Staff

Bill Bentley has devoted his life to building a world where every child has the opportunity to thrive. An exceptional and dynamic leader with skills honed in a distinguished career that includes non-profit, government and private sector experience, he leads Voices for America’s Children (Voices), the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. Voices is committed to speaking up for the well-being of children at the local, state and national levels of government. With more than 60 members nationwide, Voices advocates for effective public policies to improve the lives of all children throughout the United States.

Throughout his career, Bill has been driven by the belief that when we invest in children, we strengthen America. To this end he was one of the leaders in the formation of the Children’s Leadership Council (CLC), a coalition of more than 50 of the nation’s leading national children’s policy and advocacy organizations. For the first time, these powerful groups are speaking with one voice to build public awareness and create the political will necessary to make greater federal investments in America’s children and youth to prepare them for school, work and life.

Bill began his career in public service as a Juvenile Probation Officer with the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Rising through the ranks he earned a frontline view of the special needs of youth in crisis, the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

As the President and CEO of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Inc., Bill built on what he had observed as a probation officer and led the development and implementation of local innovative demonstration programs addressing maternal and child health, child welfare, juvenile justice and family support programs.

Bill was appointed Executive Director of the Florida Governor’s Commission on Community Service, the state entity responsible for promoting volunteerism and citizen service as a means of solving community problems. Former United States Senator Harris Wofford then tapped him to serve on the senior management team at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Bill’s unique experiences and talents were later recognized by the Points of Light Foundation, where he served as Executive Vice President & COO of the premier national volunteer services organization and its 335 volunteer centers nationwide.

Bill received his undergraduate degree in education from Florida State University and his master’s degree from Florida State University’s School of Social Work. He and his wife reside in Silver Spring, Md., and have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Dr. George Askew is a board certified pediatrician and nationally recognized social entrepreneur and child advocate. George brings critical experience in securing greater social justice for young children to his position at VOICES.

In 2007, George served as President and CEO of Jumpstart for Young Children, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to assuring all children enter school ready to succeed. In 2003 he founded Docs For Tots, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging more doctors to fulfill their important role as active advocates for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers on the national, state and local levels.

Under his leadership as Executive Director from 2003-2007 the organization developed a network of nearly 900 children’s doctors who committed to increasing their civic engagement on behalf of young children. In 2005, in recognition of his initiative, vision, and national impact, George was one of 14 social entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Canada inducted into the International Ashoka Fellowship. Prior to launching Docs For Tots he was a Fellow in the Soros Open Society Institute, Medicine as a Profession, Advocacy Fellowship for Physicians, working with ZERO TO THREE (National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families) in Washington, D.C. In 2001-2002, George (he himself a Head Start graduate) was Chief of the Health and Disabilities Services Branch of the Head Start Bureau (HSB) and Medical Advisor to the Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, George is a graduate of Harvard University, from which he earned a B.A. in Psychology and Social Relations with an emphasis on child development, and Case Western Reserve University, where he earned his M.D.

As a Senior Policy Fellow, Sheri helps Voices members strengthen their advocacy support and expand state-level efforts to address the needs of at-risk children, especially children of color.

Sheri also represents Voices with the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition of nearly 40 children’s advocacy groups working to improve the health, well-being and lives of children and youth. Before joining Voices, Sheri was the director of policy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she advised grantees on a broad range of Foundation program initiatives. She was also responsible for developing and coordinating an overall education policy strategy while working to integrate policy into the Foundation’s overall mission and program initiatives. Sheri received her law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wheaton College.

Georgette provides administrative support to the President & CEO and serves as the principal liaison to the Board of Trustees and Voices’ new Member Leadership Council.

Before joining Voices, Georgette worked as an Executive Assistant with AAHSA, a nonprofit organization which advocates for the elderly.

Rennie R. Dutton, Ph.D., is a Senior Consultant at Voices, providing expertise on evaluation and fund development. Her career in nonprofit administration includes 15 years with the Points of Light Foundation where she served as Vice President and Special Assistant to the CEO for Strategic Planning, Research, and Evaluation. During this period, she created a foundation relations program which she directed for over six years. Subsequently, Rennie created and led the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. During her six years as department head, she managed development of the Foundation’s 2004 to 2009 strategic plan, provided leadership to all organizational evaluation activities, and directed provision of services to external clients for commissioned evaluations.

Her clients include or have included IBM, Lilly, UPS (contracted services to their grantees the East Tennessee Foundation and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts), and the States of Mississippi and Nevada. She is the author of Measuring Volunteer Center Performance which was developed to provide the Volunteer Center National Network with guidelines for performance measurement and performance-based strategic planning. Prior to joining the Points of Light Foundation in 1992, she served for four years as the Assistant Director of Experiential Learning at the University of Maryland – College Park and an adjunct instructor in counseling and women’s studies.

Rennie holds an earned Ph.D., in counseling and consultation from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Roberta Heine is the vice president of communications and marketing for Voices, where she advises the organization and members on messaging and strategy.

She also oversees all aspects of communications, including media relations, publications, marketing, and online media. Roberta has long been interested in children’s issues and advocating for working families. She is a former TV news producer, PR agency executive and strategist and spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education, members of Congress, governors, political candidates, labor union and other nonprofit organizations. Roberta received a B.A. in Speech Communications, with a concentration in journalism, from the University of Minnesota.

Jolie organizes and assists the finance and development efforts at VOICES, as well as ensures smooth daily operations by coordinating office management.

She is skilled at supporting high energy offices having previously worked for one of Washington’s leading real estate development firms.

Casey articulates the needs of children to public officials and the general public, and works to develop the same capacity in Voices members.

Before joining Voices, Casey held positions in journalism and web development. Casey has an M.A. in journalism from American University and a B.A. in political science from Stonehill College.

