The Grief We Don’t Talk About: Healing Pathways for Youth and Caregivers (11/14/26)

With three decades of experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Shari has served as an Executive Director in multiple mental health facilities and now works as an adjunct professor, private practitioner, and the Training Specialist for the Colorado Department of Human Services. In this role, she provides statewide training on trauma‑informed practices for all residential providers.

Shari is the co‑author of Which Way?, a memoir and guide exploring epigenetic trauma and resiliency, written in collaboration with her mother. As a former foster parent, she is deeply committed to supporting foster and kinship families and offers practical, compassionate strategies for raising youth who have experienced trauma and profound loss.

Shalanda Juniel is a passionate grief educator, coach, and veteran foster parent with nearly 19 years of experience caring for babies, medical foster children with special needs, teens, and sibling groups. A mother of two biological children and four children adopted through foster care, she has lived through the many transitions, heartbreaks, and joys of the foster care community. Shalanda is dedicated to shining a light on the multi-layered nature of grief inherent in the foster care and adoption journey, and to honoring the losses carried by children, biological families, and caregivers alike.