Meet the Team
Susan has twenty years’ experience in child welfare and related social services. Prior to founding Family & Youth Initiative, she served for five years as Director of the Kidsave Weekend Miracles DC program, piloting a new approach to helping older children in foster care find adoptive families with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Susan previously worked as an independent consultant, assisting public and private social services agencies with projects in program design, development and contracting. She has worked for DC Child and Family Services Agency, last serving as Administrator for Resource Development, where her responsibilities included foster and adoptive parent recruitment and support, contract monitoring, foster home licensing, and new program development. She holds a Master of Public Management degree from the University of Maryland and a BA from Yale University.
Michele has been a volunteer with DCFYI over several years and joined the Board in 2018. Throughout most of her adulthood, Michele has volunteered with community and youth organizations driven by the example set by her family and the proverb “to whom much has been given, much will be required.”
Professionally, Michele worked in federal judicial administration for more than 20 years. She began her legal career in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama where she was law clerk to Chief Magistrate Judge John L. Carroll, and also clerked for U.S. District Judge W. Harold Albritton when he was appointed to the court. Having the privilege of early retirement from her federal judiciary position, Michele now works in the Senate Office at the University of Maryland. Michele is licensed to practice law in the state of New York. She graduated from Brooklyn Law School as a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow and received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University.
Caleb is a Senior Manager at Accenture Federal Services LLC and has more than ten years of experience supporting internal Finance, HR and IT functions. In addition to a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the College of William & Mary, he is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He currently lives with his wife, Angela Williams, in Silver Spring, MD. In addition to attending DCFYI program events, Caleb has also supported the work of the Executive Director and the Finance Committee since 2019.
Kevin joined the Board in 2021.
Kevin is a Senior Associate on the Investment Team at Grain Management, a leading private investment firm that focuses on communications infrastructure and technology companies. Prior to joining Grain, Kevin was an analyst at Wells Fargo in the Energy & Power group where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. Kevin joined Wells Fargo from Resource Land Holdings, a natural resource-based and real asset private equity fund based in Denver, CO.
Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Schylar hails from Montana and currently lives in Washington, DC. He has a Master's in Public Administration. Schylar is the Administrator for the Population Health and Innovation Division at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. He also continues his work as a founding co-chair of the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign, which strives to eliminate discrimination in child welfare based on sexual orientation, gender expression, marital status, and faith.
Schylar is a skilled and results-driven director with over 15 years of progressive experience in strategy, development, and nonprofit management. He has substantial experience working on child welfare, mental health, domestic safety net, and healthcare policy. He brings 11 years of lived foster care experience to the Board.
Lindsay started volunteering with DC FYI as the co-chair of their fundraising committee and joined the Board of Directors in 2024. Professionally, Lindsay leads the Clark and Van Wye Group at Compass, a top-producing real estate team in the Washington DC area that is known for excellent service to their clients and support for their community. Lindsay has won various awards, including Best of Washingtonian, a Top Individual Agent and Top Team at Compass, and GCAAR Recognition Awards.
Prior to becoming a full-time Realtor®, Lindsay had a successful career in public policy working on economic development, housing, and tax policy issues at the Brookings Institution, at DC Fiscal Policy Institute, and in the office of the District’s Chief Financial Officer. Lindsay is passionate about ensuring all young people have the support they need to grow and thrive. She was drawn to DC FYI because of the meaningful impact they have on the lives of teens in foster care. Lindsay lives in Washington DC with her husband and four children.
Marcela has been volunteering with DCFYI since 2019 and joined the board in 2023, serving on the Fundraising and Communications Committees. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner and completed her Doctorate of Nursing Practice at the University of Florida, Go Gators! Marcela transitioned out of clinical care into the field of biotechnology working with rare disease therapy development, currently at Ascendis Pharma. Outside of work and DCFYI, she stays busy with family and friends, pets, and plants.
