Collective
Voices
reconnecting, repairing, and rebuilding
Founder, Trainer, Consultant,
Grief Support Specialist,
Circle Keeper
Jessie Kushner (she/her/hers) is the founder, a direct care provider, trainer, consultant, and a Circle Keeper with Collective Voices. She has worked with teens, young adults, families, and professionals for over 30 years.
Jessie currently provides services that heal, strengthen relationships, give voice, enhance equity, accountability, and respect, and interrupt longstanding cycles of conflict, and repair harm. She is best known for her work in building relationships with diverse populations, delivering trainings and consulting services, and facilitating Peacemaking Circles that are often focused on conflict, harm, and other difficult topics. Jessie uses a restorative framework to create spaces for productive conflict and healing to occur.
Jessie received a B.A. in Outdoor Education; mediator training from the UW-Wisconsin Continuing Studies; training and experience as a Circle Keeper from many friends and colleagues along the way, as well as from the Minnesota Department of Education and Legal Rights Center; the Red Road Approach facilitator training from Generation Red Road; and Grief Support Specialist training from the
UW-Wisconsin Continuing Studies. Additional training and experience come from decades of first-hand experience living life and all that has come with it. Her best teachers have been the hundreds of people she has met while on the road, and the youth, adults, and colleagues she has worked besides. She is humbled and grateful for being able to walk together with people on their and her own life journey.
ADDITIONAL TRAINERS
Peer Support Specialist, Circle Keeper, Trainer
Menkhu Ara Meri Maat (he/him/his) is a Culture Builder. Culture, Arts, and History are topics he enjoys researching. He enjoys working with youth. Menkhu Ara is a state licensed
Peer Support Specialist, and has a master's degree in media business. Most of his work has taken place
in community settings.
Professional Counselor (in training), Coach, Consultant, Circle Keeper, Trainer
Tyler Schueffner (he/him/his), pronounced "Chef-ner," is currently pursuing a master's degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling, with an expected graduation date of December 2024. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Tyler is the owner and operator of Akela's Den Wellness and Consulting. With a holistic approach, Tyler delves into life's purpose and meaning by exploring stories, narratives, ancestry,
history, and cultural perspectives.
As an Air Force Veteran and a graduate of Edgewood College with a degree in Broad Field Social Studies and a concentration in History, Tyler brings a wealth of experience to his practice. He has spent over 15 years as the Street Outreach Coordinator at Briarpatch Youth Services, serving homeless and vulnerable youth across Dane County. This diverse background has shaped Tyler's eclectic approach to support and wellness, which is rooted in strengths,
historical context, empathy, and empowerment.
Looking ahead, Tyler's focus is shifting towards men's wellness, Veterans' issues, professional burnout, and organizational health. He prides himself on accessibility, offering pragmatic and authentic interactions
to all those he serves.
Grief Support Specialist
Heidi Greengus (she/her/hers) offers grief support at Collective Voices. She has 25 years of teaching experience with children, teens, adults, seniors, and families. She has a B.S. in Education from UW-Madison, a Grief Support Specialist certification from UW-Madison Continuing Studies, and a Yoga Alliance 200-HR certification. She is passionate about bringing positive coping and stress-reduction skills to a diverse group people in the community from a wide range of socio-economic, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.
Heidi combines verbal processing with experiential avenues of expression and self-care tools such as mindfulness, breath work, body awareness, and creative arts. Her support empowers individuals to identify unique and innate strengths in order to build emotional resilience, integrate loss and engage again in their lives. She assists in helping people work through the complexity of their grief so they may find acceptance, personal meaning, and growth out of their losses. Please click here to read testimonials about Heidi's work.
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Clinical Consultant, Circle Keeper, Trainer
Christine Taylor (she/her/hers) is the founder of Heart Space, LLC. Christine is a psychotherapist, clinical substance abuse counselor, clinical supervisor, and a mental health provider for the UW-Madison Athletics Department. She has guest lectured for both UW-Madison and Madison College, as volunteer youth mentor. Christine provides clinical supervision services for Collective Voices. As a part of her work with Collective Voices, Christine has had the honor of training and working with
Jessie Kushner as a Circle Keeper with the goal of using restorative practices to address conflict and
increasing mutual understanding.
Christine earned her graduate degree from the UW-Madison. She earned her undergraduate degree with an emphasis in criminal justice from UW-Madison. For the past 20 years, Christine has worked in community based mental health settings serving youth, adults, military veterans, and families. These settings include outpatient and inpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment, jail/jail diversion programming, behavioral health program management. During her tenure as a Behavioral Health Program Specialist at Dane County Department of Human Services, Christine served on the Recovery Coalition of Dane County (RCDC) Able Change Committee. She represented the Dane County Department of Human Services as part of the leadership team for the
Madison Area Addiction Recovery Initiative (MAARI.)
Recovery Coach,
Peer Support Specialist, Circle Keeper, Trainer
Troy Theel (he/him/his) has 30 years of intimate knowledge of drug addiction, and now he's a recovery coach and peer support specialist
supporting people in their recovery.
