1. How long have you been a CASA?
    I have been a CASA volunteer for 12 years.
  2. What brought you to apply to become a CASA?
    When I retired from teaching elementary school, my husband, a public defender, recommended that I become a CASA. Being unfamiliar with what a CASA was or did, I was reluctant to volunteer. After seeing CASA ads on three separate occasions – one being a billboard, I took it as a sign that I was supposed to become a CASA. That was 21 cases and 36 children ago.
  3. Besides being a CASA volunteer, what do you like to do in your spare time?
    Since my retirement, I have enjoyed traveling, playing bridge, and remodeling my house. I look after my 97 year old mother. I avidly cheer on IU basketball teams and loved buying basketball tickets at the CASA galas. It was a lifetime treat to get tickets behind the bench!
  4. What do you love the most about being a CASA?
    I love seeing children end up in a home where they are safe and happy and where they can achieve their full potential. I am gratified by the love foster parents have for children that come into their care and how they are able to help the children recover from the traumas they have experienced. I enjoy collaborating with team members on the case to help families and children re-establish stability in their lives. I especially like working with the CASA staff and attending CASA functions. My friend, Karen Adams, and I became mutli-case CASAs together. It is wonderful to have a friend that shares your passion for helping children. It has deepened our friendship and made us a familiar duo at CASA.
  5. And now for a little fun, what’s a hidden talent or unusual fact that most people don’t know about you?
    There are a couple of things people may not know about me. The first is that I am a cat lover! I find it difficult to resist buying anything with a cat on it – thus, the cat theme that you see popping up in almost every room of my house. Second, I just learned that I love pickleball! It is a perfect game for friends who can’t safely sit around a bridge table at this time.