Cara Baldari

Director of Advocacy

Cara Baldari is serving as the new Director of Advocacy at Family Promise. She has over ten years of experience in fighting for policy change to improve the lives of our nation’s children and families.

Previously she was Vice President of Family Economics, Housing, and Homelessness policy at First Focus on Children, a national children’s advocacy organization, where she directed a policy agenda to address child poverty and homelessness and promote family economic mobility in the United States.

She has a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

She resides in Washington, D.C. with her family where she spends her spare time chasing after her two young children, serving as an ambassador for the Greater DC Diaper Bank, and watching British procedural television shows.

Maggie Bernhard

Operations Manager

Maggie Bernhard is a proud Mule, having studied History and Media & Communication at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. She has stayed involved in the college community beyond her four years and currently serves on the school’s Alumni Board and Young Alumni Council. Maggie earned her Master of Public Administration, with a concentration in Non-Profit Management, from Rutgers-Newark. Prior to her work at Family Promise, Maggie worked in Volunteer Management at Jersey Cares and then New York Cares, both part of the Points of Light Network. At these organizations, Maggie worked to engage corporate and civic groups in volunteer service and train new volunteer leaders. Working with volunteers showed her the impact that one person can make in their community whether painting a room, tutoring a child, or serving a meal.

At Family Promise, Maggie serves as Operations Manager, which means that she sends lots of emails. Joking aside, Maggie ensures that all 200 Affiliates are engaged and involved with partnerships and resources that National offers. Some of the programs that she manages are Partners in Housing (Manufactured Housing), Pathways to Workplace Success (Workforce Development Videos), Keys to Good Tenancy, and Family Mentoring. She also works with Affiliates to ensure they have the resources and support to meet all standards of Affiliation, such as completing the Annual Census.

In her spare time, you can find Maggie making nerdy crafts, baking cookies, learning about retro video games from her husband, and listening to True Crime podcasts.

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Melissa Biggar

Senior Director of Annual Fund and Communications

Childhood shyness compelled Melissa to hone her writing skills, but once she came out of her shell, her family couldn’t shut her up. The result: more than 20 years of communications and client relations experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. With professional interests as eclectic as her music playlist, she has worked in book publishing, philanthropic foundations, higher education, and the financial industry.

As Senior Director of Annual Fund and Communications at Family Promise, Melissa directs a dedicated and talented team that raises awareness of the crisis of family homelessness and support for families rebuilding their lives. She manages fundraising campaigns, donor giving societies, and marketing communications, including Family Promise’s annual appeal and its quarterly newsletter. Through her role, she demonstrates the transformative and far-reaching impact Family Promise has on families’ lives while in the program and after.

Melissa studied English literature and creative writing at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and has participated in several writing workshops, including the prestigious Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference where she wrote the first chapter of her yet-to-be-published (…or completed…) novel and spent a week without access to the internet or a hairdryer.

Melissa was born in New York City, which probably explains her insatiable attraction to The Big Apple. She grew up in New Jersey, where she currently resides, defying convention by having attended only one Bruce Springsteen concert and knowing how to pump her own gas despite a state ban on self-service fuel stations. Most of her writing now involves dollars and sense, but the Great American Novel still simmers on the back burner. Melissa loves to travel and has never met a plane ticket she didn’t like

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Shari Competiello

Chief Operating Officer

Shari Competiello is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Family Promise national. She is a member of the Leadership team and is responsible for internal operations, including human resource functions, internal technology, DEIA program coordination, and board activities and functions.

Shari joined Family Promise in February 2016, drawn to Family Promise’s community-based approach to addressing family homelessness. She received her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark and has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration. After working as a lawyer for several years, Shari was a stay-at-home parent and active volunteer in her local, Summit, New Jersey community. She and her husband have three adult children.

Britt Hegarty-Darrow

Chief Financial Officer

Britt Hegarty-Darrow is a certified public accountant with more than ten years of financial leadership experience in various sectors, including nonprofit, private equity, tech, and financial services. While her love of Excel fits the accountant stereotype, she’s more than just a numbers person and likes to think of herself as a cool accountant!

Prior to joining the national office of Family Promise, Britt was chief financial officer of West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC), an agency that administers foster care services to children and families, addresses racial disparities, and advances equity and inclusion in the West Michigan community. She is deeply passionate about social justice, and at WMPC, she actively worked to effect change at organizational, systemic, and social levels.

