Staff - Acres of Diamonds

Jennifer Paddock

Executive Director

Kerstin Grant

Senior Director of Operations

Doug Engberg

Director of Donor Engagement

Robbin Hastings

Finance Director

Teresa Signer

Resident Care Director

Hannah Hunt

Associate Director of Operations

Deborah Pless

Executive Administrator

Mona Chicks

Operations Administrator

Megan Crawford

Senior Community Engagement Manager

Shauna Lane

Bookkeeper & Program Administrative Assistant

Alice Fouse

Senior Family Life Manager

Sarah Ryser

Case Manager

Madalaine Horky

Senior Adult Program Manager

Kristen Miller

Beyond Acres Coordinator

Julie Reynolds

Senior Kids Program Manager

Marnie Hancock

Kids Program & Intake Coordinator

Lauren Topp

Senior Facilities Manager

Taylor Rayburn

Volunteer Coordinator

Kelsey Calderon

Driver & Operations Assistant

Chester Brackebush

Kids Program Assistant

Pam Warnick

Interior Design Lead

Executive Director

Jennifer Paddock

Jen was born and raised in Bellevue, Washington and currently resides in Redmond Ridge with her husband, Lee, and her two Great Danes, Holly and Kirby. Before coming to Acres of Diamonds Jen served as the Director of Community Outreach at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue. It was in this role she discovered a passion to advocate for the homeless. After many years of supporting non-profit Executive Directors and investing in local charities, Jen decided she couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore and decided to jump into what God was doing on behalf of the homeless in King County. This decision led her to Acres of Diamonds in 2014 as the Executive Director and she still wakes up each day with a passion to help moms make lasting change in their lives.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Senior Director of Operations

Kerstin Grant

Originally from Boston, Kerstin has lived all over the US and the world. While attending Hope College in Michigan, Kerstin and her friends formed a group studying issues of justice. She became impassioned to educate the church about the needs of the world, and upon receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Communications; she got a job at World Relief in Baltimore, telling churches about issues of health, poverty, and disaster. In that role, she had the opportunity to travel to World Relief’s program sites around the world. Eventually, she moved to Cambodia to take the lead on communications for the World Relief Asia offices. Desiring to move from communications work to designing transformational programs, Kerstin landed in Duvall to work with the youth ministry staff of Adventure Church. In that role, she experienced the joy of working with a team that shared mission, community, and watching God transform lives. She also started work on a Master’s degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is married to Dan, and they enjoy living in community, playing Frisbee, traveling, hiking, and camping.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Director of Donor Engagement

Doug Engberg

Doug Engberg has been in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years working in senior management and development roles. Doug’s passion is to see nonprofits exceed in doing great work in the area of donor development. He has served on various boards such as Breakthrough Partners, Prodigals International and Lift Up Africa. Doug is married to Margo and they have four children: Gabe, Tycie, Jazzmyn and Mia. They are the owners of Pinkabella Cupcakes in six locations in the Seattle area.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Finance Director

Robbin Hastings

Robbin is delighted to serve Acres of Diamonds as Finance Director, providing financial leadership and promoting a culture of fiscal stewardship. She is responsible for the development and execution of financial systems, policies, and procedures. Her duties include funds management, forecasting and budgeting, and financial reporting and analysis. Robbin is a certified public accountant with extensive experience and a diverse background serving nonprofit organizations as well as individuals and corporations, most recently as the Finance Director of Center for Children & Youth Justice. Formerly an auditor with KPMG, Robbin is also a businesswoman, owning her own small firm since 1992.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Resident Care Director

Teresa Signer

Teresa Signer is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and Geriatric Mental Health Specialist (GMHS). She has a BA in Political Science and a BA in Sociology, both from the University of Washington. She has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Northcentral University in Arizona as well as certificates in the social services field earned in Switzerland where she lived for 20 years. Volunteer experience includes working in Community Development in the Peace Corps in Cameroon and volunteering in her church. Teresa has worked a number of years in community mental health. Teresa enjoys multicultural settings and has a passion for coming along side individuals in the process of recovery. In her free time she enjoys traveling, hiking, and working in her garden.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Associate Director of Operations

Hannah Hunt

Hannah Hunt graduated Magna Cum Laude from Western Washington University with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and minors in Women’s Studies and German. As the Senior Data Systems Manager, she handles all resident and donor data – a passion of hers! At Acres she gets to combine her love for people and data at the same time. In her free time, she enjoys cycle classes and spending time with her friends and family.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Executive Administrator

