Employees

Christy Obie-Barrett

Executive Director

Christy Obie-Barrett, the Executive Director created the agency through dedicated and insightful leadership. She brings the unique perspective of an adoptive parent, a business person and a community partner together to motivate others toward positive outcomes for children. Christy is President of the Heart Gallery of America.

Kelli Smith

Child and Family Operations Coordinator / Volunteer Coordinator

Kelli was a long term volunteer with A Family For Every Child before finding her place with our organization. Since 2012, her position has grown to include Child Recruitment Services as well as the Volunteer Coordinator for the organization.

“I consider it a privilege to be a part of this organization and to work alongside such dedicated individuals. I firmly believe that there truly is a family for every child.” Kelli is exuberant about her work and eager to form partnerships with agencies and social workers nationwide. “We all have the same goal in mind-to find stable, loving homes for waiting foster children. By providing free recruitment services, we can achieve this goal together.”

While Kelli’s work is her passion, she likes to spend her free time with her husband, two grown children as well as with many friends and relatives. While they enjoy trips to the Oregon Coast, University of Oregon football, and the beauty that is the Pacific Northwest, they are also self-described nerds and their home is filled with their memorabilia collection.

Charlene Savant

Executive Administrative Assistant / Project Coordinator

Charlene is the Executive Administrative Assistant/Project Coordinator to Christy Obie-Barrett and A Family for Every Child. Charlene brings a wide variety of experience, compassion, never ending enthusiasm and commitment to whatever task/assignment/project lies ahead. Especially, when it comes to “A Family for Every Child” and the programs/people/families and children it affects. Just ask her, she will tell anyone who will listen.

Anthonia Ambrusko

Permanency Specialist

Anthonia graduated from UCLA with her BA in History in 2011 before moving to Eugene the following year. Wanting to do work that would have a positive impact on the community, she made the leap from marketing to working with a A Family For Every Child in the Permanency Department. Anthonia actively works with youth and mentors to create and foster successful matches. She is a mother and a mentor and in her free time enjoys playing with her son, home improvement projects and naps.

Jen McNutt-Bloom

Event Coordinator

Jen has worked as an event coordinator for more than 12 years. She feels no occasion is too small to celebrate and loves it when all the big plans and tiny details culminate into a successful event. Prior to AFFEC, Jen managed events for King Estate Winery, Iris Vineyards and the University of Oregon Graduate School.

Jen is passionate about great events and supporting the AFFEC mission. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” –Steve Jobs

When she’s not planning the next event, you’ll often find Jen cheering at her kids’ many sporting events, browsing estate sales, or exploring the outdoors with her husband and three sons.

Andrew Hampton

IT Director

Before joining A Family for Every Child as the IT Director, he spent 5 years working as a web developer / programmer specializing in work with schools, banks, utilities, small businesses, and nonprofits. When not working he enjoys spending time with his family, travel, exploring the outdoors, and is a music fanatic.

Jammie Trimble

Adoption Worker – Portland Area

My name is Jammie Trimble and I am a 41 year old proud mother of 6 (one step-daughter who is 26 years old, three biological children-a daughter who is 24, a son who is 21 and another daughter who is 14-and I am in the process of fostering to adopt my great nephew and niece who are 7 and 3 years old). I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and I have been married to my significant other for more than eleven years. My family is very active and we are always on the go. We love to travel and we enjoy spending time together as a family. We also love to watch my daughter Tyra (14 years old) play basketball and we are eager to watch how far it will take her.

I elected to get into the adoption field due to my current situation with being a relative foster/ adoptive parent. I enjoy getting to know new families and supporting them in adding to their family. I have found adoption to be hard, but very rewarding work. It has been one of my greatest challenges navigating the DHS system and providing adequate support to young children who have experienced severe trauma. I also enjoy learning new ways to support my children through all of the training that is available to adoption workers and it also helps me to offer support to my assigned families. I previously worked in the mental health/addictions/ criminal justice field, so I am no stranger to dealing with difficult issues. I pride myself in being a good listener, an advocate and good at following through. I look forward to all this year has to offer.

Staci Super

Adoption Worker - Portland Area

Staci is an adoptive parent who has a passion for assisting others grow their families through adoption. Staci is a passionate advocate and has a strong knowledge of adoption and how the system works. She lives in the Portland area with her children and husband. They enjoy the outdoors, helping others, and doing things together as a family. Staci is a dedicated worker who has many years of experience as a youth support counselor and as a teacher. Staci loves assisting others through the adoption process.

Laurie Linn

Adoption Worker - Salem Area

Laurie has dedicated her life to helping abused and neglected children have better long-term outcomes. She and her husband began doing foster care in 1990. Between 1990 and 1996 they cared for more than 60 children who had been removed from their parent’s care. The Linn’s adopted two of their foster children. The youngest has global developmental delays. Laurie says she is a “master” at accessing services for him now. In 1996, Laurie began her Child Welfare career as a Foster Home Certifier for DHS, but quickly moved into an Adoption Worker position, which she says was and is her dream job. Over the next 2l yeats,Laurie worked in every aspect of Child Welfare. She retired in 2015, after working twelve y.uri as a Program Supervisor in Polk County. She began her position as an Adoption Worker with A Family For Every Child shortly thereafter, saying she has a passion for this work and is not ready to end her very rewarding, ful|-filling career. Laurie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Linfield College and aMaster’s Degree in Social Work from Portland State University.

Nichole Brown

Adoption Worker - Eugene

Nichole Brown has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Spanish from The University of Oregon in Eugene, OR. She worked as a Bilingual Child Protective Services caseworker for 12 years and has extensive experience working with foster families, interviewing child abuse victims and developing individualized case/safety plans. She currently serves as a legal assistant and child visitor for juvenile and family law attorneys currently serving local youth in foster care.

