Meet the Speakers

Andrew Bridge

Andrew Bridge spent 11 years in Los Angeles foster care before graduating from Wesleyan and Harvard Law, earning a Fulbright and Rockefeller Bellagio Residency. His legal work led to the closure of Alabama’s notorious Eufaula Adolescent Center. He later led The Alliance for Children’s Rights, co-founded National Adoption Day and New Village Girls Academy, and chaired L.A. County’s Blue Ribbon Task Force. Most recently, he served on Illinois DCFS’s executive team and now serves on Arizona’s Foster Care Review Board. His memoir Hope’s Boy was a New York Times Bestseller; his latest, The Child Catcher, is a 2024 national award-winning bestseller.

Gaelin Elmore

Gaelin Elmore is a former NFL athlete turned nationally recognized keynote speaker and belonging expert. He has worked with fortune 500 companies, state agencies, and small locally run non-profits, all with the same mission - to create environments where EVERYONE can thrive: teams, leaders, AND clients. And thriving is only possible when we belong. Gaelin’s keynotes are a perfect blend of humor, practicality, and hard truth that challenges, connects, and changes every audience he shares space with. Gaelin’s message, passion, and story has led him to stages in 39 different states and multiple different countries in the last calendar year alone. Even still, the most important stage where Gaelin gets to “practice what he preaches” is at home, with his wife, Micaela, and their children Laniah, Gideon, and Tatum.

Ericka Brown

Ericka Brown has been a Wayne County CASA Advocate Supervisor for 6+years.

Shonethia Perkins-Ragland

Shonethia has been a Wayne County CASA volunteer for 10+ years and in 2023 became a Wayne County CASA Advocate Supervisor. She is currently the Program Supervisor.

Julie Harkema, LMSW

Julie Harkema, LMSW, is a dedicated social worker and educator with a BSW from Eastern Michigan University and an MSW from the University of Michigan. With a strong background in supporting children and families, she currently serves as a Full-Time Lecturer at EMU. Julie is also the Faculty Advisor for Swoop’s Food Pantry and the Admissions Coordinator for the MSW Program. Passionate about safety in the field, she advocates for practices that protect students, volunteers, and social workers while enabling effective client engagement. Her work reflects a deep commitment to both social justice and professional development in social work.

Jessica Sweet

Jessica earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Psychology from Western Michigan University in 2007 and a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling from Central Michigan University in 2011. Jessica also has a Limited License in Counseling in Michigan. Jessica has over 15 years of experience working in various positions within the field of child welfare including as a foster care and licensing specialist, in statewide leadership around foster care recruitment, and in her current role as division director of foster care, adoption and guardianship. Jessica strives to make meaningful changes that aim to enrich the safety, permanency and well-being for children and families involved in Michigan’s foster care system.

Dr. Tana Bridge

Dr. Tana Bridge is a professor of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. She is recognized for her passion expertise, and skills in engagement. She has a 33-year track record of excellence in teaching, service, and professional consulting. Dr. Bridge’s expertise in trauma, ethical practice and collaboration are common threads in all areas of engagement. She currently holds several advance certifications, serves on many local and state-wide committees, and has been recognized with several awards.

Apryl Pooley, PhD

Dr. Apryl Pooley is a trauma consultant, trainer, and qualified expert witness who holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Michigan State University where she researched the neurobiology of trauma and published research on the therapeutic efficacy of neurofeedback and yoga in trauma survivors. Dr. Pooley is currently the Director of Training and Technical Assistance for the Michigan Victim Advocacy Network, a project that supports crime victim advocates across the state. Dr. Pooley has trained a wide range of community service providers on the neurobiology of trauma, trauma-informed approaches, vicarious trauma, and more—with a goal of helping services become more trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and sustainable for those who do this work.

Mary Finedore

My name is Mary Finedore and I'm a medical student at MSU-CHM. I originally hail from Chicago and bring with me a wide range of passions, from cinema and art to healthcare policy and all aspects of primary care. I also bring with me a commitment to advocating for and contributing to the LGBTQ+ community at large, especially as it pertains to LGBTQ+ youth. My experience includes helping to conduct LGBTQ+ competency workshops for healthcare providers with the DuPage County (IL) Health Department, serving as a volunteer and facilitator for LGBTQ+ youth groups ages 12-24, and volunteering with the Trevor Project. As a medical student, I’ve served as a member of the LGBTQ+ standing committee with the American Medical Association Student Section and helped to create curriculum and deliver a lecture for an LGBTQ+ healthcare elective at MSU-CHM. And as LGBTQ+ foster youth face several additional layers of stress and trauma due to their gender and/or sexual identity, I’m dedicated to trying to provide them space to be themselves, developing training alongside CASA, and working with CASA volunteers to provide the much-needed support that these young folks deserve.

