Serving with Excellence
Everyone at Focus on Youth, from interns to executive director, shares a passion for helping kids reach their full potential. Our staff is carefully selected and extensively trained to be the best advocates for children and partners to families, both birth and foster, in the area.
Executive Director
The Executive Director Reports to a 5-9 member board of directors. The Assistant Executive Director and department heads report directly to the Executive Director.
Alicia Ajiboye, LISW-S
Executive Director
Team Player since: 2021
Loves spending time with family and, shopping, and traveling. Favorite place to be is at a beach. Loves to sing and really enjoys listening to Elevation Worship, Tasha Cobbs, and many others.
Sid Taylor
Assistant Executive Director
Team Player since: 2023
Born and raised in Cincinnati. Happily married (his wife is his best friend) with one young adult son and one teenage daughter. Is a die-hard Bengals fan, fair-weather Reds fan and probably one of the biggest Ohio State Buckeyes Football fans you’ll ever meet. O-H!!!!
Administration
The Finance and Administrative department manages the day-to-day business details that make our organization productive, effective, and healthy. From staffing to building improvements and money management, this team is the engine that keeps everything we do for youth and families on track.
Penny Dougan, BSBA
Operations Manager
Team player since: 1996
Has worked at Focus on Youth over 27 years! Is a huge Ohio State Buckeye fan. Loves Michael Jackson’s music. Has been on 5 mission trips to Haiti and cannot wait to return.
Andrew Dodds
Office Coordinator
Team player since: 1997
Proud father of two children. Has spent over 26 years working for Focus. Avid Doctor Who fan and Trekkie.
Dylan Chambers
Administrative Assistant
Team player since: 2024
Recently graduated from Florida State University with an MA in Philosophy, doing research centered on applied ethics. Lover of comics, most music genres, and playing video games or watching TV shows with his wife.
Jacquie Campbell
Administrative Assistant
Team player since: 2024
Born and raised in Cincinnati. Loves spending quality time with my family and teenage daughter. Enjoys camping or “glamping” if you will, thrifting for treasures, antique malls and going to comedy shows.
Joe Bruns
Quality Improvement Coordinator
Team player since: 2021
I am a husband and father. I have travelled or drove through 46 of the 48 states of the continental United States. Connoisseur of Mexican food and never met a taco I did not like.
Mary Williams
Scanner
Team player since: 2022
Proud mother of two now grown adults, grandmother and two grandsons. Enjoys sewing in my free time.
Krista Stevens
Human Resources Assistant
Team player since: 2022
Originally from West Virginia but relocated to Ohio in 2015 with my husband. Enjoys hanging out with my three dogs, playing video games/board games/ D&D, traveling, and playing around in my craft room.
Foster Care & Adoption
Our Foster Care and Adoption staff works to find, train, and support foster parents. Youth Specialists provide supervision of youth in placement, foster family support, recertification of homes, and coordination of community services. Family Assessors do the same while also performing homestudies and family assessments for new foster homes. Case Assistants offer administrative support and may also assist foster families needing help getting children to family visits and appointments.
Christina Kappen, MSW, LISW-S
Foster Care and Adoption Manager
Team player since: 2004
Loving mother of her 3 children. Grew up alongside foster and adoptive children as her parents were foster and adoptive parents. Is secretly addicted to playing her child’s farming game on his tablet.
Savannah Morris, MSW, LSW
Supervisor
Team player since: 2015
Is a proud Bengals fan who married into a Steelers family. Has a passion for animal rescue. Owns a toothless kitten named Elias. Dreams of someday living in Ireland.
Joselin Laib, MSW, LSW
Placement Services Supervisor
Team player since: 2017
Super hero enthusiast. Helped inform legislators on child topics, aiding in passage of the bill that provided funding for the Bridges program. Has traveled to 27 states and plans to hit all 50.
Patty Jatczak, LSW
Licensing Team Lead
Team player since: 2005
A pure cheesehead/proud Green Bay Packers’ fan. Born and raised near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Has a degree in Social Work and Education from UW-Wisconsin. Moved to Cincinnati in 1989. An adoptive and birth parent who wants to help others grow their families through foster and adoption.
