Angela Braxton is described by her colleagues as a pioneer and a visionary in the field of family engagement. Her excitement and dedication to families is contagious, and those who have met her, and worked with her on projects, have a deep appreciation for the gifts she brings to the table.

Leadership: Angela is a natural born leader with an innate ability to encourage, support, and strengthen those working on her team, and to foster team development and consensus within diverse populations. With a servant’s heart, Angela knows and appreciates each person and their strengths, and uses her leadership skills to serve as a role model to draw out individual and unique talent and contribution.

Experience: As a national family engagement consultant with more than 20 years’ lived experience, Angela wears multiple hats when it comes to engagement. Her previous experience includes working as a Family Consultant Coordinator with the Capacity Building Center for States (CBCS), and a trainer with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute’s (NCWWI) Leadership Academy for Middle Managers in Child Welfare. Angela has also served on several national boards and offered a range of consultancy services that focus on representing the parent voice or perspective. Angela has extensive experience in working with state and local child welfare agencies and systems, as well as with family partners, to improve child welfare outcomes for children and families by establishing and supporting meaningful family engagement and involvement. This work has focused on the mutually respectful and sustained engagement of families in child welfare system improvement activities at the direct service, supervisory, management, policy, and legislative level.

Skills: Angela is skilled in building collaborative opportunities that develop and sustain system knowledge of meaningful engagement processes, and brings both her own expertise and that of others to the table. Through skillful and effective recruitment, team building, coordination, project management, and a large dose of authenticity, Angela has proven success in achieving the best outcomes. Angela’s areas of expertise include, but are not limited to: assessment, consulting, planning services (programs, compensation), and developing and facilitating learning experiences (staff training, workshops, speaker services, conference presentations).

Angela is the founding member and partner of Authenticus, LLC, a trailblazing company that is redefining the approach to technical assistance and support on parent and family engagement, and is owned and operated by professionally skilled and successful birth parents with prior system experience. Angela is also the author of A Woman with an Issue: A Mother's Memoir of Addiction, Loss, Redemption and Recovery (2006).
 

Dee Bonnick is a consultant, advocate, educator and activist with a focus on social justice issues that affect children and families. A mother of 3, Dee has dedicated over 20 years of her professional career working to promote dignity and respect for marginalized communities who are involved in various systems. Her passion and energy stems from her belief in equality and justice for all people with a specific focus on addressing social problems on the macro level. Dee has been committed to lifting up the voices of vulnerable and marginalized populations, through leadership development, education, advocacy and policy practice. Dee has a BSW from Southern Connecticut State University and a MSW from New York University.