Tanya is the Chief People Officer for a national nonprofit that focuses on creating pathways for economic mobility in under-resourced communities. With academic training in both business and nonprofit management and over 12 years of professional experience in Human Resources leadership, Tanya has developed a deep working knowledge and command of talent strategy and organizational effectiveness. As CPO, Tanya supports the organization's priorities of building a people-centered, high-impact team and enhancing the employee experience through strategic human resources management, talent development, people operations, and employee relations.
Tanya believes deeply in the power of people and community. In both her professional and personal life, she seeks out opportunities to witness individuals, amplify their voices, and advocate for their humanity. Tanya attributes much of her profound commitment to connection-building to her own lived experience as a foster child. Tanya's intimate understanding of the necessity of community and the presence of caring adults in the lives of foster teens led her to DCFYI.
In addition to a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Nonprofit management from the University of Central Florida, she is also a Senior Certified Professional with the Society for Human Resource Management. Tanya is an activist and a creative who enjoys and is energized by all art forms. She describes herself as a "part-time poet," a writer, a vocalist, and a champion for justice and community.
When I moved to DC in fall 2017, I began the valuable but often lengthy process of building a community in a new city. Above all, I sought authenticity, intention, kinship, dedication, and passion, with the hope that I would find all of these things while contributing to a cause I cared about. Rather than having to build this community on my own, however, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon DCFYI, an organization whose members—teens and adults alike—embody each of these characteristics and more.
I cannot overstate the value of this program or the respect I have for the teens and adults who contribute to it. Each day, I am grateful for the opportunity to meet individuals who are at once resilient, compassionate, and willing to find a reason to laugh, and to be a mentor to a teen who teaches me something new every time we are together. If nothing else, I leave each event humbled from having lost yet another game to a competitive teen and enlightened from having learned some new slang that the “kids these days” are using. It’s been a brick (did I use that right?!) since I found this much joy in one place, and I am so glad to be a part of it.
Benjamin M. Willis, a prominent lawyer in the tax industry, has had a remarkable journey marked by resilience, triumph, and professional excellence. Born into the foster care system as Benjamin Shryock in Providence, Rhode Island, Ben navigated through night-to-night placements and various high schools and got his GED at 15, facing adversity with determination as a ward of the state into adulthood. Supported by RI's DCYF scholarship money, state grants, and the crucial assistance of his group home Whitmarsh House, he embarked on a transformative journey. Ben earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island, a J.D. with a specialization in Tax Law from New England Law | Boston, and an LL.M. in Taxation at Boston University School of Law.
Professionally, Ben has made substantial contributions to the tax field. As a corporate tax expert and Director at the Washington Tax Council of Baker Tilly, he continues to excel in his role. His earlier experiences include a tenure at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington, D.C., and significant roles such as an attorney-adviser in the Treasury Office of Tax Policy, senior technical adviser in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Senior Corporate Tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, and Chief of the FDIC's Tax Section. Ben is also known for his prolific work at Tax Notes, where he wrote over 100 articles and hosted the column "Willis Weighs In." His insights and expertise in the tax landscape led him to become a contributing editor for Tax Notes and host the show "Willis Weighs In" on the Tax Analysts YouTube page. He is also an adjunct tax professor at Villanova's Graduate Tax Program.
Ben's journey from foster care to professional success serves as an inspiration, emphasizing the transformative power of education, support, and resilience. He is the proud father of a kindergartener. Advocating passionately for programs like Whitmarsh, Ben hopes to make a meaningful impact on the lives of teenagers and young adults in foster care through his contributions to DCFYI.
Since he was a teenager, Hamilton has been working with non-profit organizations and in group homes, working hands on to connect youth to housing or other specific needs, teaching youth about healthy relationships and self care, and as a researcher. As someone with lived experience in and out of the foster care system, his goal is to be the bridge that connects younger youth who may seem standoffish with adults willing to build stronger connections and have them understand there are opportunities they can benefit from during and after aging out of the system. Hamilton wants to be a voice for the voiceless and then teach them how to do the same for themselves and others.
