Lori Cerar

Executive Director

Lori is the mother of two children, one of whom has profound disabilities. She also has a sibling who has experienced a mental health disorder. Lori has worked as Executive Director of Allies with Families since 2002 and was a family consultant for five years before that.

Lori has been trained in wraparound facilitation, negotiation and mediation, cultural competency, the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health Evaluation Curriculum, Building Systems of Care (with Sheila Pires), and Georgetown University's Leadership Academy. She is also a certified Children's Case Manager. Lori has attended and presented at numerous local, regional, and national conferences.

Karen Greenwell

Project Director
and Newsletter Editor

Karen is the mother of three children, two of whom have been diagnosed with mental illnesses. She has advocated for children with mental health needs and their families at the local, state, and national level since 2000.

Karen began working for Allies with Families in 2002. She authored the "From Hope to Recovery" education program and developed the "Operation Families Together" program. Karen is committed to family and community outreach to focus on family strengths and instill hope for families who struggle with mental illnesses.

Karen has her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Post-Baccalaureate in Elementary Education from the University of Washington. She has presented and taught throughout Utah and nationally.

Tena Beckstrom

Office Manager

Tena's passion is to serve other families that are searching for help and support for their children with mental and emotional challenges. She is the mother of four children and six stepchildren, and has 12 grandchildren. Several of her children have mental health issues including drug addiction.

Tena has worked or volunteered for Allies with Families since 2002, including as a family advocate and a teacher. She has successfully completed multiple courses, including certification from the State of Utah as a Targeted Case Manager. Tena has been part of the Utah Governor's Initiative for Transformation to Adult Living for children aging out of foster care and has presented at several mental health functions locally and nationally.

Jesse M. Higbee

Education Coordinator

Jesse's top priority as Education Coordinator is the organization and implementation of Allies with Families programs into the community. Her commitment is to ensure that the integrity of the curriculum and support of the facilitators teaching the programs are maintained. Jesse joined Allies with Families in 2008.

Jesse has a 25 year background in accounting, sales, and marketing. She also brings to the organization her own experiences, fears, and challenges that come from being a single parent, raising a child faced with emotional and mental health challenges. Jesse lives in Murray, Utah, and has 2 children, as well as 2 grandsons. Her labor of love this last 4 years has been the remodel of her home, which she has done completely by herself - from moving walls to custom tiling. Jesse also enjoys motorcycles, landscape design, and cooking for her family.

Konne Bringhurst

Transition Specialist
and Family Resource Facilitator

Konne is a single mother who has three young adult children, a granddaughter, and has been a foster parent. She has a love for youth and children and worked for 7 years in treatment facilities that serve youth with addictions and mental health needs. Konne, who raised her children on her own for 10 years, helped them with their addictions and mental health challenges. They have been sober now for 7 and 6 years, respectively.

Konne has been with Allies with Families since January, 2010. She is the Transitional Specialist, helping to revise, update, and teach “Growing Up Without Growing Apart”. She also works as one of the Family Resource Facilitators at The Children’s Center in Salt Lake City.

Konne graduated from University of Utah with her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Criminology.

Alcarita Martinez

Family Resource Facilitator

Alcarita has four children and four grandchildren with the fifth one on the way. She has experienced substance abuse with siblings and other family members, but when it hit her own children and was the cause of her oldest son being mentally disabled, she knew mental illness had hit home. Her son’s illness has taught Alcarita, her husband, her children and grandchildren that hope, love, understanding and a lot of patience is what “family” is all about.

She has worked at a couple of community clinics in the valley for 5 years as a Medicaid Eligibility Specialist and as a Registrar for 2 years. Her personal experience has given her the compassion and hope for the mentally ill patients she assisted during her employment at the clinics. Alcarita looks forward to being a part of an organization that is based on mental illness awareness and recovery.

Jacqueline Barco

Youth Support Coordinator

Jackie has a background in social science research and mental health field experience. She received a B.A. in Psychology in 2006 from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. in Health Promotion and Education in 2010 from the University of Utah. Her present research interests include gender-based violence and its impact on the mental health of women.

As a Youth Support Coordinator with Allies with Families and Utah Family Coalition, Jackie aims to develop, implement, and promote an advocacy program that will assist young people with mental health challenges to use their voice and experiences to change state policy that affects mental health.

Aside from career activities, Jackie is a serious practitioner of the martial arts. She holds a first degree brown belt in Goshin Justu Karate and cross-trains in other martial arts, including jiu jitsu. She attended various martial arts seminars and boxed as an amateur for two years in Erie, Pennsylvania. She hopes to use her experience in combative arts to become a martial arts instructor and help women build physical self-confidence and improve their holistic health.

Sarah Greenwell

Office Assistant

Sarah has been involved in mental health advocacy for most of her life, serving as an advocate for herself and others. She is a child and sibling of individuals with mental illness as well as having her own diagnosis. Sarah is very grateful for all the opportunities she has had to educate those around her about the truth of mental illness.

Sarah is currently enrolled in the American Sign Language Interpreter program through Davis Applied Technology College and hopes to one day qualify to work with the Deaf Community using the language she loves. One of her many goals is to see and help increase Youth Advocacy and Transition Services.

Elizabeth Cerar

Title Coming Soon

Bio coming soon...