volunteer
volunteer
staff
Our team is made up of knowledgeable, compassionate individuals who can help in just about any situation. We are here from 8:00 to 5:00 seven days a week.
Dustin has served as the Anacortes Family Center‘s Executive Director since 2013. He worked in nonprofit management and fundraising for over a decade in Seattle, specializing in supporting nonprofits to establish new programs or helping to stabilize struggling programs. Dustin enjoyed serving in a variety of positions for some of Seattle‘s leading nonprofits: the Pioneer Square Community Association, the Seattle Symphony, and Bellwether Housing. Prior to joining AFC, Dustin worked as the Deputy Director and Development Director for Family Law CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a nonprofit that provides legal advocacy for abused and neglected kids. Today Dustin is proud and honored to work with a committed staff, board, and community to help AFC clients achieve lasting self-sufficiency and personal success.
Beatriz heads our program team, the group that provides direct service to clients seven days a week. She has served in this role since 2017, after four years as our Case Manager. Leading our talented program team, Beatriz ensures that clients successfully navigate AFC‘s program from intake to graduation. She also oversees clients in our Family Transformation Center. Beatriz has her degree in human services and is a tireless advocate for AFC, representing client interests in the community, growing resources to facilitate success and health, and establishing and fostering relationships with other providers. Prior to joining AFC, Beatriz worked in case management for a variety of organizations including school districts and county-wide nonprofits.
As the lead of our operations team, Heather works to provide a safe, welcoming, and smooth running facility that supports our clients’ journey to self-sufficiency. Alongside our Executive Director, Heather also ensures AFC has adequate resources to fulfill our mission through fundraising and in-kind donations. Heather joined our staff in April 2017 with a wealth of nonprofit and corporate experience, including five years with the American Heart Association‘s Oahu Chapter as an Events Coordinator. She has also worked in sales and support functions with various insurance companies and medical programs, but her passion is truly helping people.
Danielle joined AFC‘s team in January of 2020, first as a program intern through WSU and then as our Education Coordinator, working closely with AFC youth and their families to support educational needs during the pandemic. During this time, she developed and ran our Learning Pod program, an in-shelter program that provides academic support for kids. Danielle became Associate Program Director in 2021, overseeing the development and implementation of YOUTHConnect!, AFC‘s youth mentorship program. Danielle has also worked with other non-profits in youth programming and is committed to supporting at-risk youth.
Rachel joined AFC’s program team as the Emergency Shelter Case Manager in April of 2022. Rachel graduated from Skagit Valley College’s Human Services program with a degree in Human Services and an emphasis in chemical dependency counseling. She most recently worked in Island County for a nonprofit flight museum. Rachel is committed to providing AFC’s emergency shelter clients with individualized case management that supports each family or individual to become self-sufficient and permanently housed.
Karen has worked for AFC since our founding in 2009, and she brings a diversity of experience to her role as Program Coordinator. Karen manages AFC‘s volunteer engagement, including overseeing our weekly Life Skills classes, led largely by community members. Karen‘s career has been dedicated to the children and families of Anacortes, where in the past she served as the Director of an early learning program. As AFC‘s point person for volunteers, Karen brings her experience in community collaboration and volunteer development to her role.
Nina joined AFC‘s Program Team in 2020. Prior to coming aboard, Nina worked for a local landscaping company and as a Parent-for-Parent Ally at Brigid Collins Family Support Center. Nina has also volunteered extensively for the Anacortes Family Center and a 12-step fellowship program. Nina oversees AFC‘s Emergency Shelter waitlist, works with community members who have not yet enrolled in one of AFC‘s programs, and helps walk-ins with immediate needs.