Patrick Foley joined DCFYI in August 2021 as the Open Table Project Coordinator. Patrick is a licensed foster parent in DC, and specializes in fostering teenage boys. He recently adopted five of his sons, now ages 19-28.
Seven years ago Patrick was asked by a friend what career he would choose if he could start all over again. Without hesitation he said he'd become an advocate for kids in foster care. That's when he decided to leave his career in hotel management and devote his time to improving the foster care system. Today he volunteers with several advocacy groups and is a certified trainer for people being licensed to become foster parents in DC.
Shea has seven years of experience in fundraising and fifteen years of experience in teaching religious school. She began her development career as a Development Assistant at National Jewish Health, a leading respiratory hospital in the nation. There she worked with donors, event planning, and foundation research. Shea then worked as a Development Assistant at the Arc Prince George’s County. Finally, she worked as a Development Associate for Georgetown University’s School of Medicine and Health researching major donors. Shea teaches 5th graders at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia, where the emphasis of the curriculum is on tikkun olam, or repairing the world. She became involved with Family and Youth Initiative due to her love of children. Shea holds a BA in Mathematics from Williams College and an MD from Drexel University College of Medicine.
Since a teen, Tanika has been working with non-profit organizations in the Prince George's County area teaching youth about healthy relationships and self-care. As someone with lived experience in and out of the foster care system, her goals are to bridge the gap between teens and adults who are willing to build stronger connections and have them understand there are communities they can benefit from during and after aging out of foster care. Tanika wants to help the next generation transition into adulthood more effectively than her experience.
Angie is a Senior Director of Equitable Housing at Freddie Mac, where her work centers on strategies to address the systemic barriers to housing equality. She has a B.S. in Financial Economics from UMBC, a Masters in HR Management from Georgetown, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education at Vanderbilt University.
Angie joined the FYI community in 2018.
I decided to get involved with DCFYI after spending time with my teenage nieces and realizing I actually enjoy spending time with teenagers. My own slightly rebellious style fits perfectly with this demographic.
As an entrepreneur, I have always done things my own way. I am not shaken very easily. Teenagers try to shake you and they try to get under your skin, and I just enjoy it. I think it’s a really fun challenge and a really fun place to be and I’ve never like diapers, so it’s perfect for me. I look at volunteering with DCFYI as an opportunity to be an aunt to teenagers who need a positive influence.
When I started with DCFYI three years ago I was not sure how involved I would become. But I became a mentor for one wonderful teen mother who graduated with honors and continues to make for herself an impressive life by anyone’s standards. She is bright, talented and amazes me every time I have the pleasure of spending time with her. We were able to get her into an independent living situation with her son, and she started college and by all counts is succeeding greatly!
More recently I became a licensed foster parent and created a home for another one of DCFYI’s youth who I met at my first DCFYI event where she taught me a three point shot. She was just so charming, and personable, and wonderful, and lovely, and through the events, we were able to connect more and more over the years.
After tragedy struck her life, she was at risk of not graduating high school, despite previously having been an honor roll student. I thought to myself, “I’ve known you since you were 15; you don’t get to just not graduate.” I wanted to offer her another path. So, I made a deal with her: If you do all the work you need to do and take the classes you need to take to graduate from high school, then I’ll do all the paperwork I need to do and take the classes I need to take to become your foster care parent.
Overall, as a member of the DCFYI community, my effort never feels difficult, I show up, I am present, I’m me, full of flaws and authentic, and somehow that authenticity makes it easier for all humans to connect. One thing I’ve realized is if you reflect their own potential to the teens, they can have extraordinary lives that are the complete opposite of where their fate may have taken them otherwise.
I know that they know if they need something they can call me; and that’s all DCFYI asks of its’ community members, to be there for someone else. It’s such an easy place for me to show up and bonus, it feels rewarding to make a difference.
Bill Trunk worked at American Red Cross in Washington, DC for 15 years until he retired in August, 2024 as Finance Director. Prior to joining the American Red Cross, Bill was a Community Development Volunteer with Peace Corps in Albania from 2007-2009. Bill grew up on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota and has lived in five states in the US and two other countries.
