Our Families

We are currently growing our team of volunteers across the Space and Treasure Coast regions. Volunteers can host children and provide services such as transportation, parent mentoring, and supply tangible items such as diapers, car seats, and meals. Volunteers come from all walks of life. Some are retired, some are single, some have grown children, teenagers, and even young kids! 

Our Churches

Local churches play a significant role in recruiting volunteers from their church family. They are integral to supporting those families as they serve and reach out to families in need. Churches of all sizes and various denominational or non-denominational backgrounds are active partners with Safe Families for Children.

Our Team

Our amazing volunteers are the ones who take the Safe Families for Children movement into the community. But they can’t do it alone. They are supported by a staff of professionals who passionately invest their lives in engaging churches, building a base of volunteers, vetting and training volunteers, screening and interviewing families in need, providing family coach supervision, building partnerships with community organizations, and much more.

Jessica Staudt – Chapter Director

Jessica Staudt brings both lived experience and visionary leadership to her role as Chapter Director for Safe Families for Children – Treasure Coast; a former foster youth inspired by her placement with Mary Martha Ross, a devoted Christian foster parent, she developed a personal calling to support children and families in crisis. Holding a Master’s in Public Health, Jessica has dedicated her career to maternal and child health, community engagement, and trauma-informed care, most recently leading strategic initiatives at Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition where she fostered partnerships, implemented family-centered programs, and advocated for systemic change. She believes no parent should face crisis alone and no child be separated from their family due to lack of support—“Safe Families gives communities the tools to say, ‘We’re here for you’”—and she now builds strong partnerships with churches, organizations, and volunteers across the Treasure Coast to ensure every family can stay together and thrive through empathy, authenticity, and strategic vision.

Anastasia Ruleman – Intake Specialist and Family Coach Supervisor

As a Business Manager at a radio station in 2001, Ana attended a professional goal-setting seminar and, instead, set a personal goal to care for children in crisis. Two weeks later, she became a foster parent and, eventually, left her career in radio to become a certified therapeutic foster parent with a dedicated 6-bed crisis home. After caring for more than 300 children, Ana set a new goal: support families in crisis before foster care becomes necessary. She loves the mission of Safe Families for Children to keep “Children Safe and Families Together.”

Madi Wenner – Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator

Madi has a deep passion for caring for those in crisis or on the margins, ensuring that no one falls through the cracks. With a Bachelor’s degree in Youth and Family Ministry, she is dedicated to ministering to the health of families in every way possible. Safe Families holds special significance for her, as she believes that healthy family relationships are essential for well-being and flourishing. Madi feels a divine calling to this mission, sensing a profound purpose and meaning in her work with Safe Families.

Alexis Armstead – Family Coach Supervisor

Alexis Armstead joins our team with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from her past career fields of working with children and families. Alexis starts her journey as one of the Family Coach Supervisors for Safe Families for Children on the Treasure Coast. As former case manager and support for local foster families in various capacities, her past experience has ensured children are safe under all types of environments. Alexis has also worked with parents, family members and the judicial system to ensure they are getting the resources and services needed to care for the safety of children. Alexis grew up in a large family and understands the significance of family connections and preservation. Alexis’s mother has made a huge impact in her life resulting in the person Alexis is today.

Area Coordinator – Coming Soon!

Coming soon!