Leadership
Our People Are Our Strength
Our mission of inspiring and empowering women, men, and children to overcome violence, crisis, and poverty begins with our staff. These talented individuals come from a wide variety of backgrounds and educations.
Laura Hilgart
President & CEO
Laura Hilgart joined The Women’s Center in 1979, serving as Director of Programs & Services and Development Director before assuming her position as CEO in 2004. Under her direction, the agency’s annual budget grew from $2,300,000 to $5,100,000, a new larger state-of-the-art facility was constructed, a foundation to sustain The Center’s future work was established, and an earned income venture was launched to support annual operations.
Cathy Phelps
Vice President & CFO
Serving as The Center’s Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2006, Cathy Phelps, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is responsible for managing all Human Resources, Accounting, Facilities and Business Operations, as well as overseeing The Center’s $5 million budget. Under her leadership, The Center celebrated more than a decade of clean audits and received national certifications for transparent fund allocation & accounting systems. She played a lead role in the planning and construction of The Center’s main facility and recent renovation.
EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS
Terri Rios
Director,
Employment Solutions
Terri Rios joined The Women’s Center in 1988 as a case manager, and in 1992, she became the Director of Employment Solutions. In this role, she implemented the Working Family Success model throughout the program, which utilizes career coaching, financial coaching and resource connection to help families achieve financial sustainability. Terri serves on the Workforce Solutions Adult Education & Literacy Consortium, Tarrant County Homeless Coalition Employment & Education Committee, and the Working Families Success of North Texas Advisory Council.
Michelle Robinson
Assistant Director of Employment Solutions
Michelle Robinson, began with The Women’s Center through a partnership with The Parenting Center, helping families create financial stability while enabling their relationship skills. Under her leadership, she is responsible for expanding and improving service to the Spanish-speaking community by translating all of the Employment Solutions curricula.
GENERAL COUNSELING
Sherri Chapell-Pratt
Director,
General Counseling
Sherri Chapell-Pratt, LCSW-S, has been the Director of General Counseling Services since 2002. She supervises the program’s individual and group counseling, the Helpline, Legal Clinic and the innovative PEARLS program – a specialized program that helps older adults overcome depression and social isolation. She also oversees the collaboration of services with Cook Children’s for homeless families and with Fort Worth Independent School District for specialized youth counseling.
Latha Shrivatsa
Assistant Director of General Counseling
Latha Shrivatsa, LCSW-S, began working at The Women’s Center as a therapist in 2014 and now serves as the Assistant Director of General Counseling. She facilitates the Women’s Support Group, oversees clinical staff, and supervises interns. Her specialties include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
RAPE CRISIS & VICTIM SERVICES
Deborah Caddy
Director,
Rape Crisis & Victim Services
Deborah Caddy, LCSW, began her tenure with the Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program in 1986, when she designed and implemented a treatment program for sexually abused children and adolescents. She took over as the program’s director in 1989 and oversees crisis intervention, counseling for survivors of sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, legal services for victims, and violence prevention and education. She is involved in several community collaborations and coalitions, and is the consummate advocate for the rights of sexual abuse/assault survivors within the medical, educational and legal communities.
Katharine Collier-Esser
Assistant Director of Research and Training Services
Katharine Collier Esser, MA, NCC, LPC-S, LCDC, manages the Community Education team, who provides professional and adult trainings on interpersonal violence issues and administers the Play it Safe!® child abuse prevention program. Since 2005, Katharine has worked in the field of sexual violence and is passionate about ending sexual assault and interpersonal violence through education and training. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor.
Sylvia Duarte
Assistant Director of Legal Services
Sylvia Duarte, J.D., joined the Women’s Center in 2021, representing and advocating for survivors of sexual and domestic violence in the family court system. This includes helping survivors obtain protective orders, as well as providing representation in divorces and custody proceedings. She also helped expand the services offered by the legal department to include representing survivors in Title IX cases involving local universities.
Alisha Mathenia
Assistant Director of Crisis Services
Alisha Mathenia, MPA, oversees the operation of the 24-hour Rape Crisis Hotline, hospital accompaniment program and office walk-in services. She supervises the Crisis team, which consists of full-time Hospital Advocates and Case Managers as well as volunteer and staff Victim Advocates. Additionally, Alisha serves as a community liaison between local law enforcement agencies and area hospitals.
Becka Meier
Assistant Director of Clinical Services
Becka Meier, M.ED., NCC, LPC, joined The Women’s Center in 1998, and currently supervises the clinical counseling staff in the Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program. She is also involved in several community collaborations, including the Tarrant County Sexual Assault Awareness Coalition and the Mental Health Connection. Becka is passionate about advocating for the importance of trauma-informed and evidence-based services in our community.
DEVELOPMENT
Jasmine Folan
Director,
Grant Administration
Jasmine Folan joined The Center in 2014 and serves as The Center’s Director of Grant Administration. She oversees government, local and private foundation grant funding as well as agency-wide data management, evaluation & performance reporting. Jasmine coordinates The Center’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, a staff task force responsible for helping management promote and advance a culture of equity and inclusion throughout The Center’s programs & business operations.
Chrisee Huffman
Director,
Development
Chrisee Huffman has been with The Women’s Center since 1997, serving as the Volunteer Coordinator and Volunteer and Events Director before becoming the Development Director in 2011. She oversees private fundraising, special events, the volunteer program and marketing. Additionally, she supervises the sale of Play it Safe!® curriculum outside of Tarrant County to earn revenue for our local program. Chrisee also coordinates the agency’s technology team, which oversees how to innovate services by using more efficient technology.