Barb Klein is a NYS Regional Leader for CMC: Foundation for Change, focused on expanding the organization’s reach across Western, Central, and Southern New York — particularly in rural communities where families, professionals, and organizations often have limited access to support.

Barb brings four years of experience facilitating Invitation to Change (ITC) groups, along with a deep personal understanding of what it means to love someone who struggles with substances or mental health challenges. She first came to the ITC approach as a mother seeking better ways to support her son — and the changes it brought to her own family life continue to fuel her commitment to this work. After losing her son in 2023, Barb has carried that love forward, channeling her experience and grief into a determination that no family should have to navigate this journey without compassionate support and real tools for connection.

In her regional leadership role, Barb is committed to ensuring that families across New York State have real choices and feel empowered in how they show up for a loved one who struggles. She believes every family deserves to be met with compassion and equipped with real tools for staying connected to the person they love, while also caring for themselves. Because supporting a loved one and tending to your own wellbeing isn’t an either/or choice.

Barb’s commitment to compassion and possibility extends beyond her regional role. She is the author of 111 Invitations: Step into the Full Richness of Life and the founder of Inspired Possibility, through which she offers workshops and retreats grounded in self-care, mindful presence, meditation, and Grief Movement practices — helping individuals and organizations move through life’s challenges with openness and resilience. She also coordinates CompassioNate Care Bags, a community initiative honoring her son Nate that has grown well beyond her local area, delivering care and dignity to neighbors in need. In everything she does, Barb is guided by a belief in the power of compassion and human connection, and she loves nothing more than linking good people with the right supports.

Outside of her work, Barb enjoys reading, writing, and traveling with her husband, especially to live music, and finds beauty and gratitude in everyday life.