Janet Amundson, M.A.

In-Home Early Childhood Specialist/Family Care Team Facilitator

Brenda Mack, MSW, LICSW

Brenda Mack is the Director of the Children and Family Services Division at Northwestern Mental Health Center. She also serves as the Polk County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from the University of North Dakota.  She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and a Mental Health Professional in the state of MN. Brenda has been working for Northwestern Mental Health Center since 1996.

Brenda provides leadership and program management for in-home family therapy services, school-based mental health services, care coordination, fidelity wraparound, family group decision making, functional family therapy, Photovoice and mobile crisis services.  She provides clinical supervision to mental health practitioners and provides consultation to partner agencies regarding children’s mental health assessment and intervention.  Aside from her administrative responsibilities she provides individual and family therapy services.  She is trained in Functional Family Therapy and in the American Association for Suicidology’s “Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk: Essential Skills for Clinicians."

Brenda has specialized knowledge and proven experience in Rural/Frontier Mental Health models, practices and efficacies; building and maintaining relationships with consumers and key stakeholders in helping children and adults with behavioral health issues thrive in the region; healthcare reform integrating behavioral and primary health care services; children’s behavioral health social marketing and de-stigmatization strategies; implementing children’s mental health evidenced-based practices  in a sparsely populated region.  She has presented at local, state and national conferences.

Brenda has specialized training and experience in budget management and completed the Behavioral Health Middle Management Academy training.  Brenda serves as a member of the Northwestern Mental Health Center’s grant writing team and has authored or co-authored over twenty federal and state proposals which have been awarded to the Center or partner agencies benefitting children with behavioral health issues and their families.  Brenda serves as a member of both Northwestern Mental Health Center’s management and mobile crisis teams.

Anthony Athmann, M.S.

School-Based Mental Health Practitioner

Amy Bartz, MSW, LICSW

School-Based Mental Health Professional

Carolyn Berg, MSW, LICSW

Professional HB Therapist/Clinical Supervisor

Jodi Boerger Wilder, Psy.D., LP

Dr. Jodi Boerger is a clinical child psychologist with specialized training in play therapy, early childhood mental health and neuropsychological testing.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the Institute of Child Development, within the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, and a Master’s and Doctorate Degree in Clinical Child Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California.  Jodi completed an APA-accredited internship at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis where she completed the Child Psychiatric and Pediatric In-Patient Rotations.  Currently she sees children aged 2 to 17 years of age in the Crookston office and is the Early Childhood Specialist on a grant to develop an early childhood mental health system of care within a five county region in northwestern Minnesota.  Jodi’s goal in working with children is to assess each child’s unique strengths and weaknesses, and to help the child’s support system focus on those strengths to help the child succeed across all settings.

Timothy Denney, M.S.

Evaluation Specialist

Susan Morinville Dufault, M.Ed.

Susan Dufault is the Crisis Program Coordinator at Northwestern Mental Health Center.  She earned her Master's of Education at the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Her Bachelor of Science in Art Education was earned at the University of Wisconsin - Stout in Menomonie, WI; in conjunction with her undergraduate work Susan studied Art and British civilization at Edinburgh University, Scotland.  Prior to coming to NWMHC she taught science, health and technology in the Twin Cities. She continues to hold her license as a Prek-6 elementary education teacher and K-12 Art educator.

Susan is a native of New Brighton, MN.  She has lived in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Scotland. She enjoys oil painting, traveling, gardening, cooking and spending time with her family.

Travis Gaddie, MSW, LGSW

Evaluation Specialist

Chris Green, MSW, LICSW

Chris Green is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and has been employed with Northwestern Mental Health Center since 2007. He obtained both his Bachelor and Master Degrees in Social Work from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. Chris provides psychotherapy services at the Center’s Crookston site. He enjoys working with adolescence, families, adults and couples. Chris has special interest in trauma, grief and loss issues, and the role of spirituality in the healing process.

Bethany Hankel, MSW

In-Home Early Childhood Specialist/Care Team Facilitator

Rachelle Hansen, M.A.

Psychology Practicum Student

Phylis Harrington, BSW, LSW

Professional Home-Based Therapist/Regional Wraparound Coordinator

Patrick Hart, M.S., Ed., LPC

In-Home Family Therapist

Tricia Hellerud, MSW, LICSW

Children & Family Services Program Specialist

Kimberly Hemberger, M.S.

Early Childhood Grant Coordinator/Early Childhood Specialist/ Wrap Around Facilitator

Daniel Landauer, M.A.

Psychology Practicum Student

Colleen MacRae

Polk County Collaborative Coordinator

Tara Miller, MSW, LICSW

Family Services Specialist

Richard Mosher, MSW, LGSW

North Star Summer Program Coordinator, Youth Involvement Specialist, In-Home Family Mental Health Practitioner

Angela Niffenegger, MSW, LGSW

In-Home Family Therapist

Cheri Skavlem, MSW, LICSW

In-Home Family Therapist

Jessica Shockman, MSW, LSW

School-Based Mental Health Services Coordinator/Mental Health Practitioner

Nicole Suarez-Bronfman, MSW, LGSW

Nicole Suarez-Bronfman is a family therapist and care team coordinator in the Children and Families division at Northwestern Mental Health Center. Nicole earned a Masters degree in Social Work from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL in 2006. She has provided clinical services to children and families in Florida, Oregon and Minnesota for over ten years. Nicole’s primary clinical interests include working with culturally diverse families, immigrant families and families with young children. She is a bilingual (English/ Spanish) clinician. Nicole has specialized training in anti-oppressive service delivery and is co-chair of Northwestern Mental Health Center’s Cultural and Linguistic Competence committee. In addition to her work at NWMHC, Nicole is also an adjunct instructor in the Social Work department at the University of North Dakota, where she teaches a graduate-level elective on clinical service delivery to diverse clients. A South Florida native, Nicole now resides in Grand Forks, ND with her husband, two daughters, and a third child due in late November 2011.

Healther Taylor, M.A., LPCC

Children's Mental Health Therapist/Mental Health Professional

Brianne Thompson, M.A.

In-Home Family Therapist, Mental Health Practitioner