Who we are
Together with thousands of volunteers, a coalition of partners across child care, disaster and crisis response, and volunteerism, we are delivering CHILD CARE FOR ALL IN CRISIS.
Dave Meader, Ph.D., has 30 years experience working in industry, academics and with nonprofits. Dave is currently a professor at Fowler College of Business, San Diego State University. Previously, Dave served as the Director for the Center for Socially Responsible Business at Mills College in Oakland, California, and also taught social innovation strategies, project management, and information technology strategy to business students at the Eller College of Management, University of Arizona , Haas School of Management, University of California – Berkeley, and Mills College. Dave has served on the Board of the Social Venture Partners Silicon Valley and currently continues that work with the Social Venture Partners of San Diego.
In 2015, Dave traveled to 28 countries and provided pro bono business consulting services to small social enterprises in 7 countries. He is writing a how-to book based on that experience, The Lean Volunteer: Traveling The World While Doing Good With Your Business Expertise. The book will be out in the Summer of 2024.
He has a B.S. in Computer Science, M.A. in Psychology, and Ph.D. in Computer and Information Systems from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Dave is the father of twin boys, of which he is very proud.
David Dripps is the Managing Partner at Augi Capital and a Partner at Tinman Group where he acquires profitable B2B services companies then deploys proprietary systems and technology to drive long-term, sustainable growth. Previously, David spent 8 years at Facebook, as a Senior Engineering Manager where he led his team to become the world’s largest digital marketing platform for SMBs – growing from 80M to 140M active businesses in 4 years. By unifying the data-delivery infrastructure across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Oculus, his team was able to highlight possible issues and make recommendations that drove record-breaking impact for Facebook. David spent the last two years leading the Capacity & Efficiency team to drive over $1B per year in ongoing cost savings during the Covid-19 pandemic.
David is an active real estate angel investor and an entrepreneur. After building the world’s first HTML5 rich media advertising platform to replace Adobe Flash® on iPads, David started his first company, a social media platform which was sold to Lockerz, Inc. in 2013. David’s next company, Brik, manufactured Lego®-compatible laptop cases and adhesive wall tiles and was acquired in 2019. Presently, David is a board member of Mark My Words Media. When he is not working with entrepreneurs, David enjoys perfecting his pour-over coffee, playing the piano, and skiing.
Diane Bevan is the President and CEO of the Idaho Technology Council (ITC). The ITC is committed to the success of Idaho’s technology ecosystem, that specializes in developing talent, access to capital, and the commercialization of products and services.
Driven by her passion for equity, Diane was the first CEO of the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2017, where she grew the organization and established the Idaho Hispanic Foundation. Her efforts led to significant achievements, including securing over $10 million in federal and non-federal support for underserved communities and winning prestigious awards like the Marsha Bailey Award from the Association of Women’s Business Centers.
Diane has served on the boards of the Idaho Foodbank Valley Region Transit Authority and is currently a Commissioner for the Meridian Development Corporation, Inspire Excellence Foundation, and Idaho Women for Education. She has been awarded Idaho’s Top 50 Most Influential Business Leaders and Top 50 Women of the Year honoree.
Catherine Holbrook Clark became the Director of the Wildcat MicroFund (WMF) at Weber State University in the fall of 2021. The Wildcat MicroFund assists entrepreneurs as they launch and grow new business ventures. Born and raised in Utah to an entrepreneur and an educator, Catherine has the ideal foundation for helping entrepreneurs succeed.
Also, as a former WMF award recipient, she has a vested interest in the future success of the Microfund and its recipients. She obtained her education at Weber State University. Go Wildcats!
In addition to running the Wildcat Microfund, Catherine owns and operates a business with her husband, so she understands the complexities of managing a small business. Catherine has more than twenty-five years of professional experience, which includes working in non-profit, government, academic, and for-profit sectors.
