As the founder of Bardsley Children Foundation, Caitlin overseas all programing regarding the foundation.  Born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, she created Bardsley Children Foundation in 2016 after spending several weeks in the Dominican Republic serving in community with children affected by extreme poverty.  She was particularly moved to advocate for change in a more committed way after witnessing the systemic lack of educational opportunities, upward mobility and avenues for youth empowerment throughout many communities in the Dominican Republic.

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With a passion for public speaking and service work, she has spoken at local colleges and Universities in CT and Westchester County, founded Epilepsy Walk in her undergrad and served as a college liaison for the Epilepsy Foundation of Southern New York.  She received her B.A in Mass Communication from IONA College in 2013,  she is a recipient of the Senior LeaderShip Award '13 and St. Columba Award '13.  Caitlin enjoys traveling, reading about grassroots businesses and entrepreneurship and she is an avid snowboarder in the winter.

Board secretary/ Director

Jeanne has worked at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, for 16 years.  She presently serves as the Associate Director of Mission and Ministry and is the on-campus Resident Minister of Montgomery Ministry House.  She is involved in training student campus ministers for leadership, service, and faith development.  Among several roles at Iona, she enjoys overseeing the Mission and Ministry bi-weekly Bible study, weekly faith sharing group Women of Wisdom, the Music Ministry Fellowship, and the Gospel Choir.  Off-campus, she sees clients privately as a clinically trained Pastoral Counselor and NYS Permit Holder in Marriage and Family Therapy.  A fascination with diverse cultures and a desire for a compassionate response to our global neighbors has led her to moderate numerous mission trips for the college as well as team up on several trips with a private organization to such places as Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Nicaragua, and Zambia.  She has also participated with joy in a number of domestic mission trips and local service projects.  Jeanne is a worship musician, and plays the djembe and guitar, and loves to harmonize on any song possible.  She is excited to be a board member for the Bardsley Children Foundation as it offers an opportunity to share God’s love and provision with children and families, and bring needed resources from our bounty in the United States, to share with those stuck in poverty.  She looks forward to forging lasting and mutually elevating relationships, and the many wonderful programs and projects that will flow from this organization to our friends in the Dominican Republic.

Trustee

Sandee Bardsley is the Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Regional Director of Clinical Operations for Benchmark Senior Living.  Sandee has extensive experience in the health care arena holding positions such as Director of Nursing Quality and Acute Rehab at Stamford Hospital, Executive Director of Skilled Nursing Facilities and the CEO of a VNHC a Home Care and Hospice Agency.  She holds a degree from Pace University, a Bachelor’s Degree from Merrimack College, and is currently enrolled in the Master’s in Gerontology-Management of Aging Services at the University of Massachusetts.  She is a Clinical Quality Fellow with the Greater New York Hospital Association and is Board Certified in Gerontology. 

Board Chair & Treasurer

Leishla Mott joined Bardsley Children Foundation as a Trustee in 2017.  She currently works as an executive administrator for a real estate agency in Westchester where she resides.  The Rio Pedras-born wife and mother of two is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, having a deep cultural connection to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.  This connection belies her interest in supporting Dominican women's empowerment and self-determination as well as more broadly further developing community leadership skills in Puerto Rico and in the Dominican Republic.  She graduated from Nyack College with a Bachelor’s of Science and minor in Theology.  In addition to her work with Bardsley Children Foundation she is currently a member of Family Christian Center located In New Rochelle, NY, where she has been serving in a number of ministries.  In 2013 she founded W.O.W (Women of Wisdom) with Caitlin at IONA college a small group for women that is active in the campus to this day. Leishla is passionate about helping others be great and find their own voice in this world and teaching others to be advocates for themselves for what they stand and making this world a better place.

Trustee

As a chief administrative volunteer, Darren supports the clerical and strategy development needs of the Bardsley Children’s Foundation.  He is responsible for developing achievable objectives from the larger goals and projects of the leadership and mobilizing resources to meet each smaller objective.  Darren’s background is in literacy programming and librarianship, having earned his Master’s in Library and Information Science at Syracuse University in 2013. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, his family relocated to the New York area when he was five years old.  After his graduate program, he has worked in the nonprofit world tackling illiteracy, lived in Germany and Mexico and, more recently, began work as an outreach senior librarian at Brooklyn Public Library. In these years, he has developed a passion for the dignity and equity of people in our global community, having founded his own nonprofit in Trinidad, in addition to lending his time and talents to the work of the Bardsley Children’s Foundation.

Project coordinator

Susan M. Vener, Ph.D. ,S.A.S. is the co-founder, Director and Principal of the New York Child Learning Institute.  She received her Doctorate from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, certification from the State of New York in School Administration and Supervision, and a Master of Arts degree in Clinical and Behavioral Psychology from Queens College.  Her fields of major scientific interest include: applied behavior analysis intervention and research methodology for individuals with autism; language training and development for individuals with autism; human service evaluation systems; staff training and development; and promoting generality of behavior change.  Dr. Vener has co-authored multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals, and a textbook chapter on measuring social behavior in children. Her mission is to continue to serve children in need.

Trustee