Having recently relocated to Anacortes, Taunya looks forward to being involved in every aspect of AFC’s mission and focusing on her new community. Taunya and her family moved from eastern Washington when her husband was chosen as our town’s new fire chief! The couple brought along two grown sons and a daughter-in-law, everyone now with jobs in town. Taunya has a strong background in retail management and felt ready for a change. In the Administrative Assistant role, Taunya oversees the day-to-day administration of many of AFC’s activities and works alongside every AFC staff member.
Ashley Wick
Resource & Care Coordinator
Ashley@AnacortesFamily.org | 360.682.1620
Ashley joined the AFC staff in June of 2023, starting as our “Resource & Care Coordinator”. Within that role, Ashley works alongside the unsheltered clients in need of services and support within our community. Prior to AFC, Ashley was an “Outreach Specialist” with Community Action of Skagit County, where she discovered her love for helping our community's most vulnerable. Before Community Action, Ashley was a “Recovery Navigator” for Underground Ministries; at Underground Ministries Ashley helped incarcerated individuals connect with resources to help their re-integration upon release. Ashley will be graduating in the Spring of 2024 with her degree in Human Services, specializing in Substance Use Disorder Counseling. Ashley is beyond excited and grateful to be a part of such a meaningful mission alongside such an incredible group of people.
Kate began with the Anacortes Family Center back in 2019 as a regular weekly volunteer, and in 2022 she was officially hired as AFC's Facility Coordinator. In this role she works closely with all members of the Operations Team to make sure all of the AFC buildings and facilities are in good working order. This includes coordinating volunteers to assist with projects, scheduling and tracking all building maintenance needs, inspecting units in our Emergency and Transitional shelters to assess readiness for incoming clients, and processing all furniture donations for use in our program.Prior to joining AFC, Kate worked part-time as a substitute para-educator in the Anacortes School District. She also regularly volunteered at AFC, and continues to volunteer at the Anacortes Senior Center with the Meals on Wheels program.
David is AFC’s Operations Manager, joining our staff in early 2023. In his role, David oversees management of AFC’s 43 affordable apartments, as well as managing AFC’s contracts, reporting, and accounts receivable and payable. David moved to Anacortes in 2018 from just across the water in Port Angeles, where he was the tennis coach for the City of Port Angeles Recreation Program. In Port Angeles David merged his passion for tennis with his desire to give back and volunteered teaching tennis to vulnerable youth. Prior to joining AFC, David has worked in supply chain management, and in providing back office administrative and financial support in the restaurant industry. David is excited to merge his desire to support our community with his professional attributes including his strong attention to detail, and his passion for researching to fully understand each situation.
Ella Nacht, m.c.
Staff and Client Support
Ella@AnacortesFamily.org | 425.466.7989 (direct) | 360.293.2993 ext. 117
Ella has been working with AFC staff and clients since 2018. She is a retired counselor and as a volunteer, she provides support to the center in a variety of ways. Ella does in-service training for staff members and teaches Life Skills classes for the emergency shelter and transition building clients. She also works with staff and clients individually as needed. She has a Masters in Counseling from Seattle University where she also taught counseling for ten years. She was in private practice for 25 years in Kirkland, WA. When she moved to Anacortes in 2015, she decided to use her counseling skills volunteering rather than opening a private practice. She feels very blessed to be working with such a gifted group of people who are dedicated to helping families become self-sufficient and find permanent housing.
Pat is a retired school social worker from Chicago who joined AFC in 2022 as a volunteer working one-on-one with adolescents. She then started the weekly teen group for AFC teenagers. Pat's education is in behavioral science with a Masters in Social Work. She has training in counseling at-risk adolescents, emotional and behavior disorders in children, trauma, crisis prevention, and special education. Pat was hired in September as the Anacortes School District McKinney-Vento/ Foster Care Liaison. In this capacity she is responsible for identifying students in unhoused situations, enrolling these kids in school, and giving them full and equal opportunity to succeed. She also connects the families with community resources. Pat works to establish strong collaborative relationships with school staff to help support these students and their families. Pat appreciates being a part of the caring team of professionals at AFC.