Jacqueline Kronk

Currently serving as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County, Jacqueline Kronk has deep roots in the South Bend and Mishawaka communities. Her relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs began in 2011 as Director of Mission Advancement, and in 2019 she returned as CEO of the organization. Under her leadership, the Club has doubled the number of sites across the county and tripled its workforce, serving more kids and families than ever. Jacqueline's focus on creating innovative partnerships and bold vision for the future is having a tangible and sustainable impact on our community.

Lindahl Chase

Lindahl Chase took on the role of Director of Development for the Club in 2020. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University and was previously a newspaper reporter before moving into marketing, communications, and public relations for a healthcare system. Prior to the Club she spent eight years in Annual Giving at the University of Notre Dame. Lindahl oversees fundraising and marketing efforts, encouraging the community to invest in our mission as we all work together to make this a great place for every child and family.

Jennifer Miller

Jenny Miller serves as the Director of Accounting. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from Western Michigan University, has obtained her CPA and worked in public accounting, specializing in tax. Jenny joined the Boys & Girls Clubs in December of 2020 and 

is thrilled to work for an organization so committed to providing opportunity, support and care to the youth in her community. She is continually impressed by the effort and dedication of the staff, volunteers, board members, community partners and Club families.

Janet Brooks

Meet Janet Brooks, our Training and Development Specialist! After volunteering at our Club for some time, Janet wanted to give more to the members and the Clubs. She is very passionate about keeping our staff up to date on the latest training and techniques that will help better serve our Club members!

Cabralin Kehoe

Cabralin is a recent graduate of Ball State University with a degree in marketing. She joined our team as the Communications Assistant in the Spring of 2022, but has now taken on a new role as the Executive Assistant to our CEO. Cabralin is excited to be a part of this organization and believes very strongly in what BGC does for the youth in our community. 

Ashley Murray

Ashley Murray took on the role of Area Director for the Club in 2021, and has been with the organization for 13 years. She attended and graduated from Holy Cross College in 2004. Prior to the Club she spent many years working with youth at different organizations. Ashley oversees multiple grants, is the direct supervisor for multiple sites, and assists with hiring. Youth work has always been Ashley's calling. She enjoys working with the youth and their families and the positive impact that our organization has on them.

David Power

David Power was installed as the Data & Assessment coordinator 10.16.2021. The core updates came as a B.A. from the UND and an M.A. from MSU. Having learned from past applications in the for-profit, governmental, and non-profit sectors, David is set to expand the data-driven decision making in the mission-driven culture of the BGCSJC and increase the organization's evaluation capacity.

Savino Rivera Jr.

Savino Rivera a native of South Bend, has served his community in multifaceted ways. As a product of John Adams High School and Indiana University where he majored in Linguistics. Savino always had a special place in his heart for empowering youth to be the best versions of themselves. He has served in several professional capacities in the area of student support services which include: IvyTech Community College, Goshen College, as well as John Adams High School. He also lead community health programing in the areas of Suicide prevention, Adolescent mental health, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Asthma Education. Furthermore, specializing in the health needs of the Hispanic community, Savino led the Dame Tu Mano initiative for Beacon Health Systems in Elkhart, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties. Most recently, Savino served as Dean of School Culture for the South Bend Empowerment Zone. He is very excited about the opportunity to join the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County as an Area Director. 

Shaune Thompson

Shaune is an associate licensed mental health counselor in the state of Indiana. She worked for years in student services and student housing at Indiana University South Bend while working on her Bachelor's Degree, then earned her Master's of Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree from IUSB in 2019. In her role, Shaune will work with kids as well as members of our staff, as we strive to meet the mental health needs of all.

Duane Wilson

Duane serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County’s 25 locations. Along with his oversight of the organization’s day-to-day operating activities, he leads the implementation of new strategic initiatives around process, technology, safety and culture. Duane comes to the Boys & Girls Clubs after 10 years at the University of Notre Dame where he provided internal consulting services for enterprise-wide continuous improvement and innovation projects. Duane holds a B.S. in Social Psychology and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership.

Sandra Garcia

Sandra developed a strong operational background while serving as the District Manager for ALDI for seven years. She comes to us after she left her role at Notre Dame in 2015 as a Human Resources Consultant.

Sandra serves on the Board of Directors of La Casa De Amistad and Chicago Scholars Alumni Leadership Association.

Lety Stanton-Verduzco

Lety Stanton-Verduzco first joined Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County in 2008.  Lety attended Saint Mary's College graduating with a Bachelor's in Writing.  Following college, Lety worked for Saint Mary's College in the Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership as Assistant Director of Community Connections. Wanting to transition from working with young adults to youth, Lety became a Bilingual Specialist for the South Bend Community School Corporation. When an opportunity presented itself to be a Club Director, Lety jumped at the chance to work even more directly with youth and their families. Now, after 14 years, Lety is seeing her former Clubs kids become productive, caring and responsible citizens.

Chad Hershberger

Chad recently became our new Athletic Director. He comes to us from Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation where he taught and coached for the last 16 years. While teaching middle school wellness he also coached wrestling, football, and soccer at Penn. He has a B.S. in Physical Education and Health and Safety. Chad’s goal is to create athletic opportunities for the youth that we serve. 

Zach McFarland

Zach began working as the Assistant Director of Development in September of 2022. He joins our team with a plethora of experience in marketing and sales, coming to us from Sound Management (U93), and previously held positions with Wildman Business Group in Warsaw and the Persian Rug Gallery in Elkhart. Zach is passionate about our mission to empower and enable all youth to become caring, successful citizens of our community.

