Executive Leadership
The Communities Connected for Kids management team analyzes and identifies company goals and objectives and implements strategies that ensure success. Its members bring decades of clinical, financial, administrative and programmatic experience to the table.
Carol Deloach
Chief Executive Officer
Ms. DeLoach has been the Chief Executive Officer of CCKids for over 10 years. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology, holds the Certified Public Management designation, holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Management, and a Master’s in Business Administration, with over 30 years of experience in child welfare services, including over 20 years working at the Department of Children and Families in varying capacities. As community based care rolled out, Ms. Deloach was instrumental in creating the CBC Lead Agencies in circuits 10 & 18. She has a proven track record of creating and supporting child welfare operations in the state of Florida. Before moving to the Treasure Coast, Ms. Deloach serves as Assistant Executive Director for Devereux Florida. She was instrumental in bringing together child welfare, mental health, and Intellectual Disabilities programs to form a seamless continuum of care within Devereux Florida. Ms. Deloach has served on both the FCC Board and the FCC Foundation Board in varying capacities. This has given her the opportunity to participate in small group meetings with the Secretary and DCF leadership. Also, a member of the C19 child welfare/behavioral health steering committee. Ms. DeLoach provides active leadership and involvement with multiple Circuit, Region, and state-level workgroups, councils and organizations. She sits as a member of the Shared Services Alliance of Okeechobee and the Treasure Coast, the Saint Lucie County Roundtable, as well as Child Welfare/Department of Juvenile Justice crossover staffings and the Georgetown Project for Dually served youth, a project, which is a subgroup of Child Welfare and Criminal Justice subcommittee of the Roundtable.
Lauren Hahn
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Hahn holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Florida. She has over 34 years of accounting/finance experience, 26 years as a CPA, and 20 years in various executive roles for healthcare and behavioral health organizations within Florida. Ms. Hahn has been with CCKids for over 5 years. Ms. Hahn has served on the DCF Lead Agency Risk Pool Peer Review Committee for FY2020 and FY2021. She represents CCKids as a Board member of Guardians for New Futures, and serves as Chair on the FCC CFO Council statewide.
Cheri Sheffer
Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Sheffer holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. Ms. Sheffer has served in direct services and management roles in both not-for-profit and government settings in the Treasure Coast/Circuit 19 community for more than 30 years. She is certified in contract management, contract negotiations, adoption competence, and is additionally a Certified Public manager and Certified Trainer. She completed Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Leadership Training Program in 2015. Her direct services experience ranges from working directly with families in poverty through the Head Start child development program to implementation and expansion of targeted case management programs to children with emotional disturbances. Her management and administrative experience include the procurement and management of behavioral health and child welfare contracted services for the Department of Children and Families, DCF budget, administrative services and community relations. Ms. Sheffer has worked for CCKids for over 10 years, and served in the CFO role of the prior Circuit 19 lead agency for one year.
Caryn Toole
Indian River & Okeechobee County Director
Ms. Toole has been the County Director of Indian River and Okeechobee for the past 6 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Counseling. She has over 22 years of child welfare experience, starting her career as a case manager with The Florida Department of Children and Families before transitioning to Children’s Home Society as a case management supervisor. Ms. Toole is a certified Child Welfare Case Manager. Ms. Toole recently completed the training to be a team member on the DCF Statewide CIRRT Team. She completed the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce leadership training in 2018 and the United Way Leadership training in 2019. She represents CCKids in several community organizations including the United Way of Indian River County Board of Directors, the Samaritan Center Board of Directors, the Indian River County Executive Roundtable, the Okeechobee and Indian River County FIMR (Fetal Infant Mortality) teams, the Okeechobee and Indian River Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART), and serves on the Indian River County Children’s Services Advisory Council and CSAC Grant Subcommittee.
Denise Natalizio, MS
Martin County Director
Ms. Natalizio brings over 28 years of experience in child welfare, holding various executive management roles. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management and a Master's degree in Human Services, and is a Certified Child Welfare Case Manager. Ms. Natalizio supervised the first contracted dependency unit in Circuit 19 and played a key role in transitioning Palm Beach County to Community Based Care. She represents CCKids on the Martin County Juvenile Justice Committee, MC Community Health Advisory Committee, Child Abuse Death Review Committee (CADR), and serves on the board of the Martin County Interagency Coalition . Additionally, she is a peer reviewer with the Council on Accreditation and has guest-reviewed for the Department of Children and Families Contract Oversight Unit. Ms. Natalizio is a former Florida Supreme Court certified family and civil mediator, trained in Adoption Competency, Human Trafficking, Trauma-Informed Care, and is proficient in Spanish. Ms. Natalizio is also the owner of The Good Loaf Bakery, an organic sourdough micro bakery in Hobe Sound.
