Shelton Jones has been actively involved in non-profit development and fundraising activities in the Baton Rouge community for the past several years and joined The Emerge Center in August 2017. Having served as a Capital Campaign Coordinator for Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation from 2011 through 2014, Shelton is excited to return to Emerge. From 2014 through 2017, Shelton worked at Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, first as a Capital Campaign Coordinator and subsequently as a Major Gifts Officer. She is a 2015 graduate of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s Annual Madison Institute and received a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University. A native of San Francisco, Shelton and her husband, Ted, have two teenage children.  Shelton takes pride in advancing mission-driven organizations like The Emerge Center that make a life-changing difference for individuals and families.

Julie Chappell is a native of Baton Rouge, LA and has served in the non-profit sector for nearly twenty years. Julie joined our team in July 2013 as Director of Development leads our fundraising efforts. Prior to joining Emerge, Julie served as Director of Development for five years at The Dimock Center, a full service community health center in Boston, MA, where she successfully increased fundraising revenue by 40%. Before moving to Boston, Julie served as the Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center. Julie received her undergraduate degree in Family and Child Studies from Louisiana State University and went on to earn a Master’s of Public Administration. Julie is driven by her passion that every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed.

Madison earned her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism and a minor in Business. With a passion for communications and event coordination, Madison gained experience while working as an event intern with Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, a nonprofit organization in Lafayette, Louisiana. While having a love for children and event planning, Madison says Emerge immediately felt like home.

Kathryn Rountree received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, as well as an Master of Arts in History from Louisiana State University. She has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors in the fields of grant writing, public policy research, marketing and project management. Prior to joining the Emerge team in November of 2017, Kathryn was a Grants Coordinator for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, where she specialized in writing pediatric healthcare grants for Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. Kathryn is committed to the idea that all children have access to the services they need to lead full, healthy lives.

Cierra Bradley joined The Emerge Foundation in June of 2021. She is currently a senior at Southeastern University working towards a major in Strategic Communication with a focus in Marketing Communication and Public Relations. Her interests include event planning and learning more about the non-profit world at Emerge.

Officers 
Valerie Schexnayder, Chair
Beau Wolfe, Vice Chair
Paige Dampf Wormser, Secretary
Will Owens, Treasurer

Directors
Sarah Olcott Allen
Johnnie Bond
Stephen Cangelosi
Nathan Irby
Jody Montelaro
Stephen Mumford
Anthony O’Connor
Melissa Samuel
Arthur Scanlan
Andy St. Romain                                                                                                                            Martha-Carol Stewart
Drew Tessier
Colleen Waguespack

Deanna Whittle- CEO, The Emerge Center, ex-officio 
Shelton Jones – Executive Director, The Emerge Foundation, ex-officio
Linda Brown – Executive Director, The Emerge School, ex-officio