Cynthia Penaloza

Cynthia Penaloza, our Marketing & Communications Coordinator, graduated from Saint Mary's College in May of 2022 and joined the BGCSJC Team shortly after in September 2022. She is originally from Texas but decided to stay in her college town and give back to the community that helped shape her into the person she is today. By joining our team she is able to fulfill her mission of helping create a better environment for our local youth.

Lindsey Power

Lindsey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Indiana with expertise in providing evidence-based treatment and services for youth. Lindsey became a Social Worker because she is passionate about providing effective, strengths-based youth advocacy - she believes every kid deserves for someone to have their back. She specializes in working with youth who have experienced trauma, emotional/behavioral challenges, and obstacles to success in general. Lindsey also has specialized training and expertise in advocacy for youth and families involved in the juvenile justice/child welfare system(s).

Lindsey holds a Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree and a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology from Michigan State University. She holds national certifications in several evidence-based trauma treatment models. Prior to joining the Emotional Wellbeing Team at BGC, she served as the Clinical Director and Therapist at a Child Advocacy Center in Michigan, and was a Child/Adolescent Therapist in/around the South Bend area for years. Lindsey also enjoys providing clinical supervision and training for Social Work students in their graduate/undergrad college programs. She is excited to have joined the BGC team!

Rachel Solmos

Rachel currently serves as the Assistant Director of Operations. She helps keep our organization running smoothly and effectively. 

Andrea Vollrath

Andrea Vollrath has been the Math Coordinator for BGCSJC since 2021, and before that was the STEM specialist at Harrison for two years.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, along with teaching licensure.  Before Club, she spent nine years working for Riverbend Community Math Center, first as a tutor and then as the Program Coordinator.

Susie Brennan

As our Director of Programming, Susie Brennan cultivates partnerships with education, youth service, community, corporate, and development stakeholders to

increase engagement and enhance our services and programming.

Susie has a Master’s in Public Health and experience in research, grants management, and working with public school programs. She is passionate about how education and safe after school programming positively impacts the overall health and wellbeing of our community and the next generation!

Erica Kelsey

Dr. Erica Kelsey serves as the Director of Emotional Well-being for the Boys and Girls Clubs. Dr. Kelsey is a licensed clinical psychologist. She graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and earned her Master's and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Kelsey completed her training as a predoctoral resident at Indiana University School of Medicine Dr. Kelsey is a certified integrated behavioral health psychologist. Prior to joining the club, Dr. Kelsey served as Director of Behavioral Health at the South Bend Clinic. Dr. Kelsey started the integrated Emotional Well-being Program at the club in hopes of creating a preventative mental health program that fosters resilience in our youth and also reduces access barriers to exceptional mental health services. 

Susanne Borders

Susanne Borders currently serves as Academic Program Director for Boys and Girls Clubs. Susanne earned her Bachelor's in Elementary Education from Wake Forest College, and her Master’s in Early Childhood Development from Ball State University. For years, Susanne utilized her degree by assisting children to learn to read. She has since then turned her passion into a career  by joining the Boys & Girl Clubs fight to create a better community for the youth by aiding them with extra assistance to help them learn to read and write.

Kelly Jones

Kelly Jones serves as the literacy coordinator for BGC. She is an accomplished educator with a Master's in Education from Bethel University and a Bachelor's in Romance Languages from the University of Notre Dame. Formerly an English as a New Language (ENL) Specialist at Our Lady of Hungary School, she led small group remediation, crafted lesson plans, and co-led a literacy initiative. With previous experience as a Kindergarten Teacher, Kelly is skilled in assessing student progress, and is deeply committed to language development and student growth. 

Megan Mullins

Megan will be working full-time on the Emotional Well-Being team as an EWB program specialist. She is a recent St. Mary's graduate, holding a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Megan hopes to continue her education in psychology within the next year. Some of her duties include developing and implementing Zones of Regulation, facilitating EWB (SEL) programming, managing the Mightier biofeedback program, and facilitating the universal screening process. She may be out at sites from time to time helping to implement programs or working behind the scenes on Emotional well-being referrals and data management.

Brenna Perry

Brenna has recently stepped into a new role serving as the Development Coordinator. She is a recent graduate, holding a degree in Communications & Design. Brenna worked for five years in the Before and After School program for John Glenn School Corporation before they partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs. She then served as a YDP, which led to her interning at the main office in the Development and Communications Department. After her internship concluded, she served as an assistant to the Operations Team. Brenna loves what she does and is passionate about what the Club does for the community.

Camille Ritchings

Camille is an Elkhart native with years of experience in the event planning industry. She studied at Southwestern Michigan College and Indiana University of South Bend. Her role as Director of Event Planning for Alpha Sigma Tau sparked her interest and she took a position with White Dahlia Events, a top wedding planning company in our region. As their Director of Coordination, she managed and oversaw a team of planners, working with clients, vendors, and venues across our area. 

Camille is excited to grow her career in the non-profit sector, and will focus on revenue-generating events as well as thanking and cultivating our benefactors, partners, and volunteers. She hopes to bring a fresh set of eyes to this space and launch creative ways to increase awareness of the Club's mission!

Jen Sweazy

Meet Jen Sweazy! She is an Emotional Well-Being Program Specialist at the Club. Before joining the Club, Jen was an art teacher for many years. Jen is able to use her background in art to help assist our youth to better understand their emotions in a unique way. In her spare time, you can find Jen at her own art studio, ArtDabbler Designs!

Madison Ward

Madison "Madi" Ward, originally from Elkhart, graduated from Indiana University South Bend with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications: Public Relations. She is driven by bringing people together to foster positive community engagement in our region. She previously worked at the Center for Civic Innovation at the University of Notre Dame as the Internship Program Manager-Elkhart where she was able to bring students together to work on multidisciplinary, community engaged projects alongside community partners.