Elizabeth Krotser is a proud mama to three children, ages 10, 12 and 14, and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, in that order. She loves the color orange, the seashore, brain science, and karaoke, in no particular order this time. Elizabeth considers herself lucky to have found a career that matches her passion and has over 23 years of experience working with children and their families.
Because most bio’s include this kinda stuff, Elizabeth would be remiss if she didn’t list that she earned her Masters of Social Work at the Jane Addams College of Social Work (UIC) and her Bachelors of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She began her career working in the public school system and then, seeking to work more alongside families, Elizabeth began working in the Early Intervention system (birth to three) in 2014. Her current practice, Nurturing Village, opened in 2017. Elizabeth is the proud owner, supervisor, and therapist as well as the most important snack-purchaser at the Village.
Elizabeth currently specializes in working with children ages birth through elementary school who struggle with family relationships, emotional regulation, social skills, and behavioral challenges. A Certified Theraplay Therapist with additional training in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Elizabeth works from an attachment and polyvagal lens, nurturing relationships with children and their caregivers. Elizabeth studied under Jake Greenspan to learn the Greenspan Floortime Method, has additional training in cognitive behavioral therapy, and she is a certified Safe and Sound Protocol provider (a polyvagal neural exercise).
The most important part of Elizabeth’s work is her commitment to joyful connections with her families. She describes her collaboration with children and families as a team approach that is gender and neurodiverse affirming, using parents’ and children’s strengths as a part of their journey together. Elizabeth works hard at listening to her own lectures and believes Dan Siegel when he states, “when we begin to know ourselves in an open and self-supportive way, we take the first step in encouraging our children to know themselves.”
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Nicole Czaja is a licensed Clinical Social Worker. She earned her Masters of Social work at Aurora University in 2004 with an emphasis in education and has 18 years of experience working with families and children. Nicole has a myriad of experience across the field, including pre-k to high school children in the school setting and in-home therapy with autistic children.
Nicole’s approach is a strength’s based perspective to focus on changing behaviors that may limit clients’ growth. She is skilled at creating a safe space for clients to express themselves and grow using narrative therapy that benefits children, teens, and families. Nicole believes that parent involvement and communication are key to clients’ success with behaviors and likes working with parents to support the parenting of their teen. Nicole enjoys working with teens on anxiety, social skills, mood regulation, LBGTQ+ challenges, and expressing themselves by coming alongside teens and parents to build lasting techniques.
. Sarah Fruhauff is a Licensed Social Worker who specializes in working with children through young adults and their families. She received her Masters of Social Work from George Williams College of Aurora University in 2018. She has experience in community case management for adults with disabilities as well as working with students in the school setting. As a school social worker, Sarah primarily worked with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety and depression, ADHD, learning disabilities, medical conditions, as well as students transitioning into adulthood. Sarah is a calm and empathetic listener who is passionate about supporting each family’s unique situation and concerns. She seeks to partner with parents and guardians as well as collaborate with schools and community resources to best support the child’s overall social-emotional wellbeing. While using a gentle and compassionate approach, Sarah uses trauma-informed and evidence-based strategies to develop skills and tools needed to overcome obstacles and stressors impacting the child and family. Sarah uses the child’s strengths in building resilience and coping skills to tolerate daily challenges through unexpected events. She believes in enhancing skills such as social skills, problem-solving, resolving conflict, increasing self-esteem, academic motivation, identifying feelings, as well as managing emotions and behavior. . Sara Panke is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in work with adolescents, teens, and their families. Sara earned her Masters of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2006. Sara has 11 years of experience in connecting with families in an energetic, empathetic, and welcoming way. Her focus is using a strengths-based perspective to optimize the positive attributes that clients already possess while developing skills that may be lacking. Working together to identify issues that may limit a client’s potential, Sara uses an approach that then helps to build a skill base that is reasonable, practical, and action-oriented. Sara enjoys problem-solving alongside clients and families while working through concerns in a compassionate manner. She has experience working with adolescents who present with various needs such as: anxiety, depression, mood regulation issues, autism, oppositional behaviors, LGBTQ+ needs, trauma, and more. While using strengths-based approaches, Sara teaches clients to practice mindfulness techniques, social skill strategies, and empowers them to build lasting and effective coping techniques.
