Our team

Leadership Team

Lauren Wells

Founder/CEO
With a history as an adult TCK and a background in Child Development, Lauren studied preventive care science to create a company dedicated to helping TCKs thrive. 
Learn more about Lauren ➡️

Elizabeth Vahey Smith

COO
As a TCK mom with a background in counseling, Elizabeth sought preventive care TCK resources for her children and found none. Now she works to fill that need.
Learn more about Elizabeth ➡️

Tanya Crossman

Director of research & International schools
An Adult TCK, Tanya has a great mind for the intricacies of excellent research and uses her experience to create research-based services.
Learn more about Tanya  ➡️

Christy Carmean

Director of Operations
Christy is a Mom of TCKs with a background in Education.  Her passion for healthy families, thriving schools and supported caregivers makes her a great fit for the team.
Learn more about Christy ➡️
The TCK Coaches
The Debriefers
The Dream Team
The Interns
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Providing our excellent Family Care Services, the debriefers have rich experience in TCK Care and thorough training in the TCK Training Debrief and research-based TCK care to provide excellent direction to parents in debriefs and family care packages. 

Evan & Jewel Evans
Together the Evans spent 39 years working with TCKs at two different international schools in the Ivory Coast and Senegal, West Africa. They have worked extensively in training personnel to work among TCKs and are international speakers on TCK issues. The Evans have 4 adult TCKS who are now married and are all raising TCKs of their own.  The Evans are located in Florida and offer Platinum and In-Person Debriefs.
 
Sam & Anna Danforth
The Danforths are both TCKs. Anna from Cameroon and Sam from the Central African Republic and D.R. Congo. They met at boarding school and later built their lives in South Africa, where their own children also grew up as TCKs. Sam is a pilot and aviation mechanic, and Anna is an expat family consultant and trainer. Together, they serve the global community by offering debriefing and training for expat families and TCKs.  The Danforths are located in South Africa and offer Platinum and In-Person Debriefs.
Christy Carmean
Christy has a background in education and served as the Director of an elementary school for TCKs in West Africa for 8 years. She oversees our Certification Courses and works to connect people with the services that would benefit their families and organizations. As the mom of 3 TCKs with over 10 years of cross-cultural experience, she is passionate about sharing the education found at TCK Training with others. Christy is currently living in US and offers Pre-Departure Training as well as In-Person and Virtual Debriefs.
Katy
Eisfeld
Katy has an education background, both in TCK Care and in the general classroom setting.  As a Pathways Alumni and former TCK Training Intern, Katy has great life experience and training.  Katy is one our Debrief Certification Instructors and provides excellent In-Person and virtual debriefing as well as pre-departure trainings and family check-ins for those already living abroad.  Katy previously lived in China with her husband and 2 kids and currently lives in Minnesota.
Christine
Van Tiem
Christine grew up as a TCK in France and the US. She has previously worked as a school social worker for young children with additional needs. The gift of raising her beautiful children as TCKs has deepened her desire to see global families thrive. She has lived in the UK for over a decade and currently resides in Scotland.  Christine offers In-Person and Virtual TCK Debriefing, Season of Crisis Debriefs, & Family Check-ins.
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Adult TCKs themselves and experts in coaching and/or counseling, our TCK Coaches lead adult and teenage TCKs through our Unstacking Sessions processing childhood experiences and Entering Adulthood Coaching for those being launched into the next stage of their life.

Grace Joo Benedict

Grace is an adult TCK who has lived in S. Korea and the US as a child and in China as an adult. Working with TCKs at an international school in China deepened her understanding of and passion for TCKs and their unique experiences in life. An ICF-certified coaching training program equipped Grace to walk alongside those who desire to process their experiences and grow from (and beyond) them, living out the richness of their story.

Sam Danforth

Sam is an adult TCK born and raised in central Africa. In 2014, he moved to South Africa with his wife and two kids, working in aviation and Business as Mission.  Through his wife's (Anna Danforth) role at TCK Training, he saw the power of strong systems for supporting global families and joined the team.   While continuing full time in aviation, Sam considers it a privilege to also support expat families while drawing on his cross-cultural background.

