Board of Directors 2024-2025

Jennifer Gilley has been involved in prevention for over 20 years. She has extensive experience in mobilizing stakeholders to create broad based community collaborations to address public health issues.  She has served on numerous planning groups charged with assessing community need and providing viable plans to achieve change.  Jennifer has served on both state and local advisory boards charged with developing implementation strategies to address issues relating to substance abuse prevention, intervention and treatment.

John Haenes is a Licensed Master’s level Social Worker and an International Certified Prevention Specialist with 22 years of experience with substance abuse issues, juvenile delinquency, and child welfare issues.  Mr. Haenes is a recognized expert in addiction and adolescent brain development, and served as the Deputy Assistant Director for Specialized Programs at Tarrant County Juvenile Services.  Mr. Haenes has been a trainer for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) the Texas Center for the Judiciary, the Texas Justice Court Training Center, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Department of Family and Protective Services, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Tarrant County, and numerous Local Independent School Districts and police departments.

Melissa McCarthy holds an AA/Business, BAS/Psychology, MA/Counseling, and Ph.D./Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. McCarthy is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) who is versed in Disaster Behavioral Health/Mass Causality, complex trauma, addictions, anxiety, and adjustment disorders.  She has worked as a Mental Health professional at the state, county, and community levels providing services to juveniles and adults in the judicial system, college campuses, and private practice as well as taught undergrad and graduate level counseling courses at Dallas Baptist University (DBU) and Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC). Dr. McCarthy has published articles and presented at the community and state levels. Career highlights include working at Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in the Disaster Behavioral Health Services division (DBHS), as the Disaster Behavioral Health Response Coordinator, where she played an integral role in writing and implementing a state-wide Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to support all 256 counties through Texans Recovery Together. The grant continues to provide behavioral health support for those adversely impacted by Covid-19. As Program Administrator of Disaster Behavioral Health, at LifePath Systems she worked with the Collin County Medical Examiner’s office and McKinney police department to help create the Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) team. She has served as a Disaster Behavioral Health Volunteer and Trainer to the Armed Services for American Red Cross for over 15 yrs. Dr. McCarthy serves as the Director of Prevention Programming at Challenge of Tarrant County, a non-profit agency whose mission is to confront substance abuse by identifying needs, educating the community, mobilizing resources, promoting collaborations and advocating for sound public policy.

Abbie Byrd received a bachelor’s of social work degree and holds a master’s of social work degree, both from The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).  Ms. Byrd is a certified peer educator and was the social work undergraduate intern for the Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention (RVSP) program at UTA.  While at RVSP, Ms. Byrd designed and implemented a program entitled, Take Back the Night, which is an emotionally charged, demonstrative march on campus that symbolizes the resiliency and strength that survivors of sexual and domestic violence possess by allowing them to unite with other survivors to publicly reclaim their power.

Ms. Byrd was a social work graduate intern for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic where she assessed Veterans’ overall health both mentally and physically and served as a case manager and link to resources either within the VA or through the surrounding community depending on the nature and severity of the Veteran’s presenting problem.  During both practicums, Ms. Byrd was able to observe the direct impact and implications that drug and alcohol abuse and misuse have on both the individual who chooses to imbibe, as well as the surrounding community and nation as a whole.  Ms. Byrd is currently the new program director for the SOUL, Crowley ISD,  Drug-Free Coalition, which is a program of Challenge of Tarrant County. 

 Erica Rena Castillo has 14 plus years of social work experience. Mrs. Castillo has considerable knowledge and experience in child protective services, and working with children, youth, and families.  She has worked with clients dealing with substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and homeless.  Her professional experience includes working with the school, law enforcement, court, and correctional system. Mrs. Castillo was employed with the State of Connecticut, Department of Child and Family, as a Social Worker for 10 years. She received her Masters in Social Work with a concentration in Community and Administrative Practice at the University of Texas Arlington, where she gained advance knowledge in conducting program evaluations, program design, community mobilization, and grant writing. Her accomplishments at UTA includes: Member of UTA Social Work Council, Vice president of UTA Graduate Student Council, President of the UTA Social Work Honor Society, Outstanding Achievement for Student Leadership Recognition by UTA School of Social Work 2019, Outstanding Achievement for Graduate Student Council Member by UTA Student Government 2019, scholarships, and nominations.

