Staff Spotlight: Kelli DeCook
When Kelli DeCook joined Family Service Rochester 25 years ago, she never imagined she would still be here a quarter-century later.
Kelli grew up in Lakefield, a small community in southwest Minnesota, where her parents owned a bakery. She and her two brothers were introduced early to the demands of a family business. Kelli credits those years helping with buns, frosting doughnuts and taking on responsibilities from a young age with helping form her work ethic.
Her interest in social work began during a high school careers class. After shadowing a county social worker, she knew she had found her direction. She attended Augustana University, competed in track and earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. Later, while working full time and raising two young sons, she earned her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
Kelli came to FSR as a Family Group Decision Making coordinator and facilitator, a position now associated with Family Involvement Strategies. She was drawn to the opportunity to walk alongside people during some of the hardest periods of their lives not to “fix” them, but to help build their capacity to move through difficult circumstances.
The coordinator role also gave Kelli an appreciation for neutrality, systems and differing perspectives. As Family Group Decision Making developed in the United States, she gained opportunities to contribute to broader state and national work involving family engagement. Leadership followed, encouraged in part by mentors and colleagues who recognized strengths in her before she fully saw them herself.
Her career at FSR has included work across several areas. Her first supervisory role was with Aging Services, Family Access Center and Time Trader, and she helped launch Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Byron. She later returned to the work closest to her heart, children and families, and spent roughly a decade supervising child welfare programs before moving into program director and, eventually, Director of Child Welfare Services.
Across those roles, Kelli has valued FSR’s willingness to respond to changing needs. She has seen programs grow, evolve, end and take new forms. For her, that flexibility reflects an organization willing to ask what families and communities actually need rather than continuing an approach simply because it is familiar.
The people have mattered just as much. Kelli describes her managers and colleagues as great people with tremendous potential. Even as a director, she sees herself as working alongside them, learning from them and doing the work together. One of the most rewarding parts of leadership, she says, is watching staff become confident professionals, social workers and managers.
That emphasis on people is also the legacy Kelli hopes to continue. She benefited from leaders who created opportunities, offered mentorship and made room for her growth. Today, she aims to create that same kind of space for staff, managers and families to help people find what they need to succeed. That remains her goal after 25 years.
