Staff

Roberto Ballesteros is a proud Bellingham, WA native who is happy to make a new home in Vancouver, WA. He graduated with a Bachelors in Sociology from Western Washington University. To pass time he loves to read books, hike, hang out with friends, and relax with his cat. He decided to move and work in Southwest Washington in order to expand both his career and educational opportunities. He wanted to work with Friends of The Children to help serve and benefit youth who are facing situations that he had to face when he was younger. Not only that, but the statistics on the impact that the organization had on youth is inspiring. He cannot wait to start building connections with both the youth and the community.

For the past decade, Kristin has dedicated herself to her family and volunteering for youth in the community. Soccer coach, Girl Scout leader, PTA president – Kristin has worn many hats over the years and is thrilled to now be with Friends of the Children. Kristin graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor's degree in Journalism/Public Relations. She started her career in nonprofit at the American Red Cross in Portland where she served as the Oregon Trail Chapter’s Special Events and Corporate Relations Manager. Kristin is married with two teenage children. When she’s not attending one of her son’s or daughter’s numerous school and sporting events, Kristin enjoys playing tennis, spending time with her church family, and musical theatre.

Jennifer Chamale was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated with a Bachelors in Recreation Administration from Humboldt State University, CA with an emphasis in the outdoors.

While earning her degree, Jennifer worked in classrooms with young children. After college, she worked as an outdoor guide leading whitewater rafting trips and backpacking trips. Some of the expeditions and trips she led were with organizations that worked with historically underserved youth. Those trips inspired Jennifer to move to the Pacific Northwest to work in Wilderness Therapy. She became a Senior Field Instructor at Evoke Therapy Programs, working alongside therapists and using the outdoors to help adolescents and young adults to a better understanding of themselves, their true nature, the importance of relationships, and the value they and others bring to every situation. Her favorite part of Wilderness Therapy was forming meaningful relationships with participants and watching participants gain confidence.

Now Jennifer is excited to be working at Friends of the Children, where she can continue forming meaningful and lasting relationships with youth and making positive impacts with the families and youth we serve.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her dog Dunes, gardening, foraging, backpacking, paddleboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking.

Traci was born in Oklahoma and migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1996. She has lived in the Vancouver area since 2004. Traci graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Oklahoma State University. Upon moving to Oregon, she went to work for a behavioral health company where her career in corporate operational processes began. Traci has been looking to transition to non-profit work and is excited to have landed the opportunity to work at Friends of the Children SW Washington. It is important to her that she work for an organization that focuses on providing active and positive change within its community in a way that is impactful and meaningful. Besides spending time with her pets, Traci enjoys rock painting, baking, admiring the ocean, and hiking the beautiful trails in the area.

Ratheany (Rath) Doschin is a native of Vancouver, WA and a proud Alumni of Hudson's Bay High School. Rath earned her degree in Human Services from Western Washington University in Bellingham, where she also interned at numerous nonprofits aimed to serve youth. Prior to accepting the position as Program Manager at Friends SWWA, Rath was a Mentor at Friends PDX where she spent 6 years working with youth ranging from 1st grade to seniors in high school, and had the honor of watching 6 young ladies from her roster graduate from the program over the years. It was, and still is, her dream job to commit to an organization that is aimed to support and serve our most resilient young people - Friends of the Children is home. Outside of work, Rath loves playing on volleyball leagues, snowboarding during winter season, catching every Mariners Home Opener, and spending time with family and friends.

Heber was born and raised in Seattle, WA and graduated from the University of Washington in 2018. During his time at Udub, Heber worked with a mentoring organization called The Dream Project- an org that helped support underserved youth with the college application process. This mentorship opportunity fueled Heber’s passion for serving others and led him to major in Social Work & Education. Heber then worked for an elementary school in Seattle until he came across the opportunity to work for Friends. Heber chose to work for FOTC because he felt this organization‘s response to combating generational poverty through relationship building with at risk-youth aligned with his beliefs and passion. In his free time, Heber enjoys listening to music, watching movies & sports, playing video games, and hanging out with loved ones.

