We have a dedicated group of staff and board members at Babies & Beyond that help keep us going. Meet our wonderful team!
Staff
Brenda’s Biography
Brenda started in January of 2020 as the organization’s first full-time Executive Director. Under her leadership she was able to pivot their programing to adjust to the restrictions from the pandemic, navigate 2 relocations to expand services and accommodate for the rapid growth, host a 40th Anniversary Event, and rebrand the organization with a new name, logo, website, and marketing materials.
Prior to her current role, she owned and operated her own business for 15 years and spent 15 years as the Director of Faith Formation at St. Mary Parish in Portage.
In all her roles, she has a history of coordinating successful programs and marketing initiatives designed to improve programs and increase involvement. She has refined relationship-building and networking skills to work collaboratively with volunteers, staff, donors, and community agencies.
She has a passion for helping those in need, especially those marginalized in our communities. She believes all parents should have access to essential items to care for their babies to promote health, wellness, and productivity, regardless of their situation, background and/or beliefs. She strives to create a welcoming and loving place for parents to come to receive help and support, without judgement.
She lives in Portage with her husband, Mike, and their youngest son. Her oldest son lives and goes to school in Madison. She enjoys reading and spending time with family hiking, camping, kayaking, and playing disc golf.
Lucia’s Biography
Lucia is a high-school student and athlete in her senior year. She started as a volunteer when she was a freshman to get community service hours for Confirmation. She liked volunteering so much that she got way more service hours than what was required. In December 2021, she was hired as the Sharing Center Associate and was promoted to Client Services Coordinator in October 2023.
“I absolutely love it here. I have enjoyed getting to know the clients and volunteers. I think it is so cool being able to see women helping other women and their kids, and the difference we can make in their lives.”
Sophia’s Biography
Sophia Gundlach was excited to join the team in November of 2022 to serve families as the new Volunteer and Donation Center Coordinator. She used to work at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, so she was familiar with donation intake and inventory management. She enjoys working with all the dedicated volunteers and seeing such a variety of volunteer groups that come in to help out. She is ecstatic to work at Babies & Beyond because she wants to give back to families the way she was helped during her pregnancy.
In her free time, she is one of the coaches for East High School’s cheerleading team.
Courtney Jablonski
Safe Sleep Delivery Coordinator
Courtney’s Biography
Courtney began her work in 2014 when she started as a phone volunteer with Pregnancy Helpline (now Babies & Beyond). She grew up in rural Ellsworth, Wisconsin on a dairy farm and graduated from UW-Madison in art education in 2003.
Her phone volunteering led her into the Phone Volunteer Coordinator role, where she provided material help and emotional support to families and mothers in the community.
Currently, she serves as a Safe Sleep Delivery Coordinator, working with delivery volunteers to provide families with a safe place to sleep.
She also teaches art at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School in Madison, where she is inspired to work with students to see the world in different ways and connect with the community.
Courtney and her husband, Jack, have four children; Joachim, Augustine, Kierian, and Azélie.
Erin Ebersole
Safe Sleep Inventory Coordinator
Erin’s Biography
Erin began volunteering with Pregnancy Helpline (now Babies & Beyond) in 2007, shortly before the birth of her second child. The work as coordinator of the Safe Sleep program fit in perfectly with her role as a stay-at-home mom. Most importantly, it matches with her desire to be proactively life-affirming, supporting babies and their families in a very real way.
Erin and her husband, Matt, now have five sons. She is the music director for the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra. Her family happily participates in many activities in their parish and school, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and also in their community in Sun Prairie.
Judy Scheidegger
Baby Care Package Coordinator
Judy’s Biography
Judy has been involved with this organization since the beginning in 1982! She got involved out of a strong desire to help and support women experiencing difficulties that can arise from an unexpected pregnancy. Over the years she has worn many volunteer hats including: Director, Fund-raising, PR and Publicity, Sharing Center Coordinator, and Board member. She currently serves as a volunteer coordinating the Baby Care Package Program.
After graduating from college she worked for 8 years as the State Program Director for WI Special Olympics. She is currently retired from special education in the Sun Prairie School District.
She has 3 grown children with her husband of 38 years. She enjoys traveling, scrapbooking, card-making, and spending time with her family at their lake home.
Nohora Reyna
Bilingual Liaison (Spanish)
Nohora’s Biography
Nohora began working as a volunteer in 2015. She is from Colombia and has been living in Madison since 2000 with her husband and two daughters. Nohora has been using her bilingual skills to support families within the program. Currently, Nohora focuses on the Baby Care Package program by handling the requests and coordinating deliveries of the welcome baby gift to mothers and newborn babies. Nohora also helps connect Spanish-speaking families to the various programs offered at Babies & Beyond.
“I experienced myself the difficulties of coming to a new country, overcoming culture and language barriers in addition to welcoming a new baby far from home and from family. So I know personally how important and meaningful is to receive help and support like the programs offered by Babies & Beyond. Volunteering at the Sharing Center, as a phone volunteer, working with the Baby Care Package Program or just helping with translations, for me is a way to give back to the community”
Board of Directors
Mark Klingele
President
Mark’s Biography
Mark Klingele has served on the board since March 2019. He is a Branch Manager with UWCU and has worked there since 2007. He was active at St Paul’s University Center while earning his B.S. in History and Political Science from UW Madison. He has volunteered to provide sacrament preparation for the downtown parishes, and his family is active at Saint Maria Goretti parish.
He has lived in Dane County his whole life and has a busy household of 9 people. For fun, he enjoys music, camping, canoeing, and skiing.
