Staff

  • Erica has served as Passaic County CASA’s Executive Director since the organization's founding in 2007. Prior to joining CASA, Erica had built both professional and personal experience in child welfare, adoption, program management, and child advocacy. She holds a B.A. from Drew University and an M.A. in Child Advocacy from Montclair State University. Erica currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Paterson Rotary Club, the National CASA Association Suburban Leadership Council and the National CASA Association National Leadership Council. As a lifelong resident of Passaic County, Erica has been dedicated to the growth and success of CASA and is pleased to be able to work for her own community. Erica's background and passion is in the areas of open adoption, international children's rights, and medical advocacy for at risk foster and adopted youth.

  • Gino became the Community Coordinator for Essex County for the Safe Babies Court Team in April 2021. Prior to this role, Gino worked for Family Preservation Services in Bergen County, School Based Youth Services in the City of Passaic, and Family Intervention Services in Essex and Passaic Counties. He has served as the Passaic County Children’s Interagency Coordinating Council chair. A native from El Salvador, Gino grew up in the City of Paterson, NJ. He is a proud “Ghost” as he graduated from Eastside High School. Gino received his BS in Political Science from William Paterson University.

  • Sarah joined the CASA staff as a Case Supervisor in May of 2014 and transitioned to the role of State Director for the NJ Safe Babies Court Team in October 2020. Prior to working at CASA, Sarah had a diverse professional background, including experience as an attorney for a large law firm, conducting child welfare policy research, providing pro bono legal work in domestic violence and guardianship law, and working with women struggling with substance abuse. She has a B.S. in Psychology and Social Sciences from Michigan State University and a J.D. from William and Mary Law School. In addition to serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, she also volunteered in a peer-to-peer support program for women experiencing medical crises during pregnancy.

  • Davetta joined the CASA staff in January of 2018 as an Advocacy Supervisor, and transitioned to the role of Safe Babies Court Team Community Coordinator for Passaic County in January 2021. From the age of seven, she was raised in the foster care system, eventually aging out at 21. Her childhood background sparked a passion to help children who were victims of child abuse and neglect and their families. She received her B.A. in Human Services with a minor in both Cultural Studies and Child Advocacy from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Davetta is a proud mother of 2 young girls and a lifelong resident of Passaic County.

  • Rich joined the SBCT team in February 2021. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Computer Science from Stevens Institute. Prior to this position, Rich was a Strategic Consultant and Project Manager working with numerous retailers at NCR Corporation. In addition to his work as a Project Manager, Rich has worked as a Programmer and Team Leader for various software projects. Rich is excited to put his technical skills to use in helping children and the adults who support them. In addition to working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, Rich enjoys being involved in his community, volunteering at his church as well as coaching sports teams and even teaching a computer class for seniors in his town.

  • Grace joined the Safe Babies Court Team staff in April 2021, bringing with her a deep background in nonprofit program development, strategic partnerships, and funding sustainability. Prior to this position, Grace spent over a decade building programs at the intersections of early childhood development, parent support, K-12 education, and technology. She has worked with a wide range of leading national organizations and researchers, as well as local programs in New England and in the tri-state area. Grace holds a BA in English and International Development from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and a certificate in nonprofit leadership from Columbia University in New York.

  • Michelle joined the CASA staff in September 2017 as a Case Supervisor and has since expanded her role as Passaic County CASA's Director of Strategy and Impact. In the fall of 2020, Michelle became the Quality Improvement Manager for NJ’s Safe Babies Court Team. Prior to her work with CASA/SBCT, Michelle was a Director in the Corporate Finance Consulting practice at Duff & Phelps, LLC, focused on valuation of intellectual property and on strategic finance for companies in the Pharmaceutical and Life Science industry for over twelve years. She graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology with a dual B.S./M.S. in Applied Mathematics. Michelle has balanced her professional career with many volunteering opportunities through the years, and she was intrigued by CASA when she first learned of it in 2014. Michelle became a CASA volunteer in September 2014.

  • David joined the Safe Babies Court Team as Director of Stakeholder Engagement in 2024, after a nearly 40-year career with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP). Most recently, David served more than 12 years as DCPP’s Essex County Area Director, managing operations of the seven child welfare offices there, and implementing progressive changes, including the county’s comfort call initiative to bridge the gap between children’s resource parents and biological parents. David is a member of the Board of Directors at Advocates for Children of New Jersey, the New Jersey Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection Services, the Multi-Disciplinary Child Fatality Review Team, and has served as co-chair of DCF’s Statewide Race and Equity Steering Committee tasked with identifying implicit bias, racism and reducing racial disparity in the child welfare system.

Advisory

  • Evan is a passionate philanthropist with experience in coalition-building, program evaluation, public health, and strategic planning. Dedicated to socioeconomic inequality justice, worker's rights, and holistic family support, Evan is a graduate of Princeton University. Evan brings his equity and partnership approach to philanthropy, providing capacity-building support beyond the grant and elevating the expertise within communities served. Evan is a Trustee for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and represents the Turrell Fund on various committees, task forces, and commissions in both New Jersey and Vermont.

  • Marla has spent the last 20+ years working in the nonprofit sector helping shape public policy initiatives focused on both community engagement and children’s education and well-being. After a successful 4 years as Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Union County, Marla recently took the helm as Executive Director with CASA for Children of Essex County. Marla joined the CASA network from Jersey Cares where she was Senior Director of Operations and Foundation Relations. In that capacity, she was responsible for all aspects related to operations. As Jersey Cares’ Senior Program Manager, Marla led the program department’s coordination with more than 80 nonprofit agency partners statewide and managed over 1,200 volunteers monthly. Marla is a former mediator/arbitrator for New Jersey’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit and has served on the Board of Directors as a trustee for The Montclair Kimberley Academy. She received a law degree from the University of Cincinnati, College of Law and an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Marla and her husband have 3 children and currently live in West Orange.