Please meet Clarque Johnson, GEYFCS's new Executive Director!

Clarque Johnson, Licensed Professional Counselor, received her Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology with a concentration in Child Protection from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She completed her Bachelors of Arts from Benedictine University. 

Clarque has worked as a therapist conducting individual, family, and group therapy with children, adolescents, and adults. She specializes in a variety of clinical presentations such as anxiety, depression, adjustment disorders, disruptive behaviors, school-related issues, attention difficulties, court-ordered treatment, and parent-child reunification. Clarque has worked in various settings including community mental health centers, forensic centers, hospitals, and crisis stabilization centers. Clarque utilizes Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy in treating her clients. Her experience in community, hospital, and court settings equipped her to help navigate challenges and difficulties families may face.

Clarque is passionate about serving the community, creating resources, and providing mental health education. 

In her free time, Clarque enjoys cooking/baking, traveling, watching movies, working out, and spending time with family and friends.

GEYFCS is very excited to have Clarque on board! Clarque will start with the agency on December 12!

With much gratitude and mixed emotions, we say farewell to Deanna Filkins

GEYFCS is bidding farewell to Deanna Filkins, the agency’s full-time executive director for the past 7 years. Deanna built and strengthened new and existing relationships with the community, including the Village of Glen Ellyn, the Glen Ellyn Police Department, the Glen Ellyn Library, Bridge Communities, and the Glen Ellyn schools in districts 87, 41, and 89. Deanna exhibited an exceptional commitment to the agency and the community, working tirelessly to meet ever increasing mental health care needs.

We cannot express enough gratitude for Deanna and the high-quality mental health services she brought to the Glen Ellyn community, especially for those who would otherwise not be able to access services. We are thankful that Deanna has offered to work with us part-time while we transition to new leadership.

We were also sad to see our long-time part-time therapist, Marianne Benedek, leave for private practice, closer to home. We have been grateful for her commitment to our agency and the clients she served.

We will miss Deanna and Marianne tremendously. 

As you decide where to make your donations on Giving Tuesday, please consider giving to GEYFCS. Your donations will help those in the Glen Ellyn community who cannot afford and/or access the mental health care services they need. GEYFCS offers a sliding fee scale, and we never turn anyone away because of an inability to pay.

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GEYFCS serves Glen Ellyn residents or individuals with children who attend (or would) attend a Glen Ellyn school and provides:

·      Individual, Family, or Couples Counseling

·      Crisis Intervention and Support

·      Referral and Linkage to community resources

GEYFCS Intern, Jessica Gul, is now serving as Community Outreach Coordinator!

Please meet our intern and part-time Community Outreach Coordinator Jessica Gul. Jessica is finishing up her internship with GEYFCS but will continue working as the Community Outreach Coordinator.

Jessica is a clinical Master of Social Work (MSW) intern for GEYFCS and has experience facilitating substance use treatment groups for mandated clients and is currently expanding her knowledge base through her work with individuals, adolescents, and families at the agency. Jessica is also stationed at the Glen Ellyn Public Library on Tuesdays to provide services and counseling sessions to individuals and families within the larger Glen Ellyn community. She is currently a graduate student at Aurora University in the dual MSW/MBA program. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Elmhurst University in 2020.

Jessica’s role as a part-time Outreach Coordinator allows her to engage in program development for the agency, maintain communication with local partners, and represent the agency at community meetings. She has also performed grant writing duties for the agency and is passionate about philanthropy and nonprofit administration. 

Welcome to Jessica Walters!

Jessica Walters has recently joined the GEYFCS team as a part-time staff therapist. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 1995 and her Master’s in Social Work in 1999 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a School Social Worker at a local high school for the past 22 years and holds a second Master’s degree in Educational Administration from NIU. Her previous social work experience has included: Work in the prison system, foster care, and Dupage County Health Department as a Respite Worker. She is excited to be starting another facet of her career and is eager to serve the community in this role.