Our Sponsors

Our sponsors have stepped forward with us to effect change to protect our children from abuse. We work hard to ensure that every dollar given is used wisely; our sponsors can feel confident their gifts make a difference.

Board of Directors

Officers

Gail Heath Davidson
President
VDSS Eastern Regional Office-CPS Consultant

Melynda Ciccotti
Secretary/Executive Director
Champions For Children: Prevent Child Abuse HR

Angela Bezik
Immediate Past President/Council Coordinator
Principle Advantage Government Relations Group

Elizabeth Chupik
Treasurer
Associate City Attorney, City of Virginia Beach

Lavern Morris
Programs/Training Chair
CHKD Program Specialist

Betty Wade Coyle
Advocacy Chair
Director Emeritus, Champions For Children:
Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads

Directors

Diana J. Behling, DNP, RN
Sentara Healthcare

Cindy DiFranco
Office of Delegate Chris Stolle

Sylvia Haines
Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce

Emily Hueber
Suburban Capital, Inc.

Lisa Kimbler
Red Mill Chiropractic

The Honorable Nancy Parr
Commonwealth’s Attorney, Chesapeake

Erinn Portnoy
Child Abuse Program, CHKD

Jeremy Starkey
Townebank, Commercial Real Estate Finance

Champions Council

We are developing a Council of professional volunteers that  work to deliver our programs into the region and take our message forward into the community.

This dedicated group is the core of the working organization – they are the advocates who train, who serve, who plan, and who make our organization go.
We are proud to call them Champions!

Betty Bryan
Ann Kirwin
Diana Behling
Kathy Shelton
Season Roberts
Betty Fitte
Mary Jo King
Rachel Evans
Leah Williams
Faye Joseph
Tracy Savage
Debbie Shelton
Olivia Rasquiza

Staff

Melynda Ciccotti
Executive Director

Melynda Ciccotti’s career in school psychology and childhood development has led her to the front lines of combatting child abuse. Throughout her career, Melynda has encountered many unsafe situations for children and witnessed the compromised day-to-day functioning of a multitude of children facing traumatic personal, unsafe and harmful environments. Most recently, Melynda worked as Deputy Director for a Hampton Roads issue-oriented business group that provides private sector leadership to the Virginia Beach community. The work of this group focused on information gathering and problem solving for complex regional issues.

Melynda accepted the Executive Director position on a part- time basis in June 2015. Since that time, she has delivered, with a strong group of trained volunteers, a nationally recognized child abuse prevention program into the region for adults who care for children, including daycare providers, faith-based preschools staffers, public school employees, community nurses, and college students majoring in the human services field. Melynda is engaged in structuring the organization, first known as Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads, to optimize child abuse prevention efforts. “There is more to come,” says Melynda, “and with strong community support, we can effect positive change in Hampton Roads.”