After more than twenty years of being in the trenches (and courtrooms) with angry, divorcing parents who were fighting custody battles and losing the war that matters––the one for their child’s well-being, Lori Bonnevier MSW, LCSW had absorbed gallons of pain, hurt, and sorrow from thousands of suffering children (and their parents and the legal community).

She knew there was a better way.

So, Lori created a preventative model, by serving in a consultation and coaching role. She also knew that authoring a book would be a vehicle to both reach parents and expand the services she had long provided to children and families.

A licensed clinical social worker in the State of Oregon, Lori wrote You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex over the last few years. It came to life as a “choose-your-own-outcome” style story for parents navigating high-conflict divorce who found themselves stalled in litigation about the best decisions for their children. Here, Lori’s life’s work is creatively proffered in a fun, useful, meaningful book to help move families from crisis to healing––and thriving.

Divorce is far more prevalent than we’d often like to admit, and heart wrenching for those involved––especially the children.

Since 2002, Bonnevier has practiced primarily as a child custody evaluator and regularly provides testimony as an expert witness. In these roles, she also serves as a therapist, mediator, parent coordinator, coach, and consultant.

Lori’s mission is to provide a competent, thorough, and unbiased assessment of all family members with the goal of developing a comprehensive plan that allows children the opportunity to maintain safe, healthy, and ongoing relationships with both parents and other significant people following a change in the family system.

Bonnevier graduated from Portland State University in 2000 with a master’s degree in social work and holds undergraduate degrees in the disciplines of psychology and human services and an associate degree in child development. She has spent her career building her thriving private clinical practice, Child-Focused Choices. She is highly respected within her professional community and well-regarded as an expert in her field.

The Honorable Judge Eve Miller acknowledges Lori’s expertise, “The courts throughout Oregon listen to Ms. Bonnevier’s ideas about the best interest of children, and it would behoove parents in high-conflict litigation to do the same.”

As a seasoned child custody evaluator, Lori invites readers to walk beside Vanessa and Luke, as they face challenges prevalent in divorce in You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex. Readers will have the unique opportunity to make choices about divorce, their children, and how to participate in a custody evaluation to achieve the best outcome. Through this insightful and witty choose-your-own-outcome-style story, Lori shares more than two decades worth of trade secrets to help others navigate the complex and often-thorny experience of participating in family law litigation.

By the end of the book, readers will know how to:

• Protect their child’s emotional health and well-being.
• Acquire resources to manage specific challenges.
• Discern which attorney will hurt or help their efforts.
• Impress the heck out of their evaluator.
• Save their family time and money.
• Keep their sanity and thrive on the other side.

Having expanded her practice to include consulting, coaching, and speaking, Lori is able to share her message of Child-Focused Choices with a larger audience outside of the Portland, Oregon area. She is also currently developing curriculum for a college level course in Practice, Child, Youth, and Family Studies at a state university for which You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex is expected to be utilized as part of the required course reading.

To get a sneak preview of You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex, visit: www.ChildFocused.net/Book

Full Bio

Lori Bonnevier, MSW, LCSW
Court-Appointed Evaluator, Best Interest Consultant, and Custody Evaluation Coach

Lori Bonnevier, MSW, LCSW, is a Court-Appointed Evaluator and Custody Evaluation Coach and author of You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex: Hacks, Hints, and Hell No’s to “Win” Your Child Custody Evaluation.

For over twenty years, she has practiced primarily as a child custody evaluator and regularly provides testimony as an expert witness. In these roles, she also serves as a therapist, mediator, parent coordinator, coach, and consultant. As an evaluator, Lori’s mission is to provide a competent, thorough, and unbiased assessment of all family members with the goal of developing a comprehensive plan that allows children the opportunity to maintain safe, healthy, and ongoing relationships with both parents and other significant people following a change in the family system.

A licensed clinical social worker in the State of Oregon, Lori graduated from Portland State University in 2000 with a master’s degree in social work and holds undergraduate degrees in the disciplines of psychology and human services and an associate’s degree in child development. She has expanded her practice to include consulting, coaching, and speaking. Lori is now able to share her message of Child-Focused Choices with a larger audience, beyond her homebase of Portland, Oregon.

Lori is currently developing curriculum for a college level course in Practice, Child, Youth, and Family Studies at a state university for which You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex is expected to be utilized as part of the required course reading. She is also a former adjunct in the Human Services Department at Kaplan University.

Her co-parent is a lieutenant firefighter and paramedic. They share a love for music, nature, humor, sports, cooking delicious food, the divine spirit, their two dogs, and two fabulous children, Cooper and Finley. Their children are conscientious students and good friends to all, have both earned their black belts, are accomplished athletes in basketball and softball, and play the guitar and piano. They are two of the best humans Lori knows and her grandest pride and joy. Her website is: https://childfocused.net/

Byline Bio

Lori Bonnevier, MSW, LCSW is a Court-Appointed Evaluator, Best Interest Consultant, and Custody Evaluation Coach and author of You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex: Hints, Hacks, and Hell No’s to “Win” Your Custody Evaluation. Her website is https://childfocused.net/

Broadcast Bio

Lori Bonnevier, MSW, LCSW is a Court-Appointed Evaluator, Best Interest Consultant, and Custody Evaluation Coach and author of You Don’t Have to Crush Your Ex: Hints, Hacks, and Hell No’s to “Win” Your Custody Evaluation. For more than two decades, she has helped parents effectively navigate high-conflict custody battles. Her website is https://childfocused.net/

Financial Strategies with Patrick Schmitt with Special Guest Lori Bonnevier

Speaking Engagements

2014/2015 Licensed Board of Clinical Social Workers – ethical guidelines, development task  force for custody and parenting time evaluations 

2012 Guest Lecturer – Marion County, multidisciplinary professional group  

2008 Guest Lecturer – Domestic relations, relocation case considerations for children – State  of Oregon Family Law Conference, Salishan 

2007 Guest Lecturer – Cross Examination, the expert witness – State of Oregon Family Law  Conference, Salishan 

2007 Guest Lecturer – Preparing your client for a child custody evaluation – Clackamas  County Bar Association monthly meeting 

2005 Guest Lecturer – Modalities of a child custody evaluation – Multnomah County brown  bag lunch series  

2003 Guest Lecturer – Patricia Cox and Associates, LLC, child custody evaluation and  mediation services available – Clackamas County Bar Association monthly meeting

Topics Lori Can Cover

Lori Interview Questions

Note: This online press kit and contact form are intended for use by the media. If you are not a member of the media and are interested in finding out more about Anita Sanchez, Ph.D., please visit www.FourSacredGifts.com. Thank you!

Media contact:
7150 SW Hampton St. #240 Portland, OR 97223
LBonnevier@ChildFocused.net
(503) 768.9127, or blog www.StorytellerToTheMedia.com