Jennifer Blix is the parent of an eight-year old boy who has Autism and Torettes syndrome.  Finding local services for her son has been a constant struggle for Jennifer, ever since he was diagnosed with Autism in early childhood.  Ms. Blix is a nurse for the local medical clinic and sees firsthand what families are enduring due to a lack of community-based services.  Her advocacy and leadership are essential to keeping ICAS grounded in the real challenges of daily life in rural Iowa.  Ms. Blix will serve as a voting director and can be reached at jblix@childadvocateservices.org.

Carla Long began her career teaching Chapter One Kindergarten in Waterloo, Iowa.  She then taught Pre-kindergarten in West Liberty, Iowa before doing "Home Intervention" for AEA267 (formerly AEA6) in the Eldora and Marshalltown areas.  Since then, Ms. Long has been working at Grant Wood AEA as an Early ACCESS Service Coordinator and Parent-Child Educator assigned to the Southeast side of Cedar Rapids.  Approximately 2 years ago, she became a certified Family Team Meeting Facilitator.  Since this time, she has contracted independently with The Partnership for Safe Families to facilitate Family Team Meetings.  She stated that this has given her the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in dealing with a wide array of child and family needs and circumstances. Ms. Long and her husband, Darrell, have four children, one of which is diagnosed with Autism and mental disabilities.  Although her background is in education and she is very familiar with educational, medical, and social systems, Ms. Long states that she struggles every day with getting the diverse needs of her family members met.  Ms. Long will serve as a voting director and can be reached at clong@childadvocateservices.org.

Sheri Combs grew up in foster care, and eventually aged out of care while living at a youth shelter.  Her experiences as a struggling youth bring a unique perspective to ICAS.  As young adults, Ms. Combs married her husband, who was also a struggling youth in the foster care situation.  Together, they are navigating their parental roles against the odds.  They are currently raising four children in a rural community in Iowa.  Their family is active in Scouting programs and they enjoy family-oriented activities, such as camping, fishing, and family movie night.  Ms. Combs currently works as an enrollment counselor for the Medicare program.  She enjoys helping others understand their Medicare benefits and making sure people get the answers they need.  Ms. Combs will serve as a voting director and can be reached at scombs@childadvocateservices.org.

Shelly McNulty has a long history of working in accounting firms providing financial operations and oversight.  Her most recent position, with Dynamic Broadband allows her to work in depth with bookkeeping and auditing activities, specifically with financial reporting.  She is married and has four kids.  Ms. McNulty will serve as a voting director and can be reached at smcnulty@childadvocateservices.org.

Jane Seely is a mother of a 16-year-old who has an uncertain Asberger’s or Autism diagnosis, and other special health care needs including a metabolic disorder.  Ms. Seely is a single mother with limited social supports and has influenced the development of ICAS programs heavily with her perspective.  She struggles with not being able to work because her daughter’s needs are so complicated and her daughter’s behavioral disorder is highly disruptive at home and at school.  She claims that ICAS is the first time she “has felt hope in 16 years”.  Ms. Seely will serve as a voting director and can be reached at jseely@childadvocateservices.org.

Sara McLain, Atkins, is a single woman with family members who struggle with various complex needs.  She has close relatives that struggle with mental health conditions, chronic medical conditions, and immense grief and loss concerns.  Ms. McLain is a caregiver of some of these relatives, and a resource for support and encouragement to all of them.  She is an active community volunteer, giving of her time for organizations such as the Variety Club.  Ms. McLain will serve as a non-voting ex-officio member and can be reached at smclain@childadvocateservices.org.

Lori Reynolds has been Executive Director of Iowa Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (IFFCMH), since 1994.  Ms. Reynolds has three children with a variety of abilities, a son with emotional, mental health, and learning disorders; a daughter that is Talented and Gifted; and a daughter that is medically fragile, which has its own mental health needs.  Ms. Reynolds has been trained and active in the family advocacy movement in the mental health field for many years.  She serves as the primary representative for IFFCMH and its families at the state level, while providing individual assistance and support to other parents struggling to understand and meet the needs of their children on a day-to-day basis.  As Director, Ms. Reynolds oversees all planning, implementation, and review efforts for the organization and works actively to lead the organization in meeting its proposed goals and objectives.  Ms. Reynolds will serve as a non-voting ex-officio member and can be reached at lori@iffcmh.org.

Jesse Combs grew up in foster care, and eventually aged out of care while living at a youth shelter.  His experience as a struggling youth brings a unique perspective to ICAS.  As young adults, Mr. Combs married his wife, who was also a struggling youth in the foster care situation.  Together, they are navigating their parental roles against the odds.  They are currently raising four children in a rural community in Iowa.  Their family is active in Scouting programs and they enjoy family-oriented activities, such as camping, fishing, and family movie night. Mr. Combs will serve as a voting member and can be reached at jcombs@childadvocateservices.org.

Phil Cox is the Director of Axis Campus Ministry on the University of Iowa campus. He is nearing completion of a Masters degree in Religion-Pastoral Ministry. His career has been focused on ministering to youth and their families, including six years as a Resident Director (dorm parent) for a freshman men’s dormitory of 200+ students. He has directed Group Homes for special needs adults, and he is the father of a special needs son.  Rev. Cox will serve as a voting director and can be reached at pcox@childadvocateservices.org.

Karen Fountain has 3 step-children ages 26 (son), 23 and 20 (both daughters) and her own daughter, still at home age 17.  Ms. Fountain and her husband have been married for almost 11 years. She graduated from Kirkwood with an Associates of Arts degree and later from Mt Mercy College with a BS in Business.  She is an EA (enrolled agent, enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service) and an LPA (Licensed Public Accountant).  Ms. Fountain has been in the accounting field for almost 28 years and has prepared income tax returns for most of that time.  She has been on several boards for many years, including Happy Time Child Development Center, Blessed Hope, and Latreia.   Ms. Fountain will serve as a voting director and can be reached at kfountain@childadvocateservices.org.

Tom Lindauer is a father of four children under the age of 7 and a wife of 9 years, Holly. Their three-year-old son, Luke, is deafblind, moderately mentally retarded and has many other sensory related issues. Tom has a background in financial services having worked in the banking industry for nine years. Tom’s family relocated to Vinton just one year ago and he has volunteered on various community projects.  Mr. Lindauer will serve as a voting director and can be reached at tlindauer@childadvocateservices.org.

Holly Lindauer is the parent of a 3-year-old son with numerous medical issues.  Holly is a busy mother of 4 small children. She has an eye disease that causes legal blindness. Holly is currently a stay at home mom to her children. She also is on the Iowa deafblind project board as a parent member. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Business and has also been to national special needs training sessions to learn how to best teach children with dual sensory impairments. The family recently moved to Vinton and struggles with advocating for both Holly and Luke’s special needs.  Ms. Lindauer will serve as a voting director and can be reached at hlindauer@childadvocateservices.org.

Vida Seals is the family member of a person who has mental health challenges.  She has worked in her current clerical position for over ten years.  During her free-time she volunteers in her daughter’s classroom and has enjoyed working with young children.  Ms. Seals says that she has learned a lot from volunteering and working with children.  Ms. Seals will serve as a voting director and can be reached at vseals@childadvocateservices.org.