Toni Donnelly

Toni Donnelly has worked in the children’s behavioral health field for 17 years, first in New Jersey and (for the last 12 years) in Arizona. Toni’s professional credentials include certification as a Train the Trainer for ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), Mental Health First Aid Trainings, Strengthening Families and Communities Violence Prevention Program, the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets, the National Standards of Family Support and the Strengthening Standards Training. Toni also specializes in practice improvement efforts, leadership development, and parent/professional partnership training. She has taken a leadership role over the past 10 years in raising awareness for children’s mental health in Arizona, and supporting parents of children with ADHD, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Currently, Toni is Director of Training and Innovation at the Family Involvement Center. In this role she develops training curricula and educational programs for groups of parents who have children with emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs. She is also responsible for developing training curricula and continuing education courses for the parent peer workforce. Toni provides local and national trainings, technical assistance to parent-to-parent support professionals, and serves as a consultant in the areas of family leadership and parent/professional partnerships. Additionally, Toni provides trainings for professionals around specific topic areas such as engagement, family professional partnerships, and family-driven/youth-guided care.

Through the Family Involvement Center, Toni works with the National Wraparound Implementation Center (NWIC) to provide Peer Parent Support Partner (PPSP) training and certification of local coaches specific to the PPSP Role. As part of the PPSP track at the 2016 National Wraparound Academy, there will be intensive workshops specific to the peer parent role that highlight skillsets in the Peer Parent Support Curricula, developed by Pat Miles. An exciting feature of these curricula is that they show how peer parent support can be delivered authentically alongside any intervention model. The training is organized around the five stages of a parent’s journey, which was developed by Pat as she listened to parents around the country. It encompasses six meta-skills represented in the acronym PEARLS. The PEARLS are the skillsets that need to be demonstrated by trained PPSPs in every interaction with parents they are supporting.

Toni’s approach to training is informed by her most important role – raising three sons with emotional and behavioral health challenges. She and her children have had experience in both the public and private sectors of behavioral health. Her advocacy as a parent on behalf of her children, coupled with her ability to navigate the behavioral health system, special education services, and the justice system compelled Toni to become involved in the family movement.

When Toni is not working she enjoys playing golf with her husband Michael, Arizona sunsets, cooking, reading, and mentoring other women.