All Aboard! Welcome CASA's newest board members

Here at CASA, we are always grateful for the dedication and love shown by our volunteers and we are delighted to offer a warm and grateful welcome to our six new Board members.

Between them, they have an astonishing wealth and breadth of experience but they all have one key attribute in common - they share a heart for the CASA mission.

Welcome aboard Butch Jefferson, Robbie Price, Deborah Bowman, Sarah Torrance, Kimberly Dyke-Harsley, and Stephanie Ward.

Read all about them here:

Deborah Bowman

School psychologist Deborah Bowman describes herself as an ‘encourager’, interested in people, family, friends, learning, growing, serving, exercising, reading, traveling, having fun, and religion.

She assumed responsibility for her younger sister after the deaths of their parents just 18 months apart. She says: “We were fortunate to have had parents who gave us a core of faith and values by the way they lived and reared us. We absorbed our parents’ beliefs in the importance of faith, education, and equality of all people.”

Deborah has an extensive background in the field of child mental health and is a graduate of Sweet Briar College and Radford University. At Sweet Briar, she majored in Religion and then spent a year working at the Central Virginia Training Center as a psychologist’s assistant. That experience led her to take a Master’s degree in Psychology, specializing in school psychology at Radford.

Deborah spent 17 years working for Amherst County in special education administration and 24 years working for Lynchburg City Schools. Her volunteering experience includes Rush Homes, church missions, the Mental Health Association, and Habitat for Humanity. She has been an instructor for the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program for over three decades.

Kimberly Dyke-Harsley

Kimberly Dyke-Harsley is the proud mother of a blended family of 10 offspring. She describes herself as having a “heart for righteousness” and a mission to “protect the babies”. In her own words: “God, family, education, character, integrity, and righteousness are foundational principles of our family.”

A Lynchburg native, Kimberly graduated from E.C. Glass High School and CVCC with an AA&S in Education. She pursued a Bachelor’s Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in History and minoring in Spanish.

Her work and volunteer experience covers numerous organizations within Lynchburg including but not limited to: Lynchburg City Schools, Girl Scouts, the Literacy Council, Lynchburg Parks and Recreation, Community Connections - a community action group in White rock Hill, Bridges to Progress, and the Education Task Force - a subcommittee of the City Schools Education Task Force. She says that sharing her time, talent, and passion with these activities “reflect(s) the commitment I have to make a change in the City of Lynchburg.”

Kimberly is currently a taxi driver with Allied Cab. She adds: “My goal is to be an asset to CASA. As a Board member, I will listen, learn, observe, and act in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth by the organization.”

Butch Jefferson

Realtor, Butch Jefferson doubles up as a Real Estate professional and has managerial and leadership experience across a wide range of organizations in academic, religious, and business environments.

A varsity football player for the University of Virginia, Butch has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology (minor - anthropology) and a Master’s Degree in Leadership, Foundations and Policy.

He has coached and counseled through athletics at UVA, been a truancy prevention specialist, counseled at-risk youth, been a financial consultant and an in-home therapist. He has led multiple groups at Lynchburg’s Family Life Church, is a Chamber Member with the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, and a past president of the Kiwanis Club of Forest.

Butch describes himself as having strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community. He is able to analyze organizational needs and enjoys being a problem solver.

Robbie Price

Father of two sons, Robbie Price is a Virginia native and has been in Lynchburg for over 20 years. He enjoys stepping into leadership focused roles and is now the Managing Director of Emergency Services for Centra.

Robbie graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master’s Science Degree in Nursing. He was the first nurse practitioner ever elected to serve on the Centra Medical Group Board and specialized in the field of cardiology. He has been a successful fundraiser with several Centra initiatives and the American Heart Walk in Danville under his belt.

Says Robbie: “I really enjoy leadership development and one of my hobbies is blogging - www.robbieprice.com. I’ve tried to stay flexible in my career and this has always led me to new and exciting experiences, such as this potential board appointment.”

In his Centra role, Robbie has seen first-hand the heart-wrenching amount of child and domestic abuse in Lynchburg and surrounding areas. He says: “I often felt like some children never really stand a chance with the hand they are dealt in life.”

Sarah Torrance

Sarah Torrance is a graphic designer working for Meanwhile Back On The Farm and doing freelance design from home living in Concord with her husband Nathan and three children. She has traveled widely on church missions abroad, including time spent in Kazakhstan caring for orphaned and foster children.

A Virginia Tech graduate, Sarah gained a degree in Graphic Design and Marketing. She spent 18 months doing voluntary outreach work for the Daily Bread in Lynchburg and has put her design talents to use for several non-profit mission organizations.

Sarah describes herself as being committed to following Jesus. She says: “I have cultivated a love for people and hearing their stories and perspectives and I truly enjoy the opportunities I have had to know and serve so many.”

Sarah has seen first hand the work that CASA does. Close family and friends have had experiences in both fostering and adoption involving CASA. Says Sarah: “In many situations, the CASA volunteer is a lifeline for both the foster parents and the birth families. I believe in what CASA does and have since developed a passion for being a part of this work.”

Stephanie Ward

Stephanie Ward is passionate about individuals pursuing education and experiences that promote self-growth and her experience supporting our annual Superhero Run demonstrated CASA’s role in doing just that. “CASA gives hope for children to have a brighter future and a path to grow into whoever they dream to be,” she says.

An Ohio native, Stephanie graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication Arts and then a Master’s Degree in Management and Leadership. At LU, she has developed a successful career in event planning and is now the Director of Student Activities managing a large team, numerous events, and a multi-million dollar budget.

Stephanie is passionate about project management, leading teams towards common goals and motivating team members to grow personally and professionally. She also co-owns a marketing and design firm managing projects ranging from website development to an online greeting card store, branding, and more.

Her support of a friend’s nonprofit working for freedom and justice for those experiencing sexual exploitation drove Stephanie’s desire to serve the Lynchburg community beyond her 9-to-5 job. “It pushed me to see the importance of fighting for those who do not have a voice,” she says.