Katie Vella
St. Lucie County Director
Ms. Vella brings 16 years of experience in child welfare, having various leadership roles. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida Atlantic University, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University and is a Certified Child Welfare Case Manager. Ms. Vella has served direct services and management roles in both not-for-profit and for-profit companies. Ms. Vella has worked in Circuit 19, Circuit 20 and Circuit 15. Ms. Vella has experience in Quality Assurance, Dependency Adoption, Licensing, Placement, Program Development, Operations, Contracting and Dependency case management. Ms. Vella joined Communities Connected for Kids in 2022 as the Placement Supervisor and was promoted as the St. Lucie County Director in 2025. Ms. Vella represents CCKids in several local and statewide committees including FCC Case Management, FCC Legal, FCC Residential Group Care, CCWIS Statewide Committee, Council of Social Agencies, Healthy St. Lucie Coalition, C19 Child Abuse Death Review Committee and Safe Kids Treasure Coast Coalition.
Rusty Kline, MS
Director of Quality and Data Management
Mr. Kline has a Master's Degree in Organizational Management. He has over 39 years of experience providing child-welfare services in several states. He has served in quality assurance, continuous quality improvement, and executive management positions for both for-profit and not-for-profit companies. Mr. Kline has assisted in the design, start-up, and launch of high-quality and innovative programs for Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Sex Offender Programming, Program Administration, and Program Coordination. He is a certified peer reviewer for the Department of Juvenile Justice Bureau of Quality Assurance and a certified Quality Assurance Reviewer by the Florida Department of Children and Families Office of Family Safety. Mr. Kline has served as a guest reviewer with the Department of Children and Families Contract Oversight Unit. He has worked with CCKids for 10 years.
Andi Poli
Director of Contract Management
Ms. Poli has been with CCKids for 10 years and has 15 years of experience in social services on the Treasure Coast. Prior to becoming the Director of Contract Management, Ms. Poli was the Supervisor of Utilization Management, a department she started, developed, and expanded as needs dictate. Under Ms. Poli’s supervision, the Utilization Management Department streamlined community service delivery to clients, provided education on treatment needs to child-welfare staff, efficiently and responsibly managed funding, reviewed and approved appropriate clinical services to children in care, and participated in interagency initiatives to improve communication and community service availability. Ms. Poli has been Director of Contract Management since April of 2014; before this, she worked as a contract manager for 2 years. Ms. Poli holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. She is certified in Public Procurement and Competitive Procurement.
Dana Anderwald
Director of Community Development
Ms. Anderwald brings over 15 years of experience in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and nonprofit outreach to Communities Connected for Kids. With a Bachelor’s in Communication from Emerson College and a background in marketing and education, she has led outreach initiatives, large events, and partnerships that boost community awareness and support. Through longstanding volunteer work with Treasure Coast child welfare efforts, she has gained a firsthand understanding of CCKids’ positive impact. Fueled by advocacy and grounded in public relations, Ms. Anderwald is dedicated to strengthening partnerships, raising public awareness, and advancing CCKids’ mission across Southeast Florida.
Josie Kirchner
Director of Clinical Services
Ms. Kirchner has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Child Development with concentrations in Exceptional Student Education, Communication Disorders, and Social Work from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Webster University. Ms. Kirchner has 10 years with CCKids and over 25 years’ experience working with at-risk children, young adults and their families in therapeutic, juvenile justice and child welfare settings. Ms. Kirchner is certified in Motivational Interviewing, Forensic Interviewing, Rational Living Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care, Equine Assisted Therapy, TARGET-A, an educational and therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders in adolescents, Trauma & Resilience: Levels I & II, Wraparound 101 and is adoption competent. Ms. Kirchner serves as the Chairperson of the Circuit 19 Local Review Team, is the CBC liaison for individuals served through the Agency for persons with Disabilities, serves on the System of Care Grant Board of Directors, and serves on many state-wide workgroups and committees aimed at clinical services, placement array and independent living.