Sean Fisher Sr., Ed.S., PHR, HRS

Mr. Sean A. Fisher, Sr., has over twenty years of experience in K-12 education, during which he has held positions as a teacher, lead teacher, school leader, and education consultant, in addition to serving as a human resources administrator. He is a Civil Mediator and is certified by the Michigan School Business Office (MSBO) as a Human Resources Specialist (HRS), as well as holding certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR). Mr. Fisher is also a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the Children’s Court.

Horace E. Stone Jr., M.Ed., SRPC

Mr. Horace E. Stone, Jr. brings over twenty years of experience in K-12 education, serving as a veteran teacher, lead teacher, and school administrator. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Restorative Practices and works as a restorative practices coach. Additionally, he serves as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the Children’s Court.

Contessa S. Brady M.Ed.

Ms. Contessa S. Brady possesses over 15 years of expertise in K-12 education, serving as a Special Education Teacher, Case Manager, and English Language Learner Teacher. She also serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the Children’s Court.

Senator Sylvia Santana

Michigan CASA Child Advocate of the Year
Senator Santana is currently serving her second term in the Michigan Senate and sits on the following committees: Civil Rights Judiciary and Public Safety, Elections and Ethics, Health Policy, and Regulatory Affairs. Before her time in the legislature, Senator Santana was a micro-lending officer for Prosperous Detroit/Southwest Economic Solutions. She obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and finance from Eastern Michigan University. She continued her studies at Michigan State University to receive her Master of Business Administration. Senator Santana is married to former Representative Harvey Santana.

Dave Hildenbrand

Dave Hildenbrand is a powerful presence. First elected in his twenties, he served fourteen years in the Michigan Legislature. He chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee in his final term, overseeing the state’s $60 billion budget. Dave represents clients on a variety of health care, appropriations, business, and non-profit issues, including Michigan Court Appointed Special Advocates, Kids’ Food Basket, Ford Motor Company, AT&T, and GreenStone Farm Credit Services. He tailors innovative strategies to advance the business of his clients. Dave is your partner in shaping change.

Stacey Goodson

Stacey is the Owner of Amoyan Training and Consulting, LLC. and author of “Triple Threat: Teenagers, Talking and Trauma.” Stacey completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Juvenile Justice before going on to complete a Master’s Degree in Human Services, with an emphasis in Family and Community Studies. Stacey enjoyed a career in in child welfare for more than fourteen years and has had the privilege of parenting more than 50 children (mostly teenagers) in her home, placed through the foster care system. Stacey believes she learned a lot along the way and is passionate about providing training opportunities and empowering others.

Dr. Crystallee Crain

Dr Crystallee Crain (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary public health scholar and human rights advocate. She has over 10 years' experience consulting nationally with clients in a variety of sectors. Dr. Crain facilitates training with an emphasis on addressing trauma, prevention science, and participatory capacity-building. She has worked with organizations across the country to support them in actualizing people-centered values in the development and implementation of their mission and vision. She specializes in revealing layers of institutional inequality while supporting communities to shift ways of being and practice to improve life chances by bridging the worlds of research, healing justice, and community capacity building. Crystallee’s body of work represents a collective need to strengthen our responses to violence through transformative means, the need for liberatory practices, and a focus on healing as a strategy for change. Crystallee is a Doctor of Philosophy in Transformative Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences (a concentration in Sociology from Eastern Michigan University), and a Bachelor's of Science in Political Science from Northern Michigan University. In 2013 she received executive training in Health and Human Rights from the School of Public Health at Harvard University. Dr. Crain has served as a member of the Alameda County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission, The City of Portland's Human Rights Commission, and is a current member of the American Psychological Association, the American Evaluation Association and the ACE Network which is focused on culturally responsive evaluation and is a newly appointed Board Member to the Michigan Nonprofit Association. In October 2024 Dr. Crain was awarded the International Impact Book Award, in the Multicultural Category for her Cultural Humility in Practice Workbook.

Aliza Durak

Aliza Durack (they/them, he/him) is a skilled social work professional with experience in training facilitation, program evaluation, and community engagement. With a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan and an LLMSW license, Aliza has worked across public and nonprofit sectors to support marginalized communities through an anti-oppressive, strengths-based approach. Their work includes managing large-scale contracts, such as statewide LGBTQIA+ training initiatives for child welfare professionals, as well as contributing to strategic planning, DEI initiatives, and research focused on human trafficking survivor advocacy.

