Chloe Bernardi, LICSW, LCSW-C, President & CEO
Chloe first came to Hearts & Homes in 2000 and worked for two years as a Social Worker while she was working on her Masters. She returned in 2010 and was hired as the Program Administrator, responsible for oversight of all Residential Treatment Care Programs and was a driving force behind projects that enabled us to better serve the varied and changing needs of our young people. She is a Licensed Certified Clinical Social Worker and Certified Mental Health First Aid Trainer. She serves on two non-profit boards and sits on the Commission for Children and Youth.
Chloe has been working with children, adolescents, and families in the state of Maryland for the past 8 years, with over 20 years of experience in social work and child welfare. She is committed to providing the best behavioral and mental health services for the youth in our care and to find ways to better serve youth and families who are at-risk. Chloe is continuing to grow our footprint and move our work forward in new and dynamic directions, while ensuring that we stay true to our mission.
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 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.”
Nicole Smith, LCSW-C, Clinical Director
Nicole earned her Master’s in Social Work from University of Maryland-Baltimore. She was offered a job with Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services and eagerly accepted after having a rewarding internship experience with the Department during Graduate School. She worked for DJS for nearly six years gaining multitudes of experience and knowledge, including applying trauma-informed approaches, working on a multidisciplinary team, and utilizing non-violent crisis intervention techniques.
Nicole then took a leap to broaden her professional experiences. She accepted a job as Program Manager for a Residential Crisis home where she continued to apply her clinical skills working with adults in mental health crises, while starting to develop supervisory and administrative skills. As wonderful and educational as this role was, her heart remained with the juvenile population.
Coming to work for Hearts and Homes as the Clinical Director seemed like the perfect way to apply all of Nicole’s professional experiences while allowing her to once again feel the fulfillment of working with the population whom she is serving. She is very passionate about helping youth gain the skills and confidence needed to become successful adults.
Nicole has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2017 and became a Board Approved Supervisor in 2020. She is a Certified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer. She also provides individual therapy to kids and young adults in a private practice setting.
Roma Marshall LCSW-C, CATP, Chief Administrator for Damamli & TFC
Roma was first introduced to the world of foster care as a direct care worker in therapeutic group homes for adolescents. As a newly licensed social worker, having graduated with her MSW from Howard University, she first came to work at Hearts and Homes as a social worker in the Harriet Tubman shelter for adolescent boys involved with the juvenile justice system. She then transitioned to the Damamli Mother-Baby ILP program, which she credits for building her up to be the social worker she is today. Roma is a certified trauma therapist for children and adolescents and is passionate about providing trauma-informed programming to youth in the foster care system. She has worked in residential treatment centers providing clinical services to youth with severe mental health and behavioral needs, including youth with a history of sexually offending behavior and has also provided in-home therapy for individuals and families. Most recently, Roma worked as the clinical supervisor in a level-5/non-public special education school. Roma rejoined the HHY family in 2020 as the Chief Administrator of the Damamli and Family Ties Foster Care programs and continues to work towards increasing our services and reach to meet the needs of vulnerable youth and families.
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
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.”
Valerie Snogren, Director of Operations
Beginning her career with Hearts & Homes as an Executive Assistant, Valerie has been with the agency since 2009. Now Director of operations, Valerie manages annual events, including Hearts & Homes Charity Golf Toutnament and Annual Charity Gala and oversees all fundraising campaigns. She is the glue that holds Hearts & Homes together, applying her passion and determination every day.
Valerie received her Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Valerie notes, “It’s very rewarding to support those who are diligently working to make a difference in the lives of young people.”