In Episode 6 they interview

Suzanne Greenberg and Julie Thomasma:

Background: Suzanne – Nonprofit CEO | Executive Director with a strong background in leading all aspects for successful operations. Suzanne has a long list of accomplishments. She is currently the executive director of Children Trust Michigan in Lansing, MI. Suzanne has served on the boards
of many nonprofits around Saginaw. Suzanne served as the second Executive Director then President CEO at the Child Abuse and Neglect Council of the Great Lakes Bay Region, being there for 24 years. She strategically grew the organization to reach 4 counties. Suzanne has been the executive director of Children Trust Michigan since 2019.

Julie – Has served as Chief Executive Officer of Child and Family Charities since 2015. Her passion is building supportive services for children, youth and families to thrive in our community.

Actively involved in the community, Dr. Thomasma has served on the Board of Directors for the Exchange Club and Michigan Federation for Children and Families, and she is a fellow Lansing Rotarian. She holds a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She completed her APA accredited clinical internship at Boston Consortium in
Clinical Psychology with a Clinical Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Teaching Fellowship at Boston University.

Her undergraduate work was at the University of Michigan where she majored in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science. Dr. Thomasma lives in Williamston with her husband, David, and two children, David and Aubrey.

Notes:
Child & Family Charities is a valued Prevention Partner of Children Trust Michigan. One of several that provide services and programs for families and children in all of Michigan’s 83 counties.

We will want to provide each of them time to talk about their respective organizations, especially if this airs around the time of end-of-year giving. CTM will want to share a few details about the 2026 Auction.

Becky Burka & Lorri Rishar Jandron asked about these Questions:

1. What inspired you to step into leadership within child advocacy and family support work?
2. How has your leadership style evolved as you’ve navigated challenges in the nonprofit space?
3. What’s one decision or moment that shaped your leadership journey most profoundly?
4. As women leading organizations focused on children and families, what unique perspectives do you bring to the table?
5. How do you balance empathy and strategy when making tough decisions that impact vulnerable communities?
6. Who were the bold women who shaped your path, and how are you paying that forward?
7. What advice would you give to young women considering careers in nonprofit leadership or advocacy?
8. How do you care for your own mental health while supporting others through trauma and crisis?
9. What practices help you stay grounded and resilient in emotionally demanding work?
10. What gives you hope for the future of child and family services in Michigan?
11. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about how we support families, what would it be?

In this episode, Lorri and Becky met with Suzanne Greenberg and Julie Thomasma. 

Suzanne and Julie are partners in Child Abuse Prevention in the state of Michigan. 

Suzanne was able to give us a deep dive into what she does with her work at Children Trust Michigan and Julie was able to share the same about her work at Child and Family Charities. We also learned more about their backgrounds and how they began their work and how they got to the position they are in now.

If you would like to help support either of these great organizations you can head to their website at https://www.childrentrustmichigan.org/ and https://childandfamily.org/.