Certified Coaches

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…

Many parents feel overwhelmed and stuck in patterns that just aren’t working. As a parenting coach, I help them confidently implement a grace-filled parenting strategy so they can relax, enjoy their families, and find new hope. My greatest joy is watching parents who have struggled in their relationship with their kids experience transformation through new skills, perspectives, and mindsets- whether in one-on-one sessions, small groups, or workshops. I’m a mom of two young adult children and “like a mom” to two other young adults who have experienced significant developmental trauma. Parenting has been full of ups and downs for me, and I often wish I had known the Connected Families framework when my kids were little- it would have made things so much easier and deepened our connection earlier. Even so, I’m grateful that today I enjoy connected, though not perfect, relationships with my kids. Along with my personal parenting journey, I am a licensed Family and Early Childhood Educator with more than 25 years of experience working with young children and their parents. I’ve also had the privilege of supporting and training teachers in the U.S., Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, including teaching the Connected Families framework at conferences and in schools. Because of my background and experiences, I especially love encouraging and equipping parents of young children, parents of young adults, parents of kids from hard places, and teachers. It’s an honor to walk alongside families as they discover God’s grace and truth in their parenting. Read more…

For many years, we pursued help for our sensitive and intense child without success. By the teen years, our family was spiraling out of control. We sent our child to a therapeutic boarding school, but it didn’t produce the promised change in our family. It wasn’t until we found Connected Families and began to change the way we were parenting that we experienced a significant breakthrough. Partnering with a Connected Families coach and learning to utilize the parenting framework brought hope and changed the trajectory of our family. I have a passion for working with parents of young children so that they might avoid the pitfalls we made in our parenting journey. I also have a heart for working with parents of pre-teens and teens so that they know there is always hope for a restored relationship and an opportunity to change the future. The simple and effective teaching of Connected Families helps me recognize what’s really going on in me that drives my reactions to my children, helps me have compassion for what is going on in my children, and provides practical tools to guide them with love and connection that builds wisdom and responsibility. Before Connected Families, I was reading so much about the latest brain research and didn’t really have the skills to apply it to my Christian parenting. When I learned how Connected Families incorporates the latest brain science, therapeutic research, and Biblical truth into a beautiful, grace-filled plan, I knew we were onto something amazing. Learning to parent through the framework has been a journey of spiritual formation for me. I have learned to see how God parents me with patience, kindness, and long-suffering and always for my good. I am convinced that the hard work of applying the Connected Families framework is a journey that draws me closer to Jesus and is forming me into His image. 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…

Parenting can be one of the most rewarding and overwhelming roles we’ll ever take on. I understand that deeply.

As a certified Connected Families parent coach with over four years of experience, I support families through one-to-one coaching and group seminars in schools, churches, and community settings. With a background in education and five children of my own (ages 7 to 23), I know the challenges of parenting across all stages of development.

For 12 years, my husband and I lived in a boarding house caring for 55 teenage boys. That season taught me the importance of connection, consistency, and grace under pressure, principles that lie at the heart of the Connected Families framework. I’ve seen how its practical, biblically grounded, and science-backed tools speak powerfully into all kinds of family dynamics, from toddlers to teens and beyond.

I currently work part-time for at my local church, supporting families in a variety of situations, and also for a charity that supports individuals with autism. These roles continue to deepen my understanding of the unique challenges many families face and strengthen my passion for helping parents grow in confidence, connection, and hope.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply want to parent with more purpose and peace, I’d love to connect.

Read more…

As a mom to 4 kiddos, I have loved using the CF framework to learn a way of parenting that is new to me. I found Connected Families as I was struggling with a lot of intensity coming from my oldest child, who was 3 at the time. Parenting through this framework has been both a way of living out my Gospel beliefs and sharing the Gospel with my children in the context of everyday life. I am passionate about sharing this framework with other parents so that they may be as richly blessed as I have been. Read more…

Having benefited so much from Connected Families courses and materials myself, I’m excited to support other parents in ministry who are also seeking to build healthy connections with their children, and to guide them, with love and grace, towards wisdom and responsibility. I’m originally from the UK, where I trained as a primary school teacher. For most of my adult life, though, I’ve been supporting missionaries and their children in the South Pacific. My roles have included teacher, school leader, and missionary care worker. In addition to completing Connected Families courses, I’ve received training in coaching, missionary care, conflict resolution, debriefing, and trauma-informed classrooms. By marrying Andrew (an American who grew up in Peru) and becoming a parent to our three children, I’ve gained experience in cross-cultural marriage and raising Third Culture Kids! Read more…

