Joyce Felker is currently the Executive Director for The Parenting Network whose mission is to “Strengthen Parenting and Prevent Child Abuse”. Joyce holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and spent the first five years of her professional career working as a Child and Adolescent Therapist before transitioning into the field of prevention, where she has been for the past 35 years. As a Therapist working with children and adolescents, she saw firsthand the impact of trauma and the struggles of parents who wanted to nurture their children but didn’t have the knowledge and skills. As a mother of three grown children, and five grandchildren, she understands the challenges of parenting and is passionate about The Parenting Network’s mission. The Parenting Network changed it’s name from Parents Anonymous to The Parenting Network in 1996 to demonstrate our collaborative nature. We understand the importance of collective impact for families and believe cross-systems collaboration and partnering with other organizations is the most effective way to serve families. Joyce held certification as a Prevention Consultant in the state of Michigan and held the position of Program Director for Pathways, MI where she provided oversight to a budget of $2M for prevention programming as well as a nine-county Regional Great Start Resource Center (Referred to as 4C in WI), before moving back to the Milwaukee area nearly nine years ago. As an Independent Contractor for Michigan Children’s Trust Fund, she wrote curriculum and developed training for social service workers to integrate the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework into Michigan’s Child Welfare System. Through a Michigan DCF-funded grant, she also wrote a guide on reporting child abuse and neglect for Mandated Reporters in Michigan.

As Deputy Director of the Public Policy Institute, Kari oversees both the prevention and policy efforts of the Institute. Kari’s passion for alleviating poverty and its harmful effects inspires her work at the Institute and motivates other members of the staff. Kari’s connection to Community Advocates began in 2006, when she joined the organization as an intern while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After graduation, Kari was hired and worked at the agency in a variety of roles while also obtaining her Master’s Degree in Public and Nonprofit Administration. Kari’s experience with prevention began in 2012 when she transitioned into the Public Policy Institute and focused on positive youth development. Through growing the Institute, Kari has been working in coalition based or collective work for over a decade, and it is a core focus of the work the Institute does.