Our Team

Ashley started as a neighborhood gardener in our newly renovated Kitchen Vegetable Garden, and began to share her knowledge with other participants. It was a natural fit to select her as our part-time Garden Manager. Since she joined the team in February of 2021, Ashley, along with many families and volunteers, grew and distributed over 4,000 pounds of fresh foods to the Springfield community.
Ashley is a mother to two high schoolers, and if she's not at the garden she is either going to or coming from an athletic practice, game, or meet!

Jesica is a born-and-raised Springfielder who has worked for the Promise Neighborhood in multiple capacities. Prior to the pandemic, she served as the after-school director for Lincoln Elementary's 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, for which Promise was the main community partner organization. She rejoined the team in 2021 as the Youth Development Director to oversee after-school and summer programming. Having raised multiple children, Jesica has a passion for children and setting a good path for their success. She is also part of Restored Life Ministries' outreach team and the City's Community Development action team.

Jon is from a multi-generation Springfield family and has worked in and around Springfield schools for most of his career. First working as an after-school program assistant at Fulton Elementary's 21st Century Community Learning Center grant and as a paraprofessional. Jon served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with Promise from 2021 to 2022, and was selected as the Healthy Families Coordinator in Fall of 2022. He has published a novel and is working on its sequel. He loves spending time with his family.

Kali is a graduate of Wittenberg University, where she first started volunteering for the Promise Neighborhood and took classes from its founder, Dr. Bob Welker. She served three terms as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, as an administrative assistant, and as Co-Director before Dr. Bob officially retired in 2019. Kali is originally from Elyria, Ohio. Thanks to her dad's love of nature, she also volunteers for People for Safe Water and loves spending time outdoors on her bike or in her kayak.

Krisi is a newly graduated MSW from Case Western Reserve University. She has served with the Promise Neighborhood through three VISTA terms, and now works part-time as a Youth Development Assistant. She supports extended learning programming, and her yearlong mentorship and peer support program "Promise Gems" has now expanded "Promise Kingz" for boys and to multiple schools in Springfield. She has also served with Upward Bound and as an academic support aide for Hayward Middle School.

Wayne came to Promise after taking a course at Wittenberg taught by Dr. Bob and Kali in 2019. He shifted careers away from landscaping and manual labor to educational studies, desiring to work with people with disabilities. After being the main caretaker at the end of his father's life, Wayne completed his Educational Studies degree and was selected as Promise's Early Literacy Coordinator in Fall of 2022. He supports the needs of preschool and elementary school buildings, including arranging volunteers, tutors, donations, and resources. In his free time you can catch him zooming by on his motorcycle or Bobcat!