Holt-Sunny Ridge Serves Families Throughout Illinois & Wisconsin

Amy Trotter, LCSW
Branch Director | IL & WI
630-754-4514

Amy joined Sunny Ridge in 2008. In addition to supervising program activities, Amy prepares families for adoption in both our international, special needs, and domestic programs. Amy also provides training and education to families, as well as post adoption services. Amy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and holds a bachelor and master's degree in social work. She received her master's (MSW) degree from the University of Iowa. Since 1995 Amy has worked in the field of child welfare with experiences in foster care, adoption, and juvenile court.

Jessica Augsburger, MSW, LCSW
Social Worker | Chicagoland
847-306-1329

Joining Sunny Ridge in 2005, Jessica enjoys working in the adoption field. She conducts home studies for adoptive families and provides post placement services in the international adoption program. Jessica is also a certified W.I.S.E. Up facilitator. Jessica holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Hope College and a Master's Degree in Social Work from Dominican University. She is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Illinois. Since 2002, Jessica has been working in the field of child welfare with experience in both foster care and adoption.

Holly received her undergraduate degree in social work from Azusa Pacific University and her master's degree in social work from Long Beach State University with an emphasis in children, youth and families. Holly started her career in child welfare with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services' Emergency Response Unit and remained there for 5 years. Since then, she has relocated to the Pacific Northwest and worked with the Oregon Department of Human Services Child Protective Services and is now working with Holt International as a foster care adoption worker. Holly is a wife and mother to two children and she enjoys exploring the outdoors and spending time with her family. She is passionate about creating safe, loving and permanent homes for all children.

Joining Sunny Ridge in 2011, Nancy supervises Adoption Services, provides home study and post-placement services to families. Nancy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Arts from Central Michigan University and a Master's Degree in Counseling from Oakland University. She is also a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Illinois. Since 1988 Nancy has worked in the field of child welfare with experience in both foster care and adoption. Nancy also has many years of experience providing counseling services to families and supervising a unique adoption program for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

It has been wonderful to return to a role as an Adoption Social Worker this year at Holt-Sunnyridge. I worked previously at Sunny Ridge in the late 1990's and have 10 years experience in both domestic and international adoption. I have been a social worker for over 20 years and received my Master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois. My favorite part of adoption is post-placement. I love seeing young children grow and thrive with their new families. A highlight of my career was traveling to China in 2000 and assisting with the placement of 15 children with their new adoptive families.

Tia earned her bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Wyoming. She has worked with children and families since 2016. Before working in private adoption, Tia worked with at-risk youth and families whose children were in and out of home care. Tia serves families and birth parents in western Wisconsin, and looks forward to supporting families and children who are going through the adoption process. Tia is married and has two sons. When not working, she enjoys geocaching, attending sporting events and traveling with her family.

Beth joined Holt-Sunny Ridge in 2016 after working in the adoption field for more than twenty years. Her experience includes special needs, domestic and international adoption as well as post-adoption services. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master's degree in clinical psychology from Bradley University and is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Illinois. Beth loves working with children and families and strongly believes that every child deserves a family to call his or her own.

Kristina joined Holt-Sunny Ridge in May 2014 as the newly created community outreach & educational specialist. She is excited to share her passion for adoption and build partnerships within the community. Kristina received her bachelor's degree in advertising from the University of Illinois and previously worked in the corporate sector. She loves volunteering, and has recently volunteered for several nonprofit organizations. Kristina is the mother of two children, one biological and one adopted domestically. She loves sharing how adoption has been a positive experience for her family.

Colleen joined Holt-Sunny Ridge in May 2015. She holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Bethel University and a master's degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. Colleen was a Title IV-E Child Welfare Scholar during her graduate program, which introduced her to the adoption field. She has worked in adoption and foster care since 2009, conducting home studies and post-placement services. Colleen works part-time while also caring for her two children.