Amber Maxwell

Amber is an adult TCK born and raised in West Africa. For 12 years post-college she lived between South Korea and Senegal, where she worked with TCKs as a boarding home supervisor in the international school setting. In 2020, Amber recognized a growing need for greater support within the TCK community and decided to pursue a Master's in counseling. Amber now works as a therapist in Georgia, but continues to carry a passion for meeting the unique needs of TCK's and their families. 

Lauren McCall

Lauren is an adult TCK who grew up in East Africa and has spent her adult life in the U.S, working with TCKs for nearly 10 years in various capacities. Throughout her work and relationships with other TCKs, she has become passionate about the unique and invaluable experiences that each TCK has, and desires to be a part of providing preventative care to TCKs in multiple contexts, resulting in thriving and healthy ATCKs. Lauren has a Masters in Public Health.

Katie Solvig

Katie is an adult TCK who grew up in West Africa and repatriated to the US in 2017. Growing up, Katie saw the unmet need for care for TCKs, which inspired her to pursue a master's in clinical mental health counseling. Now working as a therapist, Katie has developed a deep passion and desire to support TCKs and their families as they work to understand and navigate their unique stories through her personal and professional experiences.
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Our Dream Team Members have niche roles that they fill so well! 

Jessi Bullis
Presenter
Jessi is an Adult TCK who grew up in Singapore, England, Turkey, and Germany. She has a passion for TCKs and the unique struggles they face. She received her undergraduate in psychology and a seminary degree in counseling for the purpose of caring for TCKs well. Jessi's loves getting to walk through the repatriation journey with Adult TCKs. 
Anna Danforth
Presenter
Anna Danforth grew up in Cameroon as a TCK where she developed a passion to help global families thrive overseas. She holds a degree in secondary French education and an MAED in Instruction and Curriculum. She married her high school sweetheart from DR Congo and they raised their two kids in Lesotho and South Africa.  Anna is the author of “Raising a Family Overseas” and "Sam's Roommate Disaster." 
Ana Júlia Borges
Curriculum Development
Ana Júlia is an adult TCK, who was raised between Brazil and Uruguay. As an adult, she briefly lived in Japan and Singapore, working in TCK care, and studied Political Science in Ukraine. These experiences have influenced her academic path, leading her to pursue a Master's degree in Sociology. Ana is passionate about TCK care and works with our team to design and develop more quality resources for TCKs and families, resources that she would have loved to have while growing up as a TCK.
Chesed Dent
Presenter
Chesed grew up as a TCK in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. She is committed to providing safe spaces of cross-cultural transition support for TCKs and other global nomads.  Since 2012 she has been working in higher education training both TCKs and mono-culturals to navigate culture shock and reentry. When she isn't doing that, she's probably painting watercolor maps, hanging out with her husband (who looks like a young Santa), and maybe eating french fries.
Melanie Reuter
Director of TCK Training - Germany
Melanie is an adult TCK, raised in Perú and Germany. As an Art-Therapist her heart beats for preventive-care, especially for TCKs and their families. Besides her experience in clinical mental health, she has worked over 10 years with MK-Care Germany. She believes in the potential of supporting TCKs during their transitions in order to build a strong identity and resilience. She lives in Germany, is 33 years old, loves to paint during travel.  
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Our robust internship program  provides  interns with small business experience and plentiful coaching and training opportunities.

Aiko Ishii Casas

Curricula Intern & Apprentice (2024-2026)

Aiko is a Japanese Filipina and an Adult TCK who grew up in Japan, the US, and China. She returned to Japan to pursue her extended studies, majoring in psychology and minoring in European Studies.  Her current research examining the identity formation of TCKs involves narrative analysis. In the future, she plans to become a psychologist who can help TCKs with their challenges.

Carmen Doerwald

Research Intern & Apprentice  (2025-2026)

Carmen is an Adult TCK with parents from Germany and Hong Kong. She spent her entire childhood in China and completed her Master’s degree in Social and Organizational Psychology in England. As a two-time cancer survivor, Carmen also manages her blog and podcast, "How Did You Find Out?"—a platform dedicated to sharing the stories of cancer survivors and raising awareness. Recently, she launched her book, "Navigating Survival: Redefining Cancer and Breaking Borders."

Liz Stuart

Pathways 
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Liz is an Adult TCK who grew up in Indonesia and now lives in the U.S. She studied Psychology and Bible in college and spent two years working at an international school in Germany. A homeschooling mother of two teenagers, she is passionate about mentoring TCKs at every stage of life.

