Meet our staff

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Linda Fiore, M.A.

Executive Director

Linda has a Masters Degree in Sociology and Social Work from DePaul University and she has over 20 years experience in the field of adoption. She has been active on several adoption councils where she was involved in drafting adoption legislation. Her experience also includes working as a Supervisor and Program Director in Foster Care and providing search and reunion services for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive families. Linda oversees all financial and marketing services, supervises all clinical and administrative staff and counsels adoptive families. Linda has personally been touched by adoption.

Tobi Ehrenpreis, M.A, MPH

Founder and Consultant

Tobi has a Bachelors Degree from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Michigan. She also holds a Masters Degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Illinois. She started the Adoption Center for Family Building in 1996 and had been the agency Executive Director until she passed the torch to Ms. Fiore in February of 2020. Tobi has two daughters by adoption. In 2001, Tobi founded On Your Feet Foundation, an Illinois and Indiana not-for-profit that assists birth mothers following an adoptive placement.

Maggie Gill Benz, LCSW, LMFT

Founder and Consultant

Maggie holds Masters Degrees in Psychology and Social Work from the University of Illinois, and DePaul University. Maggie has over 30 years of experience in the adoption field and is both a licensed Clinical Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist. Maggie is co-founder of the Adoption Center for Family Building. In her role as Clinical Director, Maggie was instrumental in setting the high standards for which the agency is known. Maggie has two adult sons and is a parent by adoption.

La'Shea Gibson, LCSW

Clinical Consultant

La’Shea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has a Master of Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC. She has held previous roles as a Therapeutic Foster Care and Post Adoption Program Supervisor. Her experience also includes work as an Adoption Specialist where she licensed foster care homes and completed adoption subsidies. La’Shea was the Clinical Manager at ACFB for two years where she oversaw home study and interstate services, supervised clinical staff, and counseled adoptive families. She recently relocated to Indiana with her family where she will be providing individual therapy to clients throughout the state of Indiana. La’Shea will continue to work with ACFB as a clinical consultant and also oversee the relative home study program. La’Shea has experienced adoption within her own family with her grandfather being an adoptee.

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Mary Seddon, MPH

Indiana Adoption Coordinator, Northern and Northwest Indiana

Mary works with birth mothers in Northwest and Northern Indiana, and coordinates adoption services throughout the state. Mary has a master’s degree in public health from the University of South Florida and had worked in the counseling field for many years before joining the Adoption Center staff over 10 years ago. Mary and her husband are parents by adoption. Their son and daughter are young adults.

Susan Wilson, M.S

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area and Northwest Indiana

With over 20 years of experience in the adoption field, Sue conducts home studies in the greater Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. Sue is the past co-director of On Your Feet Foundation, an organization that offers support services and grants to birth mothers who have placed a child for adoption. She has a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Chicago State University, and has recently completed CTI, Life Coaching coursework. Sue is married and is a mother of six adult children. She is also a grandmother.

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Andrea Jenkins, MSW, LCSW

Adoption Counselor, Central and Southern Indiana

Andrea has a Master of Social Work from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Psychology with a minor in sociology from Purdue University. Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience working with families. She counsels birth parents and provides home study services to prospective adoptive parents. Andrea is married with two children.

Dana Ellenby-Bergeron, BSW

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area Dana has worked with both birth parents and adoptive parents and managed intercountry adoption programs. She has been conducting home studies in the greater Chicago area for over thirty years. Dana holds bachelor’s degrees in social work and psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dana is married with two adult sons.

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Jaime Lockard, LCSW

Program Manager, Metro Chicago Area

Jaime is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She joins the ACFB team with several years of experience in the field of adoption and foster care. She has worked with all members of the adoption triad including birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. Jaime provides counseling to expectant parents and conducts home studies with prospective adoptive parents. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University Chicago.

Tera Gurney, LCSW

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area

Tera is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience within various nonprofits in New York City and Chicago. She has provided direct clinical services to foster and adoptive parents, birth parents, children and young adults and has developed and facilitated a wide array of trainings focused on parenting education, mental health, and treatment of survivors of sexual violence. She is the proud parent of two young sons.
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Daniela Trevino, B.S

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area and Northern Illinois

Daniela holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Daniela is fluent in Spanish and comes to ACFB with experience in adoption, foster care, and crisis counseling. Daniela works with expectant mothers considering adoption and conducts home studies with prospective adoptive parents in the Chicago area as well as the Northern and Western suburbs of Illinois. Daniela has personally been touched by adoption.

Dawn Saphir, LCSW

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area

Dawn has over twenty years of experience in post adoption, search, and connection field of adoption. She is also an adult international transracial adoptee who has sat on panels for prospective adoptive parents and has worked with internationally adopted children at culture camps. Dawn provides home studies with prospective adoptive parents. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Loyola University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Katy McNamara, LSW

Adoption Counselor, Eastern and Central Indiana

Katy is a Licensed Social Worker who joins ACFB with 8 years experience in child welfare. She more recently transitioned to a school social worker role where she works closely with children and their families. This also allowed more time at home with her husband and daughter. Katy provides adoption counseling to expectant parents and conducts home studies with prospective adoptive parents. She holds a Master of Social Work from Indiana University.

Ellen Ross, MSW, LCSW

Ellen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. Ellen has over 13 years of experience working in the field of social work, providing trauma informed care to children, youth, and families, while working in community-based settings. For the last 11 years, Ellen has worked with children and families involved in the child welfare system, where she has guided relative and non-relative caregivers through the adoption and legal guardianship process. 
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Meghan Cummings

Founder and Consultant

Meghan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has a Master of Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC. Meghan has been within the social work field for over 7 years, which has included working with children, adults, and families. She provides counseling to expectant parents. Meghan is married with two children.

Kelsey Anderson, MSW

Adoption Counselor, Central Illinois and Indiana

Kelsey holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Illinois State University. Kelsey has five years of experience in foster care and home visiting services. She also has experience with adoptions and guardianships for youth in care. Kelsey works with expectant mothers considering adoption and conducts home studies with prospective adoptive parents in Central Illinois and Indiana. She is the proud parent of one daughter.
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Kate Sutton, LCSW, MEd, LSOTP, TMHP

Adoption Counselor, Metro Chicago Area

Kate is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and holds a Master of Social Work along with a Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has over a decade experience in the field of psychotherapy providing trauma-informed care to individuals and groups. Kate provides adoption counseling to expectant parents in the Chicagoland area with communication, empathy, and attention to detail. She has been personally touched by adoption.
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Carolyn Ostafinski, LCSW

Adoption Counselor, Northern and Northwest Indiana Area

Carolyn received her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and her Master of Social Work degree from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her previous experience includes foster care licensing and home study writing, case management and facilitating adoption through foster care as well as counseling in the school setting as a licensed clinical social worker. Carolyn is married and is a mom to a little boy.

Brenda Flores, AA

Office Manager

Brenda has an Associates Degree, and has been with ACFB for over 12 years. As Office Manager, Brenda handles most bookkeeping activities and bill paying and oversees the management of all office functions. Brenda is also fluent in Spanish and functions as a translater, as needed.

Colleen Klosa, BA

Clerical Manager

Colleen has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and joined the ACFB office staff in 2019. She previously worked as an administrative assistant in her family-owned business for over ten years. Colleen joined our staff with a great deal of enthusiasm and a love for children. She is the mother of four kids.