Irene Clouse Newlon, SCT

Career Highlights
As an SCT, Irene Newlon has gained great respect as a trainer and supervisor of several noteworthy organizations. Throughout her career, positions have included Coordinator of Homeless Services for the State of Virginia; a Supervisor of Education for two Federal Prisons; Director of Family Services for the YMCA; Master Trainer for the Parenting Education Initiative in the State of Texas; and Chief Professional Officer for the Boys and Girls Clubs of El Paso, Texas.

Newlon has also kept busy as a volunteer for numerous nonprofit organizations, including several battered women’s shelters and homeless services.

A Trainer at Heart
Through creativity and experience-directed curricula, Newlon has found a way to change the lives and attitudes of many who were previously unreachable because of a language barrier, little or no education, or lack of money.

P.S. I Love You and SKIT are both products of experiential learning concepts. Based on Adlerian theory, the books don’t focus on academic learning, but have a more internal emphasis.

Newlon stresses that "All of the curricula that I have written focus on attitude, not skill, and are written at a third- to fourth-grade reading level...In addition, the curricula are experiential and involve participants ‘learning the lesson’ themselves through fun and insightful activities."

These concepts apply to the most of the population, Newlon believes. "Eighty percent of people enjoy learning experientially...for a lesson to be learned, it must be internalized and in some way relate to their attitude, not their skill."

People Skills, Inc.
These principles are at the core of People Skills, Inc., a nonprofit organization of which Newlon is Director. People Skills trains facilitators who work at substance abuse, homeless, and other human service organizations; and who have programs in job preparation; children’s support groups, and managing conflict. Because these agencies are often nonprofit and often rely on volunteers, the training sessions are often given at no/low cost.

"There are not always professionals around to provide support groups," Newlon stated, "and these curricula allow for everyday people to be part of a group which can continue indefinitely and offers peer support and success at the grassroots level."

People Skills has been very successful within the state of Texas in implementing these programs, and is now serving all 50 states.

In additional to using P.S. I Love You and SKIT (published by KIDSRIGHTS, 1998), People Skills also uses P.S. Yo Te Amo, P.S. I Love You More, P.S. Yo Te Amo Mas, $$$$ in My Pocket, and That Is NOT in My Job Description in their training.

Current Projects
Newlon has been very active in a Texas statewide parenting education initiative, in which she has trained 2500 volunteer and staff facilitators in parenting curricula to teach participants who may not otherwise have access to free parenting programs.

Newlon and her husband also operate a True West Bed and Breakfast in New Mexico. She has one daughter who is an artist.

To learn more about People Skills, Inc., see their Web site at www.people-skills.org, or contact Irene at irene@people-skills.org.