethics are both deeply influenced by his personal life experience and center-city upbringing in Long Island, New York and Dover, Delaware.  He strongly believes providing and maintaining a soft nurturing environment will help provide a sense of structure for our youths. He’s a highly committed and socially aware individual who’s keen on creating a positive impact on the world. Apart from Murphey School, Mr. Dunbar actively enjoys spending time outdoors with his lovely mother and daughter. In his free time, he attends local comedy shows and jazz festivals.

-The sky is just a view, it’s never the limit.

Ms. Aleah Holland is the supervisor of Elizabeth Cottage. She has worked at Murphey School for 5 years. She takes pride and joy in building lifelong relationships with the many youths that are part of our program.