Laurie Jackson, EMBA – Executive Director
Laurie Jackson is the Executive Director for National Safe Place, which also administers the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center (RHYTTAC) cooperative agreement. She joined the organization in June 2010 and has been active with Safe Place for more than 15 years. She recently served as Associate Executive Director for Synergy Services, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri. Laurie was with Synergy Services, Inc. for 16 years and prior to that worked for several years with Cedars Youth Services in Lincoln, Neb. She has been active with local, regional, state and national efforts in the areas of runaway and homeless youth, child welfare and domestic violence.
Laurie holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri Kansas City and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Nebraska Kearney. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Network for Youth and is dedicated to bringing awareness to the issues of runaway and homeless youth.
Email: ljackson@nationalsafeplace.org
Danielle White – Executive Administrative Assistant
Danielle White provides administrative support for National Safe Place and RHYTTAC. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at National Safe Place from July 2011-July 2012 and re-joined the organization in March 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and communication from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously, Danielle served as a Resident Assistant at Bellarmine, as well as a writing center consultant in Bellarmine’s Academic Resource Center. She is from Columbus, Indiana.
Email: daniellewhite@nationalsafeplace.org
Susan Harmon – Organizational Advancement Director
Susan Harmon works to expand Safe Place’s national network of programs and provides consultation, technical support and instruction for new Safe Place agencies. She joined National Safe Place in July 2000 after serving 10 years as the Safe Place coordinator for the Louisville, Kentucky program.
Susan specializes in organizing and conducting training sessions geared towards preparing new agencies and coordinators on how to operate a Safe Place program. She represents National Safe Place and conducts training and networking opportunities at regional and national conferences for Safe Place personnel and other agencies interested in learning more about the program. Prior to joining Safe Place, Susan worked for Louisville’s Jefferson County Public Schools. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and History from Shorter College in northwest Georgia.
Email: sharmon@nationalsafeplace.org
Sherry Casey – Program Coordinator
Sherry Casey serves as the primary contact for more than 140 Safe Place coordinators across the country. She joined the organization in February 2003 as an administrative assistant and was promoted to her current position in 2006. Sherry is responsible for monitoring each Safe Place program’s annual goals and maintaining the national database of Safe Place statistics. In addition, she serves as the lead staff member on the National Safe Place Advisory Board’s Quality Enhancement Committee. Prior to joining National Safe Place, she spent seven years in a variety of roles for the YMCA of Greater Louisville, including both office manager of the Bullitt County branch and site director for its Before/After Child Care program.
Email: scasey@nationalsafeplace.org
Hillary Bond – Communications Coordinator
Hillary Bond provides public relations and communications support for National Safe Place and its network of licensed agencies across the country. She manages media relations, social media marketing efforts, website maintenance, and the creation and distribution of print and electronic publications. In addition, Hillary serves as the lead staff member on the National Safe Place Advisory Board’s Awareness Committee. Prior to joining the organization in 2011, she served two years as a publicist for an independent book publishing company. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Email: hbond@nationalsafeplace.org
TC Cassidy – RHYTTAC Technical Assistance Director
TC Cassidy holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from East Tennessee State University. She is currently completing a second Master’s Degree in Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary. She has extensive experience in the youth services field and has worked in both direct care and supervisory positions in basic center, transitional living, and street outreach programs. TC is a talented facilitator and has provided training and technical assistance for more than 12 years to RHY providers, first as a representative of a major agency in the Southeastern Network and most recently for NRCYS, as a Senior Program Development Specialist. She is already well known to RHY providers across the country and she will continue to lead the technical assistance team.
Email: tc@rhyttac.net
Mark Wolf, MSW – RHYTTAC Training Director
Mark Wolf received his MSW Degree from West Virginia University and he holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work and Sociology from Utah State University. Most recently, Mark served as the Director of the K-Town Youth Empowerment Network for Tennessee Voices for Children. In this role, he was responsible for program development, management, and oversight of a $1.5 million a year SAMHSA System of Care grant with 20 staff. The program, which began in 2010, has been recognized by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Mark has directed state-wide initiatives related to permanency for youth and has more than 30 years of experience with runaway and homeless youth. He has an extensive history of training, including certification through the Child Welfare League for Effective Supervisory Training. He is trained in the Technology of Participation methods and is and is an Advancing Youth Development Trainer. He has provided leadership in youth services at the local, state, regional, and national level and has presented at multiple national conferences. Mark has been recognized for excellence by National Safe Place, the Child Welfare League of America, and the National Network for Youth.
