Children's Wisconsin Archives - Institute for Child and Family Well-Being /icfw/classification/childrens-wisconsin/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:30:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /icfw/wp-content/uploads/sites/384/2016/11/cropped-cropped-favicon-32x32.png Children's Wisconsin Archives - Institute for Child and Family Well-Being /icfw/classification/childrens-wisconsin/ 32 32 Megan Frederick-Usoh /icfw/people/frederick-usoh-megan/ Mon, 21 Feb 2022 21:16:06 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=4775 Megan has over 16 years of experience in public health and child welfare. She has worked in both the profit and non-profit sectors in foster care, injury prevention and adults ...

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Megan has over 16 years of experience in public health and child welfare. She has worked in both the profit and non-profit sectors in foster care, injury prevention and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Megan began her tenure with Children’s Wisconsin in 2019 as a Treatment Foster Care Recruiter and Educator, with an additional focus on program evaluation. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Political Science and Criminal Justice from the University of Tennessee, Honors College-Knoxville.

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David Whelan, MSW /icfw/people/whelan-msw-david/ Tue, 05 Jan 2021 16:03:04 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=4190 David Whelan, MSW, is the Vice President of Child Well-Being and oversees the Child Advocacy and Protection Services program, Prevention programs, and Child Welfare and Foster care programs as well ...

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David Whelan, MSW, is the Vice President of Child Well-Being and oversees the Child Advocacy and Protection Services program, Prevention programs, and Child Welfare and Foster care programs as well as other community-based programming that supports children, youth, and families in achieving health, safety, permanency, and well-being. He began his career as an outpatient child and adolescent psychotherapist. During that time he led a multi-disciplinary team to develop Aurora Health Care’s ADHD Critical Pathway detailing best practice standards for assessment and treatment. Mr. Whelan joined Children’s Wisconsin Treatment Foster Care Program as a case manager and quickly worked into progressive higher leadership positions. Mr. Whelan has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit organizations supporting the needs of children and families in the child welfare system.

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Luke Waldo, MSEd /icfw/people/waldo-msed-luke/ Mon, 11 Dec 2017 17:06:20 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=1958 Luke Waldo is a well-being manager with Children’s Wisconsin and  director of implementation and community outreach for the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being. Luke has dedicated his career to ...

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Luke Waldo is a well-being manager with Children’s Wisconsin and  director of implementation and community outreach for the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being.

Luke has dedicated his career to child well-being in Europe, South America and his native Milwaukee where he has worked with children adversely impacted by immigration, homelessness, family violence, and abuse and neglect. He has nearly two decades of experience in the non-profit sector working in the fields of domestic violence, childhood trauma and well-being, homelessness, and education and prevention, with a particular focus on engagement and innovative solutions to personal and community challenges. Luke has trained hundreds of child well-being professionals in the areas of domestic violence, toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences, and childhood resilience. Prior to joining ICFW’s leadership team, Luke led the Family Support Program, which serves families involved with the child welfare system by providing strengths- and evidence-based interventions.

Luke earned his Master of Science in cultural foundations of education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

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Leah Cerwin, CAPSW, LCSW /icfw/people/cerwin-capsw-lcsw-leah/ Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:43:19 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=190 Leah Cerwin is a child and family therapist with Children’s well-being team. Prior to her current role, Leah worked with Children’s as a foster and adoption services specialist and family ...

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Leah Cerwin is a child and family therapist with Children’s well-being team. Prior to her current role, Leah worked with Children’s as a foster and adoption services specialist and family case manager. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. While in graduate school, Leah interned with the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being directors and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faculty Dimitri Topitzes and Joshua Mersky to develop Project Connect. Leah helped pioneer PCIT and Project Connect at Children’s. She has continued to contribute to the development of the well-being team by conducting trainings for new practitioners.

Leah earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish, and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She later earned a master’s degree in social work with a focus in children and families from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Meghan Christian, MSW, LCSW /icfw/people/christian-msw-lcsw-meghan/ Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:36:09 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=182 Meghan Christian is a Child and Family Therapist with the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Meghan has spent most of her career in ...

