About
Mike Bertrand is the President and CEO of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois. He joined LCFS in 2005 and has served as LCFS’ Northern Illinois director of children services, chief of children’s services, chief program officer and vice president and chief operating officer.With more than 30 years of social-services experience, Bertrand has worked for the Department of Children and Family Services, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Hull House Association and United Healthcare Corporation. Currently, he is also on the board of directors for the Illinois Child Care Association, the Illinois Council on Youth and the International Youth Advocacy Federation.
Bertrand has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
He is passionate about ensuring that we never give up on a child and was a co-creator of the innovative Regenerations Programs (2006) for dually-involved youth, which has produced successful and promising outcomes for children in the juvenile justice and child welfare system.
Currently, Mike is the Board Chair for the International Youth Advocacy Federation and a board member for the Illinois Collaboration on Youth. He also serves on the board of the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, which helps children achieve social, emotional and academic success through a residential treatment center and day school programs. Mike is nationally active in both the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Lutheran Services in America. He currently represents LCFS in the 2018 cohort of Lutheran Services in America’s Results Innovation Lab, where he and Beverly Jones are working to decrease disparate outcomes for children of color.
