Written Profile

Cathy Hackett first heard about Yolo County CASA through Board Member Mary Patricia Whelan-Miille when their kids played soccer together. “She used to talk about her board position with Yolo County CASA and the mission of the organization just really struck me. I’ve always known it’s an organization I want to support.”

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Jean Tugadi was inspired to be a CASA volunteer by her own life experiences. “I had my daughter when I was in high school. I was really inspired by the social worker who worked with me at that time. In fact, she inspired me to go back to school as my daughter got older and I just graduated from UC Davis with a degree in both sociology and psychology. I’ve always known I want to give back in a similar way.”

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Shelton Yip has had a long career in education. He started teaching special education over forty years ago, then worked as a school counselor, then became a school principal, and then worked in administration at both the Napa County and Sacramento City Unified School districts. He now sits on the Yolo County Board of Education. 

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Before she retired, Chris Thomas was a teacher for over 30 years. “I am no stranger to kids who are struggling and I knew in my retirement that I wanted to do something to give back to kids in need.” When Chris retired, she immediately thought of Yolo County CASA.

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Karen Slinkard first became familiar with the dependency system when one of her children’s friends was taken into custody by Child Protective Services while she was visiting Karen’s daughter at her house. “It’s hard to talk about that experience even today but it made me acutely aware of what some kids go through. Ever since then, I knew I’d help children in the dependency system in some way.”

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Make It Happen for Yolo County is an incredible story about caring people who came together to fill a need and are now making an impact on the lives of many transitional aged foster youth.

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