"Cameron County will always be home. Everyone is connected—people will know me through my grandparents, from my waitressing jobs or from school. There are only eight of us who work in the county children and youth office, and I know the supervisor from high school. We joke in the office that when I changed roles from being a county caseworker to being a paralegal with Voce, I just picked up and moved to another desk across the room."

I love telling the story of what brought me to Voce—not just once, but twice! I always had an interest in law but didn’t become a paralegal until later in life. After my kids were grown, I went back to school at Penn College in Williamsport. Initially, I took courses to work in the medical field. The medical program was not speaking to me. One day I was walking across campus and saw something about the college’s paralegal program. I was completely surprised, and the next thing I knew, I was talking with the professor in charge. He said, ‘You can start tomorrow!’ So, I did.

Child abuse prevention is a shared responsibility. Organizations like PennCAC and Voce are part of a broader network of care, supporting children from the moment abuse is disclosed to the point where they can experience stability and belonging.

"Growing up, there were always kids in my house. My mom comes from a large, blended family, and as a stay-at-home mom, she was often filling in for other moms when they needed some help. My mom was also the person who helped me understand my aunt and uncle’s foster son’s background and the hardships of abuse."

So I grew up in a log cabin in the woods somewhere near Bloomsburg and Wilkes-Barre originally, but I've lived all over PA. I went to college outside of Philly, then law school in Harrisburg, Jim Thorpe for a few years, and then I lived in Williamsport working in family law until recently. I really didn't plan to go into family law, which of course includes a lot of child welfare aspects, but when I found an opening for it, I realized that I was pretty good at the 'people' aspect of it.

I've always loved working in the legal field. I went to Clarion University for school, and I worked at a law office while I did. I started out studying education because I knew that I wanted to work with kids.