Our Team
|
Amanda Moore
Regional Director Seeking a way to serve their neighbors, the Moores became a licensed foster family in 2016. The sink-or-swim world of foster care would have been doubly overwhelming were it not for the support they found in Foster Village. The Moores moved to Waco area in the Summer of 2017, where they are putting down deep roots. Since being licensed, they have had the great honor of adopting a son and two daughters into their family bringing the kid count up to a circus of seven. During their time as a foster family, the Moores have seen firsthand the impact that on-the-ground support and relationships can have for foster families and families involved in the child welfare system. Their hope as a family is to bring foster care awareness to their local community and to fan the embers of curiosity into flames of service that will give way to fertile fields of community involvement. It really does take a village. Amanda loves to write and channels her knack for painting with words into her Instagram posts and as a new contributor with Waco Moms Blog. As a mom to eight, she finds no shortage of material, though there always seems to be a shortage of coffee. |
|
Mandy Mathews
Community Relations Director Mandy is a Waco native who is excited to use her gifts and community connections to help support the children and families served by FVW. She and husband Jeremy stay busy raising their 5 children that span a 13 year age range with much help from extended family and longtime friends serving as their “village.” Blessed to have been involved in adoption journeys and foster care from 2014-2018, the Mathews family now enjoys the opportunity to pour into other parents and children who hope to find the beauty within the brokenness that often comes when raising blended families. Mandy has taught children from toddlers in church programs to eighth grade in public school classrooms, and she brings her education degree and creativity into planning and implementing programs within her church and Foster Village Waco. In her free time, she jumps at chances to travel with Jeremy, bake, see musicals and concerts, and cultivate relationships with friends and her church family as she invites them in to join the chaos in the home she loves. |
|
Michelle Dale
Care Closet Coordinator Michelle Dale is the mother of three, or six, or nine, or more, depending on how you figure it and whom you ask. Her family began fostering in 2015 and has had 34 foster kids come through their home since then. During that time, Michelle saw a need from foster parents receiving a placement that wasn’t being met. While growing her own family, and taking care of countless others, she collaborated with another foster supermom to fill that need. Together, they created and ran the Central Texas Foster Pantry at FBC Robinson. Donations of their own and from the community filled every room of CTFP, and helped provide the immediate and ongoing needs of foster families. When Foster Village came to Waco, it provided an opportunity to combine forces and better meet the growing needs of the local community. Michelle lives in McLennan county with her husband, 3 bio kids, dog, cat, and whoever else God and CPS send her way. |
|
Chloe Smith
Volunteer Coordinator Chloe Smith lives in Waco and graduated with her masters degree in Social Work in 2021. Growing up in a Baylor family, Chloe has loved Waco for several years. Some of her favorite things to do around town are walks in Cameron Park, an iced latte from Kurbside and grabbing a bite to eat at Morosos. Chloe originally became familiar with the foster care system when she was in second grade. Her parents felt the Lord calling them to foster and answered that call by fostering babies throughout her childhood. She has loved growing up with foster siblings and suddenly became interested in doing that for her career. She got connected with Foster Village when her parents provided respite for the Smith’s back in Austin. Chloe has a passion for foster kids and reunification and found that this organization does exactly that. She is thankful for this community that “gets it” and is excited to continue to serve here as the volunteer coordinator. |
|
Kirsten Luco
Online Engagement Coordinator Kirsten grew up in Lorena and is happy to be back in Waco after some time away attending school and beginning her career. She currently works as a Physician Assistant at Southwest Sports Medicine and Orthopedics. She greatly enjoys serving people of all ages, but especially children. Her heart for the foster care and adoption community originated from an overseas mission trip shortly after high school where she served in several orphanages. In recent years, she has become more exposed to the foster care system by witnessing several close friends serve and grow their families in this way. She has prayerfully considered becoming certified to foster but at this time feels called to support those around her by babysitting and serving with Foster Village Waco. She enjoys spending time with family, having game nights with friends, traveling, and serving at her local church. |
Board of Directors
|
Jeremy Mathews
Jeremy and his wife are proud parents of five kids, spanning teenagers to pre-K. Three of their children were adopted - two through their journey as foster parents from 2015-2018. Jeremy has worked for SimpleBills (a Waco, TX startup company) for ten years, where he currently serves on the executive team as Chief Financial Officer. Jeremy enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and being in nature. When not working, he can often be found playing outside with his kids, running, gardening or serving his church family. Jeremy is excited to share his financial and parenting skill sets with Foster Village Waco as he looks to stay engaged with children and families in the local foster care system. |
|
Meghan Holder
Meghan is a Mississippi native who made her way to Texas in 2004 and never left. Meghan currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources for a local non-profit and uses her expertise in non-profit administration and process management to help Foster Village Waco keep all its organizational ducks in a row. Although not a foster or adoptive parent, Meghan fiercely believes there is a place for everyone to be impactful in the lives of children and families in the child welfare system, and her place is providing support to families in hopes that they feel seen and known. In her free time, Meghan enjoys chasing after her three kiddos and seven nieces and nephews, eating popsicles with her best, pretending to enjoy working out, listening to podcasts of all manner of things no one else cares about, playing board games and building puzzles with her husband of ten years, and loving her tribe with everything she’s got. |
