Our PEOPLE
Meet the team
Get to know our dedicated team passionate about supporting kinship caregivers.
If you’re interested in joining our cause, we’d love your involvement.
Board of Directors
board President (Founder)
Denyse Richter
drichter@stepupparents.org | 603.319.4746
Step Up Parents was born out of a desire to lend a hand. With a good friend now raising her granddaughter as a result of her own child’s long battle with substance use disorder, I felt a call to help.
Her story and other life experiences have brought me to this mission to help kinship caregivers and their children.
My greatest joy in life is my family. My husband and I raised three wonderful daughters in the beautiful Seacoast of New Hampshire. I was a stay at home mother and have worked with my husband in different business ventures over the years. With an interest in schools and education, I also served two terms on my local school board. In 1985, I graduated from Boston College with a degree in Marketing.
board vice PRESIDENT
Jennifer DuChene
Step Up Parents aligns with my personal and professional interest in helping young children grow into healthy, happy and productive adults. I began my professional life as an attorney and later earned my teaching credentials and master’s degree in education. I have been teaching in Montessori preschool classrooms on the Seacoast for the last fifteen years.
Two years ago, I became a CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate), where I am able to utilize both my legal and teaching expertise to advocate for children in the Family Court system. Step Up Parents provides me with an additional opportunity to support children and the families who love and care for them. As a mother, a teacher and a legal advocate, I have deep empathy and compassion for family and generational struggles surrounding mental health and substance misuse. The children who witness those struggles need strong and resilient caregivers and those caregivers need support. I am looking forward to being part of an organization whose purpose is to assist the relative caregivers who step up when it matters the most.
BOARD treasurer
Nate Pearson
While I have not directly been affected with the parental situations Step Up Parents supports, at this point we all know someone who has had issues with substance abuse or mental illness. Raising children is hard enough but is incrementally more difficult for grandparents to step up to the role unexpectedly. Being employed by a community-focused bank has provided me the opportunity to give back, and when I learned about Step Up Parents, I was not even aware these issues existed. Maine and New Hampshire have been hit hard by the opioid epidemic and through SUP we can help support children and families that never expected to be in their situations.
BOARD Secrertary
Jennifer Caesar
I have built a career around digital growth marketing in the B2B technology space over the last 10+ years. I currently manage the digital marketing for the adtech company, Emodo, owned by Ericsson and based in San Francisco. I have volunteered with various organizations on the Seacoast throughout the years, but this will be my first board position, and I am looking forward to helping grow and promote Step Up Parents. I live in Dover with my husband, Chris, and goldendoodle, Auggie.
BOARD MEMBER
John Sheedy
After learning about Step Up Parents from a friend (and fellow board member), its mission immediately struck a chord for me. My wife and I have raised our niece whose parents were unable to provide her with a stable home environment, and we have experienced firsthand the challenges and personal rewards of providing kinship care for an extended family member.
While we have been fortunate to be able to raise our niece and our three daughters without financial assistance, I know many families face financial struggles that make kinship caregiving much more difficult. I am excited to join in Step Up Parents' mission to help ease families' financial burdens and to provide support to caregivers in oftentimes difficult situations.
I grew up in Southern New Hampshire and later settled in Berwick, Maine, where my wife and I have raised our daughters and our niece. Most of my career has been focused in technology and software, including my current position as a Senior Product Manager at B2W Software in Portsmouth.
BOARD MEMBER
Marilyn Rios
When I was first introduced to Step Up Parents, I knew this was an organization that I not only wanted to help support but be a part of. The work that Step Up Parents exemplifies is invaluable to our community, serving those that are many times overlooked, or do not fit into a specific category to receive the support and assistance needed. I am looking forward to introducing Step Up Parents to my colleagues, friends, and community.
Staff
Tonia Pelletier
tpelletier@stepupparents.org | 603-319-4739
In my time serving children and families, I have learned to ask the critical question, "How can I best serve you?"
Many people may not recognize that it takes courage for some people to answer this question honestly. Sometimes the answer is a meal, a shoulder to cry on, or friendship. Maybe it's a space to talk in open honesty, or sometimes a physical need. This, I do know: Every person has the intrinsic need to be seen, felt, and heard. How we respond to that need can make all the difference in the world to them. That kindness can often be remembered for a lifetime. I adore the mission of Step Up Parents, helping families who have had the courage to step in to fill the gap that these children need.
I have spent ten years running and organizing children's and parenting programs to equip and encourage families in whatever struggle they may have. I have a good number of years working with administrative programs and worked alongside helping with financial goals and bookkeeping needs. In 2023, I devoted my time to a more formal education so I can more profoundly answer the question of, "How can I best serve you?"
Step Up Parents is meeting the physical needs kinship families have and encouraging them by saying, we believe in you, we see what you might need, and we are here for you. The mission is such a worthy cause, and I am honored to be a part of the Step Up Parents team.
Advisory Committee
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Deb Anthony
I learned about Step Up Parents during the last year of my tenure at Gather as the Executive Director. I was impressed by the mission and vision of the organization. In a world where addiction has impacted so many families, this organization has a concrete solution. Addiction has impacted my life, and like so many others, I have seen the devastation it can bring to families. Professionally I have worked in the nonprofit sector most of my life and had the privilege of leading several amazing organizations both here in New England and on the West Coast. My strength has always been aligning mission with action.
adivsory committee
Jaime Yates
I am the Community Relations Manager at Service Credit Union, where I oversee sponsorships, events and community outreach, as well as financial education and literacy. I have a Masters in Communication, and I’m passionate about giving back to the community and advocating for military members and veterans. I currently serve on the board of directors for the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center as well as the Seacoast Chapter of Veterans Count and the NH Social Responsibility Committee for the CCUA, as well as various planning committees for nonprofit events. I pride myself on working with community partners to create opportunity and increase collaboration and impact across the state. I first became aware of Step Up Parents during the pandemic and am excited to see how I can best help the organization especially in planning fundraising events.