. Melissa Prusha is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience working with children and their families. She earned her Master’s degree in social work from Jane Addams College of Social Work (UIC) in 1995. She began working in the public school system where she has spent most of her professional career. Melissa has worked with pre-k through middle school however the majority of her career has been working with students k-5th grades. She has specialized skills with working with children on the Autism Spectrum, emotional and behavioral disorders, ADHD and anxiety. Melissa is an empathetic listener and believes in the importance of building a trusting relationship when working with families. She uses trauma informed and evidence based strategies to assist families to develop skills to help overcome challenges they might be facing. Melissa believes in collaboration with parents/guardians and the school setting is important to create consistency across all environments. . . . . April Schiestel is a Licensed Social Worker who has almost 30 years experience working with families and children in a myriad of settings, including a wide variety of social services agencies and also in different roles within the school setting. She has worked with children ranging from birth through high school, but really enjoys working with adolescents who experience emotional dysregulation and behavioral challenges. She received her Masters in Social Work from George Williams College of Aurora University in 2018 and now works as a School Social Worker. She helps to support students academic and social successes in the middle school setting and loves it. Being a school social worker provides her with a skill set that assists her in connecting with the school systems, advocating for the child in the school setting and supporting the connection between the school and home. Working in so many diverse situations and with diverse families, April realizes how important building relationships is to therapeutic healing. She prides herself in her ability to build genuine and honest relationships with clients she works with and in being open and communicative with families. April has experience working with children with anxiety, depression, trauma, Autism, ADHD/ADD and deficits in social skills and emotional regulation.
. . Lesley Traub earned her Master’s in Social Work from Aurora University in 2018. In her role as a social worker, she has experience working with children and adolescents in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. She addresses conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, ODD, and difficulties with anger, social skills, peer relationships, work refusal, bullying and divorce. She is also an ally with experience working with clients questioning their identity and LGBTQ+. As a fellow parent, Lesley believes in collaboration with parents / guardians as a key component in helping children and adolescents be successful in school, home, and life. With active listening and empathy, she strives to create an environment that is safe, comfortable, and non-judgmental; where everyone feels heard and understood. Lesley’s passion is to assist her clients and their families with finding individual strategies to meet their needs and goals. . . Peggy Verona began her career receiving a teaching degree from Northern Illinois University working with middle school children. After teaching full time she raised two children while being a homebound instructor at the high school level. During that time she found she was doing more counseling than teaching which lead her to the field of Social Work. She received her Master’s Degree from Jane Addams College of Social Work. She worked with special education students in the school system specializing in Emotional Disability, Learning Disability and Mental Disability at all age levels. She also did a 3 year stint in therapeutic day school at the high school level. A Master’s Thesis researched the positive effects of group therapy on Adolescent Sexual Assault victims. When retirement came and her brain was still active and feeling she had some competency with young children as well as adolescents along came Early Intervention and a new grandchild who helped her remember what joys and challenges parenthood brought to young parents. Her goal was to provide caring guidance to parents to help them feel important and empowered while helping connect with their little ones and develop their strengths no matter how challenging their behaviors can be. Understanding all humans are unique and special she utilizes a variety of Behavioral Therapies, Play therapies, Art therapies, Theraplay principles, life experience, humor, and common sense to achieve the above goals.
Both children and adults need to feel important, valued, and heard.
. Tracy Walsh is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents and their families. She earned her Masters degree in social work from Loyola University of Chicago in 1994 with an emphasis in education. Most of her professional career was spent as a school social worker specializing in work with students experiencing emotional and behavioral challenges. During that time she was able to work with students of all ages (and their families), and her training and experience allowed her to step into the role of behavior specialist working with educational teams across all grade levels. Tracy is a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor and has provided training to school staff, administrators and parents. She is also an adjunct professor in the Humanities Department at the Columbia College of Missouri where she teaches several classes and works on developing college course maps for the department. Tracy believes in a relational, strengths-based approach to therapy. She has a particular interest in working with clients experiencing anxiety, emotional dysregulation, disruptive behaviors, relationship challenges, self-esteem, and trauma. In the midst of the serious work of therapy, Tracy seeks to find hope, joy, and humor –and a renewed enthusiasm for life and relationships. Her therapeutic approach is systemic, collaborative and strengths-based utilizing solution focused therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Her focus is to help clients acknowledge the various contexts which impact their lives, connect with their strengths, and learn new ways to cope, connect and create calmness. Tracy is passionate about helping individuals, families, and relationships of any kind in order for her clients to better connect with themselves and others. Her empathy and warmth help to establish a safe, nonjudgmental space where clients can process, learn, heal and reach their life goals. . Pam Fernandez has been with Nurturing Village since 2020. As the company has grown, so have her responsibilities and knowledge. She is the Billing Manager and handles all the billing and insurance paperwork.
She is the creator of two humans and is an avid coffee drinker and book reader.