Mrs. Castillo is a member with the National Association of Social Work, NASW. She serves as the Communications Committee Chair for NASW Texas—Fort Worth Area Branch. Mrs. Castillo recently entered the authorship arena. She is an impressive co-author in the Women’s Anthology titled, "Emerging."

Danielle Barker is the Program Director of the Stay on Track Coalition for Challenge of Tarrant County. She holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and is passionate about working directly with children and families in diverse communities. 

Danielle has extensive experience bringing a strong approach to advocacy through developing initiatives that can address mental health and substance misuse issues faced by young adults and adolescents. She has prior experience working to improve the mental health of individuals through creative and inclusive environments, addressing the needs of diverse college students, providing resources to low-income children and families in Arlington, and working with student retention efforts at the Intercultural Student Engagement Center at UTA.  

In her free time, Danielle enjoys reading, walking, baking, playing pickleball, and spending quality time with family and loved ones. She believes that empathy, communication, and creativity can enrich the lives of ourselves and ourselves. 

Katherine Neale-Thomas is the Program Director for the Follow Our Lead drug and alcohol abuse prevention program at Weatherford College. Katherine has a nurturing spirit which fueled her studies toward her Associates Degree in early childhood and education, and her passion for caring for others drove her to complete her Bachelors of Science in Rehabilitation Studies with a minor in Substance Use and Addiction from the University of North Texas.

Katherine has excellent interpersonal skills which have helped her with her prior endeavors which include her Prevention Services internship with Challenge of Tarrant County working with Tarrant County Drug Courts and several substance abuse prevention community coalitions. In this role, she assisted with client drug screenings and judicial reviews, participated on several coalition advisory boards, and helped facilitate youth prevention activities, including events related to Great American Smoke-Out and Red Ribbon Week activities. Katherine also has experience in working in rehabilitation service through Garden Terrace of Fort Worth, a skilled nursing facility; she served as a volunteer and then administrative assistant before being promoted to an admission and management position. She also served as a patient advocate in making sure that residents were being treated properly. This role required that Katherine collaborate with patients, their families and facility staff to ensure optimal care was given and protocol was followed throughout the center. 

Carolyn brings over 30 years of experience in the fields of mental health and substance misuse, with a focus on marketing, business development, event planning, and providing continuing education, and professional development training. Her work spans multiple school districts, the broader community, and the behavioral health profession. She is highly regarded for her capacity-building efforts and her dedication to empowering professionals to collaborate for a common cause.

Carolyn serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for True Faith Community, a housing and discipleship ministry. She also co-directs Night to Shine, an annual worldwide event by the Tim Tebow Foundation, and works with City Church Andernach in Germany on missions around the globe. Her leadership and commitment to serving others continue to inspire others to create impactful change.

Joanna Letz has 14 years of social work experience. Ms. Letz has considerable knowledge and experience in child protective services, and working with children, youth, and families. She has worked with clients dealing with substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and homelessness. Her professional experience includes working with the Tarrant County Court system, Tarrant County Recovery court, attorneys, Judges, CASA of Tarrant County, and multi-disciplinary service provider agencies. 

Ms. Letz was employed with the State of Texas, CPS, as a conservatorship worker and then Supervisor for 11 years. Ms. Letz transitioned from CPS to Our Community our Kids (OCOK) where she worked for 3 years as a Permanency Supervisor. She received her Bachelors in Social Work from Texas Woman’s University and a Masters in Social Work with a concentration in Children and Families at the University of Texas Arlington. 

Claudia Perkins is an alumnus of UT Arlington with a degree in communications. While at UTA she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. and editor of the Shorthorn. The Shorthorn won several highly esteemed awards while under her leadership. 

Claudia is on the board of directors for the Arlington 4th of July Parade Association, Vice  President of the Arlington Historical Society, Secretary of the Arlington Urban Ministries, former chairman of trustee and current Finance committee member of the New World UMC, Sam Houston High School Alumni Association, committee member of the 2024 Inaugural Texas Veteran's Day Parade, and one of the four founding members and board member of Keep Bolivar Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful. In 2016, she received Sam Houston High School's  “Long Tall Texan Award”  which recognizes outstanding SHHS alumni.