Our Staff

Eight professionals currently staff the CASA offices. Executive Director Ann McAlpin, Program Director Pat Creighton and Volunteer Director Mark Goerlitz are the management staff.

Doris Foulkes, Mary Gillen, Marilyn McQueeney, Patti Sexton and Wanda Smith are Case Supervisors who support volunteer Advocates.

Ann McAlpin - Executive Director

• A love for kids and a passion for keeping them safe
• Deep respect for the value of people
• An understanding of strategic and systems thinking
• A drive to use new technology to grow the organization
• The ability to manage change and make it fun!

As a volunteer Child Advocate herself, Ann understands CASA volunteers and the needs of the organization from the ground up.

Her heart, attention to detail, analytical skills and passion have propelled her to speak up to help children—one child at a time—have a safe and loving home.

Ann’s unique skillset and leadership will give us the ability to take the next step forward to expand our services, increase the number of children we serve and become a stronger link for our community. Come join Ann and CASA in the fight to make a better world for these children who need us so badly. As she says, “You will give--and get--more than you ever imagined.”

Ann is an avid reader, a pilot and a runner. She has hiked Mount Kilimanjaro and has two rescue dogs, Cowboy and Maisie. She is constantly impressed by the people who work and volunteer for CASA.

Please stop in and introduce yourself when you’re in the office, and write me a note to let me know how things are going. Together we can change children’s lives!

Pat Creighton is a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a Child Advocate. After 25 years in the Airline Industry, she became a CASA Advocate in February 2002. Six months later, she joined the CASA staff as a Case Supervisor. Pat is now the Program Director and considers herself fortunate to work with volunteers and staff who are committed to the mission of CASA and the children they serve.

Doris Foulkes came to CASA as a volunteer Advocate in 2004.  She joined the staff as a Case Supervisor in 2010.     Besides her many duties as a Case Supervisor, Doris aids CASA every day with her much-needed bilingual talents.  She grew up in Mexico City where she also attended college.  Doris and her husband live in The Woodlands and have 2 children.

Doris Foulkes empezó como voluntaria en CASA en el 2004. En el 2010 se unió al equipo de CASA como supervisora de casos. Habiendo crecido y estudiado en la Ciudad de México, Doris nos es de gran ayuda con los casos de habla hispana que recibimos. Ella y su esposo viven en The Woodlands y tienen dos hijos.

Mary Gillen started with CASA as a volunteer advocate over six years ago. Mary and her husband Michael have 2 children. Their son Patrick is a 2006 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and is currently stationed in San Diego, California. Daughter Catherine is a 2009 graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy and is stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia. Mary works the Kinship program for CASA and is always looking for a few hands on the 4th Saturday of the month. Mary and Michael live in the Woodlands with their bird LOLA.

Mark Goerlitz started working for the CASA organization in 2000 as a casework supervisor in Austin Texas. In 2005 Mark transferred to the Montgomery County CASA as a Case Supervisor.  Beginning in January 2010, Mark will assume the position of Volunteer Director/Trainer.  Mark is married and has one child.

Marilyn McQueeney came to CASA after working 30 years in early childhood education.  For twenty of those years she owned and directed a large private school and child care center.  After selling her school, she and her family moved to Montgomery County and became a CASA Advocate in February 2009.  Marilyn joined the CASA staff November 2009.  She is married with 2 children, 3 step-children and 5 grandchildren.

Patti Sexton joined CASA in May of '09 as a volunteer advocate and became a part of the CASA staff January 2010.  She has spent the past 24 years serving the victims of crime in Montgomery County beginning with the Sheriffs Department as a Victim Liasion and as an advocate and volunteer coordinator with the Montgomery County Women's Center.  As a sworn  law inforcement officer for 15 years, Patti has worked with children in the community for 7 of those years.  Patti achieved a lifelong dream of receiving her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2008.  She and her husband enjoy camping gardening and crafts.  They have 6 grown children and 5 grandchildren.  

Wanda Smith ‐ Like others on staff, Wanda was a Volunteer Advocate before she became a staff member in 2006. Wanda’s favorite part of her job is working with the wonderful volunteers who represent the needs of children under the court’s jurisdiction. Prior to moving to Texas, Wanda, her husband and two daughters lived in Singapore and Indonesia.