Deborah Pless

Hailing from a small town in coastal New England, Deborah first found her way to Duvall in 2012 when she began working with the youth ministry team at Adventure Church. Since then and throughout her career, Deborah has lived all over the United States and invested in helping nonprofit organizations that value long-term transformational work. Moving back to Massachusetts in 2015, she spent three years as part of the Human Resources team at Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, a girls’ mentoring organization, where she deeply enjoyed helping the organization grow. Following her time at Big Sister Boston, Deborah went on to start her Master’s Degree in Education with Lesley University and spent time teaching in the Massachusetts public school system. Deborah is happy to have the opportunity to be back in Washington and be able to bring her skills and passions to bear in her new role. When not working, she enjoys sharing her life with friends and family, cooking, fiber arts, and collecting local art from all over the world.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Operations Administrator

Mona Chicks

Mona was born and raised in California, but likes to tell people she’s lived in the Pacific Northwest well more than half her life so she’s practically a native. A graduate of Westmont College (Santa Barbara) in Religious Studies, she continued her education at Fuller Theological Seminary, earning an MDiv. She was ordained in 1996 by Fremont Baptist Church in Seattle. She has been working in various pastoral roles ever since, most recently at Bellevue Presbyterian Church. Her Bible nerdiness comes out when she teaches at Women at the Well, a large Bible study for women at BelPres. In addition, she is a spiritual director, and is passionate about reading, cats, coffee, and the Seattle Sounders FC. She has a deep yearning to help create systems which perpetuate economic justice – which has led her to invest her energy in Acres of Diamonds. Mona is married and has an adult son.

Senior Community Engagement Manager

Megan Crawford

Megan is a long time Duvall resident. Wife to Dustin and mother to June and Jack, she is grateful to live and work in a beautiful, thriving community. In her free time she enjoys the outdoors with her family, beautifying her home or meeting friends for coffee. Megan’s path to Acres included her journey into motherhood. After having her daughter at 23, Megan discovered how critical it was for moms and kids to have support. That led to volunteering and contributing to local organizations whose mission is to serve moms and kids by sheltering, equipping, and empowering them. Megan’s passion translates into her work by connecting the community with moms and kids previously devastated by homelessness now residing and thriving at Acres.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Bookkeeper & Program Administrative Assistant

Shauna Lane

Shauna was born and raised in Montana on a farm where she competed as a barrel racer before moving on to cheer-leading as the top of the pyramid. She moved to the Tri-Cities area in Washington state with her husband after they graduated from Montana State University where she discovered you should avoid the orange (radio active) tumbleweeds. She received her masters degree in Elementary Education and after teaching kindergarten, third grade and Jr. High she used her skills to home school her own daughter thru high school. Now that her daughter if off to college Shauna is ready to get back to working hands on with kids to help them discover their full potential. She lives in Sammamish with her husband, her dogs Tabitha and Peanut, enjoys reading, walking, and fair weather motorcycle rides where her husband is a captive audience.

Senior Family Life Manager

Alice Fouse

Alice, the daughter of a Nazarene pastor, spent most of her growing up years in northern Wisconsin. Alice holds a degree in Special Education and created and ran a private school for many years and then became a home school consultant and ventured into foster care. As Case Manager at Acres, Alice is passionate about collaborating with women in discovering their identity, breaking the cycle of homelessness, and realizing their goals and dreams. With her degree in Special Education and working with at risk individuals. Alice is effective and creative in her approach to walking alongside the women and children at Acres.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Case Manager

Sarah Ryser

Before working at Acres of Diamonds Sarah was studying for her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and working full-time as an EMT running 911 calls with local fire departments.

Sarah’s story started like many of the moms at Acres with a lot of family mental illness and domestic violence. What helped her get through those challenging times was supportive relationships that helped her to heal and change her life. At Acres Sarah has been the Kids Program Manager, Intake Manager and now the Case Manager for the women. Her Psychology background and her personal experience give her the skills and empathy to pay it forward and walk alongside the families as they heal and grow.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Senior Adult Program Manager

Madalaine Horky

Madalaine grew up in Spencer, Indiana, but has called Washington home since December 2016. Madalaine has a Master’s Degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary, where she graduated in August 2020 with Highest Honors. She has been passionate about serving homeless families since doing an internship in Tacoma, Washington in 2015. During the internship, she spent every day with homeless families. Through hearing their stories, Madalaine felt a deep urgency to love the poor like Jesus, and to come alongside local churches to see them do the same. Since that experience, Madalaine has written and presented work on the Church’s care for the poor at national conferences, has developed and presented research on young adults’ faith journeys, and has done nonprofit work caring for adults with mental health challenges. She enjoys walking with women in a long-term way, encouraging them in the ups and downs of their journeys. Madalaine is also passionate about equipping volunteers as they bring their skills to serve families well. In September 2018, Madalaine married her best friend, Schuyler, and she loves experiencing all of life with him! She also loves their grumpy, feral cat, Spike! On Madalaine’s free days, she enjoys going on ferry rides with her husband, playing pinball at the arcade, reading comic books, watching Marvel movies, and having coffee with friends.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Beyond Acres Coordinator

