08/29/2026
As Success4Life Services continues to grow in both Colorado and Wisconsin, I have been thinking a lot about the path that brought me here and the one belief that has stayed with me through every stage of my career:
Every child deserves at least one caring adult in their corner.
That belief has followed me from my time as a Child Protection Social Worker, to working as a public education teacher, to serving as an assistant principal and principal at a maximum-security youth facility, and now to nearly 11 years of building Success4Life Services.
Through all of those roles, I have worked with young people at very different points in their lives. Some were struggling at home. Some were struggling in school. Some were involved in the juvenile justice system. Some had experienced significant trauma, instability, or loss. Some had made serious mistakes. Some had simply never had the consistency, support, or opportunities that many of us take for granted.
What I learned over and over again is that everyone matters.
The student who is failing matters.
The young person sitting in a secure facility matters.
The child involved in the child welfare system matters.
The teenager who has stopped trusting adults matters.
The young person who has been labeled “difficult” matters.
The person who has made mistakes still matters.
And sometimes the difference between continuing down the same path and finding a new one is having one adult who refuses to give up on them.
That has shaped the way I have always believed services should be delivered.
Young people need structure. They need accountability. They need expectations. They need opportunities.
But they also need relationships.
They need adults who listen, who are consistent, who are willing to have difficult conversations, and who can still see potential when a young person is struggling to see it in themselves.
That is the foundation Success4Life was built on.
When I founded Success4Life almost 11 years ago, I wanted to create something that was individualized, practical, flexible, and relationship-based. I did not want services to simply happen in an office or exist only on paper. I wanted our team to be able to meet people where they actually live their lives and help them work on real goals in real settings.
That may mean helping a young person fill out a job application, prepare for an interview, study for a GED, learn how to budget, reconnect with school, develop healthier routines, practice communication skills, or become involved in a positive activity in the community.
Sometimes it means helping someone accomplish something big.
Other times, it means celebrating something that may seem small to everyone else.
Showing up.
Answering the phone.
Keeping an appointment.
Trying again.
Trusting an adult.
Finishing an application.
Going back to school.
Getting through one difficult day without giving up.
Those things matter.
Today, I am incredibly proud to see that same philosophy being carried out by our team in both Colorado and Wisconsin.
In Colorado, Success4Life continues to work with adjudicated and at-risk youth throughout the state, providing individualized mentoring, life skills, educational support, GED preparation, employment readiness, community transition, wellness support, and other services based on the needs of each young person.
In Wisconsin, we continue to expand our work through Comprehensive Community Services, Youth Justice, and other community-based partnerships. We are building teams, developing new relationships with counties and community partners, and bringing the same individualized approach into new communities.
The systems may be different, but our mission is not.
We want to meet people where they are, build trust, identify strengths, create opportunities, and help them move forward.
I also remain very personally involved in the work.
I enjoy meeting with counties, schools, service facilitators, Youth Justice teams, case managers, treatment teams, and community partners. I enjoy developing new programs, identifying gaps in services, and finding people who share the same passion for this population.
That part of the work still excites me because I never want Success4Life to become just another organization focused on numbers, contracts, or growth.
Growth is important, but only because of what it allows us to do.
It allows us to serve another community.
It allows us to accept another referral.
It allows us to hire another caring provider.
It allows us to help another family.
And most importantly, it may allow us to put one consistent, caring adult into the life of a young person who needs one.
That is what matters to me.
Nearly 11 years after founding Success4Life, and after a career that has taken me through child protection, public education, school administration, and secure youth services, I believe this more strongly than ever:
Everyone matters.
Every young person has value.
Every person has potential.
People are capable of change.
Relationships matter.
And every child deserves at least one caring adult in their corner.
That is the work.
That is the commitment.
And that is what will continue to guide Success4Life in Colorado, Wisconsin, and wherever the future takes us.
