Meet Our Team

As the Director of the Family and Children’s Resource Program Laura specializes in work aimed at improving outcomes for child welfare and human service organizations. Laura has been with FCRP since 2012, first as a trainer and then as Director starting in 2019.

Laura brings 30 years of experience in social work to her role at FCRP, leading a wide variety of projects aimed at supporting the human services workforce. Her areas of expertise include trauma-informed practice, facilitation and coaching, continuous quality improvement, and outcomes-focused practice.

As a leader Laura is passionate about transparency, inclusion and collaboration and strives to create a positive, equitable, and supportive workplace. A Californian at heart, Laura has lived in NC for over 20 years with her husband, two sons and dog Nina. Laura is happiest in her hammock in the woods reading a good book.

Emily Putnam-Hornstein is the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need and the Director of Policy Practice at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2021, Emily became the Director of the Family and Children’s Resource Program. She also maintains appointments as a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Southern California where she co-directs the Children’s Data Network and as a research specialist with the California Child Welfare Indicators Project at UC Berkeley.

Emily’s current research focuses on the application of epidemiological methods to improve the surveillance of non-fatal and fatal child abuse and neglect. Her analysis of large-scale, linked administrative data has provided insight into where scarce resources may be most effectively targeted and informs understanding of maltreated children within a broader, population-based context. Emily is the recipient of the Forsythe Award for Child Welfare Leadership from the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators and the Commissioner’s Award from the Children’s Bureau.

Emily graduated from Yale University with a BA in Psychology, received her MSW from Columbia University, and earned her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.

In her role as Training Specialist, Selina brings her passion for working with children and families and the complexities that are involved in that work to the training room in an interactive, engaging and thought-provoking manner. Selina has been with FCRP since 2022.

Selina brings 20 years of experience to her current role having worked both domestically and internationally through various school-based and non-profit organizations. One thing Selina found to be true, whether it was working with a domestic violence organization in Atlanta or teaching peace education in the Congo, is that families and communities thrive when we can build upon the existing strengths and foster meaningful connections. Selina is passionate about intentionally creating environments that increase protective factors and promote resilience to help mitigate the effects of trauma.

Selina believes that music is a powerful love language and often brings her love of music into the training room to help inspire, uplift and create a calming atmosphere. In her spare time, you can find her taking her love of music to another level by practicing the latest line dances and spending time with her husband and two children.

Dr. Michelle Chambers is an Education Specialist with the Family and Children’s resource program and has been with FCRP since 2016. She obtained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of NC at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Chambers completed her PhD at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and The University of NC at Greensboro. She is Licensed as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist (LCAS), which allows her to treat those with mental health needs such as depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress disorders. She uses her clinical expertise by training or providing consultation to other professions in related to these specialty areas.

Her theoretical framework is black feminist theory, allowing her to focus on culturally competent practice, which includes the narratives of those that have been historically oppressed. She believes in raising community awareness and combating the stigma associated with having a mental health or substance use issue. She has a wealth of experience in child welfare in NC and has over 15 years of clinical expertise.

In her role as Learning Systems Manager, Chrystal supports the development and delivery of FCRP online courses with much of her work being focused on instructional design and project management. Chrystal has been with FCRP since 2015 in various roles. She provides training, facilitation and curriculum development to support human service organizations that are working to improve their outcomes.

As an educator with an intentional focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, Chrystal has facilitated initiatives with local governments, national nonprofits, and cross-system collaborations. These initiatives were aimed at improving communities, organizations, and individual’s lives. She has expertise in issues impacting children and families involved with systems such as juvenile justice or child welfare, as well as topics related to sexuality, gender identity, and expression.

Chrystal brings to her role a passion for adult learning and the desire to meet the needs of all learners. Her hobbies include anything exploring the outdoors and she is always adding things to her bucket list to try at least once. Chrystal also loves hanging with her mischievous beagle rescue dog who also loves the outdoors.

In his role as Training Specialist, Evan facilitates the educational growth and practical support of professionals throughout the child welfare field. Evan has been with FCRP since August of 2021.

Evan brings over 30 years of experience in the social work field and skills such as public speaking, training, and coaching to his role. He says that the task required of child welfare workers is incredibly important and accomplished under ever increasingly difficult circumstances. He believes his role is to help support them in any way he can which often includes humor, so he doesn’t take himself very seriously but he takes his work extremely seriously.

Evan’s areas of expertise include permanency planning and Federal Title IV-E child welfare funding. He loves following NY Mets baseball, science fiction books/TV/movies, comic books, and having fun with his family. He also loves tie-dye t-shirts along with Hawaiian shirts and has a very extensive collection of both.

