Certified Coaches

After saying “Yes” to Jesus to move to Belize as a missionary from 2008-2018, our family was never the same. Since we became parents, we have grown in having biological, foster, and adopted children and experience with traumas, abuse, ADHD, fetal alcohol syndrome, self-harm, and sensory and intense behaviors. Because I have learned and read so much over the years, the Lord has taught me how to be a better parent and how to walk as a child of God as well. I want to serve other families with compassion, biblical truth, practical suggestions, equipping, and a listening ear in crisis.

Connected Families gave us space to heal, grow, and truly live in grace and truth- how Christ has called us. Parent Coaching was a lifeline in a time of need, and in turn, I want to provide hope for others.

I am currently accepting new families. Email me at [email protected] to schedule a free 30-minute phone call to discover how I can best serve you.

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I’m Kate, and I’m a mom of one biological daughter and two stepsons. I know firsthand the rollercoaster of parenting. From navigating the complexities of trauma, sensory issues, anxiety, depression, and ADHD to embracing the highs and lows of raising kids who are sensitive and intense with big feelings, I’ve experienced a lot. Going through a divorce or co-parenting in a high-conflict situation? I’ve been there, too. I understand the challenges that arise when two co-parents have different approaches in their respective homes and how it affects the children involved. I would love the privilege of walking alongside you while you are on your unique parenting path. Wherever you are in your parenting journey, know that I’m here and ready to accompany you with kindness, understanding, and absolutely zero judgment. Read more…

Whether you’re a parent grappling with discipline dilemmas or a grandparent taking on a pivotal caregiving role, I’m here to share a little hope and help. My journey as a mother of eight and grandma has equipped me with a deep understanding of the unique struggles faced by parents and grandparents alike. For the past 35 years, I’ve mentored families as a teacher, homeschool consultant, speech coach, and now as a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach. My business – Room4Hope Coaching – was born out of my prayer for God to “make room for hope” in my own family. I combine my professional training and personal experience to help families communicate and connect. It is my great joy to be a trusted mentor to my own children, grandchildren, and to YOU.

For more information, visit www.Room4HopeCoaching.com or email [email protected]

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My name is Heather Benjamin. I have a passion for the way Connected Families has combined brain science, and early childhood development with a biblical foundation creating a unique parenting framework. I am a mom to six kiddos – with one special angel awaiting me in Heaven. After losing my precious son Matthew at just 11 months old in 2022 due to complications with Dandy-Walker Syndrome & simultaneously going through a divorce, I was shattered. Dealing with my own grief and heartache was one thing, but trying to help my children figure out their own was another. My other son Alex, was struggling tremendously. He struggled with intense anger. My other kiddos struggled with ADHD, high energy, and anxiety. I was desperate and needed help. Connected families turned my life around. The tools and resources gave me the ability to help each one of my children in a unique way. Almost three years later I have now become a coach myself and my husband Kevin and I are implementing the framework daily. It’s not perfect nor will it ever be, however, I have learned to have grace with myself and with them and we are in a better place because of it. Our other five kiddos range from the age of one and a half all the way to eleven. I have experience with trauma, grief, anger, ADHD, divorce, sensitive and intense kids, special needs, and more. Through this coaching journey, I have also learned that I am sensitive and intense myself. I feel that God has used this in a way to allow me to be able to speak to parents who also struggle with things such as perfectionism, OCD, over-stimulation, stress-cycles, fight/flight, and more. I chose Connected Families because I knew, deep in my spirit, that there was a better way. A healthier and more biblical way to parent. I wanted to break toxic generational patterns, and ineffective discipline and see the transformation to being a healthy family. It would be my privilege to support and guide you through your own unique transforming journey. Read more…