I am an adoptive mom of two grown children and have more than 30 years of experience working with children in a variety of roles, including over a decade in the foster care and adoption community. I have deep admiration for parents who answer a calling that impacts every area of their lives. I am passionate about encouraging and supporting them as they faithfully walk out that calling, even in challenging circumstances. My goal is to equip parents with practical tools to strengthen relationships, build meaningful connection with their children, and create a foundation where true discipleship can flourish. Read more…

My journey to become a parent coach started when God called me and my husband into the process of rebuilding the foundations of our family. Connected Families was the complete answer to our question: “how”. Later I understood that the calling wasn’t only for the sake of our own family, but for something bigger that God is doing in this time. Through the grace of God, we’ve started to see the blessing of the Christ-centered transformation in our family, which is the main vision of Connected Families. I’m a mom of three sensitive and intense kids. I’m excited to coach and walk alongside families who long to see the gospel, God’s love and grace lived true in the midst of all the challenges of the daily life of their family and parenting. I also lead workshops, courses for small groups and translate Connected Families content into the Finnish language, which can help parents, as well as people who work with or are in any close connection with kids. I live and work in Finland. Polkuni vanhemmuuden valmentajaksi alkoi siitä kun Jumala kutsui minut ja mieheni “perheen perustusten uudelleenrakennusprosessiin”. Connected Families on ollut kokonaisvaltainen vastaus “miten”-kysymykseemme. Myöhemmin ymmärsin että tuo kutsu ei ollut vain omaa perhettämme varten, vaan osa jotain suurempaa, mitä Jumala on tekemässä tässä ajassa. Jumalan armosta olemme saaneet alkaa nähdä Kristus-keskeistä muutosta perheessämme, joka on Connected Families:n päänäky. Olen kolmen herkän ja intensiivisen lapsen äiti. Haluan valmentaa rinnalla kulkien perheitä jotka kaipaavat saada nähdä evankeliumin sekä Jumalan armon ja rakkauden tulevan eletyksi todeksi, läpi perheen ja vanhemmuuden haasteiden. Vedän myös työpajoja, kursseja pienryhmille sekä suomennan Connected Families:n sisältöä, josta voi vanhempien lisäksi saada apua kaikki kasvattajat ja lasten kanssa työskentelävät. Asun ja työskentelen Suomessa. Read more…

I have a master’s degree in early childhood special education and over 11 years of experience as an educator in special education, preschool, and early elementary. I spent several years as a stay-at-home mom when my children were young and currently teach kindergarten at a Christian school. I have special interests in both children’s and parents’ mental health and working with parents of children with disabilities, neurodivergence, and giftedness. I was honored to help adapt the CF Discipline that Connects course to a professional development workshop for educators and to pilot this program with over 30 kindergarten-8th grade teachers at my current school. I was also a guest on the CF podcast episode 202, “Practical Classroom Management Strategies that Work”. My mission as a Connected Families parent coach is to empower parents and educators with the tools, strategies, and mindset needed to navigate the challenges of raising and educating children in today’s world. My husband and I came to Connected Families as clients in 2019 looking for a better way to parent our two sensitive and intense neurodivergent children. I was immediately impressed by how seamlessly the Connected Families Framework marries current brain research with Biblical truth. Connected Families has transformed not only how I parent but my professional work as an educator and teacher trainer, as well as my personal faith in Jesus. It would be my joy to partner with you as a parenting coach for your family or as a speaker and trainer for your church or school. I am available to coach clients in person in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota and worldwide via Zoom. I am available as a workshop speaker for churches and schools in the upper midwest. My prayer for all of my clients is that they will feel equipped to meet the children in their care with true unconditional love while also developing capability, wisdom, and responsibility. Read more…

Mara is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Associate with experience in play therapy and family therapy in addition to parent coaching. She enjoys walking with parents through the struggles and joys of raising children, especially children who have unique challenges or experiences. Mara has found help and hope in the Lord through the Connected Families teaching and she loves to offer the same help and hope to other parents. Mara lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and two children. She enjoys knitting, listening to audiobooks, and hiking with her family. 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…