Donna Bartlett, LCSW, MAT
Donna Bartlett, LCSW, MAT, is a dedicated mental health professional and Community Outreach Liaison at SunCloud Health, where she plays a vital role in connecting individuals, families, and community partners to appropriate levels of care. With over 25 years of experience in the schools, hospital and healthcare industry, she has built a reputation for her expertise in crisis intervention, case management, nonprofit collaboration, and public speaking. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to patient-centered care, ensuring that both adolescents and adults receive timely, coordinated, and effective mental health support. Throughout her career, Donna has held a variety of impactful roles that highlight her passion for community-based mental health services. She began in social services at the county level, supporting families through energy assistance and self-sufficiency programs before advancing to a truancy case manager and program director. Her strong relationships with schools led to a long tenure at Linden Oaks Behavioral Hospital, where she served as a school liaison and later director, helping adolescents successfully transition back to school following treatment. She later continued her leadership in community engagement and business development at Ascension Behavioral Health, further strengthening partnerships between healthcare providers, schools, and families. Donna holds a Master of Social Work from Aurora University and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from National Louis University, and she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. In addition to her liaison work, she maintains a private practice, providing individual and couples therapy helping adolescents and adults navigate challenges in life at school and work also helping navigate grief and support their relationships. Her professional philosophy centers on relationship-building, accessibility to care, and empowering individuals through education and guidance. Driven by compassion and collaboration, Donna continues to make a meaningful impact in the field of mental health by helping people navigate their journey toward healing and long-term well-being.
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• Gottman Level 1 Certification
• Grief Counseling Certification
• Mental Health First Aid
• Aurora University - MSW
• National Louis University- MAT
• Lewis University- BS
• 708 Mental Health Board for Winfield Township
• Winfield School District 34 School Board Member
• Jane Addams High School Board of Directors
• Winfield Education Foundation
• Women's mental health support groups
• Illinois Coalition for Educating at Risk Youth
• DuPage Workforce Youth Council
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the support from my mother and the strength and love she showed me growing up as a single mother of 8 and all she did daily to ensure that her children were loved and supported. The support and lessons I learned from coaches in high school and college-to always work as a team and push harder for things to help others. The trust and support from leaders like Vicki Freier when I was at Linden Oaks to lead with passion. They gave me the space to continue building programs without stifling what I wanted to do, while also acknowledging that I knew what I was doing. At the same time, they helped ground me and kept me focused on what really matters, which is always coming back to the reason I'm doing this work in the first place: to help that individual or that family find the support they need. Having mentors who didn't micromanage but instead supported my vision while keeping me accountable to the mission has been invaluable to my journey.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To follow your passion and lead with integrity and strength ---To always Be Kind to others and listen.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage anyone going into the social work or counseling field to try to get as much experience in different avenues as possible. Don't just stick to one area. Try different community agencies, hospital settings, private practices, schools, whatever you can, to help you understand the path a little bit more. When we only do one of those things, it's hard to get that global perspective. Getting diverse experience not only makes you feel more confident, but it also helps you support individuals in a broader way because you have that knowledge base. Without experiencing different settings, you just don't have that breadth of understanding that makes you truly effective in this field.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The stigma that continues to happen with mental health and the struggle with funding for those services and those that need services
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Education has always been incredibly important to me because I believe it's something no one can ever take away from you. Coming from a family of 8 where I'm number 5, with my mom being a single parent after divorcing when I was in second grade, I learned early on about working for what you want. My mom wanted us all to go to private school, but she didn't have the funds, so I worked and paid for my own high school at St. Francis. When it came to college, I needed financial support, so I got a softball scholarship to Lewis University. My life experiences, including losing my mother, continues to shape the work I do. Her passing motivated me to get my certification in grief counseling because I wanted to help people on that journey. Throughout my career, my passion has always been about helping people, whether that was initially wanting to be a police officer with my criminal justice degree, or evolving into social work where I could connect with individuals and families in a deeper way. Every step of my journey has been driven by wanting to help others find support and succeed.
Locations
SunCloud Health and Naper Clinical Behavioral Services
West Chicago, IL 60185