Lisa Cruden has over 20 years of experience in working collaboratively with community partners, local colleges, universities, faith-based communities and the non-profit sector to provide program development expertise, supervision, and leadership. Lisa received her MSW from Grand Valley State University, where she is also an Adjunct Instructor in the School of Social Work.
Currently, she is the VP of Programs at Family Promise of West Michigan, where she leads a team of social workers and support staff who provide housing, shelter and support services to children and families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Her career has been centered on working with families experiencing the traumatic effects of
homelessness. She regularly trains and supervises staff, interns and peers on how to recognize trauma, understand the relationship between trauma and housing insecurity & homelessness. She believes and advocates based on a Housing First Approach to her work, all deserve housing with no pre-conditions