Executive Team
Melissa Jenovai
President/CEO
Joined the Agency 2/27/2006
Biography
Ms. Jenovai started her career in the child welfare field in May 2005 at the Agency as a Project Specialist under the National Resource Center for Adoption at Spaulding, previously having been at the agency as an intern beginning in 2004. In 2006, she was hired as a Foster Care Case Manager, she was elevated to a Director’s position and on 1/3/2017 was promoted to the position of Vice President of Child and Family Services. She was promoted to the position of President/CEO as of 10/1/2022. Her responsibilities are primarily to oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency. She has 16 years of experience in the child welfare field.
Kris Henneman
Vice President of the Spaulding Institute for Family and Community Development
Joined the Agency 2/15/1999
Biography
Mr. Henneman joined Spaulding in 1999 and has worked to support families and communities for over 33 years, including experience in mental health and child welfare. He has been lead on numerous federal grants, including iCARE 365 – Diligent Recruitment, MiTeam Makes Great Families Project – Family Connections and the Infant Adoption Awareness program. He has provided training and technical assistance for the National Resource Center For Adoption and has been involved in developing national curriculums on resource family preparation and adoption. He has facilitated numerous organizational strategic planning meetings to improve organizational outcomes. Most recently he has developed online courses on Infant Adoption, Child Preparation, Post Adoption Services and Save Haven legislation. Mr. Henneman is a parent by birth and adoption.
ميليندا ليز
Vice President of The Academy for Family Support and Preservation
Joined the Agency 7/8/2013
Biography
Melinda Lis started her career with Spaulding in July 2013 as the Director of the National Resource Center for Adoption. Once this grant concluded, Melinda became the Project Director for the National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption/Guardianship Support and Preservation housed at Spaulding. Melinda has 20 years of child welfare experience including extensive project development and management on both a statewide and national level. She also has extensive experience developing curricula and training for foster/adoptive parents and child welfare staff. Melinda spent a good portion of her career working with the Illinois child welfare system. During her time in Illinois, she co-founded and managed a not-for-profit agency that assisted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with implementation and management of several statewide reforms. After leaving Illinois, Melinda consulted with organizations in New York, Washington D.C., and Florida. She also worked on a national evaluation of court improvement programs.
Doretha Morgan
Vice President of Finance
Joined the Agency 10/20/2014
Biography
Ms. Morgan started working at Spaulding for Children October 2014. In October 2023 she was promoted to the Vice President of Finance. She has more than 20 years’ experience in all aspects of financial operations and analysis, including grants management, budgeting, auditing and trending analysis. She has a Master of Finance Degree from Walsh College.
Kristina Vaseau
Vice President of Child & Family Services
Joined the Agency 11/6/2006
Biography
Ms. Vaseau was hired in 2006 as a foster care worker. She was promoted in May of 2016 to Foster Care and Adoption Program Director. Ms. Vaseau maintains the overall compliance of Foster Care, Licensing and Adoption. She was promoted to the position of Vice President as of 10/1/2022. Her responsibilities are primarily to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Child and Family Services department. She has worked in the child welfare field for 16 years.
Directors
Jamie Bozarth
Human Resource Director
Joined the Agency 12/1/1993
Biography
Ms. Bozarth has worked in the child welfare field for almost 30 years. Her career started and remained in the non-profit sector, specifically in child welfare. She worked in two child placing agencies in the metro Detroit area as a Licensing Worker before coming to Spaulding in 1993. She was hired as a Licensing/Intake Worker, promoted to a team leader position and then promoted as the Quality Improvement/Human Resource Director in 2001. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Calvin College and her Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University.
Kelly Burdell
Program Director
Joined the Agency 4/15/2013
Biography
Ms. Burdell began at Spaulding for Children in September 2012 as an intern. She was hired as a Foster Care/Adoption Worker in April 2013 and remained in that position for 3 years. In May of 2016 she was promoted to Foster Care/Adoption Supervisor, a Program Manager in 2022, and the Child & Family Services Program Director in January 2024. Ms. Burdell earned her Bachelor degree from Tennessee State University and her Master degree from Wayne State University. She enjoys working in the child welfare field and seeing families thrive.