Shannon Oliver is a seasoned humanitarian and emergency management professional with over 20 years of experience leading crisis response and community resilience initiatives worldwide. Shannon is currently a Security Specialist - Lead Instructor of Strategic Training & Preparedness with the World Bank.
His career began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote D‘Ivoire, where he worked with The Carter Center on the Guinea Worm Eradication program. He continued this work in South Sudan within Operation Lifeline Sudan, and then worked with Doctors Without Borders during the end of Sierra Leone’s civil war in 2002. Shannon’s expertise in disaster response was further honed through his work in Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake and in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. As Head of Office for the United Nations World Food Programme in Kakuma Refugee Camp (Kenya), Shannon led a team of 50 in a challenging and isolated environment. His team successfully distributed $1.2 million in cash-based transfers monthly to over 170,000 beneficiaries. In 2018, Shannon was selected for an integrated UN team tasked with reviewing the UNISFA (Abyei Peacekeeping Mission) mandate.
Shannon holds an M.A. in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a B.S. in Political Science from Tuskegee University.
Rebecca Farlow is the Senior Manager over Employee Relations at Forvis Mazars, an international accounting and consulting firm. She has over 15 years of experience in corporate Employee Relations/Human Resources in the world of Finance.
Prior to that, Rebecca’s education and training was in clinical psychology and mental health—she has a Masters degree and formerly operated her own private psychotherapy practice. This foundation has served her well in navigating communication, complex workplace issues and risk mitigation.
After Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Western NC in 2024, Rebecca came to learn about National Emergency Child Care Network in efforts to provide services to firm employees. Rebecca shared that being an emergency foster parent has always been part of her bigger plan, and Silke invited her to join the team.
Rebecca is married and has two children in college. She lives in Charlotte, NC where she was born and raised, and she is a big fan of all things true crime.
Silke Knebel is the Founder and CEO of National Emergency Child Care Network.
Silke spent half a decade in disaster response and recovery as a Board Member and Disaster Response Volunteer for the American Red Cross in California. Silke opened Red Cross disaster shelters for victims of wildfires and spent time talking with many families who lost their homes, pets and immediate belongings from disasters. During this time, Silke recognized that many families with children expressed a critical need of emergency child care so the families can work through the insurance claims, FEMA forms, Red Cross vouchers, and where they will live for the remaining year. Silke has a deep interest and passion for helping children and families with disaster relief and humanitarian aid and providing a critical resource that doesn’t exist today -- Free Emergency Child Care.
She has 25 years of experience in the nonprofit, private and public sectors. She has worked for over 20 diverse nonprofit organizations worldwide, including disaster response organizations, global health, entrepreneurship, WASH, and technology-based nonprofits.
Silke has a M.A. in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, and a B.A. in Psychology from Sonoma State University.
Silke was a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Guyana, South America in 2000 and led one of the most successful projects in the history of Peace Corps in Guyana. Her work is featured in LeanIn. Silke has been invited twice to present at the World Affairs Council / the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on the power of volunteerism and philanthropy.
Silke is a proud mom of two young boys. Together, her family enjoys hiking, camping, volunteering, and being in nature.
Jean Ross is the CEO and Co-founder of Primary Record, a pioneering mobile application dedicated to simplifying health information for families, ensuring better care and coordination. Transitioning to nursing at 29, Jean’s career journey took her from critical care to community care coordination, fueled by her passion for supporting family caregivers. Her extensive experience includes chairing the Community Health Network’s Indy Region Patient and Family Advisory Council and educating nurses through the Indiana State Nurses Association about advocacy and innovation.
A committed advocate, Jean is a volunteer legislative lobbyist for AARP and a Dementia Champion with Dementia Friends Indiana, having created over 500 Dementia Friends in her state. She also leads a monthly Caregiver 101 series at Daughterhood.org, designed to support women caring for their parents. Jean’s dedication to improving healthcare accessibility and coordination has made her a seasoned speaker, regularly sharing her insights and experiences.
