Our Staff

Our staff is dedicated to the full restoration of hurting teenagers and their families. From Houseparents to Office Staff, each one of our staff members is carefully selected to be a light to those in need.

Lori Ziegler – Executive Director

Lori Ziegler is the founder and Executive Director of House of Hope York PA. As a child, Lori Ziegler was abused by an adult that she was supposed to be able to trust. Years of shame and guilt compounded and she entered her teenage years as a confused and hurting young woman. At the age of 14, Lori attended a church youth retreat and gave her life to Jesus Christ; however, she walked away because she did not feel worthy of love. To deal with this confusion and pain, Lori turned to drinking at the age of 15. At the age of 20, Lori began secretly using drugs and alcohol, remaining in bondage to these addictions for the next 20 years.

On the day she turned 40, Lori hit rock bottom. With the weight of the lies, mounting debt, watching her children mirroring her actions, and her marriage on the brink of falling apart, Lori finally sought the help of friends from the church she attended as a teenager. Her friends implored her to go with them to a Women of Faith conference. One of the speakers at this event was a comedian/singer named Chonda Pierce, who eventually became a spokesperson for the National House of Hope. At the conference, Chonda began to share all the sad and terrible things she and her family experienced. In spite of those experiences she seemed to have such peace and joy, even though you could sense her pain. Chonda began to sing a song about hope, how much God loves us, and there is nothing so terrible that we could do that would cause Him to stop loving us. By the end of her presentation, Lori felt inspired. She rededicated her life right then and there to Christ and left the conference with a renewed heart. Lori sought counsel, worked through her issues and the following year attended the Women Of Faith Conference TOTALLY free of drugs and alcohol.

After that life-changing experience, in 2005, she felt lead to open up a home for hurting and broken teenage girls and their families, and began the work to open up House of Hope York PA. She reached out to the National House of Hope and began the process of becoming an affiliate and learning how to open a home in South Central Pennsylvania. In 2007, all of her hard work paid off when the doors to House of Hope York PA opened for parent education classes and non-residential counseling services in the community. In May, 2012, the Residential Home and Hope Academy opened for teen girls, giving them the chance to heal their heart wounds and learn that to be loved for who they are.

Sheri Picone – Hope Academy, Teacher | School Administrator

Sheri joined the House of Hope team in the summer of 2014 as a part time teacher for Hope Academy which is the school program for the residents. She now serves as the full-time teacher and administrator. As a teacher she tutors the girls in all their subjects, by answering questions, explaining concepts, and administering and grading tests. As the administrator, Sheri is responsible for assessing new residents to ensure they are placed at the correct academic level and coordinating the numerous classroom volunteers. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Sheri visits churches and organizations to speak about the ministry making the community aware of our needs.

Sheri’s teaching experiences comes from homeschooling her 3 grown children; all are now graduates from Pennsylvania colleges. During her numerous years of homeschooling she taught many classes in family centered co-ops. To date, Sheri continues to teach an extra-curricular science Envirothon class where she received the 2015 Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year Award from the York County Conservation District. Sheri has earned and maintains her A.C.E. Leadership Training Certificate which is issued through the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), the curriculum used by Hope Academy.

Sheri has always been involved in her church even as a young teen. She currently enjoys singing in her choir, attending the monthly ladies’ group and serves on the church Emergency Response Team. God has prepared Sheri during all those years of church service in feeling very comfortable speaking about the ministry.

When Sheri is not at work she enjoys walking her dog over their 13 acres property in southeastern York County. Over the winter months she gets her exercise by catching pick-up games of volleyball. During the warmer months of the year she enjoys canoeing, hiking, and biking with family and friends at their hunting camp in northern PA.

Becky Pearson – School Teacher

Becky joined the House of Hope staff in 2017 as a part time teacher at our school, Hope Academy. She provides tutoring to our teen residents as they move independently through their core subjects which are all at different academic levels. This includes answering questions, explaining concepts, administering and grading tests, leading devotions, and helping the girls work through issues or conflicts that may arise during the school day.

Prior to House of Hope, Becky worked as a Lab Assistant and Substitute Teacher for a homeschool organization, Kids Day Out Academy. She gained much of her experience as a Homeschool Mom to her children for ten years. In addition Becky served as a Youth Director at a local church for 5 years.

Becky is a graduate of North Central College with a BA in Biochemistry. During her senior year, however, she felt the calling to work with youth and young adults. She has been serving the Lord in those areas ever since.

Outside of her teaching time at House of Hope, Becky enjoys being involved in her children’s activities. Gardening and Cooking are ways she likes to relax as well as listening to her worship music. She attends New Freedom Community Church in Shrewsbury with her family.

 

Susan Kallstrom –  Director of Residential Programs

Sue grew up in Baltimore County, Maryland. After a year at Towson State University, she received a Medical Assisting degree from The Medix School. In Germany, she began a career as a medical transcriptionist at the Nuernberg Army Hospital. Upon returning to the States, Sue was youth group leader at her church In Maryland for a couple of years before moving to Pennsylvania in 1989. Sue raised three daughters, homeschooling all of them through to graduation (a 20 year journey!) and is now the joy-filled grandmother of two little boys. She was the founding director of the Summit Grove Day Camp program, after working with youth through the YMCA and Tennis for Kids. During a time of personal struggle, Sue received Biblical counseling and embarked on a journey with Jesus that has resulted in great healing. She has participated in Entrust’s Women-to-Women Ministry Training and recently participated in a Soul Care Equipping Conference. Sue is passionate about seeing people find freedom in Jesus and living in the abundant life He offers!

