Our Board
The CASA Board meets monthly and is responsible for:
- Strategic and Business Planning
- Development
- Financial Oversight and Control
- Relationship Development
- Performance Measurement
Robyn West - CASA Advocate and Board Chairman
Robyn West joined the team of CASA volunteers in 2006 and since that time has teamed with other advocates to be the voice for 25 children. Realizing that fundraising is critical to having an advocate for every abused and neglected child in Montgomery County, Robyn joined the CHAMPS fundraising team. In 2010 Robyn Co-Chaired the CASA Gala.
Prior to her involvement in CASA Robyn had a successful career in the computer industry, holding Director and Vice President level positions in New Zealand, Singapore and the USA. She and her husband are now owners of their business specializing in sales, marketing and general management services.
Robyn’s husband, Richard Taylor, became a CASA volunteer to help Robyn with cases, particularly those with teenage boys who are also in the Juvenile Justice system. They live with their dog, Miss Daisy.
Robyn is looking forward to working with the Board to raise enough money to meet our goals of an advocate for every abused and neglected child and taking concrete measures to stop the dreadful cycle of abuse and neglect happening in our own backyard.
William Friebel - Board Vice Chairman
Bill Friebel joined CASA Child Advocates as a Board of Directors member in 2008 and chairs the Development Committee. Prior to CASA Child Advocates, Bill served as a Board member with Child Advocates of Harris County (Houston) for 9 years and served on the Development, IT and Strategic Planning Committees as well as several event committees. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of The Woodlands Rotary Club, mentors a high school Rotary Interact Club, and is active with the Chamber of Commerce, and his church. Bill and his wife, Hayli, reside in The Woodlands,Texas with their daughters.
On the professional side, Bill Friebel is a founding member of the Friebel Group, a wealth management team with Merrill Lynch, and has been in the advisory and consulting business since 1994. The Friebel Group focuses on the needs of successful business owners, professionals, and retirees in achieving their client's long-term financial and life goals. Bill is a Certified Financial Planner™, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor SM, a Certified Financial Manager, a Certified Special Needs Advisor and plans to achieve his Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designation in 2009.
Kathryn Staph – Past President
Kathryn Staph is a Vice President with Citibank, N.A. in the Woodlands,TX. She started her career in the Healthcare Finance industry working for Caritas Christi Healthcare, a non-profit Catholic hospital system throughout Massachusetts. In 1999 she made a career move to the consumer finance industry working for Sovereign Bank. She relocated to Houston in 2004 from Massachusetts to be closer to her sister and family.
She joined the CASA Board in February, 2005. She has served as Board Member, Treasurer, Vice Chair and Board Chair. She also serves with CASA Champs and is a Gala committee member. Kathryn has also served on the Better Business Bureau Senior Advocacy Task Force and March of Dimes 5K Citibank Team Leader. She is passionate about protecting children and giving a child a safe and loving permanent home.
Patrick M. Cahill - Treasurer
Patrick Cahill is married, has two children and has lived in Montgomery County since 1994. Patrick is retired from Champion Window, Inc., a Houston based manufacturing company where he served as its Chief Financial Officer for seven years. He previously was the CFO and Controller of Equus Capital Management Corporation, a private equity firm in Houston that managed investments in small to medium-size companies. After graduating from the University of Texas with a BBA in Accounting, he went to work as an auditor for Ernst & Young, a national public accounting firm.
He joined the board of CASA in 2009. He previously spent ten years serving on the board of directors of Harris County MUD #200, including the last four years as its President. He is looking forward to contributing to this worthwhile cause to help CASA safeguard the interests of abused and neglected children of Montgomery County.
Jay Burke - Secretary
Jay Burke, married with two sons and eight grandchildren is both a Child Advocate and a Board Member. Jay brings over 40 years of business experience having worked for most of his career in sales, sales management and sales training at IBM and AT&T. Jay is a member of The Bentwater Civic Association and a past Board Member. He is active in the Montgomery County retiree community.
As a CASA Board member Jay is responsible for Advocate liaison with the Board, ensuring the issues affecting the Children we serve and the Advocates who speak for them are dealt with at the appropriate level. Jay has advocated for over 20 children since he joined CASA. He is passionate about helping children in his own community.
Philip R. Inman
Phil is a Partner in Enhanced Energy Partners, an independent oil & gas company located in the Houston area. He has thirty-one years of experience in the oil and gas industry, and is responsible for production operations as well as developing forward operating strategies, project management, budgeting, and planning. Prior to forming EEPC in 2006, he was Sr. Vice President of ERT, an mid-size independent offshore Gulf of Mexico producer, and prior to that, Planning Manager for Stocker Resources in Los Angeles, California. His first 18 years in the oil industry were with ARCO in which he held a variety of positions ranging from Business Development/Joint Ventures Consultant to numerous operational and technical positions throughout ARCO’s Gulf Coast oil and gas operations.
Philip holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University, an M.B.A. from Tulane University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana. He has served on the Board of several privately held corporations and non-profit organizations
Terry Mayhill
Terry Mayhill has been involved with CASA for over 12 years. He and his wife Sherry are Advocates and have been active in fund raising for CASA for many years. They both are passionate about the needs of children and have focused their volunteer activities on CASA to assist in breaking the chain of child neglect and abuse that is so apparent in our society today.
Terry brings to the CASA Board over 35 years of experience in industry, having retired from ExxonMobil as the Vice President of Construction. When not working for CASA, Terry enjoys hiking and swimming. His other volunteer activities include fund raising for Gulf Coast United Way anda term as President of the American Association of Malaysia. His current focus is developing partnerships between CASA of Montgomery County and community businesses to ensure longer term financial support for the needs of the children of Montgomery County.
Frances McDougal
Frances McDougal- Married with 3 children and 6 grandchildren; Retired shool teacher after 25 years of teaching. She has been involved in CASA for a total of 13 years, first as an advocate and now as a board member.
She is also involved with many service agencies within Montgomery Co. including Connecting Families and Bridgewood Farms and is an active member of First United Methodist Church where she will begin teaching PreK students at the Day School in the Fall.
She has true love for all children and brings that passion to her work with CASA.
Odessia H. Ross
Odessia joined the CASA board September 2009. She is a retired educator with 38 years of service in Montgomery County. Over the course of her career she has worked with children as a teacher and counselor, grades Pre kindergarten thru High School in Magnolia, Montgomery County, Willis, New Waverly, and Conroe school districts. She also worked as a student advisor/counselor at Lone Star College Montgomery for a number of years. She served as a Child Advocate ealier.
Odessia has a Master Degree graduating from Prairie View A & M University.
Odessia is a mother of a son and daughter who have provided her with 6 wonderful grand children. Currently she is a member of the Magnolia Historical Society and is Secretary of the Delta Kappa Chapter-Conroe of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society.
Cheryl Sellers
Cheryl works full-time as an Implementation Consultant in HR Business Process Outsourcing and has been with AonHewitt since 2003. Her experience includes work ranging from a Human Resources Specialist, Operations Analyst and Team Lead, and Ongoing Operations and Project Manager. Cheryl is currently accountable for ensuring high-quality, on-time, on-budget delivery and results from the implementation team.
Cheryl is a graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. She's been a member of SHRM since 1997 and has been PHR Certified since 2002. She has been on CASA Montgomery County’s Board of Directors since 2009 and spends countless volunteer hours every year making a difference in her community. Cheryl resides in Spring, Texas with her husband Doug, and two children.