Leslie Byers Email and Phone Number

Leslie L. Byers is a versatile business professional with 30 years of rewarded results at various organizations. Leslie specializes in all aspects of business where a highly energetic, technically competent, honest and results oriented individual is needed. Leslie is also the mother of a child that has lived with mental illness for over twenty years. As such, she and her family have personally experienced the realm of children's mental and behavioral health systems of care. Armed with what her experiences taught her, Leslie left the very lucrative field of IT to focus her considerable energies towards enhancing the realm of children’s mental health by becoming a Family Professional at a local residential facility for children with severe mental illness/behavioral disorders. Leslie tirelessly devotes both her professional and personal time to providing direct service and support to families trying to access the system of service for their child and to changing a system that is often not responsive to the needs of these families. She assumed the leadership position of Chair of the Board for the Nebraska Family Support Network (NFSN) in February 2007 when this vital family organization was in danger of closing its’ doors, and has continued to direct its operations during a major state-wide children's mental health reform effort. Leslie currently provides education, advocacy, training, mediation, and consulting to professionals and direct services to children and families in the child-welfare system.Specialties: Leslie lectures across the nation on the family perspective into children’s mental health treatment; how professionals can utilize the family’s insight/expertise; and how families can best advocate for their children. In addition, Leslie serves on multiple local/statewide and national mental health committees and has active lead roles in various mental health initiatives.