Danica Joan

Danica Joan Dockery is a nationally recognized educator, mediator, and nonprofit leader who has spent over two decades guiding families through the turbulent challenges of divorce, custody, and conflict with compassion, clarity, and courage. As the Executive Director of Kids Need Both, Inc. and Managing Partner of the Hope4Families Network, Danica is at the forefront of a transformative movement to restore dignity to the family court experience and protect children from the harmful fallout of parental conflict.

With a Master’s in Education and certifications as a Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, Guardian ad Litem, and Custody Coordinator, Danica blends deep professional expertise with personal resilience. Her own five-year custody battle—marked by trauma, false allegations, and profound social fallout—ignited her mission to ensure no parent or child has to face the system alone or uninformed.

Danica has developed a powerful library of court-approved educational programs that teach families how to navigate legal processes, develop healthy parenting plans, and reclaim peace in the midst of conflict. She is a dynamic instructor, sought-after speaker, and lead editor of the Building Bridges of Hope book series, which amplifies the voices of family court survivors and changemakers.

As a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the National Anger Management Association, Danica continues to influence the field with practical tools, trauma-informed education, and a fierce commitment to breaking generational cycles of dysfunction.

Danica’s work embodies the belief that children need both parents—and that empowered parents can write new legacies, even from the most broken beginnings.