Our Team
From coast to coast, our team is ready to partner with you in creating transformative conversations in your community.
Our staff and board is diverse and in addition to educational and professional expertise, we have lived experience with Head Start; child welfare systems; high-stress, low-income communities; mental and physical health issues; substance abuse; children with disabilities; and discrimination. We know firsthand what it takes to advocate and navigate for our family’s needs.
In 2012, in the wake of extreme statewide budget cuts, the staff team of a primary child abuse prevention effort — Strengthening Families Illinois — decided to become the first board of directors of a new national organization: Be Strong Families. Doing so was a leap of faith. With no capital to start a new business, no foundation support, and no promise of a contract with the agency that had funded us for the past 7 years, the hope and intention of the founders was that the parent engagement and leadership innovations and child welfare system transformations we had become known for would be sustainable nationally. We’re still here and going strong.
The Be Strong Families Team
Leadership Team
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Kathryn Leigh Goetz, PhD
Founding Partner
President & CEO -
Letechia A. Holmes
Founding Partner
Chief of Staff to the CEO
Senior Trainer -
Beth Lakier
Chief Operating Officer for Organizational Advancement
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Robyn Harvey
Director of Training and Child Welfare Programs
Senior Trainer -
Sarita Sashington
Director of Engagement & Program Initiatives
Senior Trainer -
Greishen L. Rodriguez
Associate Director of Child Welfare Programs
Training and Technical Assistance Provider -
Tiffany Murphy
Training and Technical Assistance Manager
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Laura Smalley
Associate Director of Operations and IT
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Jamika Smith
Regional and State YAB Manager | Illinois DCFS Youth Advisory Board
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Christina Wolken
Youth Advisory Board Administrative Lead
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Ariana Kilgore, LSW
Youth Affinity Advisory Program Lead | Illinois DCFS Youth Advisory Board
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Di Yin
Marketing and Communications Operations and Project Manager
Staff and Consultants
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Tyriniesha Anderson
Senior Trainer and Technical Assistance Provider
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Latisha R. Atkins, JD
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Taniella Bailey
Illinois DCFS Youth Advisory Board Program Coordinator
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Dayo Banks
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Tamara (Tami) Castonguay
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Shirley Davis
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Sara Gonzalez
Senior Bilingual Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Morgan Harvey
Training Program Assistant
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Andrew Hitchcock
Assistant Program Manager
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WT Johnson
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Brenda Griffin Kinsler
Senior Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Mychele Lucas
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Justin Margolis
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Tarcisio Ornelas-Gomez
Founding Partner
Project Manager -
Amanda Ramirez
Marketing Associate
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Kristin Robinson
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Amani Rodriguez
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Lori Sanchez
Family Engagement Coordinator
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Guy Schingoethe
Founding Partner
Senior Operations Consultant -
Najma Treadwell
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Nadia Washington
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
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Tynisha Wright
Training and Technical Assistance Consultant
Board of Directors
The Be Strong Families Board of Directors works in partnership with staff to manifest our mission, vision, and values.
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Nilofer Ahsan
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Nina Aliprandi, MA
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Barbara Baldwin
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Denise Boston, Ph.D.
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Michael Byrd
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Stephanie Ceja
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Heavy Crownz
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Thomas J. Ecker
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Kathryn Leigh Goetz, PhD
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Tecoria Jones
Board Secretary
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Joanne Kelly
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Kenneth Krantz, CFP®
Board Treasurer
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Andree Long
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Paul Nofer, JD
Board Chair
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Christopher Thornton
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Victor L. Villanueva
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Jimmy Wambua