Nicky Smith
Director of Organization Development and Learning
Ms. Smith has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Science Degree in Professional Studies (Child Protection). She holds a specialist practitioner - child protection certification and is currently certified as a Child Welfare Trainer. She has been with CCKids for 10 years and has over 30 years of experience in child welfare; this includes experience working directly with children and families, as a quality management specialist, and as the grants and training manager and Director of Training for the prior lead agency. Ms. Smith is a peer reviewer with the Council on Accreditation and has served as a guest reviewer with the Department of Children and Families Contract Oversight Unit. In addition, she represents CCKids on the Florida Certification Board’s Advisory Council and Ethics Sub-Committee. She is co-chair of the FCC Training Sub-Committee and is an active member of the FCC System Operations Committee. Ms. Smith is a certified field Instructor providing supervision for interns from FAU, IRSC and FSU. Ms. Smith continues to participate in the development of the curriculum for the new Florida Academy for Child Protection and Family Resiliency and represents CCKids on the Academy Implementation and Steering Group. She was appointed as a member of the Greater Resiliency of the Workforce Committee (GROW) in 2021. Ms. Smith represented CCKids on the Board of the Healthy Start Coalition of Martin County from 2014-2021.
Sherina Johnson
Program Director, St. Lucie County
Ms. Johnson holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work with over 17 years of experience working in the field of child welfare. She first became a Dependency Case Manager in 2005 and transitioned to other roles before being promoted to Program Director for St. Lucie County. Ms. Johnson plays a critical role in working with children and their families to achieve permanency in legal dependency cases. Ms. Johnson is certified as a Child Welfare Case Manager and is certified in Human Trafficking She has worked for Communities Connected for Kids for the past 10 years. Ms. Johnson is a lifetime resident of St. Lucie County, enhancing her ability to understand the special circumstances of the children and families served in this community. Ms. Johnson also serves on the Ignite Alliance Program committee (gang prevention program) for St. Lucie County.
Grace Sayre
Program Director, Early Services Engagement
Ms. Sayre joined CCKids after eight years of service with the Florida Department of Children and Families. She previously served in various community roles in her home state of West Virginia, ranging from medicine to child welfare. She has a background in emergency medicine, disability and client services. Ms. Sayre holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology along with certifications through Florida State University in Trauma and Resilience, is a Certified Child Welfare Protective Investigator, and is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management. Ms. Sayre has a passion for serving her communities and was previously a Human Rights Commissioner championing non-discrimination in housing and employment in her hometown, and in Florida served as the DCF liaison for the Juvenile Justice Committee in Saint Lucie County. Over the last 20 years Ms. Sayre has dedicated her career to helping others and has created and overseen various programs to enhance the communities in which she lives. She is excited to bring her skills and passion to the newly created Early Services Engagement and Prevention Program.
Jill Poole
Program Director, Post-Adoption and Caregiver Support Services
Ms. Poole holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work. Ms. Poole has been with CCKids for 10 years and has over 18 years of progressive experience in child welfare, beginning her career as a case manager in 2004 with the Children’s Home Society (CHS). She has spent the last 17 years building the organization's Caregiver Support Program, which consists of services, and management of foster home licensing, including level 1 foster care and the kinship navigation program. She has been instrumental in the local implementation of the Quality Parenting Initiative since its conception and still is actively engaged as a “Champion Coach” with the California Youth Law Center. Ms. Poole is also a certified Child Welfare Case Manager and is Certified in Adoption Competency.
Evan Hunsberger
Director of Human Resources
Mr. Hunsberger has Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, the SHRM-CP certification from the Society of Human Resources (SHRM), Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification from Human Resources C I. He has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of Human Resources, People Operations, and Employee Relations. Mr. Hunsberger spent time in healthcare, contact center management, hotels/resorts, and the hospitality industry before moving into child welfare and the non-profit sector. He has worked in his current position for over three years.
Lesa Sims
Director of Permanency and Well Being
Ms. Sims joined CCKids in June of 2022. She holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Office Management Administration and a Masters Degree in Human Services. Ms. Sims over 30 years of direct child-welfare experience. She came to CCKids from the Tampa area, where in her last position she served as senior director of external affairs for one of the state's largest child-welfare systems. Ms. Sims is proud of her trauma-informed, culturally competent and collaborative approach and understands the impact that secondary trauma has on both families and staff. She is originally from Fort Pierce.
Elisabeth Eugene
Project Manager
Ms. Eugene has a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and a Bachelor's Degree in Management. She also holds a Project Management Professional Certification from the Project Management Institute. Elisabeth uses her experience to lead and implement projects to support the organization's needs. She has been with CCKids for over 6 years.
