Everyday, CASA volunteers do extraordinary things to help children in our community. The stories are heartwarming, especially compared to the stark realities of the world and the difficulties so many children face in their own homes. Every CASA volunteer is a real hero. At a recent volunteer appreciation event held to show appreciation for all our local CASA volunteers, every volunteer from the recently sworn-in, to the one serving more than 40 years, was recognized and thanked for their work to give a voice to abused and neglected children in the community. Special awards were given to volunteers who have taken their service to the next level.  

Outstanding Newcomer Awards were given to Julie Bomstad, Tomilynn Clark, Georgi Shalhoob, Catherine Traylor and Casey Whisenand. The Newcomers are CASA volunteers who have been at it for two years or less and have hit the ground running. They have worked multiple cases at the same time, out of state relative placements, teen parents, and large separated sibling groups. Several also serve as educational decision makers and peer coordinators, and sit on interview and training panels in addition to other exceptional acts. Tomilynn Clark used her Mrs. America platform to help raise awareness of CASA’s mission.     

Outstanding Service Awards were presented to five CASA volunteers, who have provided outstanding service to abused and neglected children for more than two years. They have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to child advocacy and to promote the mission of CASA. These volunteers anticipate the needs of their CASA children and make things happen.

Since April 2018, Jennifer Edwards has been on 100-plus outings with her assigned children in three different cases. She goes the extra mile, or in her case the 1,500 miles, once driving to Wyoming to help a child. Jennifer is also a peer coordinator. In past years, Jennifer also played a pivotal role through an organization to ensure children in foster care were approved for tutoring services.

For more than six years, Debi Gallo has been a CASA volunteer.   She has been a court monitor for almost two years and a peer coordinator of 10 plus volunteers for over a year. In the past two years, Debi has served on the Champions for CASA Board of Directors, and served on the planning committee for several CASA retreats and statewide CASA conferences. Debi also sits on the Nevada CASA Association’s Legislative Committee and assists with CASA interviews panels.

Dorina Goetz has been a CASA volunteer since 2019. Her motto is, “you’re not living if you’re not giving.” She has been assigned to eight cases involving 13 children, ages three months to older teens, single children and sibling groups. In addition to her own CASA cases, Dorina has been a peer coordinator for 10 plus volunteers since May of 2021. Her peers include at least six volunteers whom she, herself recruited to become CASA volunteers. Using her own contacts, she was able to coordinate with two NFL players to sport the Las Vegas CASA Program with My Cause My Cleats in 2023. Dorina talks about our CASA Program whenever and wherever she can including media interviews and trainings. She has also hosted multiple Lunch & Learn events.

Timothy Jackson has been a CASA volunteer since May 2019. He is assigned to two teen children, in separate cases. Tim has also taken on additional responsibilities as a peer coordinator and has maintained an active role as an education decision maker for his children. Tim has been the consistent and persistent presence in the lives of his CASA children who have been through multiple placements. Tim also served as a Guardian Ad Litem to assist with a legal issue involving one of his youth, who needed additional support to pursue death benefits following the death of a parent.

Since 2014, Janice Morton has volunteered on six cases, involving 13 children. She has been on her current case for 4.5 years, initially representing a sibling group of four teenage girls. Although two of the teens aged out of care one year ago, Janice continues to maintain the sibling bond by facilitating visits whenever possible. Following their long-term relative placement disruption, Janice spends time visiting the teens, almost weekly, even though they are placed in separate foster homes, on opposite sides of town. As a recently retired educator, Janice has always prioritized and followed the girls’ academic progress and most recently decided to become the educational decision maker for one of them. She has taken steps to prepare them for independent living and connected them with resources to assist with their career goals.

The 2024 Award of Excellence went to Marcela Gutierrez who has been a CASA volunteer since 2017, and has demonstrated an unfailing pursuit of permanency for her CASA children, despite many obstacles. Marcela has supported several cases at a time, including a sibling group of five. Her energetic personality helps her connect with youth of all ages, many of whom she continues to maintain great relationships with after their cases are closed. She has taken extraordinary measures to help and protect children.

In addition to working her own cases, Marcela is also a peer coordinator, sits on interview panels, helps with training and has done media interviews to help build awareness in the community. In addition to her CASA advocacy, Marcela supports other volunteer organization like the VA, USO, CCSD and AARP.  

This is just a snippet of how these and all our CASA volunteers show up to make kids’ lives better. They go above and beyond because they want to. They know they are making a real difference that will ripple for generations. We invite others who want to have that same type of impact to consider becoming a CASA volunteer. Visit casalasvegas.org to volunteer or learn more.