Board of Trustees

Stephanie Weemhoff – Co-President

Stephanie is a retired Social worker after 30 years of working with all age groups in a variety of settings. She enjoys tennis, golf, working out, travel and being with family and friends. Stephanie has a passion for helping others. She became involved with Hope for Kids Geauga to help make a difference for those kids who are served by the funds that are raised.

Pat Brockway – Co-President

Pat is a retired Principal after 43 years working mostly with Middle School students in public and private schools.  She loved empowering students to succeed and work on problem-solving ideas with them.  In the past two years she has served as a Truant Officer in Geauga and Lake County schools working on intervention plans to increase school attendance.  Pat loves reading, traveling, and spending time with her family (especially a new great grandson).  Her biggest passion is working with children to allow them to succeed in all facets of their life.  Hope for Kids Geauga was especially enticing to show children that if they believe in themselves, then funding, etc. can follow and make their passions come to life.

Dee Dee Pearce – Vice President

Dee Dee is a retired secondary school Educator with 30 years experience. During her tenure she was class advisor to two graduating classes along with advising many clubs on campus. She is the Founder of Illuminate Film Experience, a program for high school students with the Chagrin Falls Film Festival.

In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, loves watching movies, especially documentaries growing her “salsa garden”, traveling and most of all spending time with her family.

As a strong advocate for children’s mental, physical health and welfare she pleased to join the Hope For Kids Geauga team. “I strongly and deeply believe children are our future. Providing opportunities for them to thrive, aid in mitigating their adversity and achieve a life with dignity are key puzzle pieces that bring me to Hope For Kids.”

Amy Shepard – Treasurer

Amy is an accountant and enjoys gardening, music, tennis, golf, family and friends. In addition to being the Treasurer for Hope for Kids she also sits on the Finance Committee. She hopes that the funds raised by Hope for Kids help as many children as possible overcome their difficulties and realize their full potential.

Ashley Arsena – Governance

As Bainbridge resident, Ashley became involved with Hope for Kids Geauga as a way to help serve children in her local community.  She hopes she can help the local youth gain some normalcy in their life and reach their full potential. In addition to being on the board of directors, Ashley is also on the Finance Committee for Hope for Kids Geauga.

By day Ashley is a CFP® professional working as an Advisor, Business Development Specialist at Shaker Investments. She enjoys spending time with her wife and kids, hitting the golf course, and being a spectator at Cleveland sporting events.

Stephanie Anderson

Stephanie Anderson is the founding attorney of Anderson Legal Services, LLC in Lyndhurst Ohio. After spending the first 16 years of her career in the public sector, Stephanie opened her own legal practice to devote her practice to assisting families during the most difficult periods in their lives. She has earned a reputation for being a compassionate and tenacious advocate. During Stephanie’s tenure as an Assistant Prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, she was one of the first prosecutors on the court’s high risk domestic violence docket, as well as being the first prosecutor on the court’s Veteran’s Treatment Court. In addition to working towards rehabilitative justice for the individuals on the court’s specialty dockets, Stephanie prosecuted all levels of felony cases for Cuyahoga County, and through her prior employment with the Attorney General and Ohio Auditor of State. Stephanie is also a veteran of the United States Air Force where she served as an Assistant Judge Advocate.

In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys gardening, strengthening community connections, and beautifying the county through her administrative role in the Geauga County Perennial Exchange.  Stephanie lives in Chesterland with her husband Michael, son Talon, and three dogs.

Monica Bricker-Thompson

Monica Bricker-Thompson is excited to join Hope For Kids – she is very passionate about connecting individuals and communities to programs and resources that could be of benefit to them.  She is a Licensed Social Worker in the state of Ohio and is currently Director of Programs for Geauga Growth Partnership.  She and her husband were foster parents for 6 years.  Monica loves running, reading, Broadway musicals, and traveling with family.  She is active in church and community with her children and husband Jason.

Ted Bunton

Ted Bunton is the President of Troy Chemical and has worked for the company for over 30 years. Originally from St. Louis, Ted is a huge St. Louis Blues fan. When not watching his Blues, Ted enjoys spending time with his family and chasing a ball around the golf course. Ted especially enjoys getting to know people and their background. He understands everybody needs help from time to time, especially kids. Ted is excited to join Hope for Kids Geauga as the organization provides him the opportunity to help those kids in need.

Maddie Engelmeier

Maddie works in the Product and Program Management space, and is excited to join Hope for Kids Geauga. Throughout her professional career, she has been involved in multiple organizations working to empower and inspire the local youth. As a new mother, she has developed a deep passion and enthusiasm for helping kids get the support and resources they need to succeed. In her spare time, Maddie enjoys spending time with her family and pets, horseback riding, golf, and cheering on her favorite (Ohio) sports teams.

Jeanie Gaither

Jeanie Gaither is a retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor/Social Worker/Case Manager with many years’ experience working with teenagers and adults developing career goals and acquiring the skills to do so. Jeanie has worked with The Cleveland Sight Center as well as the Society for the Blind; The Epilepsy Foundation, Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center as well as internships with Mental Health and State Government. She most recently worked at Hamlet Village as the Activity Director and was able to see the end results of many careers.

Michael Henry

Mike is the President and lead agent of HG Agents, a real estate sales team with Keller William’s Realty.  Previously Mike was a volunteer with the Peace Corp in Haiti. Mike enjoys Cleveland sports, fishing, hunting, hiking, traveling and chasing his three children. He joined the board because he wants to help provide opportunities for personal growth to children in need in our local community.

Karen Lackey, MSSA, LISW

Karen is the Director of Community Prevention Services the ESC of the Western Reserve. She is an Independently Licensed Social Worker with 37 years in professional practice.  She completed her graduate work in Non-Profit Management from Case Western Reserve University in 1989 with a specialization in Child and Family. Karen has worked in multiple service sectors including behavioral health, juvenile justice, school based prevention and youth residential treatment. She has developed several youth serving programs in Ohio, is a member of the Ohio Youth Led Prevention Study Group. She is in her 26th year with the Educational Service Center.

Bill Lundstrom

Bill is a retired professor of marketing and business strategy from Cleveland State University. He has held volunteer positions with the American Red Cross, Malachi House and United Way. He lives in Novelty with his wife of 40 years and enjoys sailing, golf and tennis. He joined the board due to his desire to aid in the effort to assist in making lives for children in Geauga County as fruitful and wondrous that can be and lead to meaningful lives as adults.

Steve Schmidtke

Steve is very pleased to be a member of the Board for Hope For Kids. “Bridging the gap” is a need for so many in Geauga County, as family issues such as addiction, mental health, domestic violence and/or sexual abuse are as real here as they are in many other towns, cities and counties throughout the U.S. He believes we are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful and resource rich area, but this doesn’t mean we are immune.

Steve has had the pleasure of both being a “big brother”/mentor with Torchlight Youth Mentoring Alliance and serving on their board as both board member and currently, president. He also serves as the treasurer in the Bellwood Lake community in South Russell.

Steve’s chosen career path is in industrial distribution, where are he has held positions ranging from branch management to national accounts management and business development management. Steve enjoys hiking, golf, cycling, travel, cooking and reading.