In her role as Training Specialist, Lyneisha, aims to activate change by supporting professional development of Child Welfare workforce with evidence based best practices. Lyneisha joined the FCRP team in 2023.

Lyneisha Dukes is passionate about cultivating change through knowledge. She is committed to utilizing knowledge to enhance the skills of human service workers to improve family outcomes while supporting worker’s professional development. Her research areas of interest include economic well-being for the Black community, occupational segregation, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers, women, and men, children of incarcerated parents, and racial equity.

Lyneisha enjoys spending time with her son, pet turtle, and golden doodle. Lyneisha also enjoys thrill activities: she has bungee jumped in South Korea!

In her role as Training Specialist, Krista invites joyful participation. She has been working in the child welfare field since 1999 and has been with FCRP since 2018.

Krista describes herself as an engaging and inclusive instructor focused on the immediate application of learning. She is passionate about spiritual assessment, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), leadership development, and organizational psychological safety.

Krista’s areas of expertise include engaging online instruction, trauma-informed organizations, leadership development, human services workforce development, and inter-faith leadership. She enjoys studying metaphysics and spending time with her daughter. She also finds riding rollercoasters restorative.

In his role as Lead Training Specialist, Rodney works with new team members to support their onboarding to FCRP, and ensure they have opportunities for self-assessment and feedback as they begin their training career. Rodney has been with FCRP since 2006. He has earned the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor within the UNC School of Social Work.

Rodney brings an engaging and fun approach to training challenging topics. He has over 29 years of experience in child welfare and brings his skills of teaching, training, and curriculum development to his role.

Rodney’s areas of expertise include child sexual abuse, attachment, grief, bereavement, and substance use. He enjoys playing guitar, fishing, traveling, and doing DIY projects. Rodney also lives on a farm and raises cattle, alpacas, and llamas.

Laurel has worked with families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in various capacities for the past 20 years. Her areas of expertise include utilizing strengths based and trauma informed capacity building with families and systems, supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occuring behavioral health challenges, and crisis prevention and intervention planning.

In his role as an Educational Consultant, Jonathan serves as a project manager for a variety of deliverables related to improving child welfare practice and procedures. Jonathan has been with FCRP since 2018.

At FCRP, he specializes in the development and facilitation of classroom-based and on-line courses on topics related to family well-being. He also writes for a nationally recognized publication targeting child welfare professionals and resource parents, called Fostering Perspectives.
Jonathan’s in-depth expertise on family well-being has been shaped by over 20 years of experience working directly with families in a variety of settings, including in-home services, juvenile justice, foster care, adoption, and education.

In his free time Jonathan enjoys going out to eat in all the great Triangle restaurants, seeing live music all over NC, and spending time with his wife and pets.

In her role as an Education Consultant, Ashton serves as a project manager for a variety of deliverables related to improving child welfare practice and procedures. Ashton has been with FCRP since 2012. For over a decade, she has led the development and facilitation of classroom and online curricula for child welfare professionals that promote evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive practices.

Ashton has worked successfully with diverse stakeholders to manage projects and deliver trainings to improve child welfare practice and outcomes for children and families. She is an avid champion of collaboration across systems to improve partnerships with families and within organizations to strengthen communities. Her areas of expertise include the impact of trauma, wellness, coaching, and child welfare practice.

Ashton brings her expertise with family-centered practice and facilitation to this role, and she continues her active community engagement across systems and disciplines to provide quality training and support directly to those serving families and children in North Carolina and beyond. Ashton lives in Charlotte with her husband, two children, and their dog Mazey. She enjoys going to Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) to maintain both her physical and mental health.

In his role as an Educational Consultant, Rick serves as a manager for a variety of projects related to improving child welfare practice through development, training, and technical assistance. Rick has been with FCRP since 2016.

He has been a Certified Master Social Worker since 2000. Rick’s areas of expertise include child welfare, intimate partner violence, continuous quality improvement, supervision, and coaching.

Rick enjoys growing lots of different vegetables and fruits. He loves spending time at the beach as well as going for a hike with his family and dogs.

Vanessa was hired at the end of 2022 as an IT Analyst/Programmer for FCRP to upgrade the proprietary LMS, NCSWlearn, that FCRP built over the course of 30 years to train users across the state.

Vanessa brings over 15 years of programming and database experience and over 20 years of general IT experience to the position. Vanessa hopes her passion for solving problems will ease this transition for NCSWlearn’s upgrade and looks forward to its even brighter future.

