About our Collaborators

PACC is privileged to share the voices and wisdom of tribal and child welfare practitioners, mental health professionals, and adoptee advocates who have all been integral to the development of the sessions they lead as facilitators and guest experts. Many PACC collaborators have firsthand experience with permanency and adoption and have shared their reflections on how centering firsthand experience transforms the dialogue we have as professionals around permanency

Lisa Berry (1962-2024) was Program Manager of Child Services, Kinship and Extended Foster Care in Hennepin County and an early PACC participant. She contributed greatly to curriculum revision, especially by providing mentorship and facilitation to PACC's Case Consultation structure and model.

Andrea Brubaker, MSW, LISW is the Foster Adopt Minnesota HELP Program Manager, and PACC alumni. She is a creator and facilitator of PACC’s sessions on Attachment, Grief and Loss; Trauma and Challenging Behavior; and Adult Adoptees.

"As an adoption professional, I speak on a daily basis to myriad community members such as child welfare workers, teachers, therapists, doctors, and psychiatric and school social workers about the unique needs of this population. Among those professionals, there is a growing recognition that they require their own specific training to support the needs of these children and their families to better serve this community that touches so many."

Michelle Robertson, MSW, LGSW is Assistant Professor/Director of Field Education with The College of St. Scholastica’s BSW Social Work Program and has trained with PACC since the program started in 2010. She is a creator and facilitator of PACC’s session on Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Practice.

"The shared framework, process, and language around understanding permanency, healing, and well-being for children and families directly influence the advancement of our professionals. Child welfare workers are most often the first practitioners to meet the children and families that may face out-of-home placement or adoption, and it is so important that they have the same level of skills as mental health clinicians and adoption practitioners."

Wendy L. Baker, MSW, LICSW is co-founder of Family Circle Counseling and has trained with PACC since the program started in 2010. She is a creator and facilitator of PACC’s sessions on Attachment, Grief and Loss; and Trauma and Challenging Behavior, as well providing structure and facilitation to the Case Consultation model.

"It has been so rewarding to see the positive impact that the PACC program has had for adoptive families and adoptees over the years. We have learned so much over the years about what families and individuals are dealing with through this life changing experience. And I see daily the difference it makes for families and adoptees to have knowledgeable, compassionate people walking this path with them. I see the collaboration between Child Welfare Workers and Clinicians, developed through PACC, benefit our adoptive families tremendously as they seek support and guidance."

Misty Coonce, MSW, LISW was recently appointed Ombudsperson for the Office of Foster Youth after years of work as a program director at Ampersand Families and is a PACC alumni. She has collaborated on Permanency and Child Welfare curriculum and is a guest contributor for PACC’s session on Adult Adoptees.

The Governor's office released the following statement about her appointment: “As the new ombudsperson for the Office of Foster Youth, Misty Coonce will bring her powerful story and lived experience to this role serving and protecting Minnesota’s youth in foster care,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. "I’m grateful for her commitment to centering equity and advancing dignity in this critical work. I know her work will move us closer to making Minnesota the best state in the country for kids.”

Amelia LeGarde, MSW, is a social worker with St. Louis County and community trainer with the University of Minnesota -Duluth's Tribal Training Certificate Program (TTCP) and is a PACC alumni. She is a guest expert for Session 1: Permanency and Adoption.

Nicole Sheppard, MS, LPCC is a licensed psychotherapist and clinical supervisor at Mental Health Systems, and is a PACC alumni. She is a guest expert for Session 6: Adult Adoptees.