Officers
Cindy Jenkins, President
J. Brian Nuss, Vice President
Jeff Smith, Treasurer
Elijah Young, Secretary
Directors
Amy Haughey, MEd
Susie Hudson, MS
Jennifer Jordan
Dr.. Aisha Lord Ryan MSPT, DPT, CMTPT
Natashia Sanders MBA, MHA
Amy Haughey MEd, Board Director
Amy has been a resident of Delaware since 1993. She has worked professionally in a number of settings. She served as Assistant Director of Edgemoor Community Center, J. Fran Dell (an educational consulting company) and as an educational supervisor for several programs, and then taught for Colonial School District for two years in the alternative school that I helped to start for them. Amy began working for the Smyrna School District in the 2002-03 school year where she created and ran the Level IV behavioral program at SHS for several years, then switched to teaching English /Language Arts. She currently serves as both district Transition Coordinator as well as the 504 Compliance Officer for Smyrna High School. One of her passions is helping students to realize their dreams and plan for their futures.
Amy’s professional affiliations include being a member of the Council of Exceptional Children, member of the Division of Career Development and Transition for CEC; served as State Treasurer for DCDT and served as State President of DCDT. She is currently a member of the state planning team in the Community of Practice on Transition. Amy participated in the Capacity Building Institute in Charlotte, NC as a part of the Delaware State team order to help plan the state transition community’s goals for the upcoming year. She has served for six years on the C.E.R.T.S. Inc. Board of Directors, with the last three as President of the Board. Amy is returning to the C.E.R.T.S. Board as a Director.
Susie Hudson MS, Board Director
Susie is a Senior Learn & Development Specialist at CSC. Her responsibilities include program management of all leader learning for a global organization of 2700 employees. Duties include developing content and delivering training and learning for over 300 leaders globally. Certified in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Prosci Change Management, Strategic HR Business Partner, SHRM-CP and PHR certified. Susie is also Board Chair at Limen Recovery & Wellness. She works with the Executive Director to manage and maintain four sober living facilities and substance abuse counseling services. Duties include board meeting management, oversight of annual strategic plans, informing board and donors on matters of importance, and chair the Personnel Committee.
Cindy Jenkins, Board President
Cindy Jenkins was a DuPont Company employee for 20 years where she began as a secretary and then transitioned to IT services. When this service was outsourced in 1997 to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Cindy continued to work on the DuPont account as well as projects for the government and a mid-sized company. Retiring from CSC in 2011, she then became the lead person in a partnership that started a fast-casual chain restaurant in Millsboro, DE. In this position, she ordered and received all equipment for start-up and set up payroll and accounts payable/receivable. Cindy managed this business for 5 years until it was sold then was tasked with shutting down the business in 2016.
Cindy has three children. The oldest is her son, who is a participant at C.E.R.T.S. New Castle location. She has a long history of service with this agency. Cindy was a Board member from 2004 to 2012, holding positions as Vice President and Treasurer. She has been a member of the Fund Development Committee, which focuses on fund raising events, since she left the Board in 2012. Cindy organized the 5K Run/Walk for 5 years and was instrumental in the success of the Piggin’ Out dinner that took place annually from 2010 to 2016.
Jessica Jordan, Board Director
Jessica serves as the Operations Manager for Performance Improvement, Support Services for Nemours, duPont Hospital for Children where she supports a cadre of different efforts on behalf of Public Safety, Facilities, Construction Management, and more. Through her passion for purpose, she also volunteers discretionary effort throughout the expanse of the Nemours system, supporting many functions outside her immediate team to make better the experience for patients and associates, alike. Committed to providing support today for the leaders of tomorrow, Jessica serves on the board of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay. Jessica earned a Bachelor of Arts from DeSales University and is currently working on her Masters in Science Management through Wilmington University. When not working, she can be found traveling with her family, and spending time with her menagerie of pets and foster pups.
Brian Nuss, Board Vice President
Brian Nuss attended the University of Delaware and West Chester University majoring in Business Administration. In 2008, he acquired a Six Sigma Green Belt certification. He started his career at MBNA and spent 19 years managing a wide range of operational positions. He was asked to serve as the COO of ACT (Advanced Call Center Technologies) and was there for 6 years. He then joined Bridgeforce Inc. as an independent consultant focused on the financial services industry. Brian is currently with AFLAC. He is married to Lisa Prettyman and has three daughters, one of which attends the C.E.R.T.S. day habilitation program in New Castle.
Dr. Aisha Lord Ryan MSPT, DPT, CMTPT, Board Director
Dr. Ryan is an entrepreneur and physical therapy practice owner of ALL Therapy Physical Therapy & Wellness located in the Middletown Delaware area. She is a licensed Physical Therapist in Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Aisha is passionate about enriching the lives of others through physical therapy, rehabilitation and movement. She received her Doctorate from Columbia University and Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Delaware.