Sheri has over 18 years of experience as a domestic and international adoption social worker, bridge care parent and birthparent counselor. Although she thoroughly enjoys working with families, Sheri's passion is providing support to parents facing an unplanned pregnancy — helping to them to make a well-informed decision for their child. Sheri has a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a master's of social work from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Sheri has a wide range of social work experience that includes mental health, intellectual disabilities, child protection, juvenile support, family services, adult protection and medical social work, as well as time in the elementary school setting. Sheri lives in Wausau and enjoys and spending time with her husband, children and granddaughter.

Stacy's experience includes completing homestudies in international, domestic, relative and step-parent adoption, birth parent counseling, and international and domestic post-placement services. She has a bachelor's degree in human services and is a nationally recognized certified social worker for the state of Wisconsin. Stacy has worked with children and families her entire professional career and loves community outreach and continuing education. Helping to build families is her passion and she looks forward to working with every family she gets the chance to serve. In her free time, you can find Stacy and her husband cheering on their oldest daughter at a dance competition or their youngest daughter at a horse show.

Joy resides in Saint Louis, Missouri and is a licensed professional counselor with a master's of education in counseling degree. She has been working with children and families for 15 years. Her experience includes individual counseling (child and adult), group and family therapy, crisis intervention, and pregnancy and adoption counseling. Joy has had the privilege of working with many adoptive families over the years to achieve their dreams through the wonderful gift of adoption. She looks forward to the blessed opportunity of working with you!

Tracey has been helping create forever families through adoption since 2017. She enjoys assisting birth families as well as adoptive families through their adoption journey. Tracey earned an undergraduate degree in family consumer science from University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and a second undergraduate degree in social work from Winona State University. Tracey is currently working towards attaining her master's degree in social work through Winona State University.

Pam provides individual, family and group therapy for anyone connected with adoption and has experience working with anxiety, depression, defiant behavior, attention deficit/hyperactivity, post-traumatic stress disorder, abandonment, grief, and loss issues. Pam specializes in common issues connected with adoption such as trauma, attachment and identity issues. Pam has been trained in Theraplay® , Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and Trust Based Relational Intervention ®. She also assists families with the pre and post educational aspects of adoption. Pam has worked in the child welfare field since 1996 with experience in foster care, domestic and international adoptions, and birthparent counseling. Prior to joining Sunny Ridge in January of 2011, Pam was employed as an Adoption Preservation Therapist. Pam has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Olivet Nazarene University and a Master's of Social Work degree from Dominican University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO and United Healthcare provider for behavioral health services.  Pam resides in Frankfort with her husband and two children.

I joined Holt-Sunny Ridge in November 2017 and I feel honored to work with the Empowering Women, Strengthening Families Program. I am a Da Nang girl at heart, leaving my homeland [Vietnam] at the age of 9. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having spent my 15-year career in the nonprofit/social service sector, I feel fulfilled to be at a place in my life with a mission and purpose. I grasp every opportunity given to me to give back for what America has given me, and I feel my life's work is helping others. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my two tweens and my husband — traveling, exploring new places to eat and watching Asian shows, mostly Korean.

Before joining Holt, Connie spent over 10 years assisting families with international adoption through Lutheran Social Services. Connie has a bachelor's degree in Latin American studies and psychology from Ripon College in Wisconsin and a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She holds licenses with the State of Wisconsin as a certified social worker and also as a licensed professional counselor. Connie has many years of experience in county child welfare services, both as a social worker and as a supervisor. She also currently provides training to county child welfare professionals through UW-Madison. She says it is always an honor to walk alongside a family that is welcoming a child into their family through adoption. Connie is married and has two adult children, one of whom joined her family through international adoption from India. In her spare time, Connie tries to meet the seemingly endless needs of her two rescue cats!

Val has worked in child welfare for over 13 years, with the primary focus of her career in international and domestic adoption. She has had the opportunity to travel to different countries around the world to spend time with children waiting for families, experience diverse cultures, and work with government officials, foreign supervised providers and nongovernmental organizations. Val participated in the Philippines Ambassador Program through Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, Inc. She has a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and she currently resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, Val loves to travel to new places and spend time with her family and friends.