About the Executive Director
Brooke Nettz received her undergraduate degree from DePaul University with a B.A. in Psychology and a concentration in human growth and development.
She worked as a residential specialist at Nachusa Lutheran Home (programmed under Lutheran Social Services of Illinois - LSSI) in Nachusa, Ill. Adolescents were court ordered for six months to this residential facility. All these children had a dual-diagnosis (mental illness and substance abuse issues) and she performed individual, group and family counseling while educating them on healthy coping skills and real life applications.
From there she began working at St. John's Home in Grand Rapids, Mich., as a youth counselor. The residential home housed 9 to 13 year old girls who had been removed from their homes for abuse and/or neglect and were awaiting adoption. Due to the severe conditions these children had lived through, many had emotional, psychological, and physical issues that were addressed through programs, counseling, art, athletics and everyday interactions with staff members.
She then decided to return to college, and received her Master of Arts from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, majoring in forensic psychology. Upon graduation she worked doing psychosexual evaluations on sex offenders, divorce mediation, and taught Introduction to Psychology at Sauk Valley Community College.
Brooke also served as the forensic interviewer at the Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center in Dixon, Ill. It was while working at the CAC that she realized how much of a positive impact you could have on the children who had suffered abuse and their families.
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