Key Staff Members
Audrey Thomas is the Executive Director of Deborah’s Place. She came to Deborah’s Place in 1985 as a volunteer and joined the staff in 1986 to run the daytime program. Audrey has held several positions in the organization including Chief Operations Officer before becoming Executive Director in 2004. Audrey has extensive experience in both direct services with people who are homeless and human service management. Audrey holds a masters in Applied Professional Studies at DePaul University’s School for New Learning with a focus on integrating participant-centered planning into human service organizations. She was the recipient of the 2005 School for New Learning Arthur Weinberg Prize. Audrey currently serves as Secretary of Alliance to End Homelessness Board of Directors. Audrey is a founding member and Secretary of the Logan Square Cooperative, a limited equity housing cooperative committed to promoting cooperative as an answer to the affordable housing crisis in Chicago.
Kathy Booton Wilson, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., is the agency’s Chief Operating Officer. She joined Deborah’s Place in 1987. She has extensive experience and knowledge in working with women who are chronically homeless and dually diagnosed. In 1991, she received her M.S.W. from Loyola University, and was recognized with the President’s Medallion. Formerly serving as Clinical Director, Kathy is integral to developing innovative approaches to homeless services, such as the eviction prevention program, and creating new policies and procedures to enhance services. Kathy has presented at local and regional social work conferences on topics such as: Working with the Chronically Homeless and Mentally Ill, Eviction Prevention and a range of other topics related to mental illness and homelessness.
Sue Gries is the agency’s Director of Finance and Business. She joined the Deborah’s Place family first as a volunteer when Marah’s moved into the Lakeview neighborhood, then as the Staff Accountant in 2002. Sue is responsible for agency fiscal planning and operations as well as all business operations. She is also Vice President of the Lakeview Action Coalition, which works on neighborhood and city-wide issues of affordable housing and accessible health care. Sue earned her BS from the University of Detroit.
Kimberly Youngblood is the agency’s Director of Development. Before coming to Deborah’s Place she served as Director of the Commission on Women in the Legal Profession for the American Bar Association; Director of Public Advocacy for the American Heart Association - Midwest Affiliate; Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler (D-GA); and she was employed as a lobbyist for a number of advocacy organizations in Washington, D.C. She has over 15 years of experience working with political, professional and public interest organizations, and an extensive background in development; media and public education campaigns; program development; executive management; and public policy. Kim earned her BA in Political Science from Spelman College.
Artaisha Brown, PHR, is the Director of Human Resources and Information Technology at Deborah’s Place. She has been with the organization in a number of different positions since August 1995. Artaisha is currently responsible for managing the human resource function at Deborah’s Place including the development and maintenance of the human resource policies, staff compensation and benefits programs, information technology systems and practices, and the recruitment efforts for all employees. Artaisha earned her BS in Business Administration at DeVry University.
Jackie Anderson, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., is the Director of Clinical Services and has been with Deborah’s Place since 1999. She is responsible for supervising four residential programs and the Program Case Management and Therapeutic Services. Before becoming the Program Director, Jackie held the position of Administrator of Program Case Management and Therapeutic Services. Jackie received her M.S.W. from Loyola University and is currently a doctoral candidate with Loyola University’s School of Social Work. As Program Director, Jackie has developed several initiatives to improve service delivery. These initiatives include a peer supervision program, a yearlong supervision training program, as well as a method for assessing crisis and case management needs of participants.
Vicki Brooks is the Director of Facilities for Deborah’s Place. She has been with Deborah’s Place since July 2002. Vicki supervises all janitorial staff and maintenance engineer. In addition, she manages all of the contracts with service providers, oversees facility construction, and identifies, selects, and monitors the work of external contractors. Prior to working with Deborah’s Place, she was responsible for guiding the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center into a brand new facility where she continued managing its operations and overseeing office/building equipment and systems. Vicki has pursued a number of certifications that include credit and collection, accounting, and management training.
Megan Reedy, M.A., L.C.P.C., is the Associate Director of Clinical Services, and has been working in homeless services for twelve years, the last ten years at Deborah’s Place. Megan began working at Deborah’s Place as a case manager and over the years has moved into positions of increased responsibility. The position responsibilities include: coordinating the intern and staff development programs; providing clinical supervision to program case managers, Health Services Coordinator and the Art Therapist; and training and supervising intern case managers who provide services to the off-site women who use Deborah’s Place Learning Centers. Megan received her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University.