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.

D’Anne Richardson

Office Manager and Accountant

email D'Anne

D’Anne is the mother of four children and has six grandchildren. She has been married to the greatest husband and her best friend for over thirty four years. She has been with Allies since May of two-thousand and eleven. She enjoys being part of the Non-profit sector, has been employed by several other 501-C’s and has volunteered countless hours through the past twenty-five years. She has an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts (Music, Dance and Art Classics) but has been providing accounting and office administration for her own business and for others for a span of thirty-five plus years.

As a business owner for thirty years, she brings a well rounded knowledge of what it takes to manage, market, and meet state, federal and governmental regulations for varying industries and business models. Her focus here at Allies, is to provide seamless administration and accounting processes for her Executive Director, the Family Facilitators, our Program Coordinators, Partners in kind, and for clients requiring direction to the correct team support. While D’Anne does not have immediate family with any mental challenges she has a sincere appreciation of the enormous responsibility some parents are faced with every single day. She does however, travel frequently on her weekends to another state to care for her elderly mother. She manages the medical, financial and nurturing care in the final chapter of her Mother’s life with stern regard to dignity for the elderly.

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.

Cami Roundy

Family Resource Facilitator

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Cami is the mother of 4 children, including twins, and has been married to her husband for twenty years. She has several close family members with mental illness, including a brother who passed away from substance abuse.

Cami has always had a strong desire and passion to help others, and has an educational background in Social Work/Psychology. She has worked and volunteered in many different areas of mental health and substance abuse treatment. Cami enjoys any family time, travel, watching her kids play sports, and photography.

Frida Burgueno-Vargas

Family Resource Facilitator

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Frida Burgueno Vargas is a single mother of one who has with behavior issues. She got involved with mental health issues after her daughter’s needs were not addressed by the preschool she was attending. Frida’s daughter received early intervention services from Las Vegas Nevada and currently receiving mental health services in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Frida has a B.A in Sociology/Social Work from California State University, San Bernardino. She is currently enrolled at University of Phoenix trying to get a M.A in Adult Education. She has worked with families and children in different state funded programs. She started working for Allies on May 31 2011 and is happy to be a part of such a wonderful team.

Holly Nielsen

Family Resource Facilitator

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Holly Nielsen is a proud mother of a 9-year-old son. Her passion for many years has been children's rights and families. She and her family recently relocated from Las Vegas, Nevada to Logan, Utah and have loved the feeling of community Northern Utah brings. Holly joined the Allies family in 2011.

Holly has close to 20 years of experience working in human services. She started her career working as a Children's Advocate in a domestic violence shelter. Since then, she has worked predominately in the mental health field specializing in HIV/AIDS, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Disabilities. Holly is also slowly working on her PhD in Public Health Administration through Utah State University.