Samantha Mott

                                                

Samantha, is Administrative Assistant of Foster Care and Preventatve Services at Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth, a leading non-profit child welfare agency in New York State.  Samantha is responsible for managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders as it pertains to the programming of Western New York. Samantha works under more than 12 indivdual programs throughout the agency by providing direct administrative support, records and reportong on Medicaid billing, youth erved, and human resource and personnel functions. As a lifelong resident of the Western New York Area, Samantha has completed her Master's Degree In Public Administration from Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY. During her tenure at Hlbert College, she completed research entitled Changes in the Perception of Teamwork within Inclusion Classrooms, a study focusing on various Inclusive Head Start Programs throughout Western New York. 

 

Samantha believes that regardless of a youth's history or background, equality in services and understanding of their rights should not only be provided, but readily available in all public forms. Further, Samatha believes that every child, youth and young adult deserves the opportunity to succeed and follow their dreams in a healthy and supportive environment. 

                                         

 

 

                                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                       Lindsay J.K. Nichols

 

Lindsay is vice president of marketing and communications at America's Charities, www.charities.org, the leader in workplace giving and employee engagement. For the length of her career, she has focused on dynamic and sustainable communications, social/traditional media, grassroots and crisis communications, and branding strategies that have ultimately helped impact public policy, change people's behavior, and live healthier, more equitable lives. A member of America's Charities' senior leadership team, Lindsay guides and oversees the strategy and execution of all marketing and communications efforts with a major emphasis on strategy and tactics that support increased growth for the organization. Most recently, Lindsay served as the senior director of marketing and communications at GuideStar. There she lead efforts on the Overhead Myth and Money for Good campaigns and she served as GuideStar’s national spokesperson. Lindsay has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Philanthropy, NonProfit Times, and Dallas Morning News, among others. Lindsay earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting Communications and Women’s Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego. She is a founding board member of Social Media for Nonprofits and a volunteer of Safe Shores, the DC Children’s Advocacy Center. In 2006 she was president of Washington Women in Public Relations. She lives in Ashburn, Virginia, with her husband, daughter, cats, and turtle. Connect with Lindsay at http://about.me/lindsaynichols.

 

Lindsay believes that every child and young adult deserves a choice in the decisions affecting his or her life, as well as safety and security and the right to pursue happiness. Above all, Lindsay believes that each child and young adult has the ability to change the world for the better. She is excited to join the founding board of YRA WNY!

 

 

 

 

                                       

 

                                       

 

 

 

                                        Emily Terrana

 

Emily is an organizer with the Western Regional Office of the New York Civil Liberties Union--the New York affiliate of the ACLU. She works to educate, organize around and advocate for the civil rights and liberties of all people living and working in New York State. She well versed in the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer youth and one’s rights with the Police.  Emily is a 2012 graduate of Buffalo State College with a major in Women, Gender and Diversity Studies. Some of her writing has been published in Selves, Symbols and Sexualities: An Interactionist Anthology.  You can see her in action at a rally, phone bank or canvassing drive near you on major NYS and national campaigns to expand and protect the rights of all Americans, usually with her two children in tow. She proudly lives in Buffalo, New York with her two children, partner Kyle and pitbull Daisy.

 

Emily believes that true systematic change is possible with youth being the true driving force of the movement. She knows that such a change can only happen when we look at the world’s issues with an intersectional lens and prioritize the voices of the most oppressed peoples among us. She is thrilled and honored to be on the board of the Youth Rights Agency!

 

Marie Andersen-Strait

 

Marie Andersen-Strait, LMSW, is currently working as coordinator at Catholic Charities of Buffalo. She oversees Multisystemic Therapy programs in WNY communities and is dedicated to promote system level change in improving equity of support to families involved in Child Welfare, Mental Health and/or Juvenile Justice. Andersen-Strait is a committee member of performance quality improvement and certified in Six Sigma as a yellow belt. Some of her other initiatives involve improving processes to be strength focused, flexible, collaborative and empowered. Andersen-Strait has 20 years’ experience in human services. She is a certified foster parent and has transracially adopted through foster care. She is a proud wife and parent of three.

 

Andersen-Strait graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1997 with a B.A of sociology/anthropology with concentration in human services and women’s studies. She graduated from the State University of New York, Buffalo in 2006 with a Masters of Social Work.

 

Adam Kinsella