Keynotes

Lighting the Way: CASA and a Brighter Future for Children and Families (Monday - Ballroom)

Presented by Andrew Bridge

Trauma profoundly shapes a child’s development, limiting their future opportunities and ability to thrive. Early, family-centered support can prevent further harm and lay the groundwork for healing. But when children do enter foster care, consistent, caring adults become essential to their safety and long-term well-being. This presentation will explore the lasting impact of trauma, the importance of supporting families, and the critical role that Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) play in ensuring each child’s needs are fully understood and addressed by the court and child welfare systems.

Presented by Gaelin Elmore

The adage “failing to plan is planning to fail” applies to your work and its relationship with belonging. Ultimately, belonging unlocks the best that each and every human has to offer. That includes your leadership, frontline staff, and especially your clients and community. We will utilize the 4-directional belonging framework to guide the conversation, as well as additional tools, research, and science that lead to a meaningful prioritization and planning of belonging so that you can hit your goals and stay on mission!

Breakout & Plenary Sessions

"The Power of" Advocacy (Monday Plenary 1 - Ballroom)

Presented by Senator Sylvia Santana & Dave Hildenbrand

Presented by Dr. Crystalee Crain

Dr Crystallee Crain (she/her) invites you to attend her foundational training Cultural Humility: People, Community, & Practice Workshop (CHnP 101). This two-part experience introduces participants to the framework of cultural humility, inspired by the work of Josepha Campinha-Bacote, Melanie Tervalon, and Jann Murray-García. This evidence-based approach emphasizes the importance of co-creating dynamic and generative relationships with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and different cultural experiences from your own. This could be in regards to a person’s race, ethnicity, class, education level, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, mental health capacities or disability status, political affiliations, or regional association.

During this workshop Dr. Crain will work with participants to identify gaps in understanding, capacity for humility and emotional responsiveness as it relates to their professional practice. Through a participatory framed experience, participants will be able to heighten their efficacy in their work by understanding how their biases, perceptions, and worldview impact their service to the community.

Presented by Stacey Goodson

Working with a population such as teenagers that have experienced trauma, provides unique challenges. This workshop will be delivered in an engaging way and helps the participants understand how trauma, poverty and mental illness affects children and their perception of the world. Additionally, this workshop will help the participants gain knowledge on ways to connect with youth and teens that have experienced trauma.

Presented by Stacey Goodson

Working with a population such as teenagers that have experienced trauma, provides unique challenges. This workshop will be delivered in an engaging way and helps the participants understand how trauma, poverty and mental illness affects children and their perception of the world. Additionally, this workshop will help the participants gain knowledge on ways to connect with youth and teens that have experienced trauma.

Presented by Stacey Goodson

Working with a population such as teenagers that have experienced trauma, provides unique challenges. This workshop will be delivered in an engaging way and helps the participants understand how trauma, poverty and mental illness affects children and their perception of the world. Additionally, this workshop will help the participants gain knowledge on ways to connect with youth and teens that have experienced trauma.

Presented by Andrew Bridge

This session explores the urgent and often overlooked issue of children running from foster care placements. It examines why youth choose to leave, the scope of the problem, and which children are most at risk. Centering the voices of children with lived experience, the session highlights what they faced while missing and the unique dangers they encountered. Participants will gain practical guidance on how to respond when a child goes missing, including steps for recovery and reintegration. The session also offers strategies for building trust with returning youth and improving case planning to prevent future runaways. Attendees will leave with tools to better understand and support vulnerable children—and to help reduce the risk that they’ll feel the need to run again.

Presented by Shonethia Perkins-Ragland & Ericka Brown

This session will highlight the challenges older youth face as they prepare to transition out of foster care, and the wide range of resources available to support them (many of which are often underutilized or unknown). Ericka will provide an overview of key programs and funding opportunities that CASA volunteers can advocate for to ensure their youth access housing, education, life skills support and more. In addition, Ericka and Shonethia will share practical strategies and tips for building trust, engaging meaningfully, and relating to older youth.

Presented by Madeline Krawciw

This presentation shares findings from a comprehensive community assessment focused on improving healthcare access and coordination for youth in foster care. Aligned with health policy as a priority to enhance pediatric healthcare access and quality, the project employed a mixed-methods approach, including literature and policy reviews, stakeholder input, community surveys, and interviews, to examine disparities in physical and mental healthcare and system navigation. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that foster parents, youth in foster care, and families of origin report significantly greater barriers to care compared to professional groups. Access to integrated care and shared medical histories was strongly associated with higher satisfaction and caregiver confidence. Stakeholders emphasized the need for systems-level change, including culturally responsive services and cross-sector collaboration to address fragmented care. These findings support a commitment to equitable, family-centered pediatric care and inform actionable strategies for practitioners to lead improvements in practice, policy, and interprofessional collaboration.

