Join Beech Acres Parenting Center for Foundations: Foster Parent Training Event Saturday, June 10, 2023. All attendees are welcome! This event is the perfect opportunity to increase your support network, build your sense of community, and learn from some of the best trainers in the Cincinnati area and beyond. Our goal for this conference is for you to build your skill set so you can have a strong foundation to help you best serve the needs of the children in your care. You don’t want to miss this event! Training certificates are provided as needed after the event.

Please reserve one ticket per attendee regardless of how many sessions you will attend.  Registered attendees will be able to select individual sessions during the event. 

Questions? Contact  Ryshel for more information or register online here.

Download more information here.

Schedule Of Events

9:00 – 10:00 AM: Welcome and Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Intentionally Integrating Strengths Into Parenting

10:00 AM: Break

10:10 AM: Morning Workshops

Options are: Concrete Behavioral Interventions, Trauma 101, and Energy Psychology

12:00 PM: Lunch

1:00 PM: Keynote Activity: Life in Limbo

3:00 PM: Break

3:10 PM: Afternoon Workshops:

Options are: Trauma 101, Battling Temper Tantrums, Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Scheduled To Appear

Jenni Cattran – Energy Psychology

Jenni is an adoptive parent herself, and has a passion for supporting our families through the licensing process and providing them with the best possible tools and preparation to be successful foster parents. Jenni began her time at Beech Acres five years ago as a Licensing Specialist and is currently the Team Lead of Licensing. 

She has international teaching experience and has done a great deal of training, from preservice classes to developing ongoing classes, during her tenure at the Beech.

Jenni earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, mostly focused on Eastern Philosophy, from Northern Kentucky University in 2014. She earned her Master’s in Social Work, Macro Practice and Administration Track, from the University of Cincinnati in 2016 and is a licensed social worker in the State of Ohio credentialed as an Assessor.

Brice Mickey

Brice is currently serving as the Vice President of DEI at Beech Acres Parenting Center. He found his calling for this work in 2009 at the University of Cincinnati in a nationally recognized intergroup dialogue program called RAPP (Racial Awareness Program). After directing this program, he went on to consult with 100+ organizations across the country and trained thousands of participants on how to be more inclusive in their everyday lives.

Sarah Buffie, MSW, LSW 

Sarah is the founding director of Soul Bird Consulting, and believes that nothing has the power to heal like supportive relationships. Specializing in trauma-responsive care, she helps organizations and individuals disrupt current models of thinking by building empathy and understanding around the effects of early childhood experiences.

Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE – Taming Temper Tantrums

Jody is the president of Parent’s Toolshop Consulting and a second-generation parent educator with over 30 years of experience in the field of child protective services. For over 25 years, she has provided training for parents, foster parents, child-care professionals, family-service professionals, and parent educators. For almost 20 years, she has been training protective service staff and foster-adoptive parents through public and private foster care agencies and for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program. She also regularly contracts with county protective service agencies to train protective service clients/birth parents.

Jody has produced over 100 programs and resources for parents, family-service professionals, and parent educators, including her award-winning book The Parent’s Toolshop®. As a parenting expert to the media worldwide, Jody is a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows, and her advice is regularly quoted in parenting publications.

Brandy Pendleton – Trauma Free World Setting the Foundation: Trauma and Its Impact on the Life of a Child

Brandy is on a mission to share the information that has changed the trajectory of her own journey and that of her family. Brandy is a Licensed Social Worker approaching 20 years of service in the Foster Care Field. She and her husband were foster parents for 7 years and have 4 sons who joined their family during that time.

Brandy is the Trauma Informed Care Training Manager at Back2Back Cincinnati where she has spent the last 4 years partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati to train and coach their staff through implementing Trauma Informed practices in an after-school setting. Brandy is an Affiliate Trainer for Trauma Free World, a TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner, and is currently pursuing a Trauma Responsive Care Certification through the Tri-State Trauma Network.

Brandy has worked in the field of foster care in various roles since 2004, currently acting as a contracted trainer and consultant for Focus on Youth and Butler County Children Services.

Jaclyn Swhear, MSW, LISW-S – Putting Your Best Foor Forward: Intentionally Integrating Strengths into Parenting

Jaclyn Swhear, MSW, LISW-S, is a Senior Learning Specialist for Talent and Culture. She designs, co-creates, and implements curriculum and training for staff at Beech Acres Parenting Center. She has experience in behavioral health services as a therapist for youth and their families, provided parent coaching for caregivers, and supported other mental health providers through clinical supervision. She believes individuals of all ages have the capacity for change and the ability to thrive. Her top strengths are Love of Learning, Love, and Teamwork.

Teri DeVoe – Life in Limbo

Teri has been a foster mom for over 12 years. She helped launch CarePortal in Ohio and is now the regional field training specialist for the Midwest. Teri has worked with the Ohio Governors Office for Child Welfare Transformation where she has helped make recommendations for changes to the Child Welfare System in Ohio. She is a certified Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) trainer and has been leading Life in Limbo sessions for over 8 years.

Carolyn Morales, LISW – Concrete Behavioral Interventions

Carolyn Morales, LISW, Carolyn is a clinical social worker with over 10 years of experience supporting survivors of trauma. She has worked as a therapist for kids in foster care at Beech Acres Parenting Center since 2019. She is a mom to three children and enjoys reading and hiking.