Congratulations to our new advocates! They completed the February training session and were sworn-in on Thursday — including our intern, Kelsey. Kelsey has been a big help with CASA Casino and other projects, and it’s a pleasure to have her in the office!
Many thanks to everyone who came out last night and supported our organization at CASA Casino! It was a great event and we really sent the ‘Gatsby’ theme out with a bang. We are already looking forward to next year — CASA Casino: Shaken Not Stirred is sure to be a night to remember in 2020!
Exciting news at CASA! We are welcoming our new Executive Director, Elizabeth Fisher!
Elizabeth was our Program Director the last 2 years and previously a CASA volunteer. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and TAUW’s NeXtulsa. Board President Debbie King says,” We can say without hesitation that we’ve found a tremendous person to lead CASA into the future.” Please join us in congratulating Liz!
Thank you to the Gelvin Foundation for providing a grant that allowed Tulsa CASA to purchase a SmartBoard! We are so excited to use it for improving our training sessions, lunch & learn’s and in-services.
Doann Nguyen has lived in Bartlesville, OK for the last 10 years, working at Phillips 66 in a
variety of roles upon her graduation from Oklahoma State University. In addition to a successful career in IT, Doann is no stranger to community service.
She was sworn-in as a CASA in June 2018 and served her community in various other capacities prior to joining our program. Doann has volunteered for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, was a former City Councilor for Bartlesville, and has served on boards at other nonprofits. Doann is also a volunteer baker for an organization that provides celebration cakes to families impacted by the critical illness of a child.
When Doann is not busy with work or community service, she enjoys baking and all things culinary. She also likes to play piano and the accordion in her spare time. She and her husband, Brandon, have been married for three years, and enjoy spending time together by creating new things in the kitchen and hanging out with their pets. The star of the family is their feisty two-year-old French Bulldog, Henri, and their two cats: a sweet, fluffy, white cat named Lily and a grumpy, diabetic cat named Tucker.
Doann describes her typical responsibilities as a CASA as regularly talking with foster and natural parents, and visiting her kiddos as often as she can. She says that she learns the most about the children on her case when they are sitting on the floor and playing together. Other, less visible responsibilities include staying objective, checking her biases, and putting empathy first. We are grateful to have had such a wonderful new advocate join our program. Thank you for serving CASA children, Doann!
Doann is an incredibly ambitious and driven advocate. She dove head-first into her very first case by
serving five children in two different foster homes. She goes above and beyond, traveling hundreds of miles each month to visit them, ensure their needs are met, and their voices are heard.
She has been a tremendous resource to both natural and foster families she works with, and often bridges gaps in communication between parties when necessary. No matter the circumstance, I can always count on her to remain professional and level-headed.
I truly enjoy working with such a passionate, outgoing advocate, and look forward to watching her grow in this role. – Kylee Jenkins
2019 is off to a great start at Tulsa CASA. Congratulations to our newest volunteers for completing training and swearing-in as Court Appointed Special Advocates!
Bruce Fensler started his CASA training the day after he retired in 2016. He retired from a career in IT and also spent over 20 years in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. Bruce moved to Tulsa 38 years ago from Topeka, KS to attend Spartan School of Aeronautics, but says that he hasn’t even worked on an airplane since graduation!
As you can tell, Bruce is our resident funny guy. When asked to describe himself in three words, Bruce chose “funny, joyful, and getting old”. A little known fact about him is that he received hitting advice from long-time Boston Red Sox left-fielder Ted Williams when Bruce was 10 years old.
When speaking on this experience, Bruce said: “it did not help”. We are delighted every time Bruce brings his kind personality and funny quips around the CASA office.
Bruce stays in regular contact with the children and families he serves—both biological and
foster. One of his strengths is being able to assess the child’s needs and meet them with accuracy.
Aside from volunteering with CASA, Bruce also takes part in other community work. He volunteers at Mitchell Elementary School in North Tulsa and is a volunteer children’s pastor at his church. When he is not giving his time to work with children, Bruce enjoys traveling. He has been to Peru 5-6 times and will be traveling to Guatemala later this year on a mission trip.
Bruce and his wife, Shio, have been married for 35 years and they have 2 children and 5 grandchildren. Bruce also enjoys walking and spending time with his grandchildren whenever he is able. Bruce—we appreciate the levels of dedication and kindness that you show to each family you come into contact with. Thank you for being an exemplary CASA volunteer!
Bruce is the consummate professional when it comes to his CASA volunteering. He brings his kind, compassionate demeanor with him wherever he goes.
He remained calm and understanding towards a parent in the difficult stages of a domestic violence case, even when the parent acted indifferent to others. As time went on he developed a very nice rapport with the parent and stayed the course until the family was reunited—an outcome that he had hoped for.
Bruce is starting a new case with the previous DHS worker who was so happy when she learned she would work with Bruce again. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Bruce Fensler, I’m sure you recall his beautiful, warm smile. I count myself lucky for knowing Bruce and working with him. – Julie Blake
Congratulations to our newest advocates on being sworn-in by Judge Sparkman! This group is so energetic and passionate, they are going to do amazing things on the cases that they are assigned to. Welcome to the CASA team!
Jessica Campbell got involved with CASA because she had been wanting to get involved in community work on a more regular and permanent basis than she had before. As Jessica would say, “around that same time I saw a CASA commercial and thought it sounded like a good fit for me” … we couldn’t agree more!
Jessica always goes above and beyond for the children on her cases, making sure that her CASA kids are safe, fed, making it to school, keeping in contact with caregivers for updates, and so much more. Aside from volunteering with CASA, Jessica has participated in other community work with the Tulsa Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity.
When she is not advocating for her CASA kids or pursuing other community needs, Jessica enjoys reading, gardening and being a soccer mom. Jessica and her husband Evan have three children, Conner, Beckham, and Evelyn, and a 12 year old Collie named Denver.
Professionally, Jessica is a Landman for an oil and gas company and one little known fact about her is that she dreams of being a farmer—and will be someday!
Her advice for someone looking to volunteer in the community is to “find something that touches your heart and plays on your strengths”. We feel so lucky that Jessica chose CASA as the organization to utilize her own strengths and gain more community involvement. Thank you for being a such a wonderful advocate for your CASA kiddos, Jessica!
Jessica is determined, objective, and has a huge heart for every kid she serves. She is able to support children and their families, and fights for the best possible outcome in any case.
Jessica has made an impact in the lives of many children through CASA and I believe she will continue to do so in the future! – Kaitlin Brasher