Celia Camara

Operations
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Celia is a TCK who moved from the Ivory Coast to rural Spain as a child, eventually landing in the UK for studies. Having lived the challenges of cultural dislocation and identity firsthand, she's dedicated to turning those experiences into practical support for the TCK community. I’m thrilled to join TCK Training to blend my background in research and project management with my heart for cross-cultural connection.

Ashlyn Fawley

Research Communication
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Ashlyn joined the TCK Training team to help translate specialized data into family well-being. As a parent of three TCKs and a licensed clinical social worker, Ashlyn is passionate about the intersection of research and practical care for globally mobile families. She draws on her professional background as an adolescent and family counselor and lecturer in behavioral science to foster deeper resilience within the international community.

Ana Ramirez-Blanco

Research 
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Ana is a Spanish-Mexican-American ATCK with academic roots in psychology and fashion psychology. Growing up across cultures sparked a lifelong curiosity about identity, belonging, and how we come to feel at home in ourselves. Discovering the term TCK brought clarity and validation to her own experiences, inspiring her to connect with the TCK community. Her work and interests now center on self-expression, creativity, and practical pathways to building self-cohesion — with hopes of contributing supportive tools for others navigating cross-cultural identity journeys.

Chandler Gilow

Research
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Chandler is a registered nurse and has been in the global worker community for nearly a decade. She has lived in the Middle East and Tanzania with her husband and two girls.   As a result of navigating birth abroad with their second daughter, she started The Global Birth Coach to provide the resources she wished had been available during their perinatal journey. Over the last six years, she has been devoted to developing educational content to empower families. However, her experiences have also grown a passion for advocating for stronger organizational care plans for families in the perinatal season and for more research to better understand the needs of cross-cultural families.

Grace Roberts

Curricula
(Jan-Dec 2026)

Grace is an Adult TCK who spent over ten years living and studying in the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam. These formative cross-cultural experiences shaped her global perspective, curiosity, and desire to support individuals navigating identity, transition, & belonging. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Counseling and Entrepreneurship and married into the military. Grace is excited to participate in furthering TCK Training's holistic mission by empowering and equipping the next generation of TCKs through research-informed responsive care.
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We believe...

We believe that children shouldn’t take the backseat to their parents’ work or ministry.
From pre-departure to debriefing, we come alongside families with excellent care throughout their globally-mobile journey.

We believe...

We believe that healthy families and life abroad aren’t in contradiction.
If you’re working in a TCK care role, we can equip you to do so with high quality resources and education.

We believe...

We believe that family health is the best investment your sending organization or company can make.
If you send families to live abroad, it is critical that you understand and implement best practices in TCK care. We can help you do that.

We believe...

We believe that the challenges of your childhood as a TCK can be honored, addressed, healed and utilized to move toward thriving as an Adult TCK.
If you were raised cross-culturally, we want to help you thrive in adulthood. We understand the unique nature of that upbringing and can help you understand how it’s impacting your life now.

We believe...

We believe that we can change the future through investing in the health of TCKs. 
We understand the unique nuances of international schools and prepare staff and students to thrive. 

Frequently asked questions

What is a TCK?

There is rich discussion on the precise definition of a TCK. When we're developing our materials, we focus on children who have lived outside their passport country for a significant portion of time with the intent to repatriate. We intend this definition when we say TCK. However, we realize that there are a lot of circumstances that blur the lines. Regardless of how you fit into this definition, we've found that what's good for TCKs is good for everyone. 

Who is TCK Training for?

All TCKs and those who care about TCKs. 
Whether you care for TCKs because you have a couple in particular that you love, or you work for an organization and found yourself an honorary auntie or uncle; whether you're in a TCK care position or Member Care and wondering how to support the TCKs within your org; whether you're leadership in an organization, company, military, or government services that send families abroad, or you're an international school or worldschool hub receiving globally mobile children; whether you're a church who sends missionaries or other financial contributor to relocating families internationally, we're here to help you intentionally and thoughtfully care for your TCKs with excellence.

Do you offer missionary discounts?

Our pricing indicates what services receive a non-profit discount. Many of our services keep prices low across sectors because we want to be accessible to all families. Some services are provided at a subsidized rate. This is with great thanks to our support partners whose generous donations enable us to provide excellent rates for non-profit sectors. If you'd like to support TCK Training, you can do so here.