• Signup for Email
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Leadership
      • Mike Shaver
      • Jan Stepto-Millett
      • Angelica Stapert
      • Paula Corrigan-Halpern
      • Hilary Freeman
      • Sara Irmen
      • Dawnielle Jeffrey
      • Keith Polan
      • Lynsey Sloan
      • Mendy Smith
      • Renae Storey
      • Amanda Whitlock
    • Board of Trustees
    • License & Accreditation
    • Mission & Vision
    • Financial Information
    • Client Policy and Rights
  • Get Involved
    • Join an Auxiliary Board
      • Associate Board
        • Associate Board Membership Request Form
      • Hinsdale Auxiliary
      • Lost Dunes Golf Committee
      • Rice Leadership Committee
      • The Woman’s Board
      • Central Regional Advisory Board
      • Northern Regional Advisory Board
      • Southern Regional Advisory Board
    • Attend or Sponsor an Event
    • Get Your Company Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Volunteer Metro
      • Volunteer Central
      • Volunteer Northern
      • Volunteer Southern
  • Ways to Give
    • Make a Donation
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Shop Amazon Smile
    • Attend or Sponsor an Event
    • Get Your Company Involved
    • Remember Us in Your Will
    • Make a Gift of Stock
    • Give Through Your IRA
    • Create Your Own Fundraising Event or Campaign
    • See Your Impact
    • Double Your Impact – Matching Gifts
  • Policy Center
    • Advocacy
    • Start to Finish Coalition
    • Youth Budget Commission
    • Our Projects
    • Result of the Quarter
    • Get our Newsletter!
  • Events
  • Blog & News
  • Locations
  • Careers
    • Intern
  • COVID-19
    • How You Can Help
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • COVID-19 Client and Parent Resources
    • COVID-19 Staff Resources
    • Agency Site and Program Closures
    • Event Cancellations
    • Stay at Home Executive Order Frequently Asked Questions
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Equity, Diversion and Inclusion Resources
    • Hispanic Heritage Month
    • Self-care after the election
    • Native American Heritage Month
Children's Home + Aid
Donate
  •  Adoption
    Services
    • Become an Adoptive Parent
    • Adoption & Guardianship Preservation
    • Adoption Information Request
    • Adoption Resources
    • Pregnancy, Early Parent, and Adoption Counseling
    • Post Adoption Services
  •  Foster Care
    Services
    • Become a Foster Parent
      • Learn More – Informational Meetings
    • Foster Care with Relatives
    • Foster Parent Resources
      • Caregiver Support and Training 2020/2021
    • Adult Connections
    • Excellence Academy
    • Sibling Connections
    • Specialized Foster Care
  •  Counseling &
    Treatment Programs
    • Adoption Support & Preservation
    • Choose 2 Change
    • Community Based Behavioral Health
    • Early Prevention In The Community
    • Families And Children in Treatment
    • Family Centered Counseling Services
    • Family Solutions
    • Project Connect
    • Residential Services
      • Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Child & Family Center
    • The Butterfly Project
    • Family Counseling Services to Youth in Crisis
      • Redeploy
      • Youth Services
      • Host Home Placement
  • Parenting
    • The Butterfly Project
    • The Children’s Room
    • Crisis Nursery
      • Motherhouse Crisis Nursery
      • Crisis Nursery in Bloomington
    • Early Start
    • Family Visitation Center
    • Healthy Families Illinois
    • Doula
    • Kid’s Turn
    • Parents Care & Share
    • Power of Fathers
    • Pregnancy, Early Parent, and Adoption Counseling
    • Stronger Beginnings for Families
  •  Child Care
    & Education
    • Community Child Care Centers
      • Bloomington
      • Carpentersville
      • Englewood
      • Palatine
      • Schaumburg
      • Viva Chicago
    • Early Head Start
    • Head Start
    • Preschool For All
    • Child Care Assistance Program
    • Child Care Resource and Referral
      • Southern Region
        • Looking for Child Care
        • Parent Resources
        • Provider Services
        • Statistical Information
        • Training Opportunities
        • CCR&R Staff Directory
  • Signup for Email
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Leadership
      • Mike Shaver
      • Jan Stepto-Millett
      • Angelica Stapert
      • Paula Corrigan-Halpern
      • Hilary Freeman
      • Sara Irmen
      • Dawnielle Jeffrey
      • Keith Polan
      • Lynsey Sloan
      • Mendy Smith
      • Renae Storey
      • Amanda Whitlock
    • Board of Trustees
    • License & Accreditation
    • Mission & Vision
    • Financial Information
    • Client Policy and Rights
  • Get Involved
    • Join an Auxiliary Board
      • Associate Board
        • Associate Board Membership Request Form
      • Hinsdale Auxiliary
      • Lost Dunes Golf Committee
      • Rice Leadership Committee
      • The Woman’s Board
      • Central Regional Advisory Board
      • Northern Regional Advisory Board
      • Southern Regional Advisory Board
    • Attend or Sponsor an Event
    • Get Your Company Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Volunteer Metro
      • Volunteer Central
      • Volunteer Northern
      • Volunteer Southern
  • Ways to Give
    • Make a Donation
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Shop Amazon Smile
    • Attend or Sponsor an Event
    • Get Your Company Involved
    • Remember Us in Your Will
    • Make a Gift of Stock
    • Give Through Your IRA
    • Create Your Own Fundraising Event or Campaign
    • See Your Impact
    • Double Your Impact – Matching Gifts
  • Policy Center
    • Advocacy
    • Start to Finish Coalition
    • Youth Budget Commission
    • Our Projects
    • Result of the Quarter
    • Get our Newsletter!
  • Events
  • Blog & News
  • Locations
  • Careers
    • Intern
  • COVID-19
    • How You Can Help
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • COVID-19 Client and Parent Resources
    • COVID-19 Staff Resources
    • Agency Site and Program Closures
    • Event Cancellations
    • Stay at Home Executive Order Frequently Asked Questions
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Equity, Diversion and Inclusion Resources
    • Hispanic Heritage Month
    • Self-care after the election
    • Native American Heritage Month
Return to all blog and news posts

