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<p>Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Luzerne County has a new program director, several new board members and also recently received a grant donation from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation.</p><p>CASA seeks to provide a qualified and compassionate volunteer advocate to every abused and neglected child in Luzerne County to ensure their right to a safe, nurturing, and permanent home is met. Currently, approximately 440 Luzerne County children are in foster care.</p><p><strong>Ellis promotion</strong></p><p>Annie Ellis has been promoted from Advocate Coordinator to program director.</p><p>Ellis has served as a CASA volunteer since 2016 and joined the staff as an advocate coordinator in June 2018.</p><p>Since then, she has worked diligently to increase CASA&#8217;s presence in the community, to recruit new advocates, to train them in the mission, to support them in their advocacy, and positively impact the lives of abused and neglected children in our community.</p><p>&#8220;Anne not only brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role, but also tremendous insight and the ability to connect with a variety of people in meaningful ways,&#8221; said executive director John Aciukewicz.</p><p>&#8220;We are excited about her future contributions to CASA as we strive for program excellence.&#8221;</p><p>In her new role, Ellis will be responsible for the oversight of the CASA volunteer advocacy program, both the day-to-day operations and its continued development and growth.</p><p>Currently, CASA has 40 volunteer advocates serving 60 children. With the recent completion of the spring training class, 14 new volunteer advocates have joined the organization, increasing the number of CASA volunteers to 54, with the ability to now serve 14 to 20 more children.</p><p><strong>Board members</strong></p><p>CASA also recently announced the appointment of three new members to its board of</p><p>directors: Cheryl Connolly, Elizabeth Graham, and Barbara Straub.</p><p>&#8220;These three women bring a wealth of experience and energy to our organization. We are grateful for their commitment and confident that they will make a lasting contribution to the advancement of CASA&#8217;s mission and our advocacy for abused and neglected children here in Luzerne County,&#8221; board President Christina Taylor said.</p><p>&#8226; Connolly is the senior regional director of advancement in the northeast at the Geisinger Health Foundation.</p><p>She has a strong background in nonprofit work, having previously served as the executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Winchester, Va., vice president of major gifts and planned giving at the Trident United Way in Charleston, S.C., and vice president of major gifts at the United Way of Wyoming Valley in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>She serves on the board of the Wilkes-Barre YMCA, and Impact Steering Committee at United Way of Wyoming Valley.</p><p>Connolly holds a bachelor&#8217;s degree in government and law from Lafayette College in Easton. She lives in Forty Fort with her husband, Joey Tisinger, and son, Loudon.</p><p>&#8226; Graham is COO at Riggs Asset Management in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>In 2001, she was integral in the development of Women Business Leaders in Healthcare, a national organization of senior executive women in the healthcare industry. Graham also has volunteered with Diamond City Partnership and has served on the boards of the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry.</p><p>She is the current board chair of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, the first woman to hold this leadership position.</p><p>&#8226; Straub is the owner of Barbara Straub Interiors, a locally based residential interior design firm.</p><p>Prior to co-founding and serving as publisher and advertising sales manager of NEPA Family Magazine, Straub spent several years working for Muro Pharmaceutical and Schering-Plough Oncology.</p><p>She has served on the boards of the United Way of Wyoming Valley and Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School.</p><p>Straub was a member of the planning committee for CASA of Luzerne County&#8217;s first CASAblanca gala. She lives in Bear Creek with her husband, Doug, and cites raising her two college-aged children as one of her proudest accomplishments.</p><p><strong>Grant donation</strong></p><p>The Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation provided support to CASA of Luzerne County with a grant donation as part of multi-year funding, which was presented to the nonprofit during a recent luncheon. The grant was initially awarded to CASA in 2018. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation provided support to CASA of Luzerne County with a grant donation as part of multi-year funding, which was presented to the nonprofit during a recent luncheon. Pictured are, top row from left: Mark Mitchell, NEPA HCF board member; Dr. Christopher Dressel, NEPA HCF board member; Robert Knowles, NEPA HCF board member; the Honorable Terrence Nealon, NEPA HCF board member. Bottom row, from left: James Clemente, NEPA HCF board chair; Laura Ducceschi, SAF president/CEO, NEPA HCF administrator; John Aciukewicz, executive director, CASA of Luzerne County; Annie Ellis, advocate coordinator, CASA of Luzerne County; Michele McGowan, NEPA HCF board member. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_casa.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation provided support to CASA of Luzerne County with a grant donation as part of multi-year funding, which was presented to the nonprofit during a recent luncheon. Pictured are, top row from left: Mark Mitchell, NEPA HCF board member; Dr. Christopher Dressel, NEPA HCF board member; Robert Knowles, NEPA HCF board member; the Honorable Terrence Nealon, NEPA HCF board member. Bottom row, from left: James Clemente, NEPA HCF board chair; Laura Ducceschi, SAF president/CEO, NEPA HCF administrator; John Aciukewicz, executive director, CASA of Luzerne County; Annie Ellis, advocate coordinator, CASA of Luzerne County; Michele McGowan, NEPA HCF board member. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Annie_Ellis.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ellis </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Annie_Ellis.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ellis </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Staff Report</p></bylineMeta></div>

CASA welcomes new program director, board members