Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristie Gregor-Laviska.
Hi Kristie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
A Career Rooted in Service: The Leadership Journey of Kristie Gregor-Laviska
When Kristie Gregor-Laviska launched Compass Family Consultants in 2020, she was building on nearly two decades of dedicated public service. Her private practice did not emerge overnight—it was the natural evolution of a career defined by advocacy, resilience, and heart-centered leadership.
Early Foundations in Juvenile Justice
Kristie began her professional career in North Carolina in 2001 with the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, serving as a Court Counselor. In this role, she provided direct services to adjudicated youth, their families, and the broader community. Working at the intersection of accountability and rehabilitation, Kristie developed a deep understanding of the systemic challenges facing vulnerable youth.
Her work required balancing structure with compassion—helping young people navigate legal consequences while empowering families to rebuild stability and trust. It was here that Kristie honed her belief in strength-based intervention and community collaboration.
Fifteen Years of Impact in Child Welfare
In 2003, Kristie transitioned to the Wake County Department of Social Services, where she served for 15 years as a Child Protective Social Worker. During this time, she worked directly with children and families navigating some of life’s most complex and painful circumstances.
Kristie’s consistent application of a strength-based approach—paired with heart-centered engagement—distinguished her work. Rather than focusing solely on deficits or crises, she emphasized family resilience, protective factors, and collaborative solutions. Her ability to build trust in high-stress situations positioned her as a stabilizing presence for countless families.
Colleagues and community partners recognized her not only for her clinical skill but also for her leadership. Kristie became known as a change agent—someone willing to advocate for systemic improvements while maintaining unwavering compassion for the individuals she served.
Entrepreneurial Vision in Challenging Times
In 2020, drawing from nearly 20 years of frontline experience, Kristie founded Compass Family Consultants. Launching a business during a global pandemic required courage and strategic foresight. Yet her background in crisis management and adaptive leadership prepared her well.
Under her guidance, the practice has grown steadily, expanding services and building a team aligned with her values of integrity, collaboration, and clinical excellence. Compass Family Consultants reflects the same principles that guided her public service career: empowerment, accountability, and compassionate care.
Continuing the Mission
Today, Kristie’s work continues to influence families and communities across the region. Her journey—from juvenile justice to child welfare to private practice ownership—illustrates a career defined by purpose and perseverance.
Through every professional chapter, one constant remains: a commitment to strengthening families, supporting children, and creating meaningful change within the communities she serves.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The Challenges of Entrepreneurship
Launching Compass Family Consultants in 2020 brought a new set of obstacles. Opening a business during a global pandemic meant confronting financial uncertainty, evolving health regulations, and the rapid transition to telehealth services. Establishing brand recognition, building referral networks, and recruiting aligned clinicians required strategic persistence.
Like many entrepreneurs, Kristie faced moments of doubt and operational growing pains—balancing clinical leadership with the demands of business management. Developing policies, securing systems, and ensuring sustainable growth demanded a different skill set than frontline social work.
Yet these struggles became catalysts for growth. Drawing from her years in crisis management and community systems, Kristie applied adaptability, transparency, and mission-driven leadership to guide the practice forward.
Growth Through Resilience
Today, Compass Family Consultants stands as a reflection of that perseverance. The practice has continued to grow and flourish, expanding services while maintaining its core values of compassion, integrity, and empowerment.
Kristie Gregor-Laviska’s career illustrates that meaningful leadership is not defined by the absence of struggle—but by the ability to grow through it. From juvenile justice to child welfare to entrepreneurship, each chapter has strengthened her resolve to serve families with empathy, skill, and unwavering commitment.
We’ve been impressed with Compass Family Consultants, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What Sets Compass Family Consultants Apart
In a community with growing access to mental health services, Compass Family Consultants distinguishes itself through a blend of clinical depth, heart-centered leadership, and community-rooted values. Founded by Kristie Gregor-Laviska, whose career spans juvenile justice, child welfare, and private practice, Compass is built on experience that extends far beyond traditional outpatient therapy.
Here’s what truly sets the practice apart:
1. Systems-Level Experience That Informs Clinical Care
Unlike many private practices that operate solely within outpatient settings, Compass was founded on nearly two decades of frontline work within public systems. Kristie’s background with the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and the Wake County Department of Social Services provides a deep understanding of how families interact with courts, schools, and social services.
This systems knowledge allows Compass clinicians to:
Advocate effectively for families
Collaborate with community partners
Provide therapy informed by real-world systemic dynamics
Clients are not treated in isolation—their full ecological context is considered.
2. A Strength-Based, Empowerment-Focused Model
Compass prioritizes a strength-based approach. Rather than focusing solely on diagnosis or deficits, clinicians help clients identify protective factors, resilience patterns, and internal resources.
This empowerment-centered philosophy helps families move from crisis stabilization to sustainable growth.
3. Heart-Centered Engagement
At Compass, relationships come first. The practice culture emphasizes authentic connection, emotional safety, and compassionate accountability. Clients consistently experience care that is:
Warm yet professional
Structured yet flexible
Supportive yet growth-oriented
This balance fosters trust—especially for families who may have had difficult prior experiences with systems or services.
