CF-Certified Parent Coaches | Connected Families

Welcome to the directory of Connected Families Certified Parent Coaches! All of these coaches have gone through extensive training and preparation to be able to serve you now as parent coaches trained in the Connected Families framework.

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Josh has been caring for, coaching, and inspiring people for two decades. He is a graduate of The Arrow Leadership Program, has studied family ministry at Briercrest College and Seminary, is a certified Parent Coach through Connected Families, and is trained in church trauma care through Crown College. He was a youth pastor and care pastor for 19 years and is currently the Spiritual Life and Advancement Director at Community Christian School in Willmar, MN. He is a 2 on the Enneagram and a High i on the DiSC profile. He believes deeply that everyone’s life has a unique purpose and loves helping people answer some of their biggest questions about God, family, and life. The Connected Families framework transformed the Keller’s parenting, and Josh loves helping others discover a new “baseline” and “framework”!

Josh is the co-founder of The Freedom Center MN (freedomcentermn.com) in Willmar, MN with his wife Rachel and has been married to her for over 16 years. They have three kids- Elijah (15), Eden (11), and Zion (8). In their spare time, they love spending time playing four square, going on mountain drives/hikes, walking/relaxing on Siesta Key Beach, watching America’s Got Talent, Next Level Chef, & Lego Masters, and spoiling their English teddybear golden doodle Rocket!

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…

When my daughters were first born, my husband worked out of town every weekday and I was struggling with post-partum depression. As a mom desiring to do everything perfectly, I was drowning under a sea of unmet expectations. I had goals and didn’t have a plan for how to make them a reality. From my time as a counselor, I knew I wanted our girls to know their value, but I struggled to enforce consequences. When I found the Connected Families material, I found the tools to apply the principles that were most important to me in counseling. It was like someone had written a how-to manual on being a wholehearted parent. I was thrilled and spent the next 6 years applying the framework in my home and reading The Discipline that Connects book with as many friends as would meet me for coffee. So when I learned that Connected Families was training coaches I knew that I wanted to become a coach. And share this life-giving framework with others. I am passionate about empowering parents as they build a home where everyone feels valued and connected. Using my experience as a school counselor and a parent coach, I would love to walk alongside you as you learn new strategies and apply the Connected Families framework in your home. Read more…

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…

As a mother of 3 adult children (ages 17-22), I can understand both the joy and the difficulties that come with parenting kids. In addition to parenting, I have had the privilege of working in the school system for 25 years with children who have experienced learning, behavior, social, and emotional challenges. God has given me a passion to advocate for those who, many times, do not have a voice, and it is through connected relationships that many changes have taken place. So, in addition to coaching parents, I continue to mentor children using the same principles of the Framework. The Connected Families Framework has been the perfect fit for me as I am able to coach parents to wisely respond to their child’s behavior and it guides them as they make more meaningful connections that will lead to more peace and hope in the home. I am confident that God will use these tools in the most powerful way on behalf of your family. I look forward to navigating this parenting journey with you. Let’s Discover New Pathways together!! Read more…

Parenting is a journey filled with challenges and opportunities for growth. As a third-culture kid raised in a Chinese family in Thailand, I learned resilience and adaptability. When I became a mom, I sought answers in books and courses, yet real-life parenting often defied textbook solutions. Through Connected Families, I discovered the power of grace-filled parenting rooted in self-reflection and reliance on God. This approach transformed anxious parents into confident ones and inspired me to become a parent coach. With two children of my own, I understand every child and family is unique. Let’s grow together in faith and grace-filled truth. Read more…

I am a youth pastor, a dedicated husband to one, and a father of three. I understand the intricacies of parenthood from both a personal and professional perspective. With a heart filled with compassion and a deep commitment to the Church family, I hope to bring a unique blend of faith-based guidance and practical wisdom to parent coaching. I have served in youth ministry for over a decade and have experienced firsthand and alongside others many of the challenges and joys that families encounter on the windy and wonderful journey of doing life together. I’m a Barnabas. I am wired to uplift and encourage. In addition to working with students, I’ve expanded our church ministry to include parent coaching to support discipleship that happens at home. where he offers a holistic approach that integrates faith, love, and compassion into every aspect of parenting. Read more…

Homeschooling our children is such a blessing, but it can also be such an intense experience when we face challenges. As a Charlotte Mason home educator, I truly believed in the personhood of my kiddos, but I felt so in-over-my-head with our sensitive and intense nature, ADHD tendencies and anxiety that wrapped around all of it. Parent Coaching through Connected Families became the catalyst for God’s healing and a deeper understanding of the personhood of my entire family. Our challenges turned into strengths. The trajectory of our home was forever changed! This is the hope and toolset that I love to share with others. Now, as a Parent Coach, I get to walk alongside other families and watch the Framework grow in them. I’ve seen first hand how this maturing sense of peace, connection, wisdom, and resiliency creates space for the gospel to be lived out in the home and homeschool. I especially love working with Charlotte Mason educators and helping them see how beautifully the Connected Families Framework aligns with their education philosophy. Background Information. Amy has personal experience and knowledge in the sensitive and intense space including sensory needs, giftedness, twice-exceptional learners (2e), dyslexia, ADHD, and primitive reflex integration. She is available to share the Connected Families Framework, and any online course, with groups both online and in person. She is an experienced presenter of live workshops to churches and organizations. Amy has lived in Oregon City since 2016 where she now homeschools her three intensely dynamic and creative – ages 14, 12, and 9. She and Andrew have been married for almost 20 years and love building things, creating things, literature, and exploring the outdoors. Amy absolutely loves teaching nature study and science to students of all ages at her homeschool co-op in Oregon City, Oregon. You’ll also finding her serving with the prayer ministry at her church. Her soul comes alive when there is a chance to journey alongside anyone who seeks to know and follow Jesus or grow as a connected, Christ-centered family. She is the co-director of the Oregon City Charlotte Mason Homeschool Community and Co-op and is the founder of The Winter Gathering and Living Streams Education Retreat. Learn more about those annual events for home educators at www.livingstreamsretreat.com. Read more…

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…

I was introduced to Connected Families during a traumatic season of my life, and it absolutely transformed both me and my children. As a single mom and an abuse survivor, I found the Framework to be a solid foundation and a grace-filled guide to break generational cycles and bring hope and emotional safety to my struggling family. As a homeschool mom and an adoptive mom, I also have experience navigating ADHD, anxiety, sensory issues, learning difficulties, attachment, abuse, and trauma. I would love to walk alongside you, to help equip you to experience emotional safety, connection, and joy in your family. I want you to know that the grace of God absolutely can meet you and your child in whatever you are facing and that you don’t have to walk alone in your parenting journey. Read more…

As a mother to 5 kids (ages 17 to 7), I understand the unique challenges and joy parents face, especially parenting children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, gifted, dyslexia, developmental delays, mental health challenges and adoption trauma. Before finding Connected Families I searched everywhere for resources and read book after book about methods that were short lived. That is where I hit the wall of desperation and sought parent coaching through Connected Families. I ultimately became a coach through their training program to help others like me. I have seen transformation in our home through working with a framework that not only has changed our children’s behavior, but transformed our hearts as well. You are not alone on this parenting journey. There is hope and you can enjoy your children, building lasting relationships with your children and deep connection that lasts a lifetime. And I’m here to help. Read more…