Nancy McKenzie, Executive Director for Nexus-PATH Family Healing will be retiring at the end of 2020. She leaves behind a legacy of positively impacting North Dakota youth in foster care and families and children suffering from mental health issues.

McKenzie joined Nexus-PATH in 2014 as the North Dakota Director for foster care and family support services. She became the Executive Director over all Nexus-PATH services in 2018. Nancy has spent her career working for healthcare and mental health organizations, dedicating her 44-year career to helping individuals find new paths to success.

I was wondering if you could help me to better understand how early childhood trauma would affect a person’s behavior. Have you seen any correlations of certain forms of trauma and anger in early adolescence?

Brittany, a young Black woman suffering from extensive sexual trauma and abuse, was receiving intensive therapeutic intervention services at Nexus-Woodbourne.

One out of four children will experience a traumatic event before age sixteen. There are key differences between run-of-the-mill stressful times and a traumatic experience. First, it poses a real or perceived threat to the life or well-being of the child or someone close to them (such as a parent or best friend).  Second, it causes an overwhelming sense of terror, horror, and helplessness. And finally, the body generally reacts to this threat automatically with increased heart rate, shaking, dizziness, and rapid breathing due to the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.

My 8-year-old son struggles with impulsivity and has little to no friends that initiate contact with him. He can participate and engage with them but there doesn’t seem to be any bond. How can I help him with his impulse control and fostering friendships?

Every year, thousands of individuals die by suicide and these numbers continue to increase. We can all help to reverse this trend. Here are three simple ways to be a positive force.

We are worried about our 12-year-old son's questions and what it could mean. Is this a phase or something for concern?

As summer ends the reality (whether parents, students, or school systems like it or not), is that most students are headed toward a mostly or entirely virtual fall.

I am getting ready to have my first child and I want the baby to sleep with us in our bed. My husband says he does not care either way, but other family members and friends tell me this is a bad idea because it will cause my child to have future adjustment problems. Is this true?

The current health crisis brought an urgent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) to the masses. Linda Barnhart, a Nexus Family Healing board member and former nurse, saw this as an opportunity to make a difference in her community.

In April 2020, Barnhart reached out to Nexus Family Healing to see what she could do to help the children and families in Nexus care, from the staff and youth in residential care to the foster families across the state of Minnesota. With her history in nursing, she knew it was important to leave as many supplies for the hospitals as possible, and decided to sew masks for local nonprofits in need of PPE.