LEGACY BUILDING
IN SOCIAL WORK:

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.