Our Team

Leadership
Traci LaLiberte

Traci LaLiberte, PhD, MSW, LISW
Senior Executive Director of CASCW
She/Her/Hers

205C Peters Hall
612-624-2279
lali0017@umn.edu

Traci served as Executive Director of CASCW from 2007-2024. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare, an entity which houses and provides support and resources to CASCW. She oversees all aspects of Center programs and operations. Additionally, she provides oversight to the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) as well as serving the School of Social Work in a variety of capacities.

Kristine Piescher

Kristine Piescher, PhD
Assistant Executive Director
She/Her/Hers

205 Peters Hall
612-624-9783
kpiesche@umn.edu

Kristy is the Assistant Executive Director at CASCW. She oversees the professional education, outreach, and research and evaluation efforts of the Center, including the Minn-LInK project. Kristy’s research focuses on child well-being and educational success and stability for at-risk youth, child welfare workforce development and system change, housing and homelessness, interpersonal and sibling relationships, and utilizing cross-systems data for applied research and evaluation.

Liz Snyder

Elizabeth Snyder, MSW, LISW
Co-Director Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
She/Her/Hers

1711 County Road B
Suite 200N
612-301-9808
snyde276@umn.edu

Liz has been with CASCW since 2007. As of 2019, she provides strategic leadership and management of the University units as part of our partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), co-directing the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA). MNCWTA's mission is to train, develop, and support the skills, expertise and well-being of Minnesota's child welfare workforce while nurturing a commitment to equitable child welfare practice.

Professional Education
Kate Walthour

Kate Walthour, MSW, LISW
Director of Professional Education
She/Her/Hers

205E Peters Hall
612-624-3779
kwalthou@umn.edu

Kate leads the professional education components of CASCW. She manages the Title IV-E Child Welfare Program for MSW students including admissions, stipends, advising, and advanced curriculum. She also provides leadership for our sub-contracted BSW Title IV-E Child Welfare Programs and the two certificate programs currently being offered by CASCW. 

Claire Wever

Claire Wever
Title IV-E Program Coordinator
She/Her/Hers

105 Peters Hall
612-626-0518
wever008@umn.edu

Claire is the Title IV-E Program Coordinator at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. Claire supports current IV-E fellows in various aspects of their learning, including creating and coordinating a mentorship program. She also plans and coordinates new initiatives with IV-E fellowship alumni.

Crystal Fernandez

Crystal Fernandez
Executive Office and Administrative Specialist

205 Peters Hall
crystal@umn.edu

Crystal supports the Title IV-E students through their progression in the Title IV-E Fellowship Program and as they enter the workforce. She also works with the CASCW team to support areas of outreach, finance, administration, and events.

Research and Evaluation
Michael Hoffmeister

Michael Hoffmeister, PhD, MSW
Director of Research and Evaluation

mhoffmei@umn.edu

Michael leads the Research and Evaluation team at CASCW. He oversees the child welfare research, Title IV-E evaluation, and Minn-LInK related work of the Center. Michael conducts mixed methods, applied research regarding the public child welfare system that focuses broadly on child welfare workforce development, organizational policy and practice, and child and family well-being.

Sydney Johnson

Sydney Johnson, PhD, MPH
Minn-LInK Researcher

joh18519@umn.edu

Sydney leads the design and implementation of research and evaluation projects at CASCW. She works with Minn-LInK team to answer questions about child and family well-being; engages stakeholders in research and evaluation planning; prepares project datasets by linking data across systems; analyzes data; collaborates on technical reports and scholarly publications; and presents research findings to various audiences.

Interdisciplinary Child Welfare
Liz Fronsoe

Liz Fronsoe
PLX Program Coordinator

efronsoe@umn.edu

Liz coordinates the Phoenix Learning Xchange program which aims to broaden the knowledge of development, challenges, positive engagement and wellbeing of youth and adolescents involved in the child welfare and other social service systems, all while enabling professionals to have a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the youth and adolescents they serve and better connect with them.

Elizabeth Keely Vandre

Elizabeth Keely Vandre, MSW, LGSW
PACC Program Coordinator

211 Peters Hall
612-626-3831
shal0035@umn.edu

Keely coordinates the Permanency & Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) program, supporting advanced level training for mental health and child welfare professionals, and increasing a network of qualified providers state-wide.

Outreach
Stacy Gehringer

Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW
Director of Outreach
She/Her/Hers

302N-E 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
gehr0086@umn.edu

Stacy leads the Outreach efforts at CASCW. She manages communication, training events, faculty partnerships, center collaborations, awards, CW360°, and policy tracking.

Denise Cooper

Denise Cooper, MEd
Outreach Coordinator
She/Her/Hers

302N-B 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
mcki0055@umn.edu

Denise supports the Outreach efforts of CASCW. She serves as the managing editor of the CW360° publication. She also assists with the coordination of the CASCW child welfare training events, as well as the development of child welfare training materials and child welfare policy-related resources. 

Kaia Forde

Kaia Forde
Graphic Designer
She/Her/Hers

302N-A 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
kforde@umn.edu

Kaia leads graphic design efforts related to marketing and communication materials used internally and externally at CASCW. She creates assets for events, email marketing, special projects, web, social media, and more. Kaia also serves as the photographer for CASCW events.

Julia Lodge

Julia Lodge
Communications Specialist
She/Her/Hers

302N-D 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
jlodge@umn.edu

Julia leads the planning and execution of CASCW's communication efforts, collaborating with the Outreach team as well as outside partners to develop comprehensive and effective communications plans. 

Tim Nichols

Tim Nichols
Web Editor
He/Him/His

302N-A 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
nich0121@umn.edu

Tim manages web strategy, design, and implementation for CASCW, creating accessible content to help promote new products and events. He also coordinates and designs newsletters for CASCW's email marketing channel.

Karen Sheahan

Karen Shehean
Graphic and Multimedia Designer

302N-A 1171 W. County Road B
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Roseville, MN 55113
msheahan@umn.edu

Karen designs promotional and training materials for CASCW across digital and print mediums. Her primary focus is translating faculty research to practice. Karen takes the lead on designing CASCW's flagship publication, CW360°. 

Operations
Paying Thao

Paying Thao
Administrative Financial and Program Support
She/Her/Hers

205D Peters Hall
thao0369@umn.edu

Paying assists with CASCW's finances including purchase requests, along with preparing, processing, and tracking various payments. Along with that, she also provides administrative and program support within the office environments and at CASCW events throughout the year.