Specialties:Specialize in capacity building, building and bridging social capital and civic engagement.
Experience
President
Family Support Network, International
February 2006 – Present (7 years 3 months)Founded Family Support Network, Int'l
Pioneered Community Weaving practice.
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Jeff Miller
Builder, Connector, and (sometime) Provocateur of Human Leadership Networks
Cheryl is passionate about her work and has a unique skill in getting folks to work together, share resources, and provide support to those in need. Her organization does really cool work.View
Founder
Family Support Network, International
February 1992 – Present (21 years 3 months)Community Weaving is a innovative approach I pioneered to foster a community of responsible citizens who create Family Support Networks where they share their time, gifts, talents and resources with others. This community mobilization strategy increases civic engagement and social capital by tapping grass root resources resulting in the creation of healthy thriving communities. Family Support Networks meet the needs of families and children in the old fashioned way, neighbor to neighbor. Through the use of telephones and a web-based technology families can easily and immediately access a myriad of resources to help themselves and others in the community.
Community Weaver
Family Support Network, International
February 1993 – Present (20 years 3 months)Connected referrals from local organizations to Family Advocates and Good Neighbors in the Family Support Network who provided them with the resources they needed to improve their life circumstance. Personally provided transitional housing for over 100 families in transition due to hardship.
(Open)1 recommendation-
Brandon D. WilliamsCraig Ph.D.
Building rock-solid teams! williamscraig.com
Cheryl offers a dynamic and supportive relational quality that is very hard to find, especially in addition to follow-through, expansive cultivation of community resources, and willingness to include every voice that needs to be heard so that...View
President & CEO
Excel Strategies, Inc.
April 1995 – Present (18 years 1 month)Contract with organizations to assess readiness and implement civic engagement strategies that increase family/community involvement in schools, organizations, businesses, agencies and municipalities. Build up protective factors in communities to improve public health and safety on a community-wide scale. Increase productivity and innovation within corporations through capacity building practices.
Project Manager
Developed Web-Based Platform for Pooling Resources
2006 – Present (7 years)Worked with Max Stalnaker to develop www.GoodNeighbors.net to pool and share human, tangible and experiential resources. Print reports and measure types, levels and frequency of engagement activities.
Author of Community Weaving Chapter
Change Handbook (2nd Ed.) by Berrett Koehler
2006 – 2008 (2 years)Courses
Independent Coursework
- Family Community Leadership by UW Cooperative Extention
- Mediator Training by Volunteers of America
- Peace Between People
- Prevention Specialist Trainer
- Citizen Emergency Response Trainer
Organizations
Education
Antioch University Seattle
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Transformative Community Building, Human Services & Democracy
2002 – 2004Seattle Times front page articles about Cheryl's volunteer effort to grow the Family Support Network.
3/2/96: A Substitute for Welfare? Volunteer help a better way?
2/8/97: Bothell volunteer gew her group into 800 pairs of helping hands
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (front page)
3/30/07: Jefferson Award Winners
Activities and Societies: Classes included post grad courses in whole systems design and change management.
Edmonds Community College
Associate of Arts and Sciences (A.A.S.), Chemical Dependency Counseling, Mental Health and Case Management, Graduated with 3.7 GPA. Commencement Speaker at Graduation
2001 – 2004Phi Beta Kappa
Activities and Societies: Honor Society
Crescent Valley High School, Corvallis, OR
Diploma, Music and Psychology, Honor Roll
1971 – 1974Activities and Societies: Jazz Choir (1st Place Winner at Mt. Hood Jazz Festival) Theatre (Performed at William Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR)
Additional Info
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Interests
- Pioneering a social safetynet through Community Weaving practices to create a more caring,
- just and civil society. When I'm not Community Weaving I will usually be: - Singing - Acting (Theatrical & Film) - Organizing Social Events and Recreational Activities (i.e. Mystery Murders & River Rafting Trips) - Cooking - Camping - Horseback Riding on the Beach - Quadding - Window Painting - Arts & Crafts (making Sand Candles,
- Jewelry,
- Mixed Media Art)
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Personal Details
Birthday March 29 Marital Status Single
Honors & Awards
Jefferson Award (2007) Nobel Prize for public and community service Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis started the American Institute for Public Service who honor unsung heros in communities across America.
Daily Points of Light(Feb. 28, 2006) Points of Light Foundation
Excellence in Leadership Award (2003) Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace
Ambassador for Peace (2002) Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace
Giraffe Award (1996) Recognized for sticking her neck out for humanity
Recommendations
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President
Family Support Network, International
Jeff Miller
Builder, Connector, and (sometime) Provocateur of Human Leadership Networks
Cheryl is passionate about her work and has a unique skill in getting folks to work together, share resources, and provide support to those in need. Her organization does really cool work.
-
Community Weaver
Family Support Network, International
Brandon D. WilliamsCraig Ph.D.
Building rock-solid teams! williamscraig.com
Cheryl offers a dynamic and supportive relational quality that is very hard to find, especially in addition to follow-through, expansive cultivation of community resources, and willingness to include every voice that needs to be heard so that everybody in a given sphere of influence can get to what is needed. While in direct contact with me and my colleagues, she created an environment that brought people with needs together with people with capacity and funding in a collaborative drive that resulted in inclusivity and success well beyond what was hoped and projected.