Caroline Cascio was named President & CEO in January 2014. She is responsible for The Wellspring’s staff and programming, and supports the work of The Wellspring Foundation. Caroline earned her undergraduate degree in Child Life and Family Studies from Louisiana Tech University and her master’s degree in Marriage and Family from Northeast Louisiana University, now ULM. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Caroline joined The Wellspring in 1993 as a Marriage and Family Therapist, and became the Director of Professional Services in 1998, overseeing the work of the Counseling & Family Development Center. She served in this capacity until stepping into her current role as President & CEO in 2014. Caroline is a graduate of Leadership Ouachita, a former member of the Jr. League of Monroe and has served on the Boards of Directors of LaFASA (Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault) and the Children’s Coalition of Northeast Louisiana. Caroline is an active member of Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

With The Wellspring since 2001, Valerie Bowman is the Director of the Domestic Violence Program as well as the Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish. The Domestic Violence Program serves nine parishes in Northeast Louisiana and three parishes in Central Louisiana. Both programs focus on providing a coordinated community response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The Domestic Violence Program and the Counseling & Family Development Center work together to address human trafficking, particularly among survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Valerie has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Family and Consumer Science with a specialization in Family and Children. She has also received Certification on Dynamics of Domestic Violence from Louisiana Tech University. Valerie is the current Chair of the SAFE Taskforce for Ouachita Parish, the past Chair and current Secretary of the Board of Directors for LCADV (Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence) as well as the Committee on Quality Assurance (COQA) for domestic violence programs in the State of Louisiana. She recently completed the Advocacy Learning Center, a national training/certification program sponsored by the DOJ/Office on Violence Against Women, which focused on advocacy and best practices in domestic violence programs.

As Director of Professional Services, Lisa is responsible for the leadership and supervision of the clinical staff. Lisa and her staff at the Counseling & Family Development Center, the region’s Accredited Sexual Assault Center, are responsible for implementing the mission of strengthening and valuing individuals and families through the Counseling, Sexual Assault, Supervised Visitation, Crisis Line and Employee Assistance (EAP) programs.

Lisa is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Clinical Member of the American Counseling Association. She is a play therapist and is certified in Mediation and Parent Coordination. Lisa serves on the Board of Directors of LaFASA and the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. She has been a member of the staff since 2005.

The Administrative and Financial Services staff is under the direction of Christy Gwin. She is responsible for overseeing and monitoring the financial and administrative services for The Wellspring. Christy and her staff work to assure compliance with state and federal grant requirements and to provide documentation of program outcomes to funders who affirm their confidence in the work of The Wellspring.

Christy is certified by Management Concepts in Federal Grants Management. She is a past Sustaining Member of the Jr. League of Monroe, past Treasurer of the Board of Directors of LaFASA (Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault) and a Leadership Ouachita Graduate. Christy has been a member of The Wellspring staff since 1991.

Led by Kristie Hodges, The Wellspring’s Outreach, Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (OPRRH) Program is responsible for developing and implementing a wide range of outreach, prevention and rapid re-housing services to Northeast Louisiana’s most vulnerable populations. These programs provide outreach and referral services to the community’s street homeless, prevention and rapid re-housing to families with children under the age of 18, and outreach, prevention and rapid re-housing to homeless Veterans or Veterans at risk of losing their housing. The Outreach, Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program serves 12 parishes in Northeast Louisiana.

Kristie has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and has a Registered Social Work license (RSW) with the state of Louisiana. She has served two United Methodist Churches as youth director for 17 years. Kristie joined The Wellspring in 2004 as the domestic violence child advocate for the Morehouse Parish office. When The Wellspring initiated its first general homeless program in 2006, Kristie became one of the first case managers for the Home At Last program, which is still in existence under the OPRRH department. Kristie has served as the Program Manager for the OPRRH program and in 2015 was selected to serve as the Director.

Cindy Roach, Director of the Permanent and Transitional Housing Program, is responsible for leading the staff that provides permanent supportive housing and rural victim services throughout Northeast and Central Louisiana. Her program provides permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless, rural transitional housing for victims of domestic violence,and a coordinated community response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in our rural service area. The P&TH program has offices in Morehouse, Franklin, LaSalle and Catahoula parishes and has service sites in spaces located in partner agencies in Caldwell, Concordia, East Carroll, Richland, Tensas and West Carroll parishes.

Cindy has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and is a Registered Social Worker. She provides leadership and advocacy in addressing the issues of domestic violence and homelessness by serving on the Boards of Directors for LCADV (Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence) and the HOME Coalition. Cindy is currently serving as Board President for the HOME Coalition. She is also the current secretary and a past treasurer for LCADV, and the past treasurer and secretary of the HOME Coalition. Cindy joined The Wellspring in 2007.