Marlo is charged with developing and implementing the programs to empower and connect the Voices network. She brings strong networking and advocacy skills, creativity, and energy to her role as Vice President for Membership. Prior to joining Voices, she was the Vice President of National Initiatives of the United Way of America (UWA), where she served as the head of the largest network of early childhood coalitions, and managed the national early childhood and human service initiatives of the 1300-member organization, including Success By 6 and 2-1-1. She also brings firsthand experience with the Voices network to her position. For nine years before coming to Washington, Marlo was the KIDS COUNT Coordinator and later the Director of Early Childhood Care and Education Solutions for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. During this time, Marlo was a recognized leader on early education issues, served on Oklahoma Governor’s Task Force on School Readiness and brought public and private sector leaders together to support greater focus and resources for programs serving children across Oklahoma. Marlo also designed and implemented an advocacy leadership program, Oklahoma KIDS COUNT Leadership, which was nationally recognized by Voices as an exemplary effort.

Marlo has undertaken graduate studies in public health at the University of Oklahoma and holds a B.A. in Sociology, with a minor in French, from Oklahoma State University.

Jenn directs efforts to increase the organizational effectiveness and level of collaboration in the Voices network and serves as a thought partner on strategy and programming for members.

Prior to Voices, Jenn served as advocacy manager for the Council on Foundations and worked for United Way of America where she was the manager of public policy. She managed learning opportunities and organizational partnerships and lobbied Congress and the administration on nonprofit related legislation. Her other experiences include political fundraising, lobbying on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, and working on capitol hill. Novesky earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and communication studies from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland and is currently working on her master’s degree from George Washington University in political management with a concentration in electoral advocacy.

Megan has a demonstrated interest in child advocacy, learning about the challenges of at risk children through mentorships and service experiences. She recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a B.A. in political science and French. Prior to joining Voices, Megan spent the summer at a school in the Kibera slum outside of Nairobi, Kenya, followed by an internship on Capitol Hill.

As Senior Director of Government Affairs and Policy, Carla closely monitors the latest federal and state developments impacting children’s health. Her responsibilities include staffing Voices’ Health Policy Advisory Group, implementing strategies in partnership with members and national partners; representing Voices legislative priorities to federally elected officials and the administration; and mobilizing and educating Voices member network about the impact of federal proposals on children’s health.

Prior to joining Voices, Carla most recently served as the manager for the Health Policy Tracking Service (HPTS), a service of Thomson West. During her seven years at HPTS, she focused on monitoring and analyzing state legislation and initiatives pertaining to health insurance and health care reform, as well as, state efforts to reduce childhood obesity rates. Carla also served as the principal researcher on several projects commissioned by leading health policy organizations, including The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Partnership for Prevention.

Carla holds a master’s degree in public health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia and a bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Lori collaborates with Voices staff to develop and implement fundraising strategies that will increase the capacity of Voices and members as advocates for children nationwide.

Before joining Voices, Saafi held positions in development, event coordination, and community outreach. Saafi has a B.A. in English with a minor in film studies from the University of Vermont, and undertook coursework in UVM’s Master of Educational Studies program with a concentration in media literacy and youth activism.

Jill is a skilled business administrator who brings great enthusiasm and personal commitment to creating brighter futures for children to Voices. Charged with the effective fiduciary operations for the organization, Jill is responsible for the development and implementation of the annual budget, accounting, cash management, banking, investment and procurement management. She brings more than 25 years of diverse experience in accounting finance and human resources, including service at KPMG, CBS, Inc., Southern New England Telephone, WFS Services, and IAQ, Inc.

Jill is also an adoptive parent and former emergency foster care provider and the fully engaged mother to three nearly perfect children.

She holds a Masters of Business Administration from Pace University, and received a CPA license from the State of New York. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Clarkson University.

As Senior Government Affairs Director, Joanna oversees the federal budget work, with a special emphasis on appropriations and tax proposals for their effect on children.

Her responsibilities include analyzing budget and tax proposals and identifying new and emerging fiscal issues at the federal and state levels that affect children, developing budget-focused advocacy tools and mobilizing and educating Voices’ membership on federal budget decisions that adversely affect children and families. Joanna also leads the organization’s efforts to reduce child poverty as well as its race equity and diversity work. Joanna is also a member of the Annie E. Casey Race Matters Technical Assistance team.

Prior to joining Voices, Joanna served as the Associate Director of the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute, focusing on Maryland-specific budget analysis in the areas of health policy and other human services. Other experiences include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, qualitative and quantitative applied research, lobbying, and public education.

Joanna holds a doctorate in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as well as Master of Arts in both public policy and Counseling from Regent University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from North Carolina State University.

Joe provides strategic guidance and direction for Voices public policy and congressional and White House outreach efforts.

Recognized for his expertise in a wide array of domestic policy and budgetary issues, Joe has more than 20 years of experience in developing and advocating for critical legislative issues. Most recently he served as the Special Assistant to the President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation. He also served as the Executive Director and CEO of Taxpayers for Common Sense. On Capitol Hill, he worked for Members from California to Minnesota.

Joe earned a MA in Political Science from The University of Oklahoma and a BS from Minnesota State University.

Terrylynn provides strategic guidance for federal advocacy efforts in the area of early care and education. She facilitates the Voices School Readiness Advisory Committee; partners with members and national advocates to influence policy and practices; and educates and organizes the Voices membership about the impact of federal proposals on children in the states.

Prior to joining Voices, Terrylynn served as director of education policy for Advocates for Children and Youth, Maryland. In this role she executed a strategic agenda to increase quality leadership in struggling schools, to close minority and income achievement gaps and to increase educational opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Terrylynn earned the degrees of Doctor of Education from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Education and Counseling from McGill University. She has a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from University of East London.