Presented by Aliza Durack

This session will provide a detailed framework of SOGIE*, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, and engage participants in implementing best practices in supporting youth with diverse SOGIE identities. The session will provide space for processing individual and professional needs when confronting difficult topics and include review of tools to help staff support diverse SOGIE youth. 

Presented by Julie Harkema

This interactive presentation explores the essential topic of safety in social work practice, equipping participants with practical tools and strategies for working effectively and securely with clients in a variety of settings. Designed for volunteers and professionals, the session covers risk assessment, situational awareness, boundary setting, and de-escalation techniques. Through real-life scenarios and group discussions, attendees will actively engage in identifying potential risks and developing personalized safety plans. The session emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, communication, and agency support in promoting a culture of safety while maintaining strong, ethical client relationships.

Presented by Jessica Sweet

This presentation provides an overview of the child welfare system in Michigan, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders. It highlights the processes by which child abuse and neglect reports are investigated, how prevention efforts are being utilized and on the importance of collaboration between all members of the team. The presentation reviews foster care placement procedures, including the criteria for placement, assessment of the child’s needs, and the decision-making process. It also discusses the concept of permanency, explaining the legal and social pathways through which children may achieve permanent, stable homes, whether through reunification, adoption, or guardianship. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of their role in supporting children and families throughout the process, with specific focus on trauma-informed care and the emotional well-being of children in foster care. The presentation aims to equip participants with the knowledge necessary to effectively collaborate within this system and advocate for the best interests of children and their families.

Presented by Sean Fisher Sr., Ed.S., PHR, HRS; Horace E. Stone Jr., M.Ed., SRPC; and Contessa S. Brady M.Ed.

This presentation aims to equip CASA professionals with strategies for uplifting and empowering Black boys and young men within K-12 educational environments. The focus is on providing these students with the essential tools, knowledge, and support necessary for personal, academic, and social success. By integrating culturally relevant practices with a solid foundation in Restorative Practices, the program establishes a safe and inclusive space where students are encouraged to engage in self-reflection, personal growth, and leadership development.

At its foundation, this presentation advocates for the cultivation of healthy masculinity while challenging the harmful stereotypes and societal pressures that frequently distort the identities of Black boys. Through open dialogues and restorative circles, students examine the essence of their authentic selves, learn to express emotions in constructive ways, and foster positive and respectful relationships. These practices are instrumental in enhancing emotional well-being and nurturing a sense of community and trust among participants.

e program also emphasizes the development of resilience and goal-setting competencies, helping students cultivate the confidence and mindset necessary to overcome adversity. By learning to establish meaningful goals and navigate challenges, students acquire a sense of direction and purpose. Group activities, journaling exercises, and peer support initiatives foster the development of a growth mindset and the determination to achieve success despite obstacles. Furthermore, the presentation offers strategies specifically designed to support Black boys in special populations, including English language learners and students with 504 plans or Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

Additionally, the presentation provides strategies for developing leadership skills and fostering restorative mindsets in young Black boys across elementary and secondary educational settings. Leadership development serves as a critical component in empowering students to identify their unique strengths and leverage them to impact their peers positively. Restorative Practices impart essential skills such as accountability, active listening, and effective communication, all of which are crucial for becoming responsible leaders within their schools and communities. Students engage in college and career readiness activities, which include exploring postsecondary options, developing time management and financial literacy skills, and connecting with mentors who share similar backgrounds and aspirations. Regardless of their ambitions—whether attending college, pursuing vocational training, entrepreneurship, or other career pathways—students will depart from the program with a clearer vision of their future and a roadmap for achieving their goals.

Restorative practices underpin all aspects of the program. Through the use of circles, reflective exercises, and relationship-centered strategies, the program fosters a sense of community, facilitates constructive conflict resolution, and ensures that every student is heard, valued, and supported. These practices promote not only individual growth but also a collective sense of responsibility and belonging.

Overall, this presentation develops a holistic approach to cultivating confident, capable, and community-oriented young Black men. By integrating identity development, leadership cultivation, resilience training, and future planning within a restorative framework, the program empowers students to take ownership of their narratives and to lead with purpose.

Presented by Stacey Goodson

Working with a population such as teenagers that have experienced trauma, provides unique challenges. This workshop will be delivered in an engaging way and helps the participants understand how trauma, poverty and mental illness affects children and their perception of the world. Additionally, this workshop will help the participants gain knowledge on ways to connect with youth and teens that have experienced trauma.

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