Krista Templeton – House Parent

Krista came to HOHYP in August 2018 after a career of relating to and connecting with people of all ages and walks of life in the customer service industry. Krista had been praying for a new opportunity to work and serve the Lord by helping others receive the mercy that God had given to her and within a day she received a phone call from HOHYP asking her to come for an interview with the opportunity to be a house parent. Krista is grateful God has given her the chance to love and serve others. Krista is the mother of teenage daughter, and volunteers at her church as a greeter, child care provider, and also aids with the women’s ministry.

Kandra Bellanca – House Parent

Kandra Bellanca joined House of Hope as a house parent in the summer of 2019.  She lives in the area with her husband and four children.  Kandra grew up in Delaware and then attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, remaining in Baltimore City for over a decade.  In 2014 her family moved to Southern York County.  She has been homeschooling her children since 2013 and has a variety of experience in teaching and working with children and leading educational organizations.  She is passionate about serving the Church, and has a special interest in understanding and helping teenagers.

Nikki Rhoads – House Parent

Nikki came to House of Hope in January 2013 after getting her associates degree in Biblical studies. After growing up in a chaotic and destructive environment, Nikki was a lot like the girls that seek help at House of Hope. Deeply in pain and in need of help, she sought help at New Life for Girls. It was here that Nikki realized the calling on her life to help young teens with a similar story to hers. By teaching the girls, structure, discipline, the Word of God, and how to receive God’s love, she feels she is able to prevent them from making the same mistakes that she did. Nikki loves working at House of Hope because the parents are required to do as much works as the girls. She feels confident that the work done here enables to the girls to go back into a healthy environment for continued growth rather than going back into a destructive one.

Kim O’Neill – House Parent

 

 

 

Julie Straughan – Counselor

Julie joined the House of Hope counseling team in 2018. In the residential program, Julie works with our teen residents, and their parents, to recognize and get “unstuck” from harmful behaviors and to replace them with healthy ones. Julie consults with medical doctors in evaluating and determining an individual approach for the resident. Julie supports parents during the weekly parenting class, where they gain insight and learn new skills to implement, and have in place, when their child has completed the residential program and returns home.

Prior to joining House of Hope, Julie previously worked 9 years in a private practice, as well as a Christian counseling service, providing therapy for individuals, marital counseling as well as parental and family counseling. Julie was also a therapist at Philhaven, a family based program, where she worked with severely emotionally troubled children/adolescents and their families. Her work involved helping families struggling with the effects of varying degrees of trauma, mental health diagnoses, developmental delay/autism spectrum disorder and addictive behaviors. Julie volunteered at Camp Joy-El as a Released Time coordinator, as a Sunday School Teacher and a Youth Group Leadership. Julie is currently serving on a startup committee with her church, to implement a program designed to help others experience freedom in Christ.

Julie’s educational background includes earning a Master of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Marriage & Family Therapy from Evangelical Theological Seminary, Myerstown PA. Julie earned her Bachelor of Science degree, Cum Laude, in Home Economics from Kansas State University. In addition, Julie is trained in Children & Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), is a certified administrator of Prepare Enrich Premarital/Marriage Enrichment testing and counseling, a certified administrator/evaluator for Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), completed a 3 year clinical training program administered by Center for Family Based Training Philadelphia and is a member of American Association of Christian Counselors, AACC.

Julie and her husband have 2 sons and a granddaughter. Julie enjoys gardening, baking, home renovation projects, camping, and thrift store shopping, and especially enjoys being a grandma.

Romans 12:12-13 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in in need…”

 

Tammy Ort – Events Coordinator

Tammy Ort joined House of Hope in June 2011 as a fundraising volunteer. Previous education and career experience in positions utilizing her creative, fundraising and administrative skills have served various capacities at HOH through the years. Tammy’s current position as Event Coordinator provides the challenge and excitement of planning and executing annual fundraising events and campaigns to grow and sustain the ministry. Her passion is met as she watches God bring healing and restoration into the lives of hurting teens and their families. Being part of a faith-based program and working with her “family in Christ” at House of Hope blesses and motivates Tammy to continue seeking new and inventive ways to use her spiritual gifts while serving the Lord.

 

Lisa Smith – Administrative Assistant

Lisa came to The House of Hope in search of counseling for her son Auston who was struggling. Inspired by what experienced at The House of Hope and the growth and change that her family had received from counseling, Lisa and her husband became volunteers to give back to the place that they had received so much from. After training, Lisa and her husband facilitated parenting classes and even became parents to one of the girls who could not go back to her home. With her background in HR, Lisa now helps in the areas of HR and Finance at The House of Hope York and delights in being part of a program that brings healing and wholeness to families and young women. Lisa and her husband both currently serve as pastors in their church.

 

Amy Reinholtz – Administrative Assistant

Amy came to HOHYP in February 2019.  Native to the York area, she returned home in 2016 after spending nearly a decade in New Orleans and a decade in Nashville.  Her journey with the House of Hope began with volunteer work, helping with peanut butter egg sales.  When the Administrative Assistant position opened up, she felt compelled to join such a God-filled ministry.  She feels blessed to be part of the restoration of teens and families.  Each day with the House of Hope challenges her and opens up an added opportunity to see the Lord at work.