Staff

Brenda Willson serves as the Executive Director of FYIdaho. As a native Idahoan and Boise State University graduate, Brenda brings decades of knowledge and experience in what makes our state unique, including the needs and challenges Idaho faces. Willson has years of experience collaborating with families and stakeholders who share a common goal in affecting change and making a difference in behavioral health and substance use awareness and access to resources throughout the continuum of care. Brenda’s ability to empower, inspire and ignite the spark in others has been instrumental in the advocacy of positive behavioral health perception and education at the local, national and global level. Her innovative ideas and partnerships have brought forth many exciting opportunities to lead the way in the sustainability of behavioral healthcare management, services and messaging. Brenda has worked with Idaho’s at-risk youth and adults in substance and mental health education programs as a teacher and facilitator, including Project Kids Quest for the children within the state’s foster care system, and has been a part of connecting families with educational and workplace opportunities at local community housing facilities. Among her many accomplishments, Brenda was instrumental in the opening of new adolescent inpatient programs and integrated rural opportunities for communities outside of the Treasure Valley. Additionally, Brenda is the founder of the multi-state behavioral health and substance use networking group PINE- Partners in Networking Excellence, serves as Chair on the Region 4 Behavioral Health Board, holds the Healthcare Sector Representative spot for the Meridian Anti-Drug Coalition and is a member of the Healthcare Advisory Board for the Boise Chamber. Brenda’s passion continues with FYIdaho to create authentic relationships within our state to serve our families, youth and communities with the highest level of care and outcomes.

Cindy Shotton is the Executive Assistant for FYIdaho. She has been with us since 2005, not counting two brief retirements. Cindy has deep empathy for families struggling with mental health issues, as she and her family have lived experience. She firmly believes in the mission and vision of our organization and has long been proud to be part of it. Most of her spare time is spent keeping up with her son, daughter-in-law and their 2 children and all their activities. She also frequently travels to Canada, while working for us remotely, to visit her daughter and son-in-law and their 4 grandchildren who live in Victoria, B.C. She has a strong commitment to the mission of FYIdaho as she has lived experience within her own world and the ones she loves. Her natural ability to be empathetic and supportive drives her to be a part of the FYIdaho community.

Rochelle Bettis is a Certified Family Support Partner for FYIdaho. She has spent over two decades navigating mental health, educational, and social services for children and transitional age youth. She’s been a trainer for adoptive parents and a Parent Navigator for families raising children with neurobehavioral conditions. She understands the complexities of raising children affected by trauma, serious mental illness, and developmental disability. In her free time, you’ll find Rochelle and her family on the Salmon River.

Jennifer has been a bilingual special education advocate for the last 20 years. She worked for a Parent Training and Information Center, training families, and equipping them with the right tools to become the best advocate for their child/children. There she provided advocacy support, provided resource information, and taught IEP, 504, and resource workshops in both English and Spanish. Later, she worked with a special education attorney, fighting for the rights of special needs children, and ensuring they received the education they required and were legally entitled. It has been her privilege to know and work with many families throughout many different phases of their child’s lives. Supporting families with their struggles and assisting them to be their child’s best advocate has been one of her greatest achievements and biggest reward. Jennifer’s passion is to help and assist every family that she encounters. Her goal is to provide those families the knowledge and tools they need to care for and support their loved ones who have mental health needs. Her own life experience is in the world of autism. The journey of diagnosis, therapies, medical treatment, IEPs, and numerous other challenges can be daunting. Resources and help were hard to come by. The experience was at times overwhelming. That is why she strides to share her knowledge and experience with parents who are going through similar challenges. This is the driving force behind all she does. Jennifer is a mother of four beautiful children, ages ranging from 4 to 25, so she has personal experience of children in multiple school grades and schooling environments. She and her husband are from the South Florida area. After 20 years in San Diego, they moved to the Treasure Valley in 2021. She is excited to work with families in Idaho!

Andrew is a Boise local who was raised here with deep roots in his community. He attended Boise High School where he was honored Graduation Speaker, and then went off to attend school at Western Washington University. After college, he set out to travel the world for 4 years in hopes to gain a more well rounded sense of self and different cultures. He finished with a motorcycle trip around the US, visiting 85 cities, with the intention to find his new home city. He landed back in Boise realizing this was his true home after all. Andrew is a highly skilled communicator with a talent for leading people. He has extensive experience in Leadership & Development through Mentoring, Tutoring, Youth Camp Leadership, Service Trip Leading and more. Andrew has a passion for Mental Health & healing, particularly in youth. He went through his own challenging mental health journey in his 20’s and, after persevering through many years, found restoration through a personal combination of therapy & psychiatry, social support & activity, purpose & contribution, and health & routine. He believes this restoration can also be achieved by others. Andrew taught at Sage International Charter (Speech, Debate, Performing Arts) where he designed and taught curriculums ranging from extensive career projects & entrepreneurship to poetry slams & Ted Talks. He proved a consistent ability to build confidence in students by creating a safe space within his classes. The Special Education Director reported that all of her 7 students had gained noticeable confidence through his classes, and many other students reported his class to be the most impactful class they had ever taken. As a result, Andrew was Honored Freshman Teacher of the Year. Andrew’s other experiences with youth include building 4 High School Ultimate Frisbee programs (Spring 2023) from the ground up, achieving success as far as fielding 2 full teams in 2 weeks at Centennial High School. Andrew is excited & honored to channel his passion for mental health restoration into programs at FYIdaho with his beloved team.

Annika Rademacher [she/they] is our Youth Program Coordinator for FYIdaho. They graduated from Boise State University in December 2021 with a BS in Psychology and Addiction Studies. Annika is passionate about crisis intervention work and is particularly drawn towards working with youths in crisis as a result of their own childhood experiences with mental health. They enjoy using their own lived experiences to empower others and strive to act as an advocate for those still struggling. Annika lives with their best friend/dog, Raja, and loves to take her on hikes and other adventures when it’s warm outside. Annika enjoys spending their free time listening to podcasts, discovering new music, and testing out fun new makeup looks. They find joy in expressing their creativity and creating safe spaces for others to do the same. After work you can usually find Annika hanging out with Raja while enjoying a cup of hot tea and an episode of Modern Family or Drag Race.

Emma James is the Youth Programs Coordinator for FYIdaho. She is a current undergraduate student at Northwest Nazarene University studying Social Work and International Relations. After working and learning in various settings, she has grown a passion for partnering with and supporting individuals who face mental health struggles in all walks of life. Through her lived experience, it has become evident how proper support can genuinely transform people. She has now seen the value in pursuing this in her career and desires to support teens and show them how a place such as the Boise Brick House can be a safe and comforting environment to thrive in. Her heart for this work is shown in a desire to empower youth to reach their full potential and advocate for themselves and others under the support of people who genuinely desire to see them grow.

Fern Adams is the Youth MOVE Social Support Assistant for FYIdaho. She is a current undergraduate student at Boise State University studying Art Education. She was inspired to form YMSS based on her lived experience as a young adult on the Autism spectrum. In a world where neurodevelopmental disabilities are so pathologized, she strongly believes in the power of organizing as a means of support and connection and works to make YMSS a place for neurodivergent teens to do just that. In her free time Fern enjoys reading, working on art projects, and exploring the outdoors.