Leslie Cohen
Project Director
Joined the Agency 10/3/2016
Biography
Mrs. Cohen has over 25 years of experience in the field of child welfare. Her work has focused on program development, implementation, and evaluation for children residing in relative foster care and on foster children who have achieved permanence. As a Research Specialist at the Children and Family Research Center, Ms. Cohen focused on the implementation and evaluation of the Subsidized Guardianship Waiver Demonstrations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. Ms. Cohen’s work also focused on the evaluation of post-permanency issues in Illinois for children who were adopted or went to guardianship. As a Senior Research Specialist at James Bell Associates, Ms. Cohen served as a Site Lead and the Cross Site Implementation Evaluation Coordinator for the Children’s Bureau’s Permanency Innovations Initiative. As a consultant at the National Resource Center for Adoptions, Ms. Cohen provided technical assistance to states, tribes and territories that was geared toward developing organizational and service capacity to better address the needs of at-risk populations. Currently, Ms. Cohen serves as the Project Director for the Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation at Spaulding for Children.
Sue Cohick
Project Director
Joined the Agency 12/2016
Biography
Sue A. Cohick MSW LSW was hired by Spaulding for Children in November, 2016. She serves as the Project Director for The Critical Ongoing Resource family Education (CORE) grant, a 3 year Foster/Adoptive Parent Preparation, Training and Development Initiative grant from the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project will develop a state-of-the-art training program, equipping resource parents with skills necessary to meet the needs of older youth who have moderate to serious emotional and behavior health challenges.
Ms. Cohick has over 20 years of experience in child welfare related fields. She has served as the administrator for two county administered child protective service organizations, and as a senior member for a statewide non-profit organization providing training on best practice interventions in child welfare. She has also used her experience and knowledge to teach both at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Laureen “Toni” Ligon
MPLD Director
Joined the Agency 1/16/2024
Biography
Toni began her career at Spaulding in January 2024 as the Director of the Minority Professional Leadership Development (MPLD) Program. Toni, a native of Connecticut, has 30 years-experience in the Child Welfare field with a focus on Kinship, Foster Care and Adoption. She started her career in 1994 at the State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families where she built solid and trusting relationships with adolescents, medically complex youth and their families, as well as foster, adoptive and kinship families.
Over the course of her profession, Toni has lent her time and energy mentoring and coaching emerging professionals within (and outside) the State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families. She has been a mentor for the Minority Professional Leadership Development Program twice.
Toni earned a B.S. Degree in Communications from Southern Connecticut State University, and an M.B.A. from the University of New Haven. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a member of The Girl Friends, Inc., and an Associate and Lifetime Member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
A married mother of two adult children, she resides with her husband in West Haven, Connecticut.
داجاري باترسون
Post Adoption Center Repository Program Director
Joined the Agency 12/4/2023
Biography
Ms. Patterson is the Post-Adoption Center Resource Library Program Director with over 25 years of child welfare experience across public and private sectors. She has deep expertise in adoption, foster care, kinship care, and resource development, having worked at county and state levels with Georgia’s Department of Family and Children Services. Ms. Patterson holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University, along with a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.
Managers
LaShauna Bertrand
مدير مكتب
Joined the Agency 1/27/2025
Biography
Ms. Bertrand joined Spaulding for Children as Office Manager in January 2025, bringing over 20 years of experience in nonprofit educational management.
In addition to her expertise in office management, she has served as an assistant across multiple departments, including legal, finance, and human resources, and as a liaison to the board of directors. Dedicated to enhancing efficiency, Ms. Bertrand is committed to streamlining office procedures and optimizing operations.