Scott Pfeil
Vice President
Scott’s Biography
Scott Christopher Pfeil, CFA, has served on Babies & Beyond’s Board since April 2021. He is a Partner and the Business Director at Backflip, a creative marketing studio located on the East side of Madison. Backflip has been a frequent sponsor of Diaper Dash by providing video and design services. Scott, along with the firm, also assisted in the recent name change.
Pfeil is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has worked in investments in various capacities for over 25 years and upper management administration for over 10 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Creighton University in Omaha and a Master of Science in Finance, Investment & Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his wife Melanie live in Sun Prairie with their three children, and are parishioners at both St. Dennis and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish.
Scott is enthusiastic about empowering and helping families through Babies & Beyond. Because the family is the building block of society, he believes that anything we can do today to serve families will ripple positively throughout time. Scott has been called a “baby hog” as he can be seen taking every opportunity to play or hold the little ones. He also loves to hunt deer and pheasants and play sports, especially volleyball, with his family and friends.
Anastasia Gunawan
Secretary
Anastasia’s Biography
Anastasia grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia and moved to Madison to study Civil Engineering at UW-Madison. The city has been so welcoming that she made it home with her family. She decided to pursue a career in real estate and help bringing homeownership dreams to others.
She is a member of St. Dennis Parish. Anastasia loves spending her free time with her husband and 2 boys.
Russel Yount
Treasurer
Russel’s Biography
Russell Yount has served on the board of Babies & Beyond (formerly Pregnancy Helpline) as treasurer since 2020. He works in the Office of Finance of the Diocese of Madison. Before moving to the Madison area, Russell worked for other not-for-profit organizations in Nebraska and Iowa.
Russell is a native of Kentucky and a Wisconsinite by marriage, as his wife Bonnie grew up in northwest Wisconsin. Bonnie is an elementary teacher at St. Jerome School in Columbus. Although not blessed with children of their own, the Younts have great relationships with their nieces and nephews.
Alissa Hirscher
Board Member
Alissa’s Biography
Alissa first became involved in 2008 as a Board Member, when the organization was known as Pregnancy Helpline, discovering that being a part of the Helpline was a beautiful way to live out her life-affirming values. In 2012, Alissa became the Executive Director for nearly six years. After helping hire her replacement for Director in 2018, she returned to the Executive Committee on the Board where she remains.
Alissa was honored in 2019 for the Catholic Charities Leadership Award for her volunteer work with this organization. Professionally, Alissa is an Occupational Therapist on the Adult Psych unit at Meriter Hospital.
She and her husband Matt have 5 children, all of whom have volunteered at B&B willingly or unwillingly. They attend St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church and are active in Marriage Preparation at the parish. In her free time, Alissa enjoys reading, thrifting, paddle boarding, and doting on Boris, her pet tortoise.
“I love this organization. Of course, it’s a way to help young families be confident and prepared, but to be honest, it also offers so much back to me! I’ve made great friends through the organization, and gotten to do so many cool things in the community. Babies & Beyond is a big part of my life; it gives way more than it takes.”
Gina Neuville
Board Member
Gina’s Biography
Coming Soon
Rob Christianson
Board Member
Rob’s Biography
Rob Christianson joined the board in July of 2022 and is deeply committed to having an impact on our mission to provide life-affirming service to others.
He has been married for 20 years to his wife Amy. They have 2 children and an attention-starved Labradoodle named Flash. Originally from Superior, he has lived in Minnesota, North Dakota and Massachusetts prior to settling in Madison. He is a 25-year member of the Knights of Columbus and, when not working, enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, reading voraciously and watching his favorite sport, Formula 1 racing.
Professionally, he has worked in the not-for-profit financial services industry for nearly three decades, most of those as a leader of people and developer of talent. He now uses his talents as an HR Business Partner, partnering with leaders on matters of employee engagement, performance management, leadership and change management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing, an MBA with a focus on Human Resources and is a Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional.
Jaimee Prado
Board Member
Jaimee’s Biography
Jaimee has been with Babies & Beyond since 2015, starting as a volunteer in high school and joining the Board of Directors as a Student Liaison during her undergraduate years at UW-Madison. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and is currently a graduate student pursuing her Master’s in Public Health (MPH).
Jaimee is passionate about maternal-child health and addressing disparities in access to care and resources, and is proud of the work Babies & Beyond has accomplished in serving mothers and families in the Madison area. She is a parishioner at St. Maria Goretti in Madison, and enjoys paddle boarding, scrapbooking, and eating ice cream at the Terrace.
Meg Brennan
Board Member
Biography
Meg Brennan was accepted on to the Board of Babies and Beyond in July of 2023. Meg is a mother of two young ones. As a young mother, Meg feels passionate about supporting and participating in the mission of Babies and Beyond. Her and her family actively participate in their local faith community through things such as marriage preparation and religious education.
Meg is currently a stay-at-home mom with a background in education. Meg is certified to teach 6-12 grade social studies, and taught 8th grade history for 5 years with a sprinkle of 6th grade social studies. Her background fuels her love for podcasts and historical fiction. Her current life has grown her love of parks, coloring, and coffee. She tries to run for longer periods of time in between running after her littles. She says it is both encouraging and intimidating when her daughter says “faster, mama, faster!” The goal is to live well day by day to the best of their ability.
She is so excited to be a part of this mission and community. Thank you for reading.
Brynne Boeck
Student Liaison
Brynne’s Biography
Brynne Boeck has been on the Babies & Beyond Board as a student board member since September 2021. She is studying Genetics and Genomics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, aspiring to become a genetic counselor. Brynne is originally from Omro, WI where she is a member of St. Mary’s Parish.