I treasure my mentor experience over the past eight years due to the friendship with my mentee over the years. I have learned how to provide unconditional support as a coach to my mentee who now is in her mid-20s during both the celebrations and challenges of her life. In addition, I have developed a better understanding about the trauma of foster care and the challenges of aging out of foster care by listening and providing advice to my mentee without telling her what to do.
I’ve been a volunteer with DCFYI since 2009, and joined out of concern for the hundreds of foster youth in our town that have incredible potential but often limited support. I came into the program to explore the possibility of mentoring or fostering long term, but wondered whether I could connect with any of the kids, and if I had anything to offer.
I started consistently going to the DCFYI events, and after a few months soon found that my fears were ill founded. The adults and kids at DCFYI form an incredibly diverse and supportive community, and it did not take long to become a part of it. I found the more I could directly participate and/or organize activities, the faster I developed relationships with everyone. I soon met my mentee Robert, and have had the privilege of getting to know him, helping him sort through several new foster homes, explore new interests, apply (and be accepted to) a new high school to pursue his dream of dance, and more recently, apply for and get accepted to a four year college (NSU!). I feel I’ve helped him along a bit, and being engaged with Robert over the past five years has been deeply affecting, truly one of the most meaningful experiences in my time here in the District.
Through getting to know Robert and the other DCFYI teens, I’ve found myself continually humbled by the resilience they show, their creativity and warmth towards each other and the adults who are committed to them. There are always challenges to being a mentor, but I am also continually struck that while the lives of DC foster youth are often complicated and painful, it is simple, sustained, loving attention that is often most needed.
I hail from the south but have embraced DC as home for the last 3 years, which I love exploring in my free time. At work, I focus on bringing together homeland security and public safety stakeholders to develop policy and strategies to make the National Capital Region a safer place to live, work, and visit.
Back at the start of my career, I worked with law enforcement, hospitals, and community members to build out sexual assault response teams. Part of that job also included working directly with rape victims-- both children and adults-- as an advocate. In the course of that line of work, I had the unfortunate responsibility of calling on social services to put children in foster care. I always felt the weight of that decision and knew that one day, when I was in a stable life situation, I would do my part to continue helping children in similar situations.
The kids that are in foster care are not there because of anything they have done and they deserve every opportunity to be safe and know love and trust. DCFYI provides essential services to our community that cannot possibly be valued enough! I literally stumbled into working with DCFYI: a friend had given me an address and phone number and I just showed up with no warning to a DCFYI event! I sat down with some of the kids to create art and have not looked back since! My husband and I are currently in the process of being licensed as foster care parents and we are really excited to continue working and growing with DCFYI in the coming years.
I first learned of DCFYI at an Adoption and Foster Care Expo in late 2015. I was really impressed with the design of the program, the enthusiasm of the volunteers and mentors at the expo, and all of the stories shared with me that day. I quickly signed up to attend a few events, attended the mentor training, and planned a trash cleanup for Earth Day (it ended up raining the *entire* time but the teens were real troopers!). Since then, DCFYI has become an integral part of my life here in Washington DC. It doesn’t feel like a volunteer gig – just another group of friends with whom to gather.
The staff, volunteers, and youth of DCFYI come together to create a real, caring community. Whether you are assigned to a mentee or not, your talents and interests are appreciated and welcomed. As with any teenager, it can be difficult to get them to open up and connect, but it’s worth the wait. In the spring of 2017, I was matched up with an incredible young woman after hitting it off at a cooking event. She and I have grown and learned from each other, and I look forward to continuing to support her and being involved with the program.
I have been volunteering in other organizations since I moved here in 2004 to work on a political campaign.
I was really interested in becoming a mentor or host parent and decided to do some research on smaller organizations who had a program that could provide this. My first time at a DCFYI event was a really humbling experience. The teens that you meet are so enthusiastic about meeting new friends. Because the way the program is set up, teens volunteer to attend these events. I found this to work very well since it creates more of a natural environment for mentors to meet their possible mentees. My mentee and I were matched in a few months from starting the program. He's extremely engaged, thoughtful, and very funny.
