Welcome to New Staff

CASA of St. Louis is pleased to welcome two Supervisors of Case Advocacy and an Operations Manager to the team!

“These talented professionals will provide critical support and advocacy to children in foster care in the St. Louis City and County Circuit Courts,” said Jennifer Howard, Chief Executive Officer of CASA of St. Louis. “The addition of an Operations Manager helps CASA operate even more efficiently with a small staff and a growing caseload.”

The new staff members include Rhonda L. Lingard, Operations Manager, and Taylor Pierce and Brian P. Seltzer, both Case Advocacy Supervisors.

Rhonda Lingard

As a life-long St. Louisan, Rhonda Lingard grew up in the suburbs of North St. Louis County. Her professional career began with Better Family Life, Inc., -- a not-for-profit community development corporation that works to stabilize inner city neighborhoods in St. Louis.   There she managed multiple confidential projects, tracked and reported participants employment status and monitored program outcomes---all while earning credits toward a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, which she received from Harris-Stowe State University.

In 2012, Rhonda moved on to CASA of St. Louis.  For seven years, she served as CASA’s Coordinator of Volunteer Programs.  “It was a very demanding role being that all volunteer, children and youth data required a high level of accuracy and confidentiality,” she recalled. 

During the seven years she spent at CASA, Rhonda earned credits toward a master’s degree in Education – Adult and Higher Education, from the University of Missouri-St. Louis—a degree she was awarded in 2020.  She is now working on a doctorate in Education – Educational Practices, also from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

In 2019, Rhonda left CASA to become Coordinator to Vice President for Academic Affairs at Webster University.  There she worked with university leadership on faculty grant proposals, managed communications with students, staff and faculty, and tracked department expenses.

Rhonda was recruited by CASA leadership to take on a newly developed role as Operations Manager. “I believe in CASA’s mission and wanted to assist in aligning our operations with the vision for CASA,” she said. “And of course, it helps that I am very familiar with the organization and staff.”

In her CASA operations management role, Rhonda will maintain human resources records, employee benefits and payroll processes, among other duties.  Lingard will also manage major funding contracts and assist in developing and maintaining all internal procedures, policies and structures required to create an efficient, effective work environment.

Taylor Pierce

Taylor Pierce spent her childhood and adolescence in a city that calls itself the Land of the Sky—Asheville, NC. 

Yet Taylor Pierce to a new adventure in St. Louis.  She joins CASA of St. Louis as a Supervisor of Case Advocacy after earning a bachelor’s degree in social work from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 

Taylor followed graduate school working as a Case Management Supervisor at Centerstone, managing a team of mental health case managers.

She moved on to spend four years at Youth Villages in Nashville, TN.  This national organization focuses on children’s mental and behavioral health.

“At Youth Villages, we stepped in to fill in the gaps in life skills—taking a teen to a bank or a grocery store or helping with college applications,” Taylor said. “I am passionate about working with older kids in foster care – often these adolescents have not been given what they need to succeed.”

She was drawn to CASA of St. Louis as a way to use and expand her skills. “I had always heard about CASA – the organization has a great reputation and some of the teens I worked with in Nashville are still in touch with their advocates even after they have aged out of the foster care system. I have long realized that CASA has a lasting impact on the children it serves.”

She added that she is really looking forward to working with CASA volunteers to share the best practices of social work.  “I know that CASA volunteers share with me and other staff members a deep desire to help children, that they have the ‘heart’ for this work.”

Taylor said that her family background motivated her interest in social work (an older sister also earned her degree in social work).  Her father is a history professor, and her mother a physical therapist. “We always say my mother is a secret social worker because she spends so much time with her patients and tries to help them in every way, and my father loves to teach.  Those two helping professions guided my love of this field.” 

So in the end, Taylor came by her choice to enter social work quite naturally.                                            

Brian Seltzer

Brian Seltzer grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and has had a decades-long career advocating for children and families.

As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, Brian decided to combine graduate social work studies with law school.  He came to St. Louis to simultaneously earned both a law degree and a master’s degree in social work at Washington University. 

However, right out of law school, Brian dealt with litigation of all sorts. Now the father of three adult children, Brian began his career as an Assistant Attorney General working in Jefferson City, MO. In 1982 he moved to St. Louis, where he joined the St. Louis County Juvenile court for four years before spending 10 years at two law firms managing a range of litigation, including the representation of individual clients in family law cases.

In 1996, Brian opened his own firm and focused on family law and Juvenile Court cases.  “During those years, I served as a contracted Guardian ad litem and parent attorney with the St. Louis County Family/Juvenile court in abuse and neglect cases,” Brian recalled.  “I quickly became familiar with the great work CASA did for children.”   

In 2004, Brian joined the St. Louis County Juvenile Office as a staff attorney.  “There I managed a court docket representing the Juvenile Officer in hundreds of cases each year and advocated for abused and neglected youth unable to safely remain with their parents,” he said.  “It was a fast-paced, high-volume environment, where we were focused on achieving stability for these children.  I also was involved in providing compassionate assistance and support for victims of delinquency acts committed by juveniles.”

Over his career, Brian has mediated many family and civil employment law cases – saving clients time and money by avoiding protracted litigation. “Mediation reduces the conflict for situations that otherwise might be even more emotionally and financially painful if resolved by the court,” he added.  A big believer in mediation, Brian has spent more than 100 hours in mediation training. Brian also recently completed the extensive Training for Adoption Competency Program offered by the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition in St. Louis.

In his new role, Brian will use those his skills and experience to guide and support CASA volunteers as they navigate through a system that involves gathering information, working with a family support team, and making informed recommendations to the court about what is in the best interest of children in the foster care system.