Meet Our Staff
Susie Weller
Children First, Inc. Executive Director
As the Children First, Inc. executive director, Susie continues to grow advocacy and awareness throughout the community. In her position, she oversees all aspects of Children First and furthers the goal of promoting safe homes for children in times of family crisis. Susie has dedicated over twelve years to child welfare through her work with Children First and as program coordinator for Athens-Oconee CASA. Susie earned her Bachelors of Social Work and Masters of Social Work from the University of Georgia. Her goal is to help children have better outcomes. When not in the office, Susie enjoys a plethora of activities such as reading, singing, walking, basketball, bike riding and experiencing new things!
Contact Susie:
susie@childrenfirst-inc.org
706-613-1922 x 1
Children First, Inc. Executive Director
As the Children First, Inc. executive director, Susie continues to grow advocacy and awareness throughout the community. In her position, she oversees all aspects of Children First and furthers the goal of promoting safe homes for children in times of family crisis. Susie has dedicated over twelve years to child welfare through her work with Children First and as program coordinator for Athens-Oconee CASA. Susie earned her Bachelors of Social Work and Masters of Social Work from the University of Georgia. Her goal is to help children have better outcomes. When not in the office, Susie enjoys a plethora of activities such as reading, singing, walking, basketball, bike riding and experiencing new things!
Contact Susie:
susie@childrenfirst-inc.org
706-613-1922 x 1
Mary Joyce
Associate Director / SafeCare Home Visiting Program Coordinator
As Associate Director, Mary handles many "behind the scenes" tasks such as accounting and grant reporting. Mary also enjoys making a practical difference in the lives or families and getting to meet people that she might never get to know otherwise. As the SafeCare Program Coordinator, Mary has the opportunity to enjoy just that while getting to something different everyday. She provides in-home parenting education for families with children ages 0-5 at risk for abuse or neglect and handles bookkeeping and grant reporting. In her past, Mary worked with several non-profits before pursuing her Masters in Nonprofit management in 2007.
Contact Mary:
mary@childrenfirst-inc.org
706-613-1922 x 2
Emily Dant
Athens-Oconee CASA Program Coordinator
Program Coordinator Emily Dant found her way into child welfare after an internship with the Children First’s Family Time visitation program. Emily found the work interesting and challenging. Being able to help a family in hard times, even in just a small way, was very rewarding. With a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Fort Valley State University, Emily manages the training program and CASA program, assists in recruiting, and supports CASA volunteers. In her spare time, Emily enjoys spending time with her husband, two kids and animals.
Contact Emily:
emily@athensoconeecasa.org
706-613-1922 x 4
Tasha Nicholson
Athens-Oconee CASA Advocacy Coordinator
With a Master of Science in psychology with an emphasis on behavior management, Tasha has always been an advocate for the child. Before joining CASA as a volunteer in 2012, she worked in public school special education classrooms and provided after school tutoring to ESL students. As a CASA advocacy coordinator, Tasha keeps up with program data and numbers. Additionally, she edits reports and supports CASAs in meetings and court. On the weekends, Tasha’s role is just “mom”. She can be found traveling to soccer games and music lessons or finding time to scrapbook.
Contact Tasha:
tasha@athensoconeecasa.org
706-613-1922 x 5
Arden Bakarich
Athens-Oconee CASA Advocacy Coordinator
Arden Bakarich came to Athens Oconee CASA as a Bachelor of Social Work intern from the University of Georgia. After participating in the Fall 2017 CASA training she was able to take on the additional role of volunteer. Both roles came with a unique set of challenges, but provided her invaluable experience as a social worker and now as an advocacy coordinator. Arden obtained her BSW in May 2018 and hopes to one day return to school to pursue a master's degree. She currently heads recruitment and outreach for the Athens Oconee CASA program as well as managing her volunteer load.
Contact Arden:
arden@athensoconeecasa.org
706-613-1922 x 6
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Audey Lee SafeCare Home Visitor Audey has always been passionate about youth rights and has grown a passion for helping families. Before joining Children First staff, Audey was a CASA volunteer, worked with Jackson County DFCS and Rose of Athens Theatre. With a LMSW and MNPO from the University of Georgia, Audey's role as the SafeCare home visitor involves visiting families and teaching parenting skills. She also has a BFA in theater performance furthering her interest in performance arts, crafting, as well as gardening! Contact Audey: audey@childrenfirst-inc.org 706-613-1922 x 3
Rob Turner SPARC Program Coordinator Originally from Cochran, GA, Rob moved to Athens, GA in 2007. Rob found his way into child welfare while taking a year off from school and reading an article about a local social worker. He then enrolled in the bachelors of social work program at the University of Georgia and decided that the realm of child welfare is where he could make his impact. After a year internship with Family Time and two years as an CPS investigator, Rob now works as the SPARC program coordinator in which he provides legitimation services to illegitimate fathers, assists in gaining visitation for noncustodial parents and markets the program in the community. Rob is also an avid collector of vinyl records and enjoys cooking. When not in the office, Rob can also be found playing the banjo. Contact Rob: sparc@childrenfirst-inc.org 706-613-1922 x 7 |