Team Spotlight - Katie Heinzen, MS, LPC, Director of Behavioral Health

“I like working with families, making connections and helping make all the puzzle pieces fit.

Katie Heinzen deals with a lot of moving parts. Her role as Director of Behavioral Health for The Production Farm, overseeing the care of dozens of clients across Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties, comes with a lot of requirements to meet and boxes to check. And she’s more than willing to handle all those details and logistics, because along with the paperwork comes the chance to witness meaningful positive impacts in the lives of TPF clients.

“Our approach is absolutely science- and evidence-based, though it may not always look that way from the outside,” Katie says. “When you’ve seen firsthand how a slime project or a bread baking endeavor lights up and transforms a child who hasn’t seen success in other environments, it makes perfect sense.”

Katie is a native of Big Bend and Hartford, Wisconsin. She earned her Psychology degree from St. Norbert College and pursued her Master’s in Art Therapy from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Right after graduation she got married and moved with her husband to Ft. Hood, Texas, where he was stationed in the US Army. From there they landed in rural Kansas, where their two sons were born.
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With a lot of professional experience and several moves under her belt, Katie and her young family were ready to return to Wisconsin and be closer to home and family. They settled in Reedsville, and she began searching for her next job. Funny story: she actually interviewed for the position she now holds completely by accident. A miscommunication led her to interview with TPF’s leadership team when she was under the impression she was speaking with a different organization about a different position. While it was a confusing introduction, things clicked into place and the rest – as they say – is history.

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Since joining TPF in 2018, Katie has continued to expand her role and now, as Director of Behavioral Health, she supervises all TPF therapists; handles most client scheduling; manages care team meetings; creates and tracks behavior modification plan; participates in the organizations strategic planning meetings; and more. 

“While the actual delivery of services is obviously central to what we do, there’s so much more that goes into it as far as connecting teams, supporting families and tracking progress,” she says. “That’s where the pay-off really is. I like working with families, making connections and helping make all the puzzle pieces fit into a workable form.”
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Running helps keep Katie balanced and recharged. In fact, she and her husband serve as coaches for Reedsville track & field. When she’s not working, running or coaching, Katie loves to hang out with her family, especially her two young sons, and tend to her yard, gardens and chickens.