Parent Educators

Parent Educators

Tami Adams
Tami Adams started her career as a Family Childcare Provider; she was the first Home Childcare to become accredited in Missoula by the National Association of Family Childcare. After seven years as a Family Childcare Provider Tami went to work for Childcare Resources (CCR) visiting all the family and group home childcare providers twice a year with child development information. During her time at CCR Tami also taught a variety of child development classes. Tami is currently a Medical Social Worker at Missoula County Health Department working in the Missoula Healthy Families Department. She works with at risk families to help them access basic resources, such as housing, food, medical care and information on child growth and development. For the past 20 years Tami has facilitated a variety of parenting and child development classes including: Circle of Security, Love and Logic, and New Born Care. Tami loves to get parents excited about the joys and challenges of parenting. Tami and her husband are the proud parents of 2 sons and have hosted 4 exchange students that they also claim as their own.

April Charlo
Rancher, business owner, mom, comedian, storyteller and Maternal Mental Health Advocate, April Iris Charlo is a proud Bitterroot Salish woman and a member the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She recently co-founded “Snqweylmistn,” translated as “The Place Where One Does Their Best,” an organization that will take 30 children from the foster care system and raise them in an intentional community within “Forever Homes.” April credits her success to the decision 16 years ago to choose sobriety and is both humbled and honored to advance the development of Recovery Centers in Montana. Holder of an Associate's Degree in Native American Studies, a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership, her passion for Indigenous language revitalization is evidenced in her entertaining and informative Ted Talk at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kuC_IemiCs

Manda Davis
Manda Davis received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and English Literature from Willamette University in 1999. Upon graduation, she returned home to the Flathead Valley where she received her Early Childhood Montessori Teaching Certificate. She has over 15 years’ experience teaching in Montessori classrooms, both public and private, with children ages 2 through 12. In 2006, Manda received a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Montana. She then went on to Columbia University’s Teacher’s College as a Doctoral candidate in Early Childhood Education where she taught Master’s Degree level classes in “inclusive practices and curriculum differentiation in early childhood education.”
Manda has an insatiable love of learning and is thrilled to be working with pre-service and experienced teachers on the Flathead Reservation. Manda began teaching at Salish Kootenai College in January of 2017, where she currently serves as Department Head for Early Childhood Education. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the American Montessori Society, and the Montana Early Childhood Higher Education Consortium.

"I love that Families First Learning Lab offers so many different ways to make healthy connections, grow, and learn."

Amy Friedman
Amy has been working with kids and adults for the past twenty years to help encourage and develop self-acceptance, discipline, creativity, empowerment, and a zest for healthy living. She facilitates dynamic classes and workshops that meet individuals where they are. As a counselor and educator for the past twenty years, she help both kids and adults, in a variety of settings, develop their own sense of well-being and routines to stay balanced and whole on a physical, mental, social, and emotional level. Amy believes kids are our greatest teachers. As a mother of two healthy kids, she feels strongly about helping kids find ways to be peaceful, healthy and happy every day. Through positive parenting approaches and developing healthy choices and alternatives, Amy collaborates with parents and educators to help kids grow into healthy adults. Amy is passionate about her work with Families First Learning Lab because she gets to engage and teach families, parents, kids, and guardians tools for healthy and effective ways to move through life's ups and downs.

Rick Greene
Rick is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s degree in Social Work from Walla Walla University. He has spent the majority of his social work career working with children and families in Lake County and the Flathead Indian Reservation. He enjoys working with children of all ages and incorporating play into his therapy to help children feel comfortable. He has worked with at-risk youth as a school-based Comprehensive School Community Treatment therapist at the St. Ignatius elementary, middle and high schools. During the summer months, he developed summer therapy programs for the students that included fishing trips to develop social skills. Rick transitioned to Sunburst Mental Health where he worked for several years with children in Early Childhood Services as a mental health therapist. He provided behavioral, social, and emotional support to children from ages 2 to 5. He has extensive training in brain development, CBT, attachment theory and other trauma modalities. He has had the opportunity to teach local classes about emotional intelligence, self-regulation, and parenting strategies through Families First in Missoula as well as Child Bridges of Bigfork. Currently he provides Integrated Behavioral Health Counseling with St. Luke Community Health Care. He is a mental health consultant with CSKT Early Childhood Services and has a private practice in Ronan, MT, and a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of Lake County and the Flathead Indian Reservation. During his time off, he enjoys spending time outside, training birds of prey as a licensed falconer, and buying books (because he thinks he is also buying the time to read them).

