CASA of St. Louis Staff Updates
CASA of St. Louis Names Chief Executive Officer, Chief Program Officer,
Adds Director and Staff Dedicated to Volunteer Recruitment, Training
CASA of St. Louis Board of Directors today named Jennifer V. Howard as its Chief Executive Officer and Cheryl Latham as Chief Program Officer.
CASA directors also announced the promotion of Shamele L. Hill as Director of Training and Volunteer Development and the staff additions of Ashley Bonner as Volunteer Engagement Specialist and Alecia Watts as Training Specialist. All three will be dedicated to volunteer recruitment and training at CASA.
“Volunteers are the heart and soul of our program,” said Howard. “The addition of these talented professionals doubles our volunteer recruitment and training staff. This action also reflects the importance of our 240-person volunteer force in providing critical support and advocacy to children in foster care in the St. Louis City and County Circuit Courts.”
Before joining CASA of St. Louis as interim CEO in 2019, Jennifer Howard, of Kirkwood, spent almost a decade leading development, fundraising, communications and the volunteer and partnership programs of Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri. From 1993 to 2004, Howard served as a leading consultant for Skystone Ryan, a fund-raising consulting firm, where she developed feasibility studies, assessments, annual programs and capital campaigns.
She was also extensively involved in the areas of staff training and recruitment, prospect research and volunteer management.
During her many years of community service, Howard has also worked to build community, encourage literacy, and support those struggling with poverty and serious illnesses, like HIV/Aids.
In 1999, Howard received the President’s Award for Excellence in Client Service for work with the International Institute of St. Louis, which provides nationally acclaimed programs and services for immigrants, their families, and the broader community. She has also served on the boards of Gateway Greening and Ready Readers and is a current member of Alive and Well Communities Steering Committee.
“During my career and involvement in community service, my eyes, mind and heart were opened to the disparities and challenges faced by too many,” she said. “Today, it is my honor to lead the diverse, passionate, smart and dedicated team at CASA where we are building an organization and staff focused on what is best for the children and families we serve.”
Chief Program Officer Cheryl Latham has worked in child welfare for more than 25 years. She is a resident of Florissant, Mo., where since 2007, Latham has served as an elected school board member. Latham joined CASA of St. Louis in 2007 and has progressed from the role of child advocacy specialist to positions of increasing responsibility as Program Manager, Director of Training and Director of the St. Louis City CASA.
From 2005 to 2007, Latham worked as a foster care out-of-home case manager, providing support to families involved in the child welfare system in both St. Louis City and County. Before moving to St. Louis, Latham was Program Director for CASA of Sedgewick County, Kansas.
Latham’s work has been recognized by a number of organizations: in 2008 she was named Annie Malone Child Advocate of the Year. Twice she has been awarded the Hazelwood School District GEM Volunteer Award. Most recently, she received the North County Incorporated Public Service Leadership Award.
Director of Training and Volunteer Development Shamele L. Hill, of Hazelwood, MO, has worked in the field of social work for more than 20 years and has extensive experience working with victims, specifically children who have been abused and neglected and those subjected to domestic violence.
She was also a family case manager and caseworker in St. Louis and Phoenix. AZ. Cumulatively for 12 years, Hill has worked with CASA of St. Louis as a Case Advocacy Supervisor, Senior Case Advocacy Supervisor, Training Specialist, and Training Manager.
In 2010, Hill served as one of the original Resiliency Coaches for the OVC-funded Resiliency Project, which developed and pilot-tested a program model that child abuse organizations can use to build resiliency in employees and volunteers. Most recently, she became a facilitator of the Darkness to Light Stewards of Children curriculum that focuses on educating adults on preventive measures of child sexual abuse.
Volunteer Engagement Specialist Ashley Bonner, of St. Louis, returned to CASA of St. Louis after working as a Social Worker for Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Greater St. Louis, where she helped launch the Teen Center of Excellence in Ferguson, MO, and facilitated group and one-on-one support for club members and their families.
Before joining the CASA of St. Louis staff in 2017 as a Case Advocacy Supervisor, where she provided support for 30 volunteer advocates, Bonner was a CASA volunteer. Her experience also includes service as a Family Case Manager for Every Child’s Hope in St. Louis and as a Teen Outreach Program Facilitator for Wyman Center, which is focused on enabling teens from economically disadvantaged circumstances.
Training Specialist Alecia Watts, of University City, most recently worked as a social worker in Pediatric Complex Care for the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine—a position she took after serving as a Case Advocacy Supervisor for CASA of St. Louis. Her experience also includes service as a Renal Social Worker, Medical Social Worker and as a Children’s Service Worker for the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division in St. Louis County.