| Meet Our
Staff: Child Specific Recruiter: Karen Page Meet
& Greet Coordinator - Caseworker: Jennifer Giandrea Office
Manager: Norma Welch Wendy's Wonderful Kids Recruiter: Jennifer
Hutchison Special Projects Coordinator: Stacey L. Kemp
Karen
Page, LSWC Child Specific Recruiter
Karen Page is the Child Specific
Recruiter for A Family For ME. Karen has been working with AFFME since June 2005
and has been a part of many projects. Initially, she worked on a federal grant
that helped children who have been waiting for over one year achieve permanency.
Upon completion of that grant, Karen transitioned to the role of Southern Maine
Recruitment and Development Specialist. Karen is currently the Child Specific
Recruiter with A Family For ME, and hopes this is the role she will continue with
for years to come! In her role at AFFME, Karen is responsible for coordinating
the many services AFFME offers to children. As a part of a team, Karen assists
caseworkers in various ways to achieve permanency for the young people on their
caseloads. Karen takes pride in working for AFFME because she truly believes EVERY
child needs and deserves a forever family. In her spare time, Karen enjoys spending
time with her family and friends. She enjoys scrapbooking, camping and traveling
in her spare time. She is also a big sports fan, and enjoys watching football
on Sundays and the Red Sox all summer long! Jennifer
Giandrea, LSW-C Meet & Greet Coordinator, AFFME Caseworker, IASC
Jennifer
joined the IASC staff in March 2001 and began working for both IASC and the AFFME
program. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maine at Augusta with
a concentration in psychology and sociology, and plans to further her education
in the future. In her role at AFFME, Jennifer is responsible for coordinating,
organizing, and promoting AFFME's "Meet & Greet" celebrations for children awaiting
adoption and prospective adoptive families. Jennifer also works closely with the
Child Specific Recruitment team in assisting families through the adoption process.
Jennifer takes pleasure in working for AFFME because it allows her to "interact
with families that are on their journey through foster care or adoption" and the
significant impact her efforts can have in making a child's or a family's life
whole. Jennifer is married and the mother of two beautiful girls. She enjoys spending
time with her family and friends. Her favorite hobbies are camping, skiing and
enjoying the outdoors with her family.
Norma Welch
Office Manager Norma is a graduate of Erskine Academy High School and spent
28 years working for the Maine Department of Human Services' Central Office in
Augusta prior to joining the staff of IASC in August 1998. She has been involved
with the AFFME program since its inception in early December 2000. Norma's
DHS career included eight years of working closely with the state's Adoption Assistance
Program and the Adoption Program Manager. Her wealth of knowledge and experience
are extremely beneficial to the AFFME program and to the many children and families
it serves. In her role at AFFME, Norma is responsible for sending public
service announcements to the media, for maintaining the program's events calendar,
for answering and responding to telephone calls and e-mail messages and for recording
statistics for the program, among many other tasks. Norma takes pride in being
able to assist people through the knowledge and experience that she has gained
through her years of service at DHS. When she is not working for AFFME, Norma
enjoys riding horses and motorcycles, gardening and rescuing dogs through the
humane society.
Jennifer
Hutchison Wendy's Wonderful Kids Recruiter
Jennifer Hutchison joined
A Family For ME in March of 2007. Her role as Northern Maine Recruiter offers
the opportunity for her to work in collaboration with others in order to find
homes for Maine's waiting children in the care of the Department of Health and
Human Services. Fundamental to her role is meeting new people and developing contacts
with in the community, government, media, etc. It is her hope to reach as many
families as possible that have the potential to parent a child in need and provide
a safe and loving home. A graduate of McDaniel College in Maryland, she
has a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a concentration in Human Relations and
a minor in Education. She hopes to further her education in the future. Upon graduation
she moved to Maine where she has spent the last several years working directly
with children of all ages in the social service field. Jennifer enjoys spending
time with family, friends, and her dogs. Her hobbies include reading, watching
movies, jewelry making and traveling.
Stacey
L. Kemp Special Project Coordinator
Stacey has been involved as a graphic
artist and volunteer with International Adoption Services Centre and A Family
for ME for many years. She joined the staff on a full-time basis as the Special
Projects Coordinator in November 2003 after careers in the construction field
and as a Technology Education and Science teacher. She has a bachelor's degree
in Technology Education from the University of Southern Maine. In her role
at AFFME, Stacey is responsible for coordinating, organizing, and promoting AFFME's
"Thursday’s Child", a recruitment opportunity for Maine’s waiting children. Stacey
is part of the Child Specific Recruitment team. She sends out profiles to statewide
print media venues, organizes kid fun and safe activities for the AFFME Meet &
Greet, assist with the photographing of the Heart Gallery, and varied other tasks
to assist the children in the state of Maine to find foster and adoptive families.
Stacey believes deeply in AFFME's goals and mission. She considers her role as
"part of my civic duty to assist in helping children in need." Her work has a
positive effect daily in the lives of children in state care and she is proud
to work for AFFME. On the personal side, Stacey values spending time with her
family and friends and enjoys traveling, gardening, hiking and working with wood. |