Have you noticed how many young families don’t have a great foundation? Not only that, but they often turn to Google rather than a trustworthy community for help. I come alongside parents to process parenting challenges and build wise habits rooted in relational connection that is also brain science-informed. My coaching is twofold: 1) CF foundational framework for families privately and 2) in order to multiply impact, I also coach churches. I serve as a missionary with the trustworthy engine of FamilyLife Canada and seek to partner with churches to build ministries and communities that offer help and hope for marriages and parents. My services are free because of a large team of generous partners. I first discovered Connected Families when I was getting my master’s degree and met Jim Jackson in a class. As a young dad, I was struck by the power of modeling and relational connection for passing on my faith and building wisdom. As a pastor, I researched a lot of parenting curriculum, but nothing combined effective brain science with the heart of Gospel reconciliation like Connected Families. I would be honored to coach you in building a more connected family on a strong foundation. Read more…

I am a registered nurse by trade and work in a Mom/Baby Unit – the best unit in the hospital. As much of an honor as it is to welcome new life into the world, it is an even greater honor to be a parent coach! I have three beautiful, unique, and passionate children. As they grew from babies into tiny humans, I quickly realized that all the books I had read on parenting weren’t enough. I didn’t have a practical plan for the way I felt God was calling me to raise my children. When my husband and I went through coaching, our perceptions changed. We now have hope and a God-honoring plan for parenting that combines my love for science with the grace and love of the Gospel. Coaching gave me the gift of connecting with my children in the most challenging moments. I feel I have been blessed to now be a blessing to others. It would be a joy and honor to support you in your parenting journey. Read more…

Welcome to the Connected Families community. We belong together. Please relax and make yourself at home! “Hybrid Educator” describes my journey through Christian education, home education, and public education. My seven children are my favorite teachers! Our current educational landscape includes a university graduate, home school graduate, home school senior, and four public school students (in kindergarten, grade 2, grade 4, and grade 7.) Attending a tiny Christian college in Texas prepared me to teach at Christian schools in the United States and Africa before home-schooling my own children in New Brunswick, Canada. My husband, Michael, and I promoted curriculum at Home School Conventions across the country. Visions of family learning kept me dancing among blissfully harmonious expectations. Reality brought dissonance, overwhelm, and collapse. What was going on in me? What was going on in my children? My husband? Not the slightest clue! Just increasing pressure that I had to keep everyone happy, along with heaps of shame for failing so short of that goal. Without a wisp of awareness. A different question taunted, “What’s wrong with me?” My first encounter with Connected Families was hearing a radio interview that echoed the longing of my heart for true peace in my family. Healing and wholeness are possible! Relief flooded me, and hope carried me forward. Through grace-filled truth in courses, kindness, coaching, prayer, humor, and community, I continue to try again. Connected Families family members help me focus more on Jesus and His wonderful grace every day. How thankful I am for appreciative inquirers! Childlike wonder and curiosity are returning to my heart and home. Connected Families Parent Coaching is a transformational way to share the love I receive. Where are you in your parenting journey? Coaching empowers every parent to discover a unique next step for their divinely and intricately designed family. Let’s learn and grow together! Many of my “dance steps” remain awkward (and embarrassing for my children). Practicing to the music of God’s mercy is a delight. Connected Family resources are a gift from heaven. You don’t have to take my word for it! Where do you want to start? Linger on the Connected Families website discovering beautiful eternal harmonies. You might even find yourself dancing. “Lord, You are my true strength and my glory song, my champion, my Saviour! Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!” Psalm 118:14-15 Read more…

All families struggle at times, and we all need support. I desire to bring hope and direction for parents through parent coaching and see a lasting positive change in the whole family. As a parent coach I am passionate about the well-being of families. I come alongside parents and help them find a long-lasting plan that increases peace and grace in the family. I am a mom of three active girls and an Executive Director at a family ministry called Moms for Kids or “Momssit”. Through my work, I serve families especially in Finland. Vanhemmuuden valmentajana haluan tuoda kokonaisvaltaista hyvinvointia perheisiin. Vanhempien rinnalla kulkien autan heitä löytämään kestävän suunnitelman vanhemmuuteen, joka lisää rauhaa ja armoa koko perheen elämään. Kaikki perheet käyvät läpi vaikeuksia ja kaikki tarvitsevat tukea ajoittain. Connected Families valmennuksen avulla haluankin tuoda toivoa ja suuntaa vanhemmille ja sitä kautta nähdä pysyvää positiivista muutosta koko perheessä. Olen kolmen vauhdikkaan tytön äiti ja toiminnanjohtaja Moms for Kids yhdistyksessä eli Momsseissa. Haluan palvella suomen perheitä työni kautta valmentaen ja tuoden Connected Families työtä maahamme. Read more…

