Board of Trustees

Stephanie Weemhoff – 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.

Karolyn Squire – Vice President

Karolyn served as the Volunteer Liaison and Program Administrator for the Geauga County CASA program for 10 years. She has spent many years as a volunteer for her local school and community. Karolyn enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, kayaking, and cooking. She became involved with Hope for Kids due to her belief that all children deserve love, support and the opportunity for as many positive experiences as possible in order to grow to be healthy, strong and capable.

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.

Monica Bricker-Thompson – Governance

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.

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.

Ashley Arsena

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.

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.

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.

Mike Malone

Mike’s career path has been in human resources for a variety of different companies followed by becoming a business professor at John Carroll University. Mike is now retired and lives with his wife Doris of 11 years. Mike has previously volunteered on the board of Notre Dame Cathedral Latin School and Russian American Medical Association. Mike enjoys cycling, golf and family in his free time.

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.

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.

Dee Dee Pearce

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.”

Pat Leech

Pat has been involved with children’s issues for many years   She and her husband are former foster and adoptive parents.  Their adopted foster daughter has her Masters in Social Work and is a CASA volunteer in Oregon. Pat currently serves as Allocations Co-Chair with The Children’s Guild of Cleveland and as a member of CARM (Citizens Against Recreational Marijuana), trying to educate parents and youth about the devastating effects of marijuana use.

Pat helped found Bellflower Center for Prevention of Child Abuse. She volunteered as a peer counselor and Teen Institute Advisor at West Geauga High School and served on Geauga Children’s Alliance. Pat is looking forward to extending her hand in helping the children of Geauga County.

Amy Hewis – Administrator

Amy is the Preconstruction Coordinator at The Austin Company and has worked in the construction industry for the past fifteen years.  She enjoys travel, golf, attending the theatre, cooking and working in her garden.  She is also an avid Disney fan!  Amy first got involved by participating in the annual golf outing and became inspired to join the Board so she could help out firsthand.  Amy believes every child deserves to have a happy childhood and looks forward to helping achieve this goal by volunteering with Hope for Kids.