SVN BOARD OF DIRECTORS Election Information

Requirements for Nomination

View Candidate Info and Vote HERE

All candidates for Director meet the following qualifications:

1. Must be a current member of SVN and have been a member for at least two years.
2. Must have had at least a year of direct experience in providing supervised visitation services or in administration of a supervised visitation program.
3. Must agree to the Expectations and Responsibilities of Members of the Board of Directors which each elected Board member signs.
4. Agree to follow and support the SVN Standards, Guidelines, and Code of Ethics and Agree they may be removed from office after three (3) missed meetings. 

Board Responsibilities

Board Job Description

The Board of Directors shall consist of no less than thirteen (13) and no more than thirty (29) Directors. The exact number of Directors at any given time shall be voted by the Board of Directors and ratified by the membership. The by-laws require that there must be a minimum of 2 Directors from each region elected to the Board.

There are 7 vacancies to fill in the 2021 Election. Out of the 7 vacancies, one must be from the East Region, one must be from the South Region, and two must be from the International Region. The remaining positions may be filled from any region.

Election Procedures

Elections take place electronically at least 30 days in advance of the AGM and will conclude at 9:00 AM on the day of the Annual General Meeting under the direction of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Members may vote for any of the candidates. Individual members are entitled to one vote, Organization members may have up top three contacts vote, and Premium members may have up to 10 contacts vote.

Continuing Board Members by Regions:

Western:

Danna Lopez, Arizona (2023)

Shannon Sickler, Wyoming (2023)

Central:

Emily Haugen, Minnesota (2022)

Shelia Morris, North Dakota (2023)

Eastern:

Lori Wymore-Kirkland, Virginia (2022)

Vacancy

Southern:

Dana Cahn, Florida (2023)

Vacancy

International:

Vacancy

Vacancy

Meet the 2021 SVN Board Candidates

Kelly Agee, South Bend, IN (Central)

Candidate Statement Agee

Kelly Agee has been a member of SVN since 2010, through Families First Center, where she currently serves as the Executive Director. Kelly graduated from the University of Indiana with a degree in Mathematics and has experience advocating for children and families as former teacher, CASA, child welfare caseworker and visitation specialist. Kelly served as a visitation specialist for Families First Center, St. Joseph county’s local supervised visitation center, from 2010-2012 before transitioning to the role of Director of Administration and Business Manager and then Executive Director in 2019. Kelly obtained her Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in 2014. Kelly served on her local SHRM Board of Directors from 2019 to 2020. Kelly has a passion for the community she serves and is dedicated to the mission of helping children reach their full potential.

Nadine Blaschak-Brown, MA, San Francisco, CA (West)

Candidate Statement Blaschak-Brown

Nadine Blaschak-Brown is a Senior Analyst with the California Judicial Council Center for Families, Children & the Courts where she manages the Technical Assistance and Training Program for Family Court Services Directors, Managers, Supervisors and Court Administrators. She implements court innovation projects, conducts research, develops web content, and implements statewide training programs to meet state education mandates for court professionals. Ms. Blaschak-Brown works on mental health activities and the intersection between family and collaborative courts, focusing on trauma informed access to justice. She has extensive experience managing both state and federal grants. Before joining the Judicial Council in 2007, Ms. Blaschak-Brown was the director of Rally Family Visitation Services from its onset in 1991 in collaboration with the San Francisco Unified Family Court. As a founding member of the Supervised Visitation Network, she served in various capacities, from president to chair of Standards and most recently chaired the revised SVN Bylaws. She served as a peer reviewer for the Office on Violence Against Women's Safe Havens Grant program and co-authored a handbook on supervised visitation for the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. After graduating from Thiel College, PA with a B.A. degree in psychology and art, she moved west and obtained her M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy from the College of Notre Dame. In her free time, Nadine enjoys traveling the globe with her daughter, engaging with her son in his educational pursuits, playing with her two Australian shepherds, and gardening.

