Our Team Gallery

Founder and CEO ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAngela Melvin is the Founder of Valerie's House, the only organization in Southwest and Northwest Florida with its sole mission to help children grieve. A fourth-generation native of Southwest Florida, Angela's mother, Valerie, died in a car accident in 1987 in Fort Myers when Angela was ten years old. FULL BIO >>

Vice President of Partnerships and OperationsㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAmy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who oversees the Valerie’s House counseling team. Amy started at Valerie's House as a volunteer group facilitator and quickly fell in love with the mission, joining the team full-time in 2018. FULL BIO >>

Grief Support Training and Support Coordinator
Melody Madigan is no stranger to helping the youth of Southwest Florida. She served students as a School Counselor in the Lee County School District for nearly 40 years. After retiring from education, Melody began volunteering at Valerie's House shortly after the program opened in 2016 as a Group Support Facilitator. FULL BIO >>

Program Operations Manager Kathy Burg comes to us with years of experience in nonprofit, communications, project management, and volunteerism. After the sudden loss of her husband and father of her three children in 2020, Kathy and her family found support and community at Valerie’s House. This grew her heart for the mission and ultimately drew her to join the Valerie’s House team. FULL BIO >>

Communications Manager ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Justin LaVerdiere, also known as Justin Kase from WINK News, is excited to join the Valerie's House team.

Justin grew up in Naples and earned his associate degree from FSW and a degree in Communication Studies from FGCU. Justin's career spans various industries, including restaurants, retail, TV, and radio. Over the past decade, he's focused on media. FULL BIO >>

Business and Human Resources Manager‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ Heather and her daughter Hailey are a former Valerie's House family and attended our support groups after the loss of Heather's husband in 2017 for three years. When it was time for Valerie’s House to hire a Business Manager full-time, Valerie’s House didn’t have to look too far to find the passion, experience, and dedication needed for the position. FULL BIO >>

Operations Manager ㅤㅤㅤㅤTodd Cordisco brings nearly two decades of experience in non-profit administration, fundraising, communications, and operations in Southwest Florida to the Valerie’s House team. Before joining Valerie’s House, Todd served as Vice President and Chief Communications Officer (CCO) for SalusCare, the leading community mental health and substance use treatment agency in the region. FULL BIO >>

Group and Volunteer Manager Bobbie Santiago comes from a background of working with children and families in multiple capacities. After acquiring her Bachelor of Social Work from FGCU in 2017, she jumped right into the Social Work field as an intern. She was then hired as a Case Manager, where she worked with foster kids who were up for adoption for four years. FULL BIO >>

School Group Coordinator    Born and raised in the Southwest Florida area, Molly has a passion for the mission of Valerie's House. When she was ten years old, her father died from cancer, which impacted her career path as an adult as there was no support in the area at that time. FULL BIO >>

Group Night Activities Coordinator ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Stori was born and raised in Southwest Florida and has always had a passion for mental health advocacy. In 2015, her mother died unexpectedly, and Stori found her way to Valerie’s House as a teen participant in 2016. FULL BIO >>

Group Night Coordinator ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Laree Lowe is the Group Night Coordinator at Valerie’s House. She was born and raised in Colorado but finished high school in Florida. Her undergraduate degree in Philosophy was earned at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2023. Her original goal was to continue into law, but after the death of her father in 2021, plans changed, and Laree found her way to Valerie’s House as a volunteer.  FULL BIO >>

Family Support Specialist ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ Jill is the Valerie’s House Family Support Specialist and works with families to schedule and conducts enrollments for new families. Jill understands what it's like to make that first call to Valerie’s House because she and her daughter Sam attended Valerie’s House after the death of her husband in 2018. FULL BIO >>

Grief Support Coordinator ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Maria Miravalle joins the team as our Grief Support Coordinator after several years of assisting individual grievers and facilitating support groups for spouse loss, infant loss, overdose loss, and suicide loss at a grief support center in Cleveland, Ohio. FULL BIO >>

Grief Therapist‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‎‎‎‎Shaun Kastelic has spent more than 20 years working with children who have undergone grief and trauma. Before coming to Valerie’s House in 2022, Shaun worked for the United States Department of Defense, helping children of fallen soldiers stationed in Hawaii, and then in Georgia. FULL BIO >>

Grief Therapist‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎ Susan is a grief counselor at Valerie’s House, and she splits her time between our Fort Myers and Naples locations. After receiving her Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University of Chicago, she has worked at academic medical centers in Chicagoland for the last thirty years. FULL BIO >>

Collier County Program Manager
Mary is a child life specialist and has served children and families at Valerie's House Naples since 2018. Mary started as a volunteer facilitator in peer support groups and quickly became immersed in Valerie's House. In her role, Mary utilizes her education and passion in an organization whose mission she fully embraces. FULL BIO >>

Charlotte County Program Manager, Registered Clinical Social Work Intern ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ Jedi is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Barry University's School of Social Work. Since moving from Vermont in 2002, she has volunteered countless hours helping children and teens in Florida. FULL BIO >>

Charlotte County Development and Outreach Coordinator ‎ ‎ ‎ Amy, a proud native of Charlotte County, graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011. Before joining Valerie’s House, she dedicated her efforts to local nonprofits, focusing on addressing Charlotte County's needs through strategic community initiatives. FULL BIO >>

Charlotte County Group Night Assistant‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Tim has been mentoring students as the Director of Youth Ministries at 1st United Methodist Church in Punta Gorda since 2007. Tim began his partnership with Valerie’s House in the spring of 2019, shortly after several students in his youth group lost a parent. FULL BIO >>

Northwest Florida Regional Director‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ Crista is the Director of the Pensacola Chapter of Valerie’s House. In 2020, Crista partnered with founder and CEO Angela Melvin to bring peer-to-peer support groups for grieving children to Pensacola. Like our Founder, Crista also lost her mother in 1987. FULL BIO >>

Escambia County Program Manager ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Starting as a board member and volunteer facilitator in peer support groups, Jenni quickly became immersed in Valerie's House. She is eager to serve her Panhandle community as the Escambia County Program Manager. FULL BIO >>

Grants & Communications Coordinator

Lauren Bernard has been named Grants & Communications Coordinator at Valerie’s House. In her role, Lauren is responsible for researching, writing and reporting on grants, as well as assisting with overall communications and outreach efforts at Valerie’s House.

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Executive Assistant

Alexis Dehetre is the Executive Assistant at Valerie's House, combining her professional experience with personal grief experience. Having spent three years as a Group Night Assistant, she brings a unique perspective to her role. She was previously a participant in the program as a grieving child, which allows her to deeply understand the challenges families face in their grief journeys.

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Program Coordinator

Calypso Hodges is our Program Coordinator and works at Valerie’s House in Punta Gorda. She was born and raised in Miami, FL, before moving to Tampa, where she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in 2022.

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Samantha Wesoly

Program Assistant

Sam Wesoly was born and raised in Illinois but found her way to Southwest Florida to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Sam first connected with Valerie’s House through her field education coordinator at FGCU and began her journey as an intern in August 2024. She chose Valerie’s House over other agencies because of its mission, which resonated deeply with her personal and professional values. After a semester of interning, Sam joined the programming team as a full-time Program Assistant.

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