Britt grew up in three different countries and ten states as part of a military family. Being raised in diverse environments instilled in her a strong appreciation for community involvement and a dedication to supporting her neighbors.

Britt holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Michigan State University and is a die-hard Spartans basketball fan (March Madness is her favorite “holiday” season). She lives in Michigan with her partner and their two children. As a family, they enjoy exploring and hiking in local, state, and national parks (she dreams of retiring as a national park campground host!). You can often find them at Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo, where Britt serves as a planning committee member for the zoo’s annual fundraising event.

In addition to her professional and family life, Britt enjoys reading, trying new restaurants, and exploring the local brewery scene in Grand Rapids.

Allison Eckles

Affiliate Services Manager

Allison Eckles received a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School. Before taking time off to focus on family, Allison worked for Disney Consumer Products in various brand management and licensing roles. After leaving the workforce, Allison stayed active by serving on nonprofit boards, fundraising, and volunteering for organizations centered on promoting educational opportunities for children.

Allison joined Family Promise in August 2021. As the Affiliate Services Manager, she manages the vendor partnerships, delivers communications to the Affiliate network, and oversees the planning and logistics of the national conferences. She is inspired to work with a dynamic team committed to finding solutions to ending family homelessness.

For fun, Allison enjoys spending time with her family and friends, attending sporting events and Broadway shows, playing a round of golf, and cheering for the Fighting Irish.

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Lorraine Grover

Executive Assistant

Lorraine Grover started her career in the banking sector in commercial banking as a credit analyst. After several years in the banking industry, Lorraine transitioned to a local steel company as Credit Manager overseeing a $24MM portfolio, resolving delinquent accounts, and working closely for the VP of Finance. Soon after marrying her husband (John) Lorraine chose to leave the workforce in 1998 to raise a family and has devoted the last 24 years to raising and homeschooling their four children up until high school.

Lorraine re-entered the workforce in 2023 finding the perfect fit with Family Promise as the Executive Assistant to the CEO. She handles the daily tasks of managing the CEO’s calendar, email, scheduling meetings, projects and other daily tasks that come alongside her role to supporting the CEO. Lorraine also helps and supports the COO working on various projects.

Currently living with her family outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Lorraine enjoys spending time with her husband and children (when they are home from college), and their four dogs. She loves to be outside, walking her dogs, working in and just enjoying her flower gardens and backyard waterscape, and enjoying the occasional round of golf.

Nakeshia Hedrick

Regional Director (Northeast)

Nakeshia Hedrick is originally from Northwest Indiana. She attended Indiana University-Bloomington and completed a dual Bachelor's degree in Political Science and African American Diaspora Studies with an HR minor. She received a Public Management Graduate Certificate from Indiana University-Northwest before taking graduate coursework at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis) focusing on Public Affairs-Policy Analysis. She also completed her Master of Education (M.S. Ed) from Arkansas State University. Her work experience includes serving as an advocate for community engagement, a legal assistant in Chicago, a HeadStart program assistant, and in the guidance office in a local school district.

Nakeshia served as Executive Director of Family Promise of Greater Lafayette, IN for two years before joining the national staff as the Northeast Regional Director.

Nakeshia is the proud mother of three daughters, the self-proclaimed "Princess of Everything, Especially Sparkles, Glitter, and Unicorns", the Karate Princess Warrior, and the up-and-coming holistic care businesswoman. She’s married to her own personal McGuyver, and they have three dogs, Baby Ruth, Cardi, and Chops. She is also a football and basketball fan, likes to play Madden, and watch documentaries. She has a weak spot for nice shoes.

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Shari Jones

Director of Programs

Shari Jones is the Director of Programs for Family Promise and a mission-driven leader in developing innovative, community-based programs that address housing insecurity and promote long-term family stability.

With a background in both social services and the criminal justice system, Shari has created trauma-informed programming, including CBT-based interventions for incarcerated individuals and in-home therapy models for at-risk children referred to by DCF. Her therapeutic work focused on increasing the family's carrying capacity and preventing family separation. She also served the veteran homeless population, honing her skills in navigating access to housing, healthcare, and mental health services, taking a holistic approach to addressing homelessness.

She previously led Family Promise of Gainesville’s expansion through targeted, equity-focused initiatives that serve rural and underserved communities.