My background in social justice work is what made this program really attractive for me. I am very grateful for programs like this as it brings an entire community together. I encourage anyone who is interested in this to attend a training and also meet a current mentor/mentee.
Gail Amidzich worked for Congress and federal agencies for 25 years and later in the private sector. She was Legislative Director to Rep. Tony Hall (OH) and associate staff to the U.S. House Rules Committee. She served in the executive branch as Deputy Director of Legislation for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and later handled government relations for the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Gail has worked on a range of issues including child nutrition, health policy, Medicaid, public housing, and commerce issues and is excited about working with the DCFYI Board and other supporters to help DCFYI raise the resources it needs to help DC foster teens join loving families.
I'm a long-ago DC transplant from California, a mama bear to all kids (not just my own), and a staunch advocate. I'm a fan of equity, justice, honesty, kindness, good people who do good things, and public schools. I love animals, learning new things, travel, languages and cultures, and sites and objects from antiquity. I've been a DCFYI mentor for a couple of years, shuttle kids to DCFYI events, and help in whatever ways that are needed. It's been a great honor to have my time and presence well-received by the most discerning population - teenagers. It's incredibly rewarding to connect with the kiddos and be a person who they know they can trust. Being a constant in someone's life is a privilege, and I'm thankful for the opportunity for that through DCFYI.
When I joined DCFYI, I was looking for a volunteer experience that would allow me to work with teens. I was hoping to build community at the same time. I was drawn to DCFYI because the program provides structure and creates situations that allow for relationships to naturally develop. It also allows you to dive in or dip your toe in the water. I wanted to be thoughtful about the commitment I was making, and DCFYI gave me the space and the opportunities to persist until I met my match. I am thankful that I was able to participate in events and get to know many of the teens before being matched.
I had been attending group events for about a year when I finally met my mentee match. My mentee has a quiet strength that drew me to her. We continue to attend events while building our relationship. I am excited to support her as she makes her transition to college -- she is an inspiration.
After working as creative director, copywriter, and marketing manager for ad agencies and other organizations in the DC area and most recently for the journal publishing division of the American Chemical Society, Joe retired at the end of 2021. He lives in Northwest DC with his wife and adopted son. His interests include writing fiction and playing the guitar.
Joe started volunteering with DCFYI because he sees it as a way to make a difference in the world for a great group of young people who could benefit from having some help in making their way in the world (as everyone does in the transition to adulthood).
I have been volunteering with kids - both in and out of the foster care system - for more than a decade, and when I moved to DC a few years ago, I started looking for opportunities to volunteer with teenagers in foster care. My husband and I went to our first DCFYI event in December 2017 and I am thrilled to have found this amazing organization.
We are gradually working towards becoming host parents, but for now it’s been incredible to get to know several of the teens and build relationships with these kids. In addition to joining the regular group activities, we’ve been hosting monthly small group events at our house- ways for teens and adults to get to know each other in a smaller, sometimes less stressful situation. We had some pretty elaborate craft parties - jewelry making, Shrinky Dinks, designing soap - until I figured out that I could just put out a deck of Uno cards and serve a meal and everything would fall into place! Many of these small events are also birthday parties, and I feel so honored to be able to help these teens celebrate those milestones and create some happy memories. Plus, I love to fill our house with teens and friends and laughter. There is always a lot of laughter!
DCFYI really does create a family, for those who let it - not just for the teens, but for the volunteers as well. Whether or not you are officially matched with a teen, these kids become our kids and the DCFYI community becomes our community.
I am a lawyer in D.C. who previously served as a federal law clerk. Before receiving my J.D. at Georgetown, I taught high school English in Chicago and earned a M.Ed. and B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. I have published on education law and policy, with a focus on school choice, charter schools, and innovation. I chose to get involved with DCFYI as a mentor because I missed working with teens since leaving the classroom. The sense of community and impact DCFYI has was evident almost immediately, and it has been a joy to volunteer so far!