Dr. Amy Geinert has joined the board of directors at Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC), bringing decades of experience supporting students and families. Dr. Geinert’s appointment to the volunteer board brings valuable insight into student behavioral health and school partnerships, helping guide the organization’s strategic direction.
Dr. Geinert, a long-time school counselor and educator, currently serves as the Grand Forks Public Schools Behavioral Health Director, where she and her team provide evidence-based therapeutic care to K-12 students and their families, collaborating frequently with CVIC for support.
“Dr. Geinert is someone who’s just drawn to serve students and she’s quietly walked alongside our mission since joining Grand Forks Public Schools,” CVIC President and CEO Coiya Tompkins Inman said. “We are honored to add her energy and deep expertise in public education and student advocacy to our dedicated board of directors.”
Dr. Geinert began her teaching career in Crookston, Minn., where she completed her school counseling internship and taught Spanish, later working as a school counselor in Minot, and ultimately in Grand Forks. What she learned was that a strong public education system requires strong outside partners and collaborators.
“When you’re a school counselor, you are working with everybody and that can get out of scope fast,” she said. “Rather than stepping in when things get rough and then stepping out of the way when things are a little better, CVIC provides that critical connection of holistic support for students facing difficult situations.”
For that reason, Dr. Geinert said she and her more than 55 colleagues in the public school system refer students and families to CVIC frequently. They all have a strong understanding that counseling students is more than just helping them get their grades up and discovering future career paths.
“When I first began working in Grand Forks, I think there was still this idea that violence and abuse don’t happen here,” she said. “CVIC does such a beautiful job of being able to tie in resources for parents and empower them to make choices. Having this partnership in schools is critical and I’m more than excited to be a part of the mission’s future success.”