Shari holds a Master of Science in Criminal Law from Nova Southeastern University and is widely recognized for her strategic leadership, cross-sector collaboration, and deep commitment to equity and community well-being. She currently resides in Newberry, FL, a small town just outside of Gainesville, with her husband and 9-year-old son.

Caroline Lamar

Regional Director (South)

Caroline began her time at Family Promise of Blount County as a board member in 2017. In late summer, 2019 she was named interim executive director and began serving as ED full-time in January of 2020. In 2022, she joined the Family Promise national team as Regional Director (South).

She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She spent more than a decade as a TV news producer. She has also served as the communications director for Church Street UMC in downtown Knoxville. Caroline and her husband, Jamie, have three daughters and live in East Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Paula Massa

Development Operations Manager

Growing up in Arizona, Paula Massa took an early interest in cultures and society after observing the exploitation and dismissal of Native Americans and their culture. She attended the University of Colorado for two years, but life presented a detour and she finished with a BA in Anthropology & Behavioral Science at Drew University. Because of her love of the outdoors and sports, Paula decided to follow a career in marketing and communications, landing a job in the professional sports industry.

From managing the implementation of marketing projects that included brand awareness and membership retention, to taking a job with a leading nonprofit software provider where she could work with various national nonprofits overseeing their software implementations, her experience in marketing and communications is eclectic, to say the least. Volunteering with various community-driven organizations kept her in touch with social concerns, which eventually motivated her to come full circle and pursue a position with an organization whose mission was to help and serve people. Her role as Development Operations Manager allows her to use her experience for a purpose that she feels strongly about and work with a dedicated group of people with a common goal – helping people who need it most.

Apart from work, you can find Paula hanging out with her family (including their very shy and timid dog Pawz) or enjoying the outdoors, whether sports-oriented or trekking into the city.

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Sandra Miniutti

Chief Network Officer

While earning an MBA in finance and marketing at Rutgers University, Sandra Miniutti worked with a professor to develop the initial business plan for a new non-profit called GlassRoots. The success of this project solidified Sandra’s passion for advancing the nonprofit sector and inspired her to transition her career out of the corporate sector. In 2000, Sandra entered the nonprofit sector as a member of the PR and Development staff of the Morris Museum. She then went on to work at Charity Navigator where she wore many different hats – including serving as both VP of Marketing and CFO – and often appeared on television, radio, and in print, commenting on the nonprofit sector. Sandra has nearly twenty years of extensive nonprofit experience in public relations, marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, public speaking, partnership-building, financial management, research, analysis, and writing.

Today, she’s proud to bring her deep commitment to advancing a vibrant and healthy philanthropic marketplace in which charities have the necessary skills and resources to solve our communities’ most pressing issues to her work at Family Promise. As Chief Network Officer, Sandra oversees the Regional Directors and Affiliate Services staff to ensure the overall health and success of Affiliates and the coordination of national programs with Affiliates. She enjoys being part of the extraordinary team at Family Promise working to help families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence.

Sandra’s son and husband are bagpipers and her daughter is an Irish step dancer. When they’re not marching in parades and performing at events, her family enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with their rescue dog.

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Lindsay Moore

Regional Director (Mid-America)

Lindsay Moore studied mass media communication, at the University of Michigan-Flint, and spent more than a decade working in television newsrooms, in both Flint and Detroit. Her passion for broadcast media was always fueled, partly, by wanting to know what was happening in the world around her, but mostly by being able to harness the power of media for the greater good of the community. Throughout her time in media, she continued volunteering, including overseeing a meal ministry which led her to discover Family Promise. Working with financially fragile families highlighted the need for a program specifically serving families and research lead to Family Promise. She worked alongside a group of very dedicated individuals, to launch Family Promise of Genesee County. She served on the founding Board of Directors then spent four years committed to the role of the Affiliate’s Executive Director. Her time serving families and growing Affiliate programming was life-changing and led to an opportunity to work directly with the National Family Promise office as an Associate, doing some contract work with other Affiliates.

Beginning in 2017, Lindsay joined the National team as the Midwest Regional Director, a role she absolutely loves! Her favorite part is working with Affiliate staffs and boards of directors across the Midwest, to continue the amazing work being done in each community and bringing new opportunities for growth and support from the amazing National team. This role brings together her passion for serving people and seeing the power of good grow within communities. She enjoys traveling to the different Day Centers and learning about how each Affiliate serves children and families experiencing homelessness and working with them to deepen community relationships and impact.

