Emily grew up in Arcadia and proudly still calls it home. She has been teaching since 2005 and brings years of experience in both general and special education. With a Master's Degree in Education, she is passionate about helping students reach their potential in ways that honor their individual strengths and needs.

Family is at the heart of Emily's life. She is the proud mom of three adult children—Gage, Sierra, and Gavin—as well as a surrogate to three wonderful children and a bonus mom to her boyfriend's three daughters.

Emily was drawn to Wildcat Legacy because of its student-first approach and commitment to providing a safe, supportive environment where every child has the opportunity to flourish. What she enjoys most is seeing students walk through the doors each day with smiles on their faces, building trusting relationships with staff, and feeling like they truly belong.

Outside of work, Emily loves traveling, hiking, attending music concerts, working out, and spending time with family and friends. She was once the lead singer in a band for a short time! If she had to describe herself in three words, she'd choose advocate, dependable, and dedicated.

Above all, Emily hopes every student at Wildcat Legacy feels accepted for exactly who they are—free to share their ideas, discover their strengths, and grow into kind, confident, and independent young adults.

Erica Anderson, LCSW is one of the Clinical Social Workers at Legacy Companies, bringing more than 20 years of experience serving children, youth, adults, and families across behavioral health, developmental disabilities, education, and community-based services.

Erica began her career at the age of 20 providing early autism intervention and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for young children in Minnesota. Over the past two decades, she has had the privilege of supporting children and families from many different perspectives—as a direct care provider, behavioral therapist, school social worker, county administrator, and clinical social worker.

Her professional experience includes residential programming for youth and adults with disabilities, child welfare, behavioral health administration, school social work, and leadership of county programs including Comprehensive Community Services (CCS), the Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) Program, Birth to 3, Recovery Court, youth justice initiatives, and other community-based behavioral health services.

Throughout her career, Erica has been passionate about identifying gaps in services and developing innovative programs that create meaningful opportunities for children and families—particularly in rural communities where resources can be limited. She believes every child has unique strengths, and that meaningful progress begins with strong relationships, collaboration, and meeting people where they are. Erica enjoys partnering with children, families, schools, counties, and community organizations to develop creative, individualized supports that build confidence, foster independence, and create lasting opportunities for success.

Outside of work, Erica enjoys spending time with her family, her dogs and granddogs, reading whenever she can, cheering on her youngest son at football and golf events, and supporting her family's small business.

What Erica loves most about her work is the opportunity to be part of something truly life-changing. Every child and family she has the privilege of serving leaves an imprint on her heart, and her greatest hope is to make a lasting impact on theirs as well.

Emma grew up in Whitehall, Wisconsin, and is proud to still call it home. Family is a big part of her life, and she enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.

Emma joined Legacy Companies because of her passion for helping children and families thrive. She enjoys building meaningful relationships with the youth she supports, walking alongside them through challenges, and celebrating every success—big or small. Emma believes that trust and connection are the foundation of meaningful growth, and she strives to create a supportive environment where each child feels understood, encouraged, and capable of reaching their goals.

One of Emma's favorite parts of her work is watching children gain confidence as they overcome obstacles and accomplish things they once thought were out of reach. Seeing those moments of growth and knowing she played a small part in their journey is what makes this work so rewarding.

Outside of work, Emma enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, exploring the outdoors, and trying new activities that keep life interesting.

Emma lives by the motto, "Progress, not perfection." She hopes every child and family she works with feels safe, valued, respected, and supported. Above all, she wants the children she serves to know they have someone who believes in them, celebrates their strengths, and will be cheering them on every step of the way.

Ashlyn grew up in Eleva and is proud to still call the area home. She currently lives with her boyfriend and their energetic three-year-old, and they are excited to welcome another little one to their family soon. Spending time with her family is one of Ashlyn's greatest joys, and they are at the heart of everything she does.

Ashlyn joined the Legacy team because she was drawn to its mission of meeting people where they are and creating opportunities for them to grow, succeed, and experience life in meaningful ways. She believes every individual deserves to be seen for their strengths, supported through their challenges, and encouraged to reach their full potential.

One of Ashlyn's favorite parts of her role is building genuine relationships with the individuals and families she serves and watching their confidence grow over time. She loves celebrating the small victories that lead to big accomplishments and seeing people discover strengths they may not have recognized in themselves.

One of Ashlyn's favorite memories at Legacy has been watching the individuals we support build genuine friendships. She has had kids tell her they didn't have any friends before coming to Legacy, and seeing those friendships develop has been one of the most rewarding parts of her work. Watching them laugh together, encourage one another, and simply feel like they belong reminds her why this work is so meaningful.

Ashlyn hopes every person who comes to Legacy feels safe, accepted, respected, and believed in. She wants each individual to know they matter, that they belong, and that they have a team of people who truly cares about their success.

Favorite Quote:

"Students may not remember every lesson you taught, but they will always remember how you made them feel."

Ashlyn hopes the individuals she supports don't just remember the activities they did together, she hopes they remember how they felt: safe, valued, and believed in.

Traci grew up in Whitehall, Wisconsin and now lives in the rural Eau Claire area.  She is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience working with children and adults with chronic mental illness.  Traci provides the clinical supervision to the staff at Legacy, but also enjoys doing direct service work with both children and adults.

