Heather Gardner

Heather Gardner, B.A.

Operations Program Administrator
Child Protection Center, Inc.

Heather is a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree Majoring in Psychology. She has worked in the social services field for over twenty years. She has extensive experience in the field of mental health and substance abuse treatment through her work in an inpatient and outpatient psychiatric facility as well as a substance abuse treatment facility. Heather has held various positions working with sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking victims and was the Sexual Assault Advocacy and Prevention Program Manager for the Underground Railroad, Inc. in Michigan. These experiences prepared her for her next role as the Coordinator for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Gratiot County. Heather was instrumental in their center obtaining full accreditation through the National Children’s Alliance and coordinating their community’s multi-agency response to child abuse allegations. Heather was employed as a Child Protection Team Case Coordinator with the Child Protection Center for over six years. In this role she conducted forensic interviews of children, psychosocial assessments, and provided courtroom testimony. In 2019 Heather was promoted to the Operations Program Administrator at the Child Protection Center where she oversees, maintains, and develops the Child Protection Center’s core programs and directs the program staff under the guidance of the Executive Director.