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Meghan Christian is a Child and Family Therapist with the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Meghan has spent most of her career in the nonprofit sector, working with people who have experienced acute or ongoing trauma including abused children and adults, refugees and families living in poverty. Meghan’s interests lie in translating research on the effects of trauma on the developing brain into practical ways of using evidence-based interventions with her clients. She’s particularly interested in the role resilience plays in protecting against and transforming negative neurophysiological changes.

Along with her direct practice, Meghan enjoys exchanging perspectives and knowledge with fellow helping professionals by way of communities of practice, case consultation and facilitating workshops relating to neurodevelopment, responsive relationships and resilience.

Meghan received her master’s degree in social work in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from the same institution in 2006.

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Peter Power, MBA, MSW /icfw/people/power-mba-msw-peter/ Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:33:22 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=173 Peter Power is a business consultant in the Community Services unit at Children’s Wisconsin. His primary role involves measuring performance and improving outcomes-based decision-making within the organization’s community service programs. ...

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Peter Power is a business consultant in the Community Services unit at Children’s Wisconsin. His primary role involves measuring performance and improving outcomes-based decision-making within the organization’s community service programs. With the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being, Peter conducts analyses aimed at improving the quality of services to children and their families.

Prior to joining Children’s, Peter worked as a researcher on evaluation projects at the University of Chicago’s policy research center Chapin Hall Center for Children. Other experiences include more than ten years administrative work with a non-profit adoption agency based in New York City. He also served for four years on the executive committee of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, an adoption advocacy group in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Peter received his master’s degree in social work from the School of Social Work at the University of Connecticut, and an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston.

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Amy Herbst, MSW /icfw/people/herbst-msw-amy/ Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:12:07 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=169 Amy Herbst is Vice President of Child Well-Being at Children’s Wisconsin. Herbst has dedicated her life’s work to improving the lives of children, youth and families. Her passionate, constructive dissatisfaction ...

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Amy Herbst is Vice President of Child Well-Being at Children’s Wisconsin. Herbst has dedicated her life’s work to improving the lives of children, youth and families. Her passionate, constructive dissatisfaction and entrepreneurial approach to her work are nationally recognized. Children’s Wisconsin’s values parallels Herbst’s; acknowledging and promoting purpose, collaboration, integrity, health, and innovation. Herbst has proudly demonstrated these values throughout her career.

Herbst holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her devotion to her work has driven her to partake in various organizations within the community. Herbst holds the position of vice chair of the board and membership committee chair with Children’s Home Society of America, board chair with Wisconsin Association of Family & Children’s Agency, board member with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater social work department, and member of 100+ Women Who Care Milwaukee.

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Gabriel McGaughey, MSW /icfw/people/mcgaughey-msw-gabriel/ Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:10:17 +0000 /icfw/?post_type=uwmpeople&p=165 Gabriel McGaughey is the Director of Well-Being for Children’s Wisconsin Community Services and a founding leader of the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being (ICFW). He works to help public ...

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Gabriel McGaughey is the Director of Well-Being for Children’s Wisconsin Community Services and a founding leader of the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being (ICFW). He works to help public systems move beyond crisis response toward prevention strategies that are community-led, data-informed, and focused on long-term well-being. At ICFW, Gabriel leads technical assistance and strategy support for partners across the state and country. His work centers on helping agencies and networks build prevention infrastructure, align data with decision-making, and strengthen their ability to adapt in complex environments. He is one of the architects of Strong Families, Thriving Children, Connected Communities (SFTCCC), a collaborative initiative focused on preventing neglect by addressing family overload and the systems that contribute to it.

Gabriel brings more than 20 years of experience in child and family services, spanning direct care, supervision, quality improvement, and executive leadership. He began his career working in group homes and prevention programs, then joined Milwaukee’s child welfare system in 2003 as a case manager. He later moved into supervisory roles and then led performance and quality improvement, where he developed dashboards and analytics tools to guide practice and policy. Before co-founding ICFW, Gabriel served as Director of Family Case Management for Children’s Wisconsin’s child welfare program, overseeing operations and strategy across child protection, foster care, and family support services. In that role, he helped establish a culture of data-driven decision-making, led the implementation of evidence-based interventions, and introduced a system-wide focus on child and family well-being.

Gabriel holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

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