Vanessa has too many hobbies to fully list. Top picks to share include playing disc golf with her husband, spending time in her garden with her dogs, hiking with friends, or getting absorbed in a good book. She hopes to one day get back to learning how to play the uke.

In his role as Applications Analyst, Phillip works with the latest technologies to develop on-line trainings for Child Welfare staff and families. Phillip has been a member of FCRP’s Learning System Team since 2007.

Phillip brings 20 years of technical experience to his role at FCRP supporting end users and content developers. His main responsibilities are technical development of on-line courses and managing FCRP’s synchronous learning platform.
As a team member Phillip brings a wide range of technical knowledge and skills together with his teamwork mentality to help make a difference in North Carolina.

Phillip grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina and is happiest when exploring new trails with his wife, two daughters, and dog Oberon.

In his role as Applications Technician, Southey assists in the production and creation of training courses and materials for various audiences. Southey has been with FCRP since 2013.

Southey brings years of experience and skills including online course design and creation, WordPress Website design, voice-over and narration recording, and editing and implementation to his role. He is constantly on the lookout for ways to improve users’ experience with our courses and products while also keeping an eye on the horizon for what new technologies or programs can help us improve the learning experience for everyone we serve.

Southey’s areas of expertise include Customer Service, Technical Support, and Online Course and Website development. He loves spending time with his four kids and wife, visiting parks or playgrounds, and playing the occasional video game. Southey graduated with a BA in Communication Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and before landing at FCRP spent time as a working actor in NC, Florida, and eventually Los Angeles.

In his role as Applications Analyst, Brian specializes in web and database development and has been with FCRP for over 15 years. 

His areas of expertise include ASP.NET, SQL, IIS, PHP and MySQL.  Part of his role as an applications analyst is to maintain and update FCRP’s customer learning management system used by thousands of social workers across North Carolina.

Brian loves spending time with his family and the great outdoors, especially mountain biking, camping, hiking, paddleboarding and traveling.

In his role as Videographer, Matt can be found working on a variety of creative projects at any one time. He has been with FCRP since 2007.

Matt specializes in filming, editing, motion graphics, audio recording, and sound design. His main area of expertise is documentary-style storytelling and he has produced over a hundred videos and animations for use in E-learning environments as well as promotional content and short and long-form documentary work. Matt takes pride in telling clever, compelling stories with video and audio.

He enjoys mountain biking, coaching his son’s sports teams, and spending time with his wife, son, and their dog Jet. He also loves the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina basketball.

As the Administrative Coordinator of the Family and Children’s Resource Program, Vilma works closely with the administrative, training, project management, and learning systems teams to manage contracts and deliverables. Vilma has been with FCRP since 1993.

As part of FCRP’s teams, Vilma is dedicated to promoting a work environment that is supportive, customer service-oriented, and driven by excellence. Throughout the years at FCRP, Vilma has worked on different capacities including registration coordination, survey design, usability testing, data management, and LMS design.

Originally from Brazil, Vilma has made North Carolina her home for over 30 years. When not working, Vilma enjoys reading, watching movies, and, as much as possible, traveling to visit family and friends.

Areas of expertise include administrative support, and customer services.

Vicky’s work as Administrative Support Specialist involves training registration coordination, data and records administration, and evaluation reporting. Vicky has been with FCRP since 2014.

Vicky describes herself as a detail-oriented and resourceful administrative professional. She brings over 9 years of experience in the field of office administration to her role. Her skills include customer service, event coordination, and record management.

Vicky’s areas of expertise include Microsoft Office, Qualtrics, and data administration. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese and speaks a bit of Japanese. She loves baking and exploring good food around Triangle with her family and friends.

In her role as Business Officer, Iris administers and manages the business, administrative and financial affairs of FCRP. She has been with FCRP since 2015.

Iris brings her skills of project planning, attention to detail, multi-tasking and excellent team player skills to her role. She describes herself as a detail-oriented and capable accounting professional who has considerable experience of contracts and grants management, budgeting preparation and personnel management.
Iris’s areas of expertise include financial management, business and records administration.

She enjoys traveling and hiking in her free time.

In her role as Innovation Program Manager, Beth works with community engaged programs within the School of Social Work to develop innovative partnerships with organizations and communities in North Carolina and beyond.

Beth’s work focuses on program development, community engagement and outreach, evaluation, and consultation. Her professional interests include community health and well-being, poverty elimination, and addressing social determinants of health. She leads the UNC Community Aspirations Hub program within the School of Social Work’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, in partnership with FCRP.

Beth is pursuing a doctorate in public health leadership from UNC. When not working, Beth enjoys reading, solving puzzles, and doing small home improvement projects with the help of YouTube.