ABOUT

TED & MARIA

About the Owners

Ted Huntington
  • (CEO) Empowering Breakthrough LLC
  • Creator of the "THRIVE Resilience Program for Teens" being used by school districts and youth serving organizations throughout Arizona and across the country reaching THOUSANDS of teens every year.
  • Curriculum Creator / Author / Publisher (Empowering Breakthrough Productions)
  • Licensed Pastor
  • (ICPS) Internationally Certified Prevention Specialist (IC & RC)
  • Arizona ACE Consortium Trauma Coach for Coalitions
  • Certified Trauma Support Specialist (CTSS)
  • Retired Law Enforcement & AZ P.O.S.T Proficiency Skills Subject Matter Expert – Police Academy Instructor / Training Specialist
  • Guided Imagery for Performance Enhancement Instructor (Winning Minds Training) 
  • For resume visit the LinkedIn link below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huntingtonted/  

Boards & Organizations 

  • Manager - East Valley High Risk Behavior Task Force
  • Manager- Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse
  • Past-Executive Board President – Chandler I Am Project 
  • Member – Maricopa County Regional Opioid Committee
  • Member - Governor’s “Youth Prevention Sub-Committee”
  • Member -  Governor’s RX Core Group”
  • Member -  Governor's Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership (ASAP)

 Bio:

Ted has a passion to see individuals overcome challenges and experience breakthrough. During his childhood, Ted experienced the death of his father, a mother who suffered from mental illness & addiction, being placed in numerous foster homes, and his two biological sisters losing their lives to the disease of addiction. It was his faith, his family, and amazing people he encountered in his life that gave him encouragement & tools that empowered him to Thrive & Breakthrough his challenges, develop Resiliency and experience success.  Ted is passionate about paying it forward and affording the same opportunities to others.  

Ted is the creator of the THRIVE Resilience for Teens program being used by school districts and youth serving organizations throughout Arizona and across the country, reaching thousands of teens each year.

Ted is blessed to have a diverse background and experience in Law Enforcement, Ministry & High Risk Prevention.

He retired from the Mesa Police Department in Arizona where he was a Training Specialist & Arizona POST Proficiency Skills Subject Matter Expert.  He also served for 7 years as a detective for the Violent Crimes Robbery/Homicide unit.

He is a pastor licensed through the Trinity Christian Fellowship Church in Chandler, AZ. He and his wife, Maria began their official call into ministry in 2005 with the Sunshine Acres Children’s home in Mesa, AZ where they led the ministries and Ted also directed the Children’s Services Programs managing a staff of 30 amazing employees.

In addition, Ted is blessed to fill the role of Community Programs Manager for ICAN in Chandler, Arizona where he manages the Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse and coordinates the multi-sector and city “East Valley High Risk Behavior Task Force.”  He also sits on a variety of committees from the Governor's Office of Youth, Faith & Family and is the past president of the board for the “Chandler I Am Project.”  

Ted has been blessed with an ability to connect with individuals of all ages & speaks to hundreds of teens, parents and community members every year focusing on empowering individuals with hope, resiliency and success tools.  He would love to partner with you as you Thrive & Overcome!

 

Maria Huntington
(FSS) Family Support Specialist
  • Chandler Unified School District
  • Mesa Public Schools
  • (Vice President) Empowering Breakthrough LLC

 Bio: 

Maria Huntington is passionate about empowering families with the resources, tools and hope enabling families to not only survive current challenges, but thrive as they overcome them.

Maria and Ted have been married for over 35 years.  They have 4 biological children and 5 additional spiritual children that they have been blessed to join their family from Sunshine Acres Children’s Home.

Maria and her family migrated to Arizona when she was in second grade. Her experiences provided an opportunity for her to experience the power of faith, family, compassion, and resilience.

Maria has made a career out of serving others as she has worked as a Parent Liaison and family support Specialist for over 10 years for the Mesa and Chandler school districts & C0-pastored with her husband at Sunshine Acres Children’s Home facilitating youth and women’s groups while also providing mentorship for the children.

Maria currently works as the Parent Liaison for Willis Jr High where she created and runs a family resource room providing food boxes, clothing, school supplies and a variety of assistance for Chandler families.