Facilitator Bios of Co-Parenting Classes to take Through Divorce with Divorce Education MN

Marilyn Groenke
Founder, Facilitator, Program Manager

Marilyn Groenke has facilitated co-parenting classes since 1999. She saw a need for expanded class offerings serving the metro area, and in 2006 founded “Co-Parenting Kids Through Divorce.” She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BA degree in sociology and psychology. She also holds a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Hamline University School of Law. Ms. Groenke has worked as a social worker for Hennepin County Family Services, Minneapolis Public Schools, a Half-Way House for Women, and a residential crisis shelter for children. She is a Family Mediator and Parenting Consultant. Ms. Groenke mediates at Hamline Mediation Center, and coaches mediation trainees at Dispute Resolution Institute. She also facilitates small groups of parents who are court ordered to attend an intensive, five week co-parenting program. Marilyn is an active member of the Minnesota and national chapters of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She is also a member of Conflict Resolution MN, the MN State Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, and is on the MN Rule 114 Family Neutrals Roster.

Jessica Kuchta-Miller is the primary facilitator of the legal class. She is a licensed attorney and a Rule 114 qualified neutral for both civil and family matters under the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. Ms. Kuchta-Miller manages the divorce mediation program at the Mediation Center for Dispute Resolution at Hamline University School of Law. Prior to that she worked with and advised community mediation programs throughout the Twin Cities and has served as an adjunct professor at Hamline University School of Law since 2002.

Ms. Kuchta-Miller earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, with a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Hamline University School of Law, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University. She has eleven years experience in mediation and mediation training, as well as in the coordination and facilitation of co-parenting programs. She is a child of divorce and the parent of three children.

MiaLisa E. McFarland graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN. She worked with Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP from 2007-2009 where she practiced family law. In addition to her work as an attorney, Ms. McFarland is a mediator and has taken Hamline’s training on Parenting Time Expediting and Parenting Consulting. Prior to her work in the legal world, Ms McFarland was an educator in Brooklyn, New York. She has a Master’s in Education from Columbia University Teachers College and does work as an education consultant. In her spare time, Ms. McFarland is the Secretary and a Board Member of Conflict Resolution Minnesota, a volunteer mediator for Community Mediation Services and a volunteer at Feed My Starving Children.

Barbara A. Frick is a graduate of Hamline University School of Law, and has been licensed to practice law in both Minnesota and Arizona since 2004. Ms. Frick is a solo practitioner attorney practicing primarily in the area of family law. Ms. Frick is also the owner of Family Harmony, LLC, under which she provides services as a family law mediator, parenting consultant, parenting time expeditor, custody evaluator, private SENE/FENE, custody and parenting time evaluator, and court-ordered offsite parenting time supervision. Ms. Frick is a Rule 114 Qualified Neutral for both civil and family matters under the Minnesota General Rules of Practice and she is a contracted mediator at the Mediation Center for Dispute Resolution at Hamline University School of Law. Ms. Frick is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Ramsey County Bar Association, Arizona Bar Association, Association of Families and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), Minnesota Association of Families and Conciliation Courts (MNAFCC), Minnesota Association of Custody Resolution Specialists, and the Supervised Visitation Network. In her spare time, Ms. Frick also volunteers with the Ramsey County Pro Bono Mediation Program, Wills for Heros, and she is a Board Member of the Minnesota Chapter Supervised Visitation Network.