"I love the Mission valley and look forward to each day that I can assist families in becoming stronger, healthier and happier."

Shari Mundaniohl
Shari facilitates Circle of Security in Lake County. She has been facilitating Circle of Security for 11 years and she relishes the opportunity to engage with caregivers, parents and teachers sharing the wonders of “The Circle”. Shari has been in the field of social work for over 30 years. She started in Germany working at a girl’s group home, where she was a house manager and then took a leave from work for several years to raise her family. Once her children were in grade school, she went back to work as a Behavioral Specialist for Youth Dynamics in Boulder Montana. During her time with Youth Dynamics, she implemented an Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy program.
After leaving Youth Dynamics Shari joined the Sunburst Mental Health team as a Family Support Worker contracted by Child and Family Services, where she supervised visits and worked in the home with parents to assist them with parenting skills and healthy relationship building. She then switched to being a case manager with Sunburst in 2015.
As of December of 2019, Shari started yet another exciting role with Early Childhood Services as a Mental Health Services Coordinator. There, she works closely with the teachers, children, administration, and families to coordinate services to assist families with mental health providers.

Susan Ocean
Susan first began working with Families First as a parent educator in 2014. She is a clinical psychologist, specializing in working with youth and families who have experienced trauma. She began using the attachment-focused Circle of Security model in 2015 and trained with Kent Hoffman, PhD (founder) to become a trainer in 2018. She also incorporates Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy into her work and has trained with Daniel Hughes, PhD (founder) in this model.
Susan began her work with youth and trauma in 2007 as an undergraduate researcher at Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia. There, she worked with Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters’ Child Advocacy Center and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Susan earned her doctorate at the University of Montana. At UM, she taught undergraduate psychology courses (Introduction to Psychology, The Psychology of Family Violence, Social Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Modification) and worked with the Clinical Psychology Center (a sliding scale community clinic). While in Missoula, Montana, she also worked with Youth Homes, the Dan Fox Family Care Program, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Behavioral Health Department (CSKT / Indian Health Service), and the Youth Crisis Diversion Project. Susan is passionate about her work with youth and families. She finds joy in working with parents and helping them discover and develop their strengths to better support healthy families and community.

Melissa Sundberg
Melissa (Mel) works as a family care therapist in Ravalli and Missoula counties. She completed her undergraduate degree at Purdue University in 1993, majoring in Psychology, and has lived in the Bitterroot valley for 20 years, where she and her husband have raised their family in the beauty of Western Montana. She received her Master in Social Work from Walla Walla University in Missoula. She has previously held positions within Youth Homes that include providing transitional living services to young people aging out of foster care and has worked as a treatment manager for children in therapeutic foster care. She is passionate about supporting families, helping young people find their own worth, respecting the diversity of others, and providing a voice for those who aren’t able to advocate for themselves. Mel started working with Families First in the summer of 2019 and has found passion in facilitating our Children in Between series.

Erin Williams
Erin received a Master's Degree in Counseling through the Counselor Education Program at the University of Montana in 2003. She has worked for Youth Homes since 1995 and is the Clinical and Program Director. In addition, she has a significant interest and experience in providing therapy for youth and their caregivers. With a primary focus on strengthening relationships, connection and bonding; Erin uses Attachment Theory to inform her work. She has been trained in Circle of Security both as a facilitator and as a therapist and is also certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Erin uses mindfulness and relaxation skills to help clients regulate their emotions. Erin is trained in therapy with children, adolescents, birth parents, foster, and adoptive families. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Montana. In 2019 Erin was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Board of Behavioral Health in the State of Montana. Erin started working with Families First the summer of 2019, and has helped facilitate and improve our Circle of Security programs.

"Being a part of a parent's growth to improve their child helps me feel connected to our community."

"I love the non-judgmental, supportive stance these courses offer parents and that FFLL makes these classes affordable and accessible to all."

Mary Zimmerman
Mary Zimmerman is a licensed clinical social worker in Missoula Montana. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Montana in 2008 and her Master of Social Work from Walla Walla University in 2012. In her private counseling practice, Mary provides outpatient therapy services to children, adults, and families and she is also a certified Circle of Security facilitator. Mary truly enjoys working with families and is grateful to have had the opportunity to impact children and their families in a positive way.
She believes that when families make a conscience effort to build relationship and to validate and understand one another, amazing things can happen. She knows that entire communities can be strengthened by those connections as it leads healthier, happier and more secure children who in turn become healthier, happier and more secure adults and caregivers.
Mary has been facilitating classes with Families First Learning Lab since February 2019. In her off time, Mary enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.