Rosalind Trotter

Adoption Worker - Eugene

Rosalind has a Master’s Degree in Early Intervention from the University of Oregon. She worked as aRosalind</strong> has a Master’s Degree in Early Intervention from the University of Oregon. She worked as a caseworker for the Department of Human Services Child Welfare department for seven years. She has also worked with homeless families and victims of domestic violence. She says, “I believe that taking care of children is the most important job in our society and children in foster care are among those needing the most care”. Rosalind was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Italy. She has worked in Africa helping girls to go to high school. She has three children, six grandchildren, one cat, and enjoys gardening and writing.

Connie Williams

Adoption Worker - Salem

“Adopting one child won’t change the world, but for that child, the world will change.” I always wanted to save the world, but realized early on that task was impossible. Being a social worker allows me to play a part in changing children’s world and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to meet the most amazing people who are making the choice to save these children. I have been a social worker for 22 years. I have raised 5 kids and been a foster parent to many others. I volunteer as a CASA . Eighteen of my social work years were in the field of child development and the other four in the field of Medical Social Work. I have been an adoption worker for just over a year now and love every minute of it. There is nothing more rewarding than helping people find their forever homes.

Melanie Messenger

Adoption Worker - Bend

Melanie is one of our adoption workers in Central Oregon here at AFFEC. She graduated from Oregon State University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Sciences with a concentration in Human Services. Prior to working for AFFEC, Melanie worked and volunteered with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) helping children in the foster care system. She really took an interest in the adoption process and realized that she wanted to help anybody and everybody that she can to adopt these kiddos out of care so they can find their forever home. She is the proud mother of three incredible and adventurous kiddos who are 11, 9, and 6. In her spare time (what is that?) she trains in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, plays the piano, and has a passion for statistics and geology. She enjoys spending any time that she can with her family, especially camping and swimming. and walking their giant family dog, Athena.

Pam Steele

Adoption Worker - Southern Oregon

Pam loves working with families who want to adopt older children and believes strongly that every child desires a permanent loving family. She is committed to preparing and coaching adoptive parents to achieve healthy families for children who have experienced challenging beginnings. Pam brings to the adoption team many years of experience as an adoption professional, working with adoptive families in domestic and international adoption and as an adoption educator providing adoption education to prospective adoptive families and adoption professionals. As an adoptee, she brings a special understanding of the issues faced by adoptees and their parents. Pam trained with Kathleen Silber, known for many years as the mother of open adoption. She has also worked in family preservation, community mental health and geriatric social work. Pam has a Masters in interpersonal communications, focusing on social service applications. She has done extensive post graduate training in family systems, clinical psychology and drug and alcohol treatment. She strongly believes that social work is about supporting others to find unique solutions to the problems and issues they face with a goal of enhancing the quality of life.

Heather Raskin

Adoption Worker - Eugene Area

Heather is one of our adoption workers in the Eugene/Springfield area. She also serves families in Douglas county. Heather has dedicated her life to working with children and families in one way or another. She continually focuses on how to make the world a better place, and what we can do to ensure the well-being of children. She holds a degree in Elementary Education from The University of South Florida in Tampa. She taught in Tampa for over a decade. She took a sabbatical from teaching to volunteer with a donation based traveling kitchen that feeds homeless people across the country. This brought her to Northern California where she spent several more years teaching before relocating to Springfield, and becoming an Adoption Worker. Becoming an Adoption Worker has made her really happy, and her background in education gives her a unique perspective of children.

When she has the opportunity she can also be found substitute teaching in Bethel and 4J school districts in Eugene. When she has free time she enjoys making upcycled and useful crafts, embroidering, sewing, and spending time with her animals. Heather’s friends would describe her as fiercely loyal, creative, and a problem solver. Her students’ have said that she makes learning fun, and her clients have said that she goes the extra mile.

Colleen Clayton

Adoption Agency Director

Colleen graduated from San Jose State University in 2014. She is now happily in Oregon after leaving a trip abroad to volunteer on organic farms. She has always been an advocate for adoption, even at a young age, and cherishes the opportunity to enable others to do so. During her free time, Colleen enjoys playing with her cats, hiking and planning more adventures around the world! “I have been waiting a long time for an opportunity like this to come along, with an organization as amazing as AFFEC. I can’t wait to make a positive impact!”

Megan Shinn

Adoption Worker Assistant Intern

Megan is a Senior at the University of Oregon pursuing a degree in Family and Human Services with a minor in Legal Studies. She is passionate about finding children permanent and loving homes before they age out of the foster care system. Her experience started as an intern for A Family For Every Child her first year of college and she has stayed with the agency all four years. This year, Megan is taking on the role of the Adoption Worker’s Assistant – where she is being trained on the adoption process and participating in all of the training that an Adoption Worker receives when first starting with A Family For Every Child. In her free time, she enjoys cuddling up with her cat, drinking tea, and cheering on the Ducks!

Megan Anderson

Adoption Worker - Eugene

Megan is a University of Oregon graduate passionate about helping families reach their goals through adoption. Touched at a very early age by the adoption of her beloved sister, Megan understands the impact opening a loving home to a child can have on families. Mother to four children of her own ranging in age from 12 to under one, Megan balances work life with soccer practice, play dough, and first year mile stones. She has experience volunteering with children in the community to bridge educational gaps in reading, writing, and math for elementary school aged children. Megan’s main goal working with a Family For Every Child is to be the resource that eases the transitions surrounding growing your family while getting kids the support and unconditional love they deserve. She would love to be your advocate as you work through the adoption process.

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