Shawn Byrne MSW, Billings, Montana (West)

Candidate Statement Byrne

Shawn Byrne has a Master’s degree in Social Work with more than 35 years of industry experience.   He is currently the Executive Director for Family Support Network in Billings, Montana.  Shawn has administrative and fiscal oversight over programs which promote the development of healthy parent-child interactions to interrupt the multi-generational cycle of abuse, neglect, hopelessness, poverty and drug abuse.  He is passionate about building awareness surrounding the sociological, cultural, and economic challenges facing rural and urban children and families.   He is currently working with a strategic partner in the establishment of mental health programing at Family Support Network.  He was raised on the MT Hi-Line border between Canada-United States and feels fortunate to have raised a family in Big Sky Country (wife of thirty-one years and two daughters). In his spare time, Shawn takes advantage of being either on or near a golf course!

Yvonne Draxler, Sterling, CO (West)

Candidate Statement Draxler

 Yvonne Draxler has worked with families for over 25 years. She began her career as an elementary teacher, after 10 years of being a stay-at-home mom.  After 14 years in the elementary classroom, she later transitioned to adjunct math professor at Northeastern Junior College in rural Sterling, CO. During this time, she also served as the director of the NJC Adult Education and Family Literacy Programs where she obtained grant funding for both programs. She has facilitated a wide array of educational trainings and workshops at the local and state level. In 2010, Yvonne began monitoring supervised visits and safe exchanges and teaching Incredible Years, Nurturing Fathers, Nurturing Parenting, and First Five Years parenting classes at Family Resource Center and in 2016 became the Executive Director. In this new capacity, she oversees the Hand In Hand Supervised Visitation/Safe Exchange Program, supports healthy parent-child relationships by working with the domestic violence program, develops family-focused, trauma-informed programs, advocates for families locally and at the state level, and secures grant funding for her Center. Under Yvonne’s leadership, FRC has been selected Best Non-Profit in Logan County for the past two years. Additionally, Yvonne serves on ten local and regional Boards. Extensive SVN trainings and experience, her belief in the network’s mission, her strong desire to support healthy parent-child relationships, and her commitment to excellence have all prepared Yvonne to serve as a SVN’s Board member. She is happily married and has three adult sons and one granddaughter who is the joy of her life. She also enjoys hiking, reading, and traveling to warm locations.

Christina Fisher, Canton, Georgia (South)

Candidate Statement Fisher

Christina has always had a passion to serve others.  Her mother grew up in the foster care system; lived in several foster, group homes, and residential facility.  Through her mother’s experiences, Christina knew she wanted to work with families. Christina has worked in child welfare and the nonprofit industry for over 22+ years.  In 2015 Christina obtained a Masters in Human Services and continued her career working with adults with developmental disabilities and autism.  In 2017 Christina and her family moved to Georgia and found a place at The Children’s Haven.  She is currently the Director for the Visitation Program where she ensures visitation service for families involved with the Department of Family and Child Services. Christina serves on a committee with the Cherokee County Service League that provides an array services to families in our county.  In her free time, Christina enjoys spending time with her teen son and husband, watching Marvel and DC movies, hiking, and traveling.

Lynn Malbeuf, B.Ed., BGS, MA (in progress), Pitt Meadows, British Columbia (International)

Candidate Statement Malbeuf

 Lynn Malbeuf is a family law advocate with Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Community Services. Prior to taking on this role Lynn ran the Family Strengthening Access Centre for the same agency which provided supportive supervision for Aboriginal families. Lynn has over seventeen years of experience working with children, youth and families with Community Services and has demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of her clients. Lynn began her career as a teacher and continues to teach courses and workshops to parents and childcare providers. While Lynn has worked in various capacities with children and families, her primary interest and passion lies in supervised visitation. She has a strong desire to ensure that connections are maintained between children and parents by providing safe and supportive access in a natural family like setting. Lynn is currently completing her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology.