Traci has a teenager and “menagerie” of animals that keep her busy. Her interests include spending time with her family, reading, crafting, watching baseball, and spending time outdoors.

Teri grew up in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, and currently resides in Eau Claire. She earned her bachelor's degree in Child Development and Family Studies, with a minor in Psychology, from Minnesota State University–Mankato.

Teri brings extensive experience supporting individuals with disabilities through both direct care and leadership roles in residential group home settings. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside children, adolescents, and adults with a wide range of developmental, behavioral, and mental health needs, helping them build confidence, increase independence, and successfully navigate everyday life. Her work has included teaching daily living skills, developing healthy coping strategies, promoting emotional regulation, fostering community involvement, and supporting individuals as they worked toward greater independence, including preparing some to successfully transition into living on their own.

Teri believes that every person has unique strengths and abilities, and she is passionate about helping individuals discover those strengths while building the skills they need to reach their goals. She enjoys developing meaningful relationships with the children, youth, and families she serves and understands that lasting progress comes through patience, consistency, trust, and genuine connection.

At Legacy Companies, Teri is committed to providing individualized, strengths-based support that empowers children and families while creating opportunities for growth, independence, and success.

Outside of work, Teri enjoys reading, playing video games, hunting, watching sports, and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Talitha has dedicated 29 years to serving as a school counselor with the Eleva Strum School District. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in School Counseling, both from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Talitha is a proud mother of three children: Abigail, Madeleine, and Jack. In addition to her counseling work, she has served as an adjunct professor at Lakeland University, teaching at the master's level to future counselors and therapists.

Talitha’s exceptional contributions have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the 2014 Cardinal Pride Teaching Excellence Award, the 2024 School Counselor Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin School Counselor Association, and the 2024 State of Wisconsin Senate Citation. Known for her deep love for children and her unwavering commitment to providing unconditional positive regard, Talitha creates a safe and nurturing environment for her students. She also incorporates therapy dogs into her practice, enhancing emotional support for students. Her compassion and dedication have helped countless students thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

Heather has a bachelor’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation with a concentration in Social Work. She is also currently in graduate school to obtain her Master’s in Social Work (MSW).  Heather has worked in the human services field for over 22 years.  Her experiences include  direct care, management, long term care, working with the department of vocational rehabilitation, providing respite services, and CCS. 

In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her friends and family, her animals, doing arts and crafts, reading, and gardening. Heather also stays busy doing respite for several families on the weekends. 

Heather enjoys working with those of all ages but has a strong passion for children and the elderly.

Empowering people to meet their goals is one of the best things about what she gets to do every day!

Cody lives in Eleva, Wisconsin, with her two children. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Early Childhood. Cody is also a certified Adult CPR, First Aid, and AED instructor through the American Red Cross and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. She is an ambitious and dedicated professional with years of experience supporting infants, children, at-risk and justice-involved youth, older adults, people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, and individuals with substance use, behavioral, or mental health needs. Through these experiences, she has grown both personally and professionally while developing the ability to communicate effectively with clients, colleagues, visitors, nursing and medical staff, parents, and families.

Cody has extensive experience collaborating with multidisciplinary treatment teams to assess each person’s skills, abilities, and interests and develop individualized care plans that enhance their quality of life. She is comfortable working independently when necessary and collaborating as part of a team. Cody also brings strong organizational skills and a clear understanding of the importance of accurate documentation and maintaining confidentiality.

Cody works part-time for Legacy while also serving full-time as a program manager for three adult family homes in the Eau Claire and Chippewa areas. In this role, she supports adults in living as independently as possible and, when appropriate, transitioning into more independent living arrangements.

Breanna is known for her energy, happy disposition, approachable demeanor, empathy, and ability to build strong rapport with a variety of individuals.

Breanna has a strong drive to serve people, by helping them discover their own unique vision for growth and learning.

Breanna is originally from Port Washington, WI and resides in Eau Claire, WI with her husband and 2 boys. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and has a broad background of professional experience. She is trained in a variety of parenting curricula including Circle of Security and Love and Logic. As a family and parenting support peer, Breanna pulls ideas for family wellness from these areas, as well as from her own personal life experiences. Breanna is a member of Scouting Honor Society and an Assistant Scout Master with the BSA where she has had extensive trainings including youth protection training, position specific trainings, outdoors skills trainings, leadership and other trainings and experiences helpful for skill development in youth.  

In her free time, Breanna has two crazy cats who keep her endlessly entertained. She has many interests and hobbies and enjoys spending time in nature, cooking and meal planning, being creative, organizing, walking/hiking, playing games, listening to music, singing, and spending time with friends and family.

Luke grew up in Osseo, Wisconsin, with his two older brothers. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in History.

Luke has always had a passion for working with kids and helping them learn, grow, and reach their full potential. What keeps him coming back each day is seeing the progress students make, even in the smallest moments.

Luke believes that building strong relationships with students starts with getting to know them as individuals. Learning what they enjoy, what they don't like, and what matters to them helps students know that someone genuinely cares. Above all, he hopes his students feel safe, supported, and comfortable coming to him whenever they need something.

Outside of Wildcat Legacy, Luke enjoys fishing, watching football, coaching, and refereeing sports. He also enjoys camping with his family and attending Brewers and Packers games.

A fun fact about Luke: He has a rubber duck collection! And if he could choose any superpower, it would be teleportation.