Cierra Scott, BSW
Bridges Liaison
Team player since: 2022
Girl Mom and dog Mom. I love my family and traveling! Movie fanatic! Living out my purpose and helping others is what I was meant to do. #SocialWorkIsLife
Barb Snelling, MSW, LSW
Youth Specialist & Family Assessor
Team player since: 2014
Avid scrapbooker who was a former foster parent. Adopted two girls and went back to college at 50 years old to earn a degree in social work.
Sarah Feine, MSW, LSW
Youth Specialist & Family Assessor
Team player since: 2016
Married into a Minnesota Vikings family and now has two border collies named after players. Romania was her home her senior year of college. Grew up in a family who opened their doors to children in foster care.
Brooke Leggett
Youth Specialist
Team player since:2022
I am a recent NSULA graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice. I was born and raised in Connecticut for most of my life , however I moved back to Ohio this year after living in Louisiana for almost three years. I am a proud dog mom of two. One of which being a Great Dane/ English Mastiff mix named “little man” and the other being a Cane Corso named Biscuit.
Savannah Taylor
Youth Specialist
Team player since:2023
Graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BS in Criminal Justice and a Law and Paralegal Studies Certificate. Proud cat mom of 5, Batman enthusiast and enjoys travelling. Passion for helping children and families.
Lindsey Halasz
Youth Specialist
Team player since:2023
A recent Miami University graduate. Loves to sing and jam out to music. Is an avid lover of Indian food, cats and all things Disney! (Even worked in Disney World for 8 Months!)
Danyelle Forrester
Youth Specialist
Team player since: 2023
A dog mom to 2 sweet pups. Enjoys spending time with them and taking them everywhere she goes. Plays co-ed soccer throughout the week. When not playing soccer, she is coaching it!
Lauren Wilms
Youth Specialist
Team player since: 2023
Born in Ohio Raised in Kentucky and moved back to Ohio in 2018. Loves hiking, kayaking, and horseback riding. Enjoys traveling, coffee and reading.
Mary Solomon
Case Assistant
Team player since: 2017
Wife and mother of 2 grown daughters, 5 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. Lived in Detroit, Michigan for 30 years where she met and sang with both the Spinners.
Janette Lowe
Case Assistant
Team player since: 2019
Born and raised in Michigan – GO BLUE
Married to husband for 30 years and still going strong. Mother of 4 kids, a dog, and a cat. Loves to vacation with her family on cruise ships.
Kara Baumer
Case Assistant
Team player since: 2021
Married to my amazing husband for 23 years and a proud momma of a teenage daughter and a young adult son. I have a passion for helping people, mostly kiddos. Enjoys learning, growing, and listening to motivational videos.
Lillian Lochard
Case Assistant
Team player since: 2023
Loves Cincinnati, has lived here her whole life. One of 4 & is the only girl. She loves going on walks, spending quality time with friends and family and is a huge coffee lover.
Laura Acosta Perez
Intern
Team player since: 2023
Mikenlee Bowcock
Intern
Team player since: 2023
Abbie Gannon
Intern
Team player since: 2023
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are dedicated to finding permanent families for children in foster care who are most often overlooked. That includes teenagers, children with special needs and siblings.
Leah Weimer, MSW, LISW-S
Supervisor
Team player since: 2010
Trauma Responsive Care certified
Avid Xavier basketball fan. The youngest of four girls, one of which is her twin sister. Spent time at UD and UC getting her bachelor‘s and master’s degrees.
Brittaney Englemon
Recruiter
Team player since: 2021
Loves spending time with family. A huge fan of University of Kentucky basketball and University of Michigan football. Finds riding horses, listening to music, and being in the mountains therapeutic. Would love to visit Rome one day.
Megan McQueen
Recruiter
Team player since: 2021
Proud to be a social worker for children and families for the last 15 years. Has had a strong desire for advocacy for vulnerable populations at a young age. Momma to two boys and dogs with my loving husband.
Deja Williams
Recruiter
Team player since: 2021
Graduate from Wright State University with bachelor’s in social work. Love working with kids of all ages. Large F.R.I.E.N.D.S tv show obsession. Loves to read and travel. Avid TJ MAXX shopper. Wish I could spend everyday at the beach with my husband, and our toes in the sand.
