Staff and Board
Meet the employees and Board of Directors of Hope’s Closet!
Staff
Mark Phair
Executive Director
Mark joins Hope’s Closet with a near 20-year professional career dedicated to non-profit organizations, with a primary focus on serving children. He has a wealth of knowledge in building relationships with individuals and businesses/organizations, fundraising and advancement, communications and public relations, as well as volunteer development.
“I knew at a very young age that I wanted to help others as my career focus. God made it clear to me while in college that this is my calling!”
He is a Cincinnati native and graduate of Ohio University with a degree in education and resides in Ross Township with his wife Wendy and two sons, Bennett and Everett.
Contact Mark at mark@hopesclosetohio.org.
Reba Steiniger
Office Manager
Reba has dedicated her life to children and family ministry. She has a background in church and nonprofit leadership and is currently active in the worship ministry at her church. She and her husband are licensed foster parents and are privileged to be raising two beautiful girls and one playful doggie. Her passion is to show the love of Jesus to everyone she comes in contact with.
Reba began volunteering at Hope’s Closet out of a desire to show the love of Jesus to children in foster care. She now has one foster love living in her home and is a part-time staff member with our organization. If you call Hope’s Closet, it is very likely this is the friendly voice on the other end of the phone.
Contact Reba at reba@hopesclosetohio.org.
Tosha Salyer
Hope’s Closet Boutique Manager
Tosha is a graduate of Miami University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in marketing. She worked in business management for nearly ten years and children’s ministry for the past nine years. She truly enjoys seeing children grow in their relationship with Jesus. Tosha feels led to minister to children and welcomes any opportunity to positively impact their lives. She is passionate about the mission Hope’s Closet has to change the lives of children and families affected by foster care.
Tosha and her husband, Bill, have been married 20 years. They have 3 children: Austin, Andrew and Avery. In her free time, Tosha loves watching her kids participate in their various activities, vacationing with her family, coaching cheerleaders and photography.
Contact Tosha at tosha@hopesclosetohio.org.
Liz Roda
Foster Parent Support Manager
Liz has lived a life of service and is passionate about helping and inspiring families. For several years, she was the Religious Education Coordinator at her parish and developed a love for helping children and adults grow deeper in their faith. Liz joined Hope’s Closet in 2022 as a volunteer and felt increasingly drawn to serve the Hope’s Closet mission in a bigger way.
She is blessed to be a mom of two teenagers and reminds her kids daily to “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” (St. Catherine of Siena) Liz understands the importance of family and is committed to sharing her knowledge of parenting. A parent board member of both high schools where her children attend, she has always been actively involved in her parish. In her spare time, Liz enjoys spending time with family and friends, golf, playing piano, and singing in her church choir.
Liz is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Communications degree.
Contact Liz at liz@hopesclosetohio.org.
Bridgett Risk
Community Relations Manager
Bridgett first came to Hope’s Closet as a parent chaperoning her daughter’s service project, stayed on as a volunteer, and now joins the team as Community Relations Manager. With a professional background in marketing and communications, a history of volunteerism on behalf of children, and 18 years (and counting) of parenthood on her resume, she is thrilled to merge these experiences in her role as an advocate for Hope’s Closet.
She is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Management as well as a semi-
professional helicopter mom raising three amazing teenagers with her husband, Jeff.
Contact Bridgett at bridgett@hopesclosetohio.org.
Julie Rolfes
Bookkeeper
Contact Julie at julie@hopesclosetohio.org.
Board
Melanie Bauer
Chairman
A board member since 2021, Melanie became aware of Hope’s Closet while researching local non-profits when participating in Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD). Melanie, adopted herself, is passionate about our mission of supporting foster children and their families.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Boston University. Melanie and her husband, Joe, live in Richmond, Indiana with their dogs, Dabo (named after Clemson University’s football coach) and Reese (named after Melanie’s favorite candy). Their four children all reside in the Southeast, two Clemson graduates and one still attending.
She enjoys cooking, traveling, reading and track cycling, as well as cheering for Clemson football! Go Tigers!
Contact Melanie at melanie@hopesclosetohio.org.