4. Ethical Growth with Intention
Since opening in 2020, Compass has grown steadily—but intentionally. Expansion has been guided by quality, not volume. Clinicians are selected not only for credentials but for alignment with the organization’s values and commitment to collaborative care.
The practice invests in:
Ongoing professional development
Healthy workplace culture
Clear ethical standards
Sustainable service models
This ensures clients receive consistent, high-quality support.
5. Community Integration
Compass is more than a therapy office—it is a community partner. Through outreach, collaboration, and engagement, the practice actively works to reduce stigma and increase access to mental health services in the region.
A Practice Built on Purpose
At its core, Compass is guided by one unwavering belief: families are not defined by their challenges—they are strengthened by the support, tools, and relationships that help them navigate through them.
In a field often defined by clinical models and service menus, Compass Family Consultants distinguishes itself through something deeply personal—family at its core.
Compass was built on decades of frontline experience in juvenile justice and child welfare. But what truly sets the practice apart in the community is not only its professional foundation—it’s the family-centered leadership model that shapes its culture, values, and vision.
Compass Family Consultants is more than a name—it reflects the structure of the organization itself. Kristie’s son, Colton, who holds a degree in Social Work, works alongside her in the practice, contributing both professional knowledge and generational perspective to client care and program development. His involvement represents continuity, shared purpose, and a deep understanding of the work’s impact on families.
Her oldest son, Dylan, provides operational support and financial backing, helping strengthen the infrastructure and sustainability of the organization. His investment in the vision of Compass underscores a shared commitment to long-term growth and community impact.
This multigenerational collaboration creates a distinctive dynamic. Decisions are made not only with clinical expertise but also with relational awareness and long-term stewardship in mind.
A Culture of Strength-Based Engagement
The practice emphasizes empowerment over pathology and partnership over hierarchy.
Clients are viewed within the context of their families and communities—not in isolation. This holistic lens allows the team to address not just symptoms, but systems, relationships, and resilience.
Heart-Centered Leadership
Unlike larger corporate models, Compass operates with intentional warmth and accessibility. Kristie’s heart-centered leadership influences everything from clinician mentorship to client engagement. The practice prioritizes:
Authentic relationship-building
Ethical, collaborative care
A supportive work environment for staff
Long-term community partnerships
Because Compass is family-led, there is a heightened sense of accountability, personal investment, and mission alignment. The success of the organization is deeply intertwined with the legacy the family is building together.
Stability with Vision
Having family members involved in both clinical and operational roles provides Compass with stability and cohesion. It allows for thoughtful growth rather than rapid expansion, ensuring that services evolve without losing the practice’s foundational values.
In a competitive mental health landscape, what sets Compass apart is not just what it does—but how it does it. It is a practice rooted in lived experience, strengthened by family collaboration, and guided by a shared vision to create meaningful, lasting impact in the community.
At Compass Family Consultants, care is not transactional—it is relational, generational, and purpose-driven.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Guided by Courage: The Philosophy Behind Compass Family Consultants
“Without great risk, there is not great reward.”
This belief is more than a quote—it is a defining principle behind the growth and success of Compass Family Consultants. When Kristie Gregor-Laviska launched the practice in 2020, during a time of global uncertainty, she embodied that very mindset. Leaving the stability of long-standing public service roles to build a private practice required vision, courage, and deep conviction.
But for Kristie, the risk was never about business alone. It was about impact.
Work Rooted in Love
At Compass, clinical excellence is grounded in something even more powerful: love for the work, love for families, and love for community. This is not sentimentality—it is intentional care. It is the belief that healing happens best in environments where people feel seen, valued, and respected.
Kristie’s decades of experience in juvenile justice and child welfare shaped her understanding that meaningful change occurs through authentic relationships. Families do not grow through judgment—they grow through connection.
Built on Community
Compass was not designed to operate as an isolated therapy office. It was created to be a community partner. From collaborating with local systems to supporting families navigating complex challenges, the practice functions as a steady presence within the broader network of care.
Community, in this context, means:
Shared responsibility
Collective healing
Collaborative solutions
Long-term commitment
The practice recognizes that individual wellness strengthens families—and strong families strengthen communities.
Centered in Connection
Connection is the thread that runs through every aspect of Compass Family Consultants. Internally, it shapes the workplace culture, fostering a supportive and non-toxic environment for clinicians. Externally, it defines the therapeutic experience—clients are met with empathy, accountability, and partnership.
This relational foundation sets Compass apart. Therapy is not transactional; it is transformational. And transformation begins with trust.
Risk as a Pathway to Growth
Launching and expanding a practice in uncertain times required bold leadership. Yet the willingness to take calculated risks has allowed Compass to flourish. Growth has been steady, intentional, and values-driven—never rushed, never compromising quality.
Kristie’s leadership reflects a core truth: when work is built on love, sustained by community, and strengthened through connection, the reward is not only professional success—it is lasting impact.
In every chapter of her career, that philosophy remains constant: meaningful work requires courage. And when that courage is guided by heart, the reward reaches far beyond business—it transforms lives.
Pricing:
- Both self pay and insurance is accepted
Contact Info:
- Website: https://compassfamilyconsultants.org
- Instagram: compassfamilyconsultants
- Facebook: Compass Family Consultants PLLC
