Trainer Spotlight: Katie Ramel Guides Foster Parents with Experience and Compassion 

At Cornerstones of Care, every trainer brings a unique story and passion to their work. Katie Ramel stands out for the depth of her experience and the heart she brings to every course she creates or teaches. With more than a decade of experience as a paramedic and years teaching middle school students with high levels of trauma, she has learned to see behaviors not as problems, but as signals that children need support, safety, and connection.

“I feel so fortunate to influence the culture of Cornerstones of Care and sometimes even the systems we work with by creating training that weaves in trauma-informed principles,” she says.

Her work blends developing trainings on her computer with facilitating classes for foster parents and community partners. She teaches topics ranging from Autism, Oppositional Defiant Behavior, trauma, and mental health medications to special education. She also provides American Heart Association CPR and First Aid certification, and she’s particularly excited to bring the PAX™ program to foster parents soon. “PAX™ gives caregivers evidence-based, trauma-informed strategies for responding to behavior, teaching new skills, and creating peaceful environments,” she explains.

Her path to Cornerstones of Care was shaped by years on the front lines as a paramedic, in a small doctor’s office, and later as a middle school teacher, where she first saw how trauma shows up in children’s behavior. During her 12 years as a paramedic and working in a doctor’s office, she began noticing patterns among children in foster care and how psychotropic medications were being used. Later, she spent a decade teaching middle school in a district where many students had high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES). “Students who had challenging behaviors were often the ones who needed the most support, love, and connection,” she recalls. She learned to create structured classrooms with predictable routines, giving students a sense of safety and a fresh chance every day to practice positive behaviors. Children with neurodiverse brains and high trauma levels thrived in that environment, and it shaped her approach to training foster parents.

For Katie, the most rewarding part of her work is seeing the ripple effect of teaching foster parents.

“It’s incredible to think about how one caregiver can touch so many lives. Foster parents are teaching children healthier skills, breaking unhealthy patterns, and creating generational health.”

By equipping caregivers with tools to understand behavior, trauma, and healthy connection, she helps disrupt cycles of generational trauma and set children on a path toward thriving.

When she’s not working, Katie is happiest outside. Gardening, camping, kayaking, and any activity that lets her be in nature is her go-to way to recharge. It’s no surprise that her approach to life – hands-on, grounded, and deeply connected – mirrors the care she encourages foster parents to provide every day.

From emergency medicine to the classroom to foster parent training, Katie brings all of her experiences to bear in every class. Her work is a reminder that fostering resilience isn’t just about teaching skills; it’s about modeling care, offering consistency, and giving children the safe space they need to grow. At Cornerstones of Care, trainers like her are helping build not just safer homes, but healthier families and communities.