Melissa Hutzelman
Vice-Chairman
Melissa comes to Hope’s Closet with nearly 30 years experience in Technology, Marketing and Senior Leadership. Melissa is passionate about serving others, having volunteered at Matthew 25 ministries and through her employer (Salesforce) served on the committee “Coding for Kindness”, providing free software development services to non-profit organizations. She also participated in the “Million Masks a Day” during Covid-hand sewing masks for a local women’s shelter. She is also an active mentor for recent college graduates, helping them navigate their first few years in the business world. She was introduced to Hope’s Closet by Judi Nelson, a fellow board member and long time friend. After attending the annual gala and seeing the amazing work this organization does for children, foster parents and the community, she joined the board in early 2022.
Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University and an MBA from Miami University, Oxford. She is blessed to be with her long time partner, Doug, his son Brady and her son, Jeremy. Melissa loves to cook and got to indulge her passion for Italian cooking when she spent time in Italy attending cooking school. She enjoys time with family or an evening out with friends, lounging by the pool and binge watching Netflix shows!
Contact Melissa at melissa@hopesclosetohio.org.
Judi Nelson
Secretary
Judi comes to Hope’s Closet with 25 years’ experience in Financial Services leadership, sales, and organizational strategy. She is dedicated to empowering and inspiring others, especially children in need of love, emotional, educational and material support. Her desire to create better futures for children led her to Hope’s Closet as a volunteer in January 2021.
Judi holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Dayton. She and her husband, Galon, are blessed to have two grown children, Erin and Austin, and two lively granddaughters, Brooklyn and Bryce. In her spare time, she volunteers as a Stephen Minister through her church and enjoys volunteering as an OSU Master Gardener.
Contact Judi at judi@hopesclosetohio.org.
Jaycee Santos
Treasurer
Jaycee is originally from the Philippines where she was very active in doing volunteer work for children. She has visited and rallied donations for shelters for abandoned and abused children, and was a resident volunteer teacher in a free tutoring organization for street children. When she migrated to the US in 2015, she tried to continue with her community service through small scale fundraising activities for different not-for-profit organizations, but felt she can do more. She and her husband are very active in church – serving as lectors in St. Maximillian Kolbe Church, and participating in many church programs (Unbound, Letters to Uganda). They are also active in the Missionary Families of Christ community, and training to become household servants. Jaycee has always been vocal about the need to support children, and an advocate for the enrichment of children’s lives.
Jaycee has a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, a Certified Public Accountant (Philippines) and a Certified Internal Auditor with honors (IIA). She has been in Public Accounting throughout her career (since 2008). She and her husband, Dan, are blessed with two young boys, Robi and Matteo, and a girl, Addy. They live in West Chester, Ohio. She enjoys cooking and baking, traveling and learning about different cultures, watching history films and documentaries, and spending quality time with family.
Contact Jaycee at jaycee@hopesclosetohio.org.
Bill Morrison
Board Member
William “Bill” Morrison has served in leadership positions in social services agencies in Kentucky and Ohio. Most recently he retired as Director of Butler County Job and Family Services in 2021 and shortly thereafter joined the Board of Hope’s Closet.
Bill and his wife Kit live in the Village of Glendale and have seven children and ten grandchildren and counting on more to come. Bill feels blessed to be able to continue his life’s work improving the live of foster families through Hope’s Closet.
Contact Bill at bill@hopesclosetohio.org.
Rick Vogsberger
Board Member
In 2012, Rick and his wife, Karen, took their children Austin, Bradyn and Colin to “Foster Parents Night Out”, where they had their first significant exposure to foster care. As a parent, it was Rick’s goal to help his kids see the need of children in our community and hopefully impress on them to think less about themselves and more of others. It was at that event Rick learned his Heavenly Father had for him the same goal. God broke Rick’s heart for His little ones, and he knew he must respond in some way. That night started their journey, as Karen and Rick are currently adopting 3-year-old twins (boy and girl) who have been part of the family for 2-1/2 years.
Rick has a bachelor’s degree in theology from Baptist Bible College. Rick enjoys spending time with his family, serving with his wife at their church, traveling and any excuse for sports – especially if it includes the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees.
Contact Rick at rick@hopesclosetohio.org.