As an adoptive mama of sensitive and intense kiddos, I found Connected Families while searching for resources to help my family thrive. The Connected families framework is practical without being prescriptive. I love how it takes God’s Word and our relationship with Him and integrates the latest brain science to guide our relationships. When I feel stuck in a situation, I can use the framework to process the next steps. Since becoming a parent, I have learned how uniquely and wonderfully each child is made. What “works” on one child doesn’t necessarily “work” on the next. This framework takes the “what” and makes it personal for each kid. I have 3 very different children and find that my interaction with each one is unique, yet the principles behind them remain the same. I can help you apply the framework for your family. I understand the family dynamics of children with mental health issues, ADHD, and intense feelings/behaviors. And, after the loss of my husband to cancer, I know what it is like to be a solo parent. God’s grace is enough. He says that He has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. I believe the framework is one of those gifts. I am excited to help you unpack it! Read more…

A grandmother of five, ages 3-8, I have been involved with Connected Families for three years. As a result of seeking a Christ-centered and better way to discipline, I took the Discipline that Connects course, followed by parent coaching, and then became a Certified Parent Coach. My husband Steve and I, are blessed to have full days, 2-3 times a week, with our grandkids. My desire is to continually grow, little by little, as I implement the Connected Families Framework with my children, their spouses, and grandkids. I live in Charleston, West Virginia, where I am a full-time CRNA at Women and Children’s Hospital. Read more…

When I first got to know about Connected Families, I was working with young adult orphans and at-risk children in Latvia. The Framework transformed my thinking and really helped me serve these children better. During my parent coaching studies, the Lord brought my husband to my life. I moved back to Finland, we got married, and I became a stepmom to two teenagers. Having worked with orphans, I have adoptive and foster parents on my heart and would like to support them through the Connected Families Framework. I have also led a center for victims of human trafficking and their children in Cyprus. Serving in this ministry gave me insight into parenting challenges that these precious women faced. Kun ensi kertaa tutustuin Connected Families -materiaaleihin työskentelin nuorten aikuisten orpojen ja riskiasemassa olevien lasten kanssa Latviassa. Lähdin hakemaan apua työhöni ja sitä todella myös sain. Opintoihin kuuluva valmennussetti mullisti ajattelu- ja toimintatapani. Opiskelujen aikana Jumala toi mieheni elämääni. Muutin takaisin Suomeen, menimme naimisiin ja samalla sain perheeseeni myös mieheni teini-ikäiset lapset. Kannan sydämelläni erityisesti sijais- ja adoptiovanhempia. Erilaiset vanhemmuuden haasteet tulivat tutuiksi myös johtaessani päiväkeskusta ihmiskaupan uhreille ja heidän lapsilleen Kyproksella. Read more…

I’m a trauma-informed Social Worker, Connected Families Certified Parent Coach, and founder of Truth + Grace. I have a decade of experience serving foster care and adoptive families, people in substance use recovery, and children/adults with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions. I have personally experienced the life-transforming grace and truth of the gospel in my parenting through Connected Families and I love watching parents light up as they see for themselves how grace-based parenting brings peace and joy back into their homes. I help overwhelmed parents of young kids who are feeling defeated by persistent behavioral challenges, break free from yelling and unhelpful consequences by teaching effective, grace-filled strategies for correcting behavior while maintaining security, love, and connection with their child. ​If you want to enjoy your child again, motivate them towards better behavior, and experience deeper family connections – I would be honored to support you on your journey. I specialize in children’s mental health and trauma prevention. I have experience helping families with kids of all ages and feel especially called to support parents of young children ages 2-10. Read more…