Sarah Dickerson
Recruiter
Team player since: 2023
Has a master’s degree in Trauma Studies which required her to endure winters in Vermont. Lover of people and their stories. Would always rather be reading and drinking Yoo-hoo out of a juice box. Owns way too many shoes.
Rachel Smith, QMHS+3
Recruiter
Team player since: 2023
Ohio State University graduate with a BS in Social Work and a Youth Development minor. Loves to travel and hopes to visit Europe one day. Avid reader, movie watcher and tv-show binger; some of my favorites being all MARVEL films, Harry Potter, New Girl, FRIENDS, and Outlander. Enjoys spending time outdoors and being with friends and family.
Erin Schmerr, BSW
Recruiter
Team player since: 2023
Began her journey with orphaned and vulnerable children in Mexico when she was 14 years old. Spent the next 8 years volunteering during my school breaks in the orphanage and living with the kids in the summers to help take care of the children. This led Erin to get her degree in Social Work from Xavier University. As a hobby, Erin is an internationally published photographer whose favorite model is her daughter. Erin loves Disney, art, traveling, The Twilight Zone, and vintage clothes shopping.
Behavioral Health
Behavioral Health clinicians are licensed therapists or counselors who specialize in play-therapy and trauma-based therapy approaches.
Tracy Faber, LISW-S, CTRP, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor
Clinical Director
Team player since: 2005
Grew up in Tennessee, near the Smokey Mountains. Loves hiking and camping. Loves playing games and is renowned around the office for being competitive. Grew up with a love and passion for children in foster care as her parents and extended family were foster parents.
Amy Shull, LISW-S, CTRP, Registered Play Therapist
Clinical Supervisor
Team player since: 2013
Considered being a storm chaser, stunt double, or accountant before deciding on becoming a therapist. Has traveled to every state in the US. Her family adopts a family in need instead of exchanging Christmas gifts every year.
Erin Hutt, LISW-S, CTRP, Registered Play Therapist
Youth and Family Therapist
Team player since: 2017
Traveler at heart, but loves to be home with her three kids. Enjoys biking, running, and being outdoors. Happiest when cozy and reading a book.
Emma Walker, MSW, LSW, CTRP
Youth and Family Therapist
Team player since: 2020
Started as an intern and couldn’t stay away. Loves family, coffee, corgis, volleyball and the Steelers. Proud to be part of a profession that makes work feel like play and play feel like progress.
Claudia Carnes, LPCC, CTRP
Youth and Family Therapist
Team player since: 2020
Mama to two kids and a pup. Travels to different cities to visit zoos and museums. Outgoing, athletic, and loves a good Italian dish.
Cassie Cuhran, MSW, LSW
Youth and Family Therapist
Team Player since 2021
New York native and proud Penn State alum, who now calls Ohio home with her husband and son. Lover of reading, manatees, traveling, and chocolate- not necessarily in that order. Disney enthusiast with a passion for play. Excited to be returning to Focus after an amazing 2 year internship!
Maura Hartmann, MSW, LSW, CTRS-C
Youth and Family Therapist
Team Player since 2023
Born and raised in Cincinnati. Loves the Bearcats, Bengals, Cyclones, Reds, and FCC. Can be found with her husband playing with their son in her free time. Avid marine life advocate especially sea turtles and sharks. Found her love of play again while interning at Focus.
Sydney Day, CTRS-C
Qualified Behavioral Health Specialist
Team Player since 2023
Graduated from University of Kentucky in December 2021. Lived in Cincinnati for 21 years. Loves to be outside, by the water, and with friends. She loves dogs and seeing people smile and laugh. She hopes to one day take her dream vacation to Sydney, Australia.
Bria Howard
Intern
Team Player since 2023
Graduated from Miami University with her B.S and M.S and now at UC working on her MSW! A lover of reality tv, Golden Girls and Beyonce. Has not met a donut she doesn’t like.
Training Institute
Our training staff provides quality, trauma-informed, and research-based training to support the well-being of all children.
Emily Ballard
Training Coordinator
Team player since: 2016
A former marine wife who spent a year living in California. Would eat Chick Fil A for every meal if she could. Has been a faithful Bengals fan for 18 years.