Email: mark@rhyttac.net
Tella Jones – RHYTTAC Logistics Specialist
Tella Jones assists with the provision of logistics for the RHYTTAC grant, including the creation of training and technical assistance schedules, travel arrangements for staff and consultants, and location management for RHYTTAC events. He also assists with the acquisition of consultants and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for RHYTTAC trainings and events. Tella has 13 years of experience in banking, including audits, operations, underwriting, quality assurance, and inventory control. He hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration Management from Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky.
Email: tjones@nationalsafeplace.org
Stacy Meadows – RHYTTAC Evidence-Based/Outcomes Specialist
Stacy Meadows is a Certified Social Worker in the state of Kentucky. She has an MSSW from the University of Louisville and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work from Spalding University where she completed the Public Child Welfare Certification Program. Prior to working with runaway and homeless youth, Stacy worked for the local Department for Community Based Service conducting intake and investigations on allegations of child abuse and neglect for children birth to 12 years of age. She then spent two years working in Dudley, West Midlands, United Kingdom as a social worker for Children’s Specialist Division Referral and Assessment team working with families in need and child protection cases. For the past 6 years, Stacy was a case manager for the YMCA Safe Place Services street outreach program in Louisville, Kentucky. In her role with RHYTTAC, she is responsible for keeping up with current trends in the field of runaway and homeless youth, evidence-based practices, and research relevant to that population and the agencies that provide services. In addition to her role with RHYTTAC, Stacy is an independent, contracted social worker for Jefferson County Mental Inquest and Guardianship Court.
Email: smeadows@nationalsafeplace.org
Kim Frierson – RHYTTAC Training Specialist
Kim Frierson assists in coordinating RHYTTAC training opportunities, creating and researching content for trainings, and planning the annual RHYTTAC conference. Previously, she spent six years as a case manager at YMCA Safe Place Services youth shelter in Louisville, Kentucky. Kim received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Kentucky in 2005 and, after a year as an AmeriCorpos VISTA in 2006, returned to school and earned her Master’s of Science in Social Work from the University of Louisville. In addition to her role with RHYTTAC, Kim contracts with the University of Louisville as a facilitator on a Pregnancy Prevention grant funded by the Department for Health & Human Service. She has spent the past six years as a sexual health educator with the university and other local agencies.
Email: kfrierson@nationalsafeplace.org
Eric Tadatada – RHYTTAC Technical Assistance Specialist
Eric Tadatada provides technical assistance via telephone, on-site, or online to runaway and homeless youth grantees in need for RHYTTAC. In addition, he assists with the preparation of reports for Federal Project Officers as well as presenting and planning at technical assistance clinics. He has supervised and worked in youth programming for 21 years. This includes basic center, transitional living, and street outreach program management experience. Prior to joining the organization in 2013, Eric worked for the YMCA Safe Place Services branch in various roles starting as a youth worker and ending as their Outreach Director. In between these two roles, he served as a counselor, Residential Shelter Director, Independent Living Program Director, and Aftercare Program Director. In 2003 he received the Southeastern Network’s Dick Moran Youth Services Award. Tadatada holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology/Social Work from the University of Louisville.
Email: etadatada@nationalsafeplace.org
Elizabeth Smith Miller – RHYTTAC Electronic Communications Specialist
Elizabeth Smith Miller is a product of positive youth development in action. At the age of 9, she was volunteering in a runaway shelter. By the age of 16 she was the Chair of the Youth advisory Board for that shelter and now she has joined the RHYTTAC team. Elizabeth has worked at grantee agencies in Tennessee and Florida and has specific program expertise in substance abuse assessments and prevention; volunteer management; and skills groups with youth. She is also proud to be an AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni. She has a Master’s Degree in Business and an undergraduate degree in Digital Arts and Design. Elizabeth has been blessed to care for several children throughout her life and is planning to open her home again as a foster parent in the very near future. She is looking forward to connecting with you on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rhyttac and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rhyttac.
Email: elizabeth@rhyttac.net
