Process Mentor Anna VonRueden

Anna VonRueden

Chief Strategy Officer at FamilyWise Services

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anna-vonrueden-a6a46a326

Contact Details: https://familywiseservices.org/get-involved/find-training/wraparound-training/

Quote: Do for, do with, cheer on!

Background

Anna VonRueden, Chief Strategy Officer at FamilyWise Services, has two decades of experience working with youth and families faced with significant barriers, needing the most complex interventions. Anna has become a recognized leader in Minneapolis-St. Paul for creating positive changes within the juvenile system and for those navigating it. Anna began her employment with FamilyWise in 2013 as the Family Services Manager, prior to taking over as Chief Program Officer in 2018. While ensuring the health of this agency’s comprehensive service delivery, she also provides consultation and certification to implement High-Fidelity Wraparound across North America. Anna is passionate about workplace wellness and creating agency culture that supports the well-being of our front line workers. She previously served as a member of the Wisconsin State Juvenile Justice Association for four years and as a supervisor for Wraparound Milwaukee from 2009 to 2013. Anna holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice from UW-Eau Claire.

Details

Where Do We Work?	Open to anywhere
Languages My Team Speaks	English, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Arabic, Vietnamese
Types of Programs We Serve	Early childhood, Families impacted by systems (Corrections, Child Welfare, Mental Health Case Management), Indigenous Populations and BIPOC Communities

Coaching Philosophy

My coaching philosophy emphasizes “model the model”. I model the principles and mindset of MiiWrap through my style so that this can become embedded culture and translate to the experience staff and families will have. This looks like an individualized approach, collaborative goal setting, strength-based feedback, outcome driven, establishing a team to support implementation and a genuine belief that every community can thrive. Naturally, I am very organized and responsive as well as strategic and creative when it comes to MiiWrap implementation and training. Very little of what we learn in a classroom setting will naturally apply to the real world without hands on coaching through practical, on the job experiences. My coaching style includes real world applications through observation, mentoring, problem-solving and prompt feedback loops.

Testimonials

In 2022, Sherburne County embarked on a mission to enhance its children's mental health (CMH) services by incorporating a Wraparound approach to delivering CMH-TCM services. To achieve this goal, Sherburne partnered with Familywise, where they trained and certified multiple case managers as Wraparound Facilitators and certified additional staff members as coaches to establish a self-sustaining program. During the certification process, Anna VonRueden and her team at Familywise introduced us to the Motivational Interviewing-Informed Wraparound (Miiwrap) model, which they passionately endorsed. Familywise crafted a training schedule tailored to our needs, guiding us through the certification journey. The training included a well-organized curriculum with readings, videos, essays, quizzes, and more. Additionally, a combination of virtual and in-person meetings provided opportunities to review and apply the skills and concepts learned in each module. Anna proved to be an exceptional coach throughout the process. Her engaging approach, responsiveness to our needs, and ability to deliver content in various ways ensured clarity and understanding. She was instrumental in helping us transition from theory to practice, providing guidance and support every step of the way. After the initial training, Anna continued to offer ongoing coaching support, ensuring that staff could effectively apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Her consistent encouragement and praise helped build a strong foundation for Miiwrap within our team. Partnering with Familywise to become certified in Miiwrap has been an incredibly positive experience, and it has significantly enhanced the CMH-TCM services we offer to the community.

Anna is such an engaging and dynamic trainer. My experience with her as a Miiwrap trainer was truly transformative personally and professionally. One of my favorite parts about working with Anna is her amazing ability to give feedback that allows you to see where your growth opportunities are. She is personable and interactive as a trainer. Anna has so much knowledge and experience she was able to provide “real life” examples of practice that correlate to the concepts and skills we learned about. My learning experience with Anna left me feeling confident in the skills I already had and gave me the motivation to keep working at them to be an even better practitioner.