I've always lived in northwestern Pennsylvania. I ended up in the same town where I graduated from college.  When I was going to school, I had a few different ideas of what I wanted to do, but I knew that overall, I wanted to work with people and try to make a difference.

My journey with Voce began in 2021 when I learned the organization was looking for a banking partner to support its growth. At the time, I was working at Members 1st, a community-driven organization focused on giving back. The more I learned about Voce, the more I realized our missions were closely aligned.

"I’ve always been in child welfare. I studied Child Development and Family Relations at IUP, took the civil service test, and became a caseworker in Allegheny County’s North office. After we moved north, I transferred to Venango, and that’s where I first learned about LSI. I didn’t see myself staying in frontline work forever, and the LSI model just clicked for me—it really brought together everything I’d learned as a caseworker, but in a different way."

“I’m a perpetual student of life. In my opinion, if you’re breathing, you’re learning! That’s partly what brought me to Voce. I was already working at Washington County Children and Youth as a legal secretary, but I was at a crossroads and wanted to learn more about child welfare and the law."

I always felt I wanted to work with kids, I just wasn’t sure what that would look like. When I was attending Mansfield University, I took a social work class, and right away I knew this was it! In one way or another, I’ve been connected to child welfare throughout my career.

Back in 2020, when COVID had shut down so much of the world, I felt a calling to do something more. I had been working as a paralegal for an attorney in private practice at the time and helping to take care of my mother who had Alzheimer’s. Ultimately, I decided to get my master’s degree in English Composition and Literature and, in my studies, felt this call toward social change.