Kristen Miller

Kristen was born and raised just outside Washington DC and attended American University, receiving her BA in Justice. She married her college sweetheart, Todd, and they have five children, aged 14-23. Their family relocated to Washington in 2011 but have also lived in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Kristen has worked in various spheres of the child welfare, adoption and foster care arenas and with vulnerable and homeless populations for the past 23 years. Kristen is passionate about walking alongside those who have experienced trauma and connecting people with community, resources and hope. Having worked domestically and internationally with people experiencing poverty and homelessness, Kristen is excited to join the Acres team to support women as they transition from Acres into the next chapter of their lives. Currently Kristen lives in Sammamish with her husband and two youngest children and enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, reading and traveling.

Senior Kids Program Manager

Julie Reynolds

Julie is a University of Texas alumnus with a BA in Psychology and Applied Learning and Development and MA of Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. She loves the challenge of creating spaces for kids of all ages to experience the joy and wonder of following Jesus! God has placed a clear vision in Julie to be “repairer of broken walls” (Isaiah 58) with the overlooked and outcast in our society. Nothing brings Julie more joy than walking alongside others into deeper trust in Jesus. Julie is passionate about social justice, honoring the image of God in all, and strengthening families. During her career she has worked in both childrens and youth ministry, with children and families in the foster care system, and served in international missions. Julie loves a great color scheme, theme parties, and traveling. Julie moved to the great PNW from Texas with her husband Trey, three amazing kids, and dog Maggie.

Kids Program & Intake Coordinator

Marnie Hancock

Born and raised in the greater Seattle area, Marnie recently graduated from Seattle Pacific University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. She discovered her love of working with kids while coaching gymnastics at Emerald City Gymnastics Academy and is now thrilled to be working as the Kid’s Program Coordinator at Acres of Diamonds. Additionally, Marnie is very pleased to be working at a Christian organization. She reaffirmed her walk with God while attending a Discipleship Training School through Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and since then has looked for opportunities to live out God’s call on her life.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Senior Facilities Manager

Lauren Topp

Was born and raised in Monroe, WA and currently lives in Snohomish, WA. Lauren has a B.S in Zoology from Washington State University. Before coming to Acres of Diamonds, Lauren volunteered as a Youth Group leader at the Duvall Church for many years. She also has experience managing staff, properties, and projects from her previous places of employment. Working alongside pastors and volunteers gave Lauren a passion to help equip and support those desiring to change the community around them. With her skills in organization, project management, and servanthood, Lauren connects the needs of the house and families with the gifts and talents of volunteers and donors well. On Lauren’s free days she enjoys hiking, reading, and laughing with friends.

Photo Credit: Tashina Rachel Photography

Volunteer Coordinator

Taylor Rayburn

Before coming to Acres, Taylor grew up and worked in Pierce County. She followed in her parents’ footsteps, attending school in Saskatchewan, Canada at Briercrest College and Seminary. There she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and returned back to WA to pursue her passion for youth with trauma backgrounds. After working with families in behavioral health, Taylor went on to pursue victim advocacy work with the local sexual assault center, and then with the Children’s Advocacy Center. She also spent time volunteering with Echo Glen Children’s Center and the Gratitude House for Clean and Sober Living. Throughout these experiences, Taylor became an advocate for the power of generational cycles within families. God has closed career doors she did not expect, but thankfully He has opened the door for Acres. She is grateful to be a part of a ministry that sees the family as a whole and believes in the hope of freedom from abuse and poverty. Apart from Acres, Taylor is married to the most amazing man named West, and enjoys health, the outdoors, and any excuse to celebrate!

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Driver & Operations Assistant

Kelsey Calderon

Kelsey was born in Michigan but spent the majority of her life in Washington. She grew up in Snohomish County with her parents and 6 siblings, of which, she is the oldest. When she was 21, she temporarily moved to Kansas to help her aunt through radiation treatments and ended up meeting the love of her life, William, to whom she is now married.

Kelsey has worked the last 8 years as a CNA, the 3 most recent years having been spent working at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Kelsey came to know Jesus at a very young age and was heavily involved with the church her whole life. She is now delighted to be able to continue working with children and to have a working community that shares her faith, here at Acres.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography

Kids Program Assistant

Chester Brackebush

Interior Design Lead

Pam Warnick

Pamela Warnick is an interior designer with over 25 years’ experience in residential design. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from Seattle Pacific University and went on to work for Masins Fine Furniture and Interiors before founding her own design firm, Warnick Design, back in 2001.

Pam strives to create unique interiors that will have a positive impact in her client’s lives. She is known for always collaborating with her client so that their style and personality shine through.

Photo Credit: Amy Wimber Photography