Along with previous positions as a physical therapist in homecare and inpatient/outpatient services and as an ergonomic consultant, Dr. Ryan was also a teaching assistant at the University of Delaware, head teaching assistant at Columbia University and an adjunct instructor at Delaware State University. She has been a guest lecturer at University of Delaware, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, George Washington University and Howard University. Currently through seminars and workshops, Aisha educates various dance companies, schools and senior groups on injury prevention.
As part of her professional accomplishments, Dr. Ryan was a speaker for the University of Delaware Health Sciences Summer Program Culmination and a recipient of the University of Delaware’s Kinesiology Department’s Outstanding Alumnae Award, both in 2018. She has been featured on the cover of the Third Quarter Publication of the New Castle County’s Women’s Journal for the 2015 July/Aug/Sept edition and was featured in this publications 2015 Oct/Nov/Dec. edition as well. In 2014, Aisha’s business was voted New Castle County’s 1st State Favorites’ Best Physical Therapy Practice. From 2013 to 2015, she served on the PTA Program Professional Advisory Board at Montgomery College in Maryland in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program. She was also Capstone Advisor for the 2012 Doctoral class at Howard University. Dr. Ryan was recognized for serving as a clinical instructor and role model for students pursuing Doctoral degrees in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, George Washington University and Howard University and for students pursuing Physical Therapy Assistant degrees from Montgomery College.
Aisha has been professionally affiliated with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science and the American Physical Therapy Association. She was a provider and contractor for Physical Therapy at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington DC. When Dr. Ryan was part of Backstage Physical Therapy Services, she offered physical therapy services and education for dance and theatrical performance groups at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
Natashia Sanders MBA, MHA, Board Director
Natashia Sanders is the Director of Pharmacy Accounts at Anthem, Inc. where she is responsible for development and implementation of the strategy and business plan for the new Medical Standalone PBM. She spent the previous 11 years at PerformRx as Director of Account Management. Functions in this position affected organizational services internally and externally and included contract negotiations, RFP support, client implementations, project management, strategy development, revenue generation and cost savings. Natashia also held positions as Director of Account Management, Director of Implementation, Director of Relationship Management and Senior Account Executive at PerformRX. Before this, Natashia worked in specialty neuroscience sales for Eli Lilly & Co. and MedPointe Pharmaceuticals in primary care sales. She entered healthcare out of college as a research scientist for DuPont Pharmaceuticals and then worked in the same capacity at Bristol Myers Squibb. When employed at AstraZeneca, Natashia worked in compound management and Leads Discovery for new drug development. In addition to her full time employment, Natashia started her own business in 2018 called 360Innovations, Inc. “From Start to Finish” to offer solutions in branding, marketing, contract negotiations and operations management.
Natashia received her Bachelor of Arts (Spanish minor) from the University of Delaware. She went on to earn a Master’s and Doctorate in Health Care Administration from Wilmington University. She is a mother of four.
Natashia is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; the F.A.M.E. Parent Council; Worthy Matron of Myrtle Chapter No.90 of the Eastern Star, Deborah Grand Chapter P.H.A.; and active in other community service and philanthropic organizations.
Jeffrey A. Smith, Board Treasurer
Jeff has recently retired from a position at the DuPont Company where he was an employee for 35 years. His most recent position was as Global Director of Indirect Materials and Services for the Sourcing and Logistics function. He supervised a global staff of 125 employees responsible for approximately $5 billion spent on goods and services that included human resources, information technology, professional services, fleet, travel and site services. His job responsibilities allowed him to travel the world but he attributes his success to being genuine, transparent, collaborative and most importantly, demonstrating servant leadership.
Jeff is married to Chrissy Smith and has a grown son and daughter.
Elijah Young, Board Secretary
Elijah was a 13 year employee with Discover Bank with positions as a Collections Representative, New Accounts Credit Analyst, Unit Coordinator and New Account Analyst focused on college student applications and the prevention of fraudulent activity regarding these applications. He then joined the Happy Harry’s Management Training program and spent 10 years there in Retail Pharmacy before being promoted to Pharmacy Store Manager. His role then expanded to include front end operations after becoming a part of Walgreen’s.
In 2006, Elijah and his husband became foster parents of a sibling group of five, adopting them the following year. Four of the five have mild special needs. They have adopted two additional sons both with significant special needs. One of their sons attends C.E.R.T.S. in New Castle. Now with seven children, Elijah made the decision to leave the corporate world and become a primary caregiver.
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