Kim Garner (President)
Kim has been passionate about adoption since she was young, and after she married her husband, Wes, they began to adopt children. Their first daughter was born in Vietnam, they then had a son by birth, adopted a girl domestically and a boy from Ethiopia. After becoming an adoption advocate and serving as Vice President of OURS Through Adoption support group, she decided to make her passion her work. Kim believes it is every child's right to have a loving and nurturing home. She also has amazing respect and admiration for the birthmothers who make the difficult choice to place their children for adoption. Kim hopes to help others understand adoption and to realize what a precious gift it is.
Laurie Resch (Executive Director)
In 1992, Laurie received her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Psychology and Human Development. In 1994, Laurie received her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee specializing in the areas of marital therapy, adolescents and alcohol and drug abuse issues. Laurie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Wisconsin.
Laurie comes to Community Adoption Center with over 15 years of experience in the area of non-profit social work. For the past 11 years, Laurie was Crisis Services Director for Brown, Shawano and Sheboygan counties. Approximately 5 years ago, Laurie added to her responsibilities by becoming Administrator of an 18 bed Community Based Residential Facility (CBRF) for chronically mentally ill adults.
Laurie is a lifelong resident of Green Bay and has a 22 year old daughter who also resides in the Green Bay area. She enjoys various forms of exercise, reading, traveling and spending time with her daughter.
While Laurie has always been passionate about social work in general, she has become just as passionate about adoption and believes that everyone who longs to be a parent has the right to do so. It is Laurie's hope that she will be allowed to assist those who wish to become parents, creating families in the process.
Linda Troyer (Social Worker)
Linda Troyer has been with the agency as a certified social worker for the past 20 + years. In addition, she is a wife to Michael and mother of four adult adoptees, Matt, Keira, Jenna, and Tom. She is also a grandmother to two young children. Her other experiences in adoption include having been on the regional guardianship case review panel for the Department of Child and Family Services, state special needs adoption program for many years. Also, she is co-founder of the OURS through Adoption support group and a co-founder of the Adoption Options Conference. Her areas of expertise include working with families who adopt children past the age of infancy and children who are adopted internationally or who are of other ethnicities.
Candice (CJ) Grahn (Social Worker)
CJ is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, obtaining her Master’s degree in Social Work, specializing in Child, Youth, & Family Welfare. CJ has always had a passion for working with children and families. She spent the past year working at Lutheran Social Services in International Adoptions and discovered her passion for adoption. Her previous experience involved working with children and families in various situations as well as adults with developmental disabilities. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball, rollerblading, reading, and attending concerts.
Angie Flannery (Social Worker)
Angie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990. She is a certified social worker in the State of Wisconsin as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor, receiving her Master’s Degree in Community Counseling in 2007 from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Angie has worked and volunteered in a variety of settings over the past 20 years providing extensive experience with families and children, parenting, mental health issues, and abuse victims. In addition to her work with adoption, Angie is a child and family therapist with Medical and Counseling Associates providing both outpatient therapy and In Home family counseling. Angie has served on the executive board of the Wisconsin Counseling Association for the past 5 years.
In her free time, Angie enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children, gardening, reading, and volunteering with her church, her children’s school, and with the Red Cross Disaster Assessment Team.
Traci Belongia
Traci Belongia graduated from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay in 2001 with her Bachelors degree in Social Change and Development with an emphasis in Women’s Studies and a minor in Sociology. Traci also obtained her Masters degree in Counseling from Lakeland College in August of 2009.
Traci was previously employed at a Community Based Residential Facility for adults with chronic mental illness as the Assistant Director as well a being an on site social worker for her clients. Traci also has worked as an on call crisis counselor at the Crisis Center for 2 years.
In her free time Traci enjoys being a part time stay at home mom to her son Mitchell. She and her husband Dave enjoy camping with friends and family. Traci also enjoys running, walking the family dog, scrap booking, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
