Founder & Visionary Leader

Linsey McDanel is a dedicated educator, certified TBRI® Practitioner, and trauma-informed advocate with over 22 years of experience in education. She is also a wife and mother of five—including three children adopted through foster care—whose personal and professional journey has centered around connection, healing, and resilience. Linsey’s firsthand experience navigating trauma in her own home sparked a lifelong mission to help families build strong, healthy relationships through compassionate and practical support.

Her work in trauma-informed care began as a necessity—to meet the complex needs of her children—and soon extended to her students, peers, and greater community. Along the way, Linsey realized that healing-centered practices aren’t just for children—they are essential for entire families. She believes that as humans, we are wired for connection, and that without the skills to build healthy relationships, we all struggle. This foundational belief inspired her to create Hope WINS (What I Need to Succeed)—a nonprofit rooted in the idea that hope is not just a feeling, but a cognitive process that helps us navigate hardship, fear, and uncertainty.

Linsey’s background in teaching and raising children with trauma provides her with the empathy necessary to meet families where they are at. She is a problem solver who fights for change and is ready for any challenge.

According to Brené Brown, hope is a skill set—and Linsey has transformed that truth into action. Through Hope WINS, she leads a system of support designed to help families access tools, community, and confidence to thrive. With a team of board members bringing diverse skills and experiences, Linsey has built not only a program—but a movement—for healing, growth, and advocacy.

She has spent her life in Freeport, raising her family and building deep community connections, which allow her to respond to families’ needs in real, tangible ways. Whether she’s walking her dogs, cheering on her twin sons as they graduate, or walking alongside families navigating hard seasons, Linsey leads with heart, humility, and the unwavering belief that, indeed, Hope WINS.