Damon Thompson, LCSW-C, President & CEO

Damon Thompson, LCSW-C, joined the Hearts and Homes for Youth family as the new President and CEO on March 4, 2024, bringing with him over 20 years of invaluable leadership experience. In addition to his exceptional leadership skills, Damon’s clinical expertise is deeply rooted in nurturing and healing vulnerable populations, guiding them towards recovery from trauma within a safe and nurturing environment.

A passionate child advocate, Damon is prepared to guide Hearts and Homes for Youth into its next chapter, building upon nearly 60 years of impactful service. With his unwavering dedication and visionary leadership, Damon is ready to lead the organization towards new heights, ensuring its continued legacy of support and empowerment for the youth we serve.

Paul Clement, Senior Vice President / CFO/CAO

Paul has worked for Hearts & Homes since 2010, managing finances and budgets. Paul began as the organization’s Controller and was promoted to the position of CFO in 2013. In his role as CFO, Paul assures that the organization maintains financial stability, complying with contracts and licensing requirements with state agencies.
Paul holds a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Paul’s favorite part of working for Hearts & Homes is “seeing the success of our adolescents and watching them grow within our programs.”

Olusola  (Olu) Bright, Vice President/Director of Human Resources

Olu has been in charge of efforts to recruit well-seasoned staff for Hearts & Homes. As VP of Human Resources, Olu manages all efforts related to organizational development, policy development and documentation, employee relations, personnel records, training, recruitment, and staffing. Olu oversees adherence to COMAR regulations, keeping personnel records in compliance with staff licenses and managing employee relations.
Olu received her Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Administration and Policy from University of Maryland Baltimore County.
When asked about her work for the agency, Olu remarks, “my work is driven and inspired by the staff who invest their hearts into their work and go beyond the call of duty.”

Lucinda Richards, LMSW, Program Director for Damamli & TFC

Lucy Richards is Hearts and Homes Program Director for our TFC and Damamli Program. Lucy started out as a Clinical Case Manager and is now the Program Director for this program. She’s very passionate about working with foster children, specifically in supporting our youth as they get ready to age out of care. With her past experience in mental health, counseling, housing, and working with the homeless population, she uses her past work experience to strengthen her relationships and connections, both with foster youth and also with HHY’s community networks. Lucy is looking forward to improving the independent living experience for foster youth, coming up with training initiatives to increase youth involvement, and supporting her case managers from a leadership standpoint.
Lucy received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and her Master’s degree in Social Work at California State University at Long Beach.
In her free time, Lucy enjoys hiking and staying active.

Robin Colbert, Program Director of Group Homes

Robin began her career with the Agency in 2018 and worked for a year and a half as a Residential Counselor and then Senior Counselor. She returned in 2020 as the Program Manager at Mary’s Mount Manor, and helped stabilize and build the program.

Robin has her Bachelors in Accounting from Francis Marion University, and a Masters in Economic Development from Peru State University.

While completing her Masters at Peru State, she learned that she had a passion for mentoring and developing youth.

“Working at Hearts and Homes has truly been a pleasure, and I plan to continue helping shape and mold our youth into young adults.”

LaVance Gholston, Training Coordinator

LaVance has been an integral part of the HHY Team since 2001, amassing over 17 years of experience as a Youth Counselor. His dedication lies in aiding youth in the development of crucial social, interpersonal, confidence, and self-esteem, along with fostering independent life skills. With over 15 years of supervisory and managerial expertise, he excels in guiding staff toward their goals and plays a pivotal role in goal planning initiatives. He actively contributes to the Treatment Team and School meetings, participating in goal planning sessions. LaVance’s collaboration extends to numerous youth-serving agencies such as (DJS/DSS), various school districts, and families across Maryland. Additionally, he holds certifications as a Certified Pressley Ridge- Treatment Foster Care Pre-Service Trainer, Certified MANDT Trainer (Relational/Conceptual/Technical), Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (CWTTT) practitioner, CPR/First Aid Trainer, and a Certified Residential Child and Youth Care Practitioner (CRCYCP).