Karen Mull-Zapushek, Rockville, Maryland (East)

Candidate Statement Mull-Zapushek

Karen Mull-Zapushek, M.Ed has over 20 years of experience working with children and families. The majority of those 20 years has involved working with parents and children in the field of supervised visitation and child exchanges and with at risk children.

Karen began her career as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with the Juvenile Court of Snohomish County WA then a paid Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) with the Circuit Court of Snohomish County WA . Upon request by Snohomish County Circuit Court and in collaboration with Snohomish County Department of Social Service, Karen developed, launched and operated the first Visitation Center in Snohomish County, WA. Under this model, Karen provided leadership in providing services to both family law high conflict families and families being served by DSS due to the families being impacted by child abuse and/or neglect. During this time, Karen joined the Washington Chapter of the Supervised Visitation Network. As part of one of the committees of the Washington Chapter of the Supervised Visitation Network, Karen worked to provide feedback to the National SVN on the then developing Standards of Practice.

When the family moved to Chapel Hill NC, Karen worked as the Family Services Manager for the Orange County Early Head Start and Head Start Program. Karen continued to volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Chapel Hill NC.

With the aging of parents, Karen and the family returned to the Baltimore/Washington DC area. At this time, Karen began Parent Time, a private practice in supervised visitation and child exchanges. In addition to private clients in multiple counties, Karen obtained a contract with the Harford County Circuit Court to operate the local visitation center in Harford County MD. Karen operated and provided leadership for the Visitation Center of Harford County for approximately 10 years.

In 2016, the Montgomery County Council, after years of data collected by the Montgomery County Court Watch was presented to the Council, the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to fund the first Visitation Center in Montgomery County MD. In 2017, Karen was invited to coordinate the development, launch and continuing operation of the new Safe Passage Center for Supervised Visitation and Monitored Exchange in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Safe Passage Center is funded by Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. The full time Visitation Center offers a safe and neutral setting for high- conflict parents and families impacted by domestic violence to exchange or visit with their children. The Safe Passage Center is the largest visitation center in Maryland.

On a personal note, Karen is married with four children. One son has special needs. Karen volunteered as an Special Education Liaison and coordinated with parents, school staff, and the PTA to enhance the quality of instruction for students receiving special education and related services. In 2013, Karen received a Gubernatorial Nomination to sit on the Maryland State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) The mission of the SICC is to advise and assist the lead agency (Maryland State Department of Education) in administering, promoting, planning, coordinating, and improving the early childhood intervention and education system of services. Karen remained on this Governor’s Council for 8 years.

Judy Newman, Toronto, Ontario (International)

Candidate Stament Newman

Judy Newman MSW, RSW from Toronto, Ontario Canada is the former Manager of the Supervised Access Program, Ministry of the Attorney General. Judy oversaw the funding contracts with the non-profit organizations hosting the supervised access services funded by the Ministry and worked with them to develop practice standards, policies and procedures and training. Judy was actively involved in the development of supervised access services before taking on her position in the government program. Judy is a registered professional social worker who previously worked at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer working with children and families involved in high conflict custody and access disputes conducting investigations and assisting children’s counsel to represent the interests of children before the court. She has been a field instructor and adjunct lecturer for the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto and a field instructor for Ryerson University social work program and York University. Judy is Past President of the Alumni Association for the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, organizing outreach and fundraising activities. She is the proud recipient of an Arbor Award in 2018 for her activities as Alumni Association president. .Judy is a volunteer presenter at the Family Court Mandatory information Sessions (MIP). As a consultant she continues to conduct research and be an active member of local and international non-profit organizations including the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), AFCC-Ontario, and the Supervised Visitation Network (SVN). She is also a frequent workshop presenter at professional conferences. Judy is currently Vice President of the Board of the Supervised Visitation Network and actively involved in several working committees of the organization including DEI (Diversity, Equity,Inclusion), Governance and Training.