Meet Our Family Navigators
Adna joined the CHSC Family Navigator Network in July 2019. She supports Marshallese families in Dubuque and works on various projects to help assure good health outcomes for Marshallese populations across Iowa. Adna enjoys working with families of children with special health care needs to provide emotional support, connect to community resources and offer family to family support. She and her husband and I have 2 beautiful children.
Johanna is a Bilingual Family Navigator in Council Bluffs, IA, and serves several counties across Iowa to Spanish-speaking families. She helps families through the Regional Autism Assistance Program and serves as Early ACCESS Service Coordinator in her community. She is a mother of two children, her youngest, with special care needs. Johanna is a devoted advocate for the Spanish-speaking community and understands the needs of the families and children by helping them access community resources and provide family-to-family support in their native language. Johanna es una navegadora de familias...
Jen is a Family Navigator for Child Health Specialty Clinics and the Iowa Regional Autism Assistance Program (RAP). She is married with two children and her son was diagnosed with profound autism and anxiety at the age of 2. Jen was referred to this position by the Family Navigator who had helped her coordinate services for her son. She started her journey as a Family Navigator in March of 2022 and enjoys working with the families of children with special health care needs and helping them to find the right combination of supports that will empower them to reach their needs and goals.
Dawn began working as a Family Navigator at the Clinton Regional Center in November of 2014. Dawn is a Certified Family Peer Support Specialist (FPSS) and has many years of experience working with children and families. She provides family to family support and care coordination for all four programs offered at the Clinton Regional Center: Pediatric Integrated Health (PIH) program, Community Circle of Care (CCC) program, Regional Autism Assistance Program (RAP) and Child Health Specialty Clinics (CHSC) program. Dawn and her husband of 32 years had three children. Their oldest child passed...
Tessie began working as a Family Navigator at the Dubuque Regional Center, in Spring of 2023. She is a mother of two, ages 13 and 19. Her oldest has diagnoses of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, and Depression. Tessie looks forward to the opportunity to support families as they navigate through the process of learning how to best advocate for and support their child(ren). Tessie has previously worked with teenage youth from throughout the Dubuque Community as a Paraprofessional in a High School, and as an AmeriCorps Service Member facilitating teen programming at a local non-profit.
Jackie is a Family Navigator with the Mason City Regional Center. She started with CHSC is June of 2019. Jackie serves families through the Regional Autism Assistance Program, Early ACCESS, and families that come into the regional center. Jackie and her husband have a son with special health care needs. Jackie enjoys helping families through their journeys and offering them any help and support that they may need.
Amanda began working as a Family Navigator at the Creston Regional Center in November 2020. Amanda serves families of children with special health care needs through the Early ACCESS and Regional Autism Assistance programs. Amanda is the mother of three children, one with epilepsy and one with severe scoliosis requiring spinal fusion. She enjoys encouraging families throughout their journey and helping them face the challenges they encounter.
Kathy has worked as a Family Navigator since 2005 in the Bettendorf CHSC office. She provides Family Navigation for the Bettendorf CHSC center and the Regional Autism Program. Kathy and her husband are parents to four sons. Her youngest son suffered an Acquired Brain Injury in 2003 from Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis when he was 3 years of age. Kathy’s goal is to inspire and guide families on their journey into the ever-changing world of special needs with compassion and empathy.
Tracy joined Child Health Specialty Clinics as a Family Navigator in January 2020. She serves families through the Community Circle of Care and Pediatric Integrated Health programs in Decorah. Tracy and her husband have three grown daughters. Their oldest has intellectual disabilities and special health care needs. Tracy is happy to support families and let them know they are not alone on their journey .
Suzanne has been with Child Health Specialty Clinics since 2009 and has worked at both Council Bluffs and Sioux City regional centers. She has a background in nursing and serves medically complex children and their families as an Early ACCESS Service Coordinator. She has experience working with families of culturally diverse backgrounds and assisting them in finding resources available for their needs.