Brittany grew up in Ketchum, ID and earned her degree in public relations and political science from Gonzaga University (Go Zags!). It was during her time at GU that she found her love of service.

Soon after college, Brittany moved to Vancouver to take her first fundraising position, fell in love, and never looked back!

She says that fundraising is a natural fit for her. As the youngest child in a struggling family with four kids, she learned early and often how to advocate for what she needed! She has translated those skills to her professional life advocating for the needs of kids, animals and families. Her greatest joy is bringing passionate donors together with organizations, like Friends of Children, who are doing excellent work with integrity and honesty.

Outside of work Brittany loves skiing, biking, a good Sunday afternoon nap, and of course spending time with her family and friends!

Lindsey was born and raised in Vancouver and is so excited to work within her local community through Friends of the Children – SW Washington. Lindsey graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Concordia University Portland in 2014. Lindsey has dedicated the last 17 years to working with children and families as a teacher and nanny. Prior to her work at Friends of the Children, she worked at Washington State University’s Child Development Program and Mt. Hood Community College’s Head Start program. She enjoys NBA basketball (Go Warriors!), being on the water, cooking and baking new things, auntie duties, and a great book.

Emberly was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, having lived in various cities including Pullman, Spokane, and Salem. She attended Western Oregon University to begin her college studies and then graduated from Arizona State University in 2020 with a Bachelor’s in Justice Studies.

While in high school and college, Emberly worked as both a preschool teacher and a nanny to young children. Through this work, she learned the value in building meaningful relationships with youth. In 2021, Emberly began working at Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon with a program called Step Up. Emberly spent a school year in this position mentoring and advocating for freshman students. She is now excited to be a part of Friends of the Children so that she can continue mentorship work and building meaningful relationships with youth.

In her free time, Emberly enjoys cooking and baking, spending time with her loved ones, enjoying the peace of the outdoors, learning new things, and listening to lots of music.

Johnny is from New Orleans, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University. During his time in college, he received an opportunity to mentor and develop a program helping underserved youth through sports and tutoring. This led to Johnny developing an ardent passion for his community and to assist others in any way possible. He then joined Trader Joe’s where he received the opportunity and responsibility to step into the role as Donations Coordinator to serve and feed the city of New Orleans. Through this role, he connected with local food banks and groups to feed the community and allocated resources to help anyone in need of food and necessities.

Now Johnny is excited to be working at Friends of the Children, where he can continue helping the community and assisting the youth to find their spark and invest in their passions and potential. In his free time, Johnny enjoys spending time reading & writing, poetry, hip-hop, cooking Vietnamese & New Orleans food, hiking, and eating!

Prior to being selected as Friends–Southwest Washington's executive director, Allison Pauletto, a Hudson's Bay High School alum who lives in Vancouver with her spouse and two children, was with Friends–Portland for 13 years, most recently serving as the chief development officer. During her time at Friends–Portland, the organization's budget grew from just under $2 million to $6.5 million and led Portland's highest-grossing nonprofit fundraiser, "Friend Raiser." She was also instrumental in the creation of the first Ambassador Board and their annual Bowl-a-thon.

Kate has twenty-five years of experience as a nonprofit, marketing and communications professional committed to making impact and capacity building within organizations. A passion for enhancing the wellbeing of children and families inspired Kate to raise over $15 million over the last decade as a development leader with Legacy Health, Friends of the Children-PDX and SWWA, YWCA Clark County, and The Hough Foundation. She also served as Community Partnership Manager for The Columbian where she led the nonprofit- community partnership program. Kate is currently a Strategic Philanthropy Advisor and Founder of Giving Solutions Group, LLC and supporting Friends of the Children-SW Washington in their expansion of services to more youth in Clark County. She has two adult children and resides in Ridgefield, WA with her husband where they enjoy gardening and hiking.

Priscilla is excited to be part of Friends of the Children-SW Washington team. She discovered her passion while working at a school for at-risk youth in Portland. Priscilla grew up in Vancouver and wants to help cultivate the youth by creating a brighter future for the city and for the kids.