Currently, I am writing children's books, teaching some college courses and raising my three young children.
Before this, I worked for The Cradle, an adoption agency in Evanston, IL, as a Birth Parent Counselor and Intake
Co-ordinator. I also ran a mentorship program, a support group and served on The Cradle Diversity Committee. Although
I had worked in foster care and adoptions previous to The Cradle, it was here that I became most familiar with birth mothers
and their particular needs. It was the experience of seeing so many women without proper resources for their children
that prompted me to write Sam's Sister. Initially, we used this text solely as a tool for clients but my director encouraged
me to seek a publisher and the book was quickly picked up by Pat Johnston at Perspectives Press.
Previous to my four years at The Cradle, I worked for CHASI as a case manager and then at ChildServ as a supervisor within
in their foster care divisions. I was employed by a private agency but our contracts were through the state. Working
for DCFS is such an eye opening experience! I think most social workers in the child welfare arena can benefit from
starting here in order to understand and experience the system that our poorest and neediest women and children are subject
to.
During my undergraduate and graduate work at University of Illinois I volunteered and worked for 6 years in a Crisis
Nursery. This experience is one I look back on with pride and also longing. The Crisis nurseries in our country
are so valuable to families who need temporary childcare in a crisis and though we have two wonderful facilities in downstate
Illinois, we have nothing in the metropolitan areas! One of my life goals is to be a part of or begin the process of
implementing these services here in the Chicago area.
I also spent one crazy year in LA working with teen prostitutes. This, was while my husband was pursuing an acting
career and I was pregnant with our first child. How intense my feelings were working with these young people while in
the process of becoming a mother myself. Some of my experiences as a social worker have become blurred, those haven't.
