Lead developer and implementer of a new advanced nursing practice program to empower and equip Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) students to provide holistic, person-centered care for vulnerable people and communities. Working to create a robust pipeline for BSN-prepared nurses to pursue advanced education and clinical training in urban underserved areas of Louisville Metro and in Eastern Kentucky. By developing cross-sector partnerships, I hope to to facilitate the birth of an innovative institute for underserved communities where students can travel to urban and rural undeserved communities to deepen their skills and experience serving vulnerable people.

BENCH Strategies, LLC is a consulting firm offering strategic planning, facilitation, capacity building, and partnership development expertise to assist clients in Building Empowered and Networked Communities Holistically. We believe that the strength of a community lies within its people, and we work diligently to help our clients "deepen their bench" by building strong local capacity and sustainability strategies.

Developed, coordinated, and sustained the LFCS Disaster Services program by developing performance measures and other metrics to measure programmatic success, maximize programmatic revenue, and build and maintain partnerships at the local, state, and national levels. Wrote over $2.5M in successful grants. Created and implemented Emergency Operations Plans and Continuity of Operations Plans for all LFCS offices statewide (Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Springfield, St. Charles, St. Louis) by conducting regular hazard assessments and implementing risk management techniques to mitigate adverse effects from disasters.Began development of a statewide LFCS Disaster Services Network to strengthen community resilience by developing local disaster response and recovery leadership and expertise.

Managed $5.2M FEMA grant to provide disaster case management services to Missouri residents in 25 counties affected by the disasters of 2011 (DR-1980), including the St. Louis Good Friday tornado, the Joplin tornado, the Bird's Point Levee breach in Southeast Missouri, and severe storms and flooding across much of Southcentral Missouri.

• Teach individual/group guitar lessons• Record and perform original material with musical group, Treehouse

• Responded to and coordinated long-term recovery operations in 3 major disasters in the St. Louis area (DR-1809, undeclared New Year’s Eve 2010 tornado, DR-1980).• Managed cases representing 286 households affected by flooding (DR-1809) and served as liaison between Social Service Block Grant administrators and St. Louis LTRC during the implementation of a $12.8 million SSBG.• Supervised 10 case managers, coordinating weekly meetings to discuss cases and facilitate professional development.• Created a comprehensive and systematic approach for tracking all aspects of the disaster case management and re-construction functions (i.e. – case progress, project cost, communication tracking) and simultaneously managed multiple construction projects ranging from $3,500-$100,000 in value; successfully leveraged over $800,000 in assistance.• Served with 5 other professionals as a member of a nationwide, remote support pilot for the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN), seeking to better support disaster recovery operations across the nation. • Developed and implemented a project utilizing 40 AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members from 2 campuses to “triage” households affected by DR-1980 in the St. Louis area in order to expedite case management.

• Coordinated the construction of 3 new homes and the repair of over 1,000, utilizing volunteer & contract labor and tracking over 10,000 volunteer hours.• Assessed hurricane damage to homes; prepared material estimates; coordinated, trained, and supervised volunteers, coordinating efforts with 12 other non-profit agencies, local businesses, county Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA to ensure that safety was top priority and that repairs were code compliant and historically accurate.• Developed a wide-ranging homeowner training program; collaborated with 25 community-based organizations to develop a sustainable infrastructure, enabling responders and volunteers to be more efficient and effective.• Created, revised, and implemented AmeriCorps*VISTA Project Plan; recruited, interviewed, appointed, and supervised 5 AmeriCorps*VISTA members; prepared progress reports & documented performance measures.• Collaborated with Volunteer Mobile executive team to successfully write and manage an AmeriCorps State grant that established the South Alabama AmeriCorps Emergency Response Team (SAAERT).• Successfully served 12 month term as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member, developing sustainability strategies and striving to alleviate the effects of poverty by working to boost the capacity of the Mobile County Long-Term Recovery Committee, 2005-2006.

• Instructed high school students in the disciplines of consumer science, accounting, and Spanish.