Our staff at Let It Be Us has decades of experience in recruitment, matching and placement within Illinois child welfare.

With a diverse set of professional backgrounds and expertise, Let It Be Us is rethinking child welfare.

Susan A. McConnell, DSW, MBA

Executive Director and Founder of Let It Be Us

Dr. McConnell founded Let It Be Us in 2014 and she is committed to bringing innovative solutions to issues within Illinois Child Welfare. She earned a Doctorate in Social Work Degree from the University of Southern California’s (USC) Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and earned an MBA and BS in Management, Human Resources, and Recruitment from DePaul University. She is also a graduate of Cornell University’s Women in Leadership Program and Northwestern University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program.

Susan is the Chair of the Permanency Committee of the Illinois Statewide Foster Care Advisory Council where she was appointed by the Illinois Director of the Department of Children and Family Services in 2017. She was on the team that established the Heart Gallery of Illinois, the State’s photo listing of children awaiting adoption, which is a child-specific recruitment tool that gives a child a significantly increased chance of adoption. In turn, she and her team have designed the Illinois Waiting Children’s Gallery, a gallery of children in need of foster care and adoptive placements. Susan also designed the Let It Be Us Placement Support Program’s  ‘Open Home Navigator’ Platform which places children who are in emergent need and those who are challenging to place in the safest homes, keeping them out of shelters, and their Foster and Adoptive Parent Recruitment Program, which annually recruits hundreds of potential foster and adoptive parents for children in Illinois foster care.  She is the parent to four children, three of whom joined her family through adoption.  Susan has 30 years of experience in open adoption.  You can reach Dr. McConnell here.

Bryana Hopkins, MPPA

Director of Operations and Finance

Bryana Hopkins is a Northwestern University graduate with a BS Degree in Social Policy and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration. She also holds a Certificate from Northwestern University in Nonprofit Leadership. During college, she worked with various nonprofit, for-profit, and public organizations. Hopkins’ experience working with metrics helps her tell stories and assist children and families through the data she gathers. Hopkins’ goal is to continue to work closely with the children she helps and advocate for all children in the foster care system. You can reach Bryana here.

Vanessa Baie, MSW, LCSW

Director of Child Welfare Services

Vanessa holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC and she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with the State of Illinois. She is also a Licensed Direct Service Child Welfare Employee and is Run 402 and Child Care Act certified. She is currently a PhD student in Clinical Social Work with the Institute of Clinical Social Work in Chicago. Vanessa has over ten years of child welfare experience. She began working initially in foster care as a Permanency Case Worker and then moved into other positions in the field including; foster parent licensing, administration, quality assurance, and risk management, and most recently in clinical social work as a Therapist and Parenting Educator for birth parents and children involved with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Vanessa is deeply passionate about child welfare and committed to improving outcomes for the safety and well-being of all children in Illinois. You can reach Vanessa here.

Cathy Newbury

Director of Foster Home Recruitment

Cathy Newbury is an active foster parent and has been for 17 years. She has experience with both traditional and specialized placements, with private agencies and DCFS. She has extensive training on trauma-informed care for children and teens. Newbury is a licensing coach with Let It Be Us, responsible for working with prospective foster parents and engaging in recruitment strategies to increase the number of licensed foster parents throughout the State of Illinois. Newbury has worked as a Family School Liaison, helping students grow through cognitive-behavior techniques and parental supports. In 2021, she participated in the REACH (Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing) pilot program to build trauma-responsive schools and communities. Newbury lives with her husband and four children, one adopted through foster care, in Washington, Illinois. You can reach Cathy here.

Kendra Wright

Program Coordinator, Springboard to Adulthood and Special Families Programs

Kendra Wright has experience as a caseworker in child welfare as well as supporting teens and young adults, many who have aged out of foster care. She has personal experience with children and adults who have special needs as well. Wright brings her background and passion to the population Let It Be Us serves as part of the Springboard to Adulthood program which focuses on teens and young adults as well as the Special Families program which focuses on connecting children with special needs with specialized foster homes. Wright has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Services from Northern Illinois University where she is also working on her Masters Degree. You can reach Kendra here.

Erin Nysather-Janssens MSW, LSW

Special Needs Child Placement & Recruitment Coordinator

Erin earned her Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Loyola University in Chicago, where she began her social work career working with youth in care in both traditional foster care and group home settings within an elementary school setting. 

Erin has experience as both a foster parent and PRIDE Trainer with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). PRIDE Training provides the DCFS required training for prospective foster parents and continuing education opportunities for traditional foster parents, adoptive parents, and relative/kinship caregivers. Topics for Continuing Education include educational advocacy, discipline, trauma and trauma-informed parenting. Erin is devoted to supporting other foster parents during the training process and beyond.  As foster parent Erin, has welcomed many children into her home as both short and long term placements over the past several years.

In 2022, Erin was appointed to the Statewide Foster Care Advisory Council by the Director of DCFS. As a council member, Erin collaborates with various DCFS representatives and advocates for foster parents throughout the state of Illinois. Additionally, she chairs the Adolescent Issues Committee and the Hospitality Committee.

Erin and her husband are parents to three children, with the oldest living in Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Jeri Bark

Administrative Coordinator 

Jeri Bark brings 4 years of administrative and accounting experience to Let It Be Us. She is an expert in database management, events, and administration. You can reach Jeri here.