Get to Know Mendy Smith, Central Regional Site Director

by Erin Sharkey
10/22/2018  |  Central Region, Leadership Spotlight

We’re excited to introduce Mendy Smith as the new Regional Site Director in our Central Region. She takes over for Lisa Pieper, who retired as the Regional Vice President of the Central Region in August 2018. First hired in 1998 as a teacher in the infant room at the Scott Early Learning Center, Mendy brings with her more than 20 years of experience at Children’s Home & Aid. She has specialized in partnering parent support groups with home visiting services.

Mendy is a leader in early childhood home visiting and has presented at national conferences in Washington, Texas and Florida. She is particularly proud of the expansion of home visiting services within the Central Region, highlighting the importance of prevention services and Children’s Home & Aid’s commitment to strengthening families. “When I first started, we had four home visitors in Bloomington, serving only McLean County,” Mendy notes. “Today we’re serving children and families in eight counties across Central Illinois with just under 30 home visitors, doulas and facilitators.”

As the Regional Site Director, Mendy works directly with the Central Regional Advisory Board to secure funding, reduce gaps of services within the large geographical area that the Central Region covers, and raise awareness of Children’s Home & Aid. Mendy is responsible for day-to-day administrative operations and oversees a number of programs including early childhood education, family support services and child welfare in collaboration with the Vice President of Welfare Services, Melissa Ludington.

“I grew up here,” Mendy says of her career at Children’s Home & Aid. “I began as a teacher here right out of college then found a love for prevention services. Over the past 20 years, I’ve been part of an incredible organization and a team that encourages me to be the best that I can be in order to create new opportunities for the communities we serve.”

Now for a few fun facts about Mendy:

  1. Mendy was born and raised in Bloomington, IL.
  2. She has been the Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach at Central Catholic High School in Bloomington since 1998—the same year she started at Children’s Home & Aid and married her husband!
  3. Mendy and her husband enjoy traveling, especially road trips that involve throwing their bikes on the back of the car and hitting the trails.
  4. She is an avid sports fan and her favorite teams include the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bears, the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri, and Eureka College now that her son plays baseball there!
  5. Mendy is a mother of four and recently became an empty nester this fall when her two youngest sons began college.

 

 

share
No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search the Blog

Categories

  • 135th Anniversary (15)
    • Hope With Wings (1)
  • Adoption (13)
  • Associate Board (1)
  • Blue Bow Campaign (15)
  • Central Region (20)
  • Champions for Children (11)
  • Chicago Cubs (2)
  • Child Welfare (9)
  • City of Chicago (22)
    • One Summer Chicago (12)
      • Summer Intern Project (8)
  • Corporate Partner Spotlight (5)
  • Crisis Nursery (7)
  • Cultural Competence (2)
  • Donor Spotlight (2)
  • Early Childhood Services (12)
  • Education (8)
    • Literacy (1)
  • Families Thriving Podcast (2)
  • Fiscal Scan (4)
  • Foster Parent Mentoring (5)
  • Fundraising (24)
    • Stuff the Bus (2)
  • Graze & Raise (1)
  • Healthy Families Home Visiting (2)
  • Holiday Time (16)
  • In the News (16)
  • Jerri Hoffmann Child & Family Center (1)
  • LGBTQ (1)
  • Memorial Day (1)
  • Mental Health (2)
  • Mission (26)
    • Careers (14)
      • Internship (7)
    • Leadership Spotlight (8)
  • Mitzi Freidheim Child + Family Center (4)
  • Mothers Day (1)
  • Northern Region (11)
  • Philanthropy (9)
  • Power of Fathers (4)
  • Program Results (53)
    • CCAP (2)
    • Choose 2 Change (7)
    • Community Schools (5)
    • Doula (3)
    • Foster Care (19)
      • Intact Family Services (2)
    • Head Start (2)
    • Healthy Start (2)
    • Mentoring (3)
    • Parents Care + Share (2)
    • Redeploy Illinois (2)
    • RISE (1)
    • Safe from the Start (2)
    • Stat of the Month (3)
    • Stronger Beginnings for Families (2)
  • Rice Child + Family Center (16)
  • Southern Region (11)
  • State Budget Crisis (6)
  • The Ahlquist Center (25)
    • Advocacy (17)
    • Newsletter (7)
  • Uncategorized (10)
    • Mentorship (4)
  • Veterans Day (2)
  • Volunteer Spotlight (4)
  • Woman's Board (6)
  • Youth Budget (2)

On Twitter

My Tweets
Children's Home + Aid

Corporate Home Office

125 South Wacker Drive, 14th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 424-0200
+ DONATE NOW!

ABOUT

  • Media / Press Room
    • Press Releases
  • Careers
  • Financial Information
  • Corporate & Foundation Partners
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy

GET IN TOUCH

  • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • United Way
  • COA

© copyright 2021 children’s home + aid