Leadership

Board of Directors

Susan Neely: Chair
CEO Emeritus, American Council of Life Insurers

Susan Hirschmann: Vice Chair
CEO, Williams & Jensen      

Brian Graff: Treasurer
CEO, American Retirement Association

Ashley O'Connor: Secretary
Managing Partner, Strategic Partners & Media

Sam Marchio: Development
Vice President, Federal & External Affairs, Elevance Health, Inc.

Bill Bailey
CEO, Radiance Technologies

Marty Durbin
Senior Vice President of Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Sara Fagen
CEO and Co-Founder, Tunnl

Kelly Gage
Director of Transformational Gifts

Joyce Rogers
Senior Vice President of Government and External Relations, AmeriHealth Caritas

Andrea McDaniel Smith
Partner, CarterBaldwin Executive Search

Russ Sullivan
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Autumn Hanna VandeHei
Co-Founder and President, The Zotheka Foundation

Advisory Council

Christopher Baker-Scott*
Executive Director, Sun Scholars Inc.

Lauren Behsudi
Manager, Deloitte

Dan Berger
Honorary Fellow, American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and Partner, Green & Spiegel

Kamilah Bunn
CEO, National Adoption Association

Allison Coble
Director of Programs, Faith to Action Initiative

Hope Cooper
Partner, True North Group

Ian Forber-Pratt
Director of Global Advocacy & Growth, CERI

Dr. Sharen Ford
Director of Foster Care and Adoption, Focus on the Family

Philip Goldman
Founder and President, Maestral

Bethany Haley
Former Executive Director, CCAI

Ryan Hanlon
President & CEO, National Council For Adoption

Daniel Heimpel
Founder and Board Chair, Fostering Media Connections

Kathy Nuebel Kovarik
President, Sagitta Solutions L.L.C.

Zach Laris
Founder and Executive Director, Bolder Horizon

McLane Layton
Founder, Equality for Adoption Children (EACH)

Jaia Peterson Lent
Deputy Executive Director, Generations United

Jedd Medefind
President, Christian Alliance for Orphans

Steven Olender
Senior Fellow, Policy Innovation, Think of Us

Jennifer Perry
Executive Director, Children's Action Network

Ted Prettyman
Director, Sims Strategies

Emily Chapman Richards
Advisor and Ambassador, ShowHope

Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard
Director of Policy & Advocacy, Ethical Family Building

Debbie Riley, LCMFT
CEO and Co-Founder, Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.)

Chelsea Sobolik
Director of Faith Partnerships, Stand Together

Rita Soronen
President and CEO, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Nicole Taylor
President, Riverstone Foundation

Rebecca Vahle
Executive Director and Founder, Family to Family

Taylor Vitello
Director, Federal Lead, Think of Us

* designates alumni from the CCAI Foster Youth Internship Program® elected by their peers to serve in this leadership role.