Grassroots Leadership
A House In Austin is managed by 7 staff members, 9 board members, and dozens of volunteers who all collaborate to help parents be their child’s best first teacher. We strive to provide safe community support for parents blessed with the opportunity to raise kind, creative, confident, and intelligent children. We love the strong community we’ve created over the last 7 years and know without a doubt that we will continue to grow stronger with our families.
Lynette Kelly-Bell; Co- Executive Director |
Becky Martin; Co- Executive Director |
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Lynette is a life-long resident of Chicago. She was raised in East Garfield Park by her parents along with fourteen of her siblings.
Being a stay at home mom, Lynette looked for different ways to have fun with her family of three. She found AHIA in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the support and opportunities that were provided to families. After participating for 1.5 years, Lynette and AHIA became one with her being added as Assistant Executive Director where she remained until Oct. 2021 when she and Becky became Co-Executive Directors. Lynette fuels her passion for change and her community by spearheading marketing, fundraising, donor cultivation and recognition, and AHIA special community events. [email protected] |
Becky received her Master of Social Work from UIC in 2005. She worked for the YWCA Metropolitan Family Services as a trauma counselor from 2005-2013. She is trained in Trauma Focused CBT, Play Therapy, and is a Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Service provider.
Becky joined Boppin' Babies & Toddlers Music class as a mama with her youngest child, and she brings care and comfort to our group with her warm smile and genuine conversations. Becky volunteered leading our parent chat groups and became of one of first employees. Since then she has become the Co-Executive Director running programming, community connections, and connecting with foundational supports. [email protected] |
Amanda Urquhart
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Amanda is a life-long resident of Chicago. She earned her Bachelors of Communication in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University in 2017. Amanda has always had a philanthropic mindset since a young age, that brought her to be community service chair for a few years with her sorority in college.
Amanda became a stay at home mom unexpectedly when her son had medical issues a few days after birth. Amanda was looking for community and support navigating becoming a first time mom to a medically needy baby and found some moms in the Chicagoland area, this is how she became connected to AHIA. In April 2023, she started in their Operations Manager position. Amanda brings over 12 years of leadership and administrative experience. In her free time, she volunteers for an organization called Chicago Youth Foundation, that provides access, opportunity and inclusion for all children in metro chicago (K-8) to participate in Figure Skating. Outside of that she spends her time educating herself, advocating for her son and diversifying his learning through extra curricular activities. [email protected] |
Precious Jones
Family Support Specialist Precious joined AHIA as one of the first families to participate in Boppin Babies & Toddler music class. Her passion for stronger families and brighter futures is backed by her personal and professional experiences. As a mother of three and daycare owner for over 15 years Precious is fueled to support our families through the running of our Tuesday night parent class and crisis moments when support is so crucial. |
Rebecca Jones
Lead My Wonder Kids Teacher Mother to a very incredible one year old with a second bundle of joy on the way! Rebecca received her Bachelors degree from Western Illinois University and has devoted more than 5 years to the field of early childhood development through her work in the childcare/daycare sector. She enjoys working with children and being apart of their everyday growth. [email protected] |
CheJuana Stiles
Facilities Manager/My Wonder Kids Associate Teacher CheJuana earned her Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration from Aurora University, in 2010. Her focus has always been youth based and as a young mother raising her almost 2 year old, AHIA's mission and values aligned with those she holds so near. [email protected] |
Become a Mission MakerMission Makers donate a set amount each month, and are a crucial support behind our impact.
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