Yvonne Goodsky

Yvonne Goodsky is the Deputy Director of Prevention and Operations for Child Safety and Permanency (CSP) in Children and Family Services Administration at the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families. Previously, she was the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Manager in CSP and Deputy Director of the Office of Indian Policy at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Before joining DHS, Yvonne spent over 20 years working in the Indian Child Welfare field at Hennepin County and Ain Dah Yung (Our Home) Center. She also has a philanthropic background as a Program Officer at the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation and as a Board Member with Tiwahe Foundation, the first local American Indian Community Foundation and the Sundance Family Foundation. Yvonne completed her Masters in Social Work at Augsburg University, with an emphasis on program development, policy and administration. Yvonne is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and is a mother and grandmother and former foster parent. Growing up as a teenager, Yvonne was in out of home placement with her maternal aunt which grounded her and lit a passion for her life’s work. Her daughter, Mika, is a third generation social worker/community helper working to preserve American Indian families at Ramsey County.