Jean is excited to lend the National Emergency Childcare Network her expertise and commitment to health data access, care coordination, and personalized resources in crisis. Beyond her professional achievements, Jean is a proud mother of three sons—Jonas, Ian, and Otis—and the wife of Dr. Christian Ross.
Mariianne Crary is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of M10 Society and the COO of Mcule, an online drug discovery platform. With M10 society, she leads a group of experts and mentors with extraordinary experience in turning cutting-edge innovations and startups into economic drivers.
Mariianne is a series entrepreneur and founder with over 30 years of experience starting, structuring, and implementing innovative models to create change. She founded Silicon Valley Real Ventures, Floodlights Software, Newallstreet, HubSV and ChoiceManager. She works closely with the European Union Commission and funding agencies focusing on building an efficient user interface between Silicon Valley and the EU. Mariianne is currently a Startup Advisor for Class Junky Inc., Global Cleantech Impact Expo, and WeShareApps Ltd. Previous to these roles, she worked at Oracle for three years.
Mariianne’s educational background from Denmark is in Business Administration and Organizational Development. Mariianne lives in Silicon Valley with her physicist husband, where they enjoy nature, the Silicon Valley talent-cluster, music, travel – and breaking barriers in each their field.
Nadine is a Sr. Director at Casey Family Programs (CFP) where she focuses on the creation of innovative child and family-centered approaches to address practice, policy, legislative, and regulatory challenges to advancing priorities at the intersectionality of Child Welfare and Immigration. She also serves as Sr. Advisor to the Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary (IOAS) at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), where she provides project management to support the formulation, evaluation, and implementation of plans to achieve objectives significant to the Administration for Children and Families’ mission. She brings a 25-year career in serving vulnerable populations, including working for the Council of Europe Committee on Migration, Refugees, and Displaced Persons in Strasbourg, France, where she engaged in efforts to ban land mines as weapons of war, documenting their impact on displaced adults and children at a disproportionate rate. She holds a Master’s Degree from Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Erin leads Cisco’s Crisis Response (CCR) team, which partners with emergency response agencies and NGOs to securely connect and empower underserved and vulnerable populations in crisis. CCR provides cash and product grants to nonprofits focused on humanitarian aid and disaster response, technical assistance and consulting on security and emergency solutions, as well as deployment expertise and capabilities to provide connectivity for agencies and affected communities responding to crises.
Prior to joining Cisco, Erin spent over a decade in the NGO sector, managing post-disaster, financial inclusion and technology-for-development programs in Asia and East Africa. Erin has a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. in International Development from American University.
Dr. Julie Anderson is a school psychologist and education advocate with 25 years of experience in North Carolina public schools. She has led the Trauma Informed team at her elementary school and trained teachers and staff on the effects of trauma and how to support children during and after crisis events. She exhibits professionalism in her schools helping inform instruction and learning with potential results in well-being and full development. She consults with learning teams and parents and evaluates students exhibiting learning challenges in the areas of behavior, health, and academics. Julie lives with her husband and dog in Fuquay – Varina. She is a proud mother of two girls, loves to garden, shop and will soon be a certified yoga instructor.
Mark Steele advises on all marketing and design materials. He brings “new eyes” to every vision and campaign.
Mark is currently the Chief Marketing and Design Officer of Boulder Luxury Group and the founder of New Moon Multimedia, a freelance design company specializing in interactive digital technology. With some +20 years of digital and print media under his belt, he tapped into his intuitive understanding and technical expertise to effectively communicate unique, committed, elegant messages for profit and nonprofit entities alike. One client, a 50 year old investment management firm in Chicago, rearranged its project schedule to accommodate Steele’s availability in order to “get” his excellence. Mark was also the Chief Marketing Officer for Blue Planet Network, a technology and water nonprofit dedicated to empowering over 2 million people in 27 countries with safe, clean drinking water.
Want to be part of the team?
Our team is growing! We will be bringing on volunteers, interns and staff within the next 6 months.