Lindsey Brock
مدير البرنامج
انضم للوكالة في 4/6/2015
Biography
حصلت السيدة بروك على درجة البكالوريوس من جامعة ميشيغان (آن أربور) ودرجة الماجستير من جامعة واين ستيت. أثناء مشاركتها في برنامج الدراسات العليا الخاص بها، تدربت ليندسي لدى سبولدينج للأطفال وتم تعيينها لاحقًا كعاملة ترخيص طارئة في فبراير من عام 2015. وبعد وقت قصير من قبول المنصب، تم تعيين ليندسي بدوام كامل كعاملة رعاية/تبني. في فبراير من عام 2017، قبلت ليندسي منصب عامل الاستيعاب/الأخصائي العام، وتمت ترقيتها إلى مشرف برنامج IPP في أغسطس من عام 2019 ومدير البرنامج في عام 2022.
قاعة جليس
مدير البرنامج
انضم إلى الوكالة في 25/9/2023
Biography
بدأت السيدة هول العمل في سبولدينج للأطفال في فبراير من عام 2022 كأخصائية مشروع في أكاديمية دعم الأسرة والحفاظ عليها. كانت السيدة هول متمركزة في الأصل في مكتبنا الرئيسي في ساوثفيلد، ميشيجان، لكنها غادرت للانتقال إلى شيكاغو. في سبتمبر 2023، عادت إلى الوكالة وتمت ترقيتها إلى منصب مدير برنامج أكاديمية دعم الأسرة والحفاظ عليها في أكتوبر 2023.
حصلت السيدة هول على درجة البكالوريوس من جامعة كولومبيا في شيكاغو في عام 2018، ثم حصلت على درجة الماجستير من مدرسة برين في جامعة كاليفورنيا: سانتا باربرا في عام 2021 حيث ركزت على علوم البيانات.
ستايسي ماسون أوكس
مدير البرنامج
انضم للوكالة في 22/04/2002
Biography
بدأت السيدة ماسون أوكس عملها في سبولدينج كعاملة رعاية في عام 2002. وقبل عملها في سبولدينج، عملت لدى شركة Vista Maria وشركة Evergreen Children's Services. تمت ترقيتها إلى منصب مشرف تنمية الأسرة في الموارد في يناير 2017، ومشرف برنامج IPP في عام 2022 ومدير برنامج خدمات الطفل والأسرة في يناير 2024. وهي تستمتع بالعمل مع العائلات والأطفال الذين يشكلون جزءًا رئيسيًا من فريق سبولدينج للأطفال . تعمل السيدة ماسون أوكس في مجال رعاية الأطفال منذ أكثر من 22 عامًا
Supervisors
Kristina Borrego
مشرف IPP
Joined the Agency 4/25/2016
Biography
Ms. Borrego began at Spaulding for Children as an Intern in 2016 and was hired as a Foster Care Specialist that same year. She was a Foster Care and Adoption Specialist for 5 years before she was promoted to an IPP Supervisor. Ms. Borrego earned her Bachelor degree from Eastern Michigan University in 2014 and earned her Master Degree from Wayne State University in 2017. She has a passion for helping people and working in the child welfare profession.
جنيفر لاند
مشرف IPP
انضم للوكالة في 2011/2/1
Biography
بدأت السيدة لاند عملها في سبولدينج كعاملة تبني في عام 2011. وقد عملت في مجال رعاية الأطفال لمدة 21 عامًا، منها 15 عامًا كمشرفة على رعاية التبني/التبني. في عام 2012، تمت ترقية السيدة لاند إلى مشرفة رعاية/تبني ومشرفة على برنامج IPP في عام 2022.
Executive Assistant
شيريل جيست
Executive Assistant
Joined the Agency 11/28/1998
Biography
Ms. Gist has extensive experience, starting in corporate food service and the medical fields before transitioning to Spaulding in 1998. At Spaulding, she plays a key role in the Development department, supporting the President/CEO and focusing on fundraising efforts. Over her 26 years at Spaulding, she has been instrumental in organizing numerous signature events, including The Tapestry, the Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off, the Celebrity Wait-off, and the current annual fundraiser, the Spaulding Scramble.