She is proud to serve the Midwest region from her home base, in Michigan, where she lives with three amazing humans, her daughters and husband. She continues to volunteer with her family, at Family Promise of Genesee County. She has a ridiculous obsession with office supplies, particularly Sharpies, including some sentimental ones. She loves spending time outdoors and near water; she’s an avid reader and a wanna-be runner and yogi.

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Cassidy O'Lear

Annual Fund Manager

Cassidy O’Lear is a 2019 Communications graduate of the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining Family Promise, Cassidy worked in the nonprofit sector for Seaside Sustainability and the Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans. Her previous work included writing for their website, blogs, and managing social media content as well as aiding in grant proposals. She is passionate about supporting families experiencing homelessness and using her marketing and storytelling skills to help those in need.

Cassidy serves as the Annual Fund Manuager at Family Promise. In this role, she helps manage the organization’s annual giving program and supports the stewardship and acknowledgement of individual donors.

Cassidy is from New Jersey and currently resides in Somerville, MA. She loves spending her free time running, traveling, baking, and reading.

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Jason Parry

Director of Affiliate Services

Mitchell Petit-Frere

Director of Marketing

Mitchell Petit-Frere earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in 2014 with a double major in English and journalism. He remained at St. John’s for graduate school and received his master’s degree in international communication in 2016. After finishing school, Mitch worked as an adjunct professor for his alma mater, a camera operator at the 2016 and 2017 US Open Tennis Championships, a freelance writer for the NY Daily News, and a Residence Director at St. John’s-Paris before landing at Family Promise in April 2018.

Mitch leads Family Promise’s marketing initiatives, manages social media channels, oversees press outreach, and produces creative content. He is actively working to help Family Promise become a household name.

Outside of work, Mitch is either training for his next triathlon (a hobby that was born becuase of Family Promise) or creating videos.

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Stacy Pollard

Regional Director (West)

Stacy Pollard has over ten years of experience working in the homeless services field. She has served as Regional Director for Family Promise since 2016. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Nevada Homeless Alliance, and also as Program Director for the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada’s Camp Anytown. Stacy holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, with an emphasis in Management and Community Practice.

As Regional Director, Stacy Pollard provides Affiliates with training, support, and resources to enhance program service delivery and operations. In addition, she works to provide Affiliates with opportunities to build interagency relationships, to increase leadership development opportunities and use of best practices among Affiliates.

Stacy is a self-proclaimed social justice warrior. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her husband and her children and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

(503) 328-3118

Christine Tolleson

Director of Grants Compliance

Christine Tolleson has had a varied career in the financial services sector including auditing, financial reporting, and establishing and improving financial and operational controls and accounting policy. She has worked for large and mid-sized corporations as well as start-up organizations. Christine has been responsible for analyzing business objectives, risk, and controls for financial and operational processes including collaborating with executive and business management to implement action plans. She took time off from her career to raise her son.

Christine re-entered the workforce in 2019 finding a perfect fit with Family Promise as its bookkeeper. She is responsible for the day to day financial operations and is working to improve and implement policies and controls. She is honored to work with the Family Promise team helping to support its mission of helping families experiencing homelessness regain housing and attain sustainable independence.

In her spare time, Christine Tolleson loves experiencing new adventures with her husband and son, “the Shore,” music (anything ‘80’s and all Bruce Springsteen), and is a New Jersey Devils hockey fan in a house where her son and husband “bleed blue” (NY Ranger fans).

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Amber Young

Director of Corporate Relations

Amber Young is a nonprofit professional with over ten years of experience in the volunteer engagement field. Throughout her career, she has worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations including the National MS Society and American Cancer Society. Amber received her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Hofstra University and master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. In 2018, Amber was selected by American Express as an emerging nonprofit leader and successfully completed the American Express Leadership Academy.

Amber serves as the Director of Volunteer Engagement at Family Promise. In this role, she develops innovative strategies to both enhance and advance the Family Promise volunteer program. Amber’s goal is to support the needs of the 200 Affiliates and 200,000 Family Promise volunteers across the country.

Amber lives in New York City and loves being in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. She enjoys attending Broadway shows, walking in Central Park, and grabbing fresh veggies at the local farmer’s market. Amber can often be found at a karaoke lounge with her friends belting out 90’s pop and R&B songs!

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