Christian for over three decades, Melanie M. Williams has been married to Trevor Williams since December 16, 1996, and together they have four boys, Adam, Ryan, Erik, and Neal.

Prior to getting married and having children, Melanie served her country as a diplomat with the Jamaican Embassy in Bonn, Germany, and at the Jamaica Mission to the United Nations in New York where she worked until the birth of her second child in September 2000.

Melanie has had the privilege of staying at home affording her the opportunity to follow one of her passions – writing.  Melanie is a published author of two children’s books.  She provides editorial service and publishing guidance to prospective Writers.

Melanie works part-time as a Program Assistant with Informed Families of Florida.  She volunteers her expertise serving on the Week of the Family Committee for over eight years, and  on the Foundation for Orange County Public School Committee.

In addition, Melanie has, for over 16 years, served with her sons’ elementary, middle, and high schools PTA/PTSAs within Orange County, Florida. She is a past President of the Orange County Council of PTAs/PTSAs, and currently, is the Secretary of the Florida PTA. She holds a Florida PTA Lifetime Membership Award for her commitment to the PTA mission and the community.

 Melanie is one of the Facilitators of the Sisters Bible Class that meets on Tuesdays at her home congregation, the Southside Church of Christ in Orlando, Florida, USA. She enjoys presenting encouraging, thought-provoking lessons on the Prayer Calls. She is passionate about serving with the Youth Ministry assisting with participation in Youth Conferences and programs.

Her hobbies are writing, reading historical and inspirational books, traveling, and importantly, serving others. Her heart’s desire is to surrender her life completely to God and to win souls for the Kingdom.

Yvette Shelton-Edmonds is the Founder and Executive Director of Inspired to Independence Incorporated. She is committed to eradicating generational poverty by helping nonprofit ministries understand and implement evidence based programs that help individuals and families break the cycle of poverty.

She has over 30 years’ experience in County Government across two states. Her career journey has taken her from providing frontline service as a licensed social worker to becoming the Administrator responsible for program planning, oversight, and evaluation. Prior to her role at Inspired to Independence she served the Central Florida community through her role at the Florida Department of Children and Families and Orange County Government where she was responsible for enhancing the quality of life, promoting self-sufficiency, and mobilizing resources for families.

Originally from Ohio, Yvette holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Education. She has received training from the leading national child and family experts such as the Annie Casey Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Child Welfare League of America, Council on Accreditation, and more. She is trained as a subject matter expert for the United States Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau and a community partner with the United States Department of Commerce Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She serves on a number of committees in the Central Florida region to help underserved populations with emphasis on strengthening families and community development.

What she values most is her faith and personal relationship with Jesus. Her relationship with Jesus allows her to grow in love and share that love with others. In addition to serving, Yvette enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, outdoor activities, and dreaming of ways to make the world a better place for everyone.

Elizabeth Rahter has been passionate about families (other than her own) since undergraduate school.  She enjoyed learning the complexities of the family dynamic in relation to communities and government, as well as within the home.  She continued that quest while studying for her master’s in public administration as well as her Juris Doctorate degrees at Brigham Young University.

Elizabeth started her government employment during summers through college and continued throughout law school and beyond.  She retired from government service when she started her family but has continued practicing law in the greater Orlando area for more than 28 years.  She and her husband, Rob, have four children and a nephew for whom they care and who bring them great joy in life.

Elizabeth has enjoyed serving on the Orange County Week of the Family Foundation since 2015, and feels it is just the right combination of everyone and everything she loves and has interest in!  Elizabeth is active in her local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and enjoys serving in many different capacities there like teaching and interfaith/government outreach. Service is her love-language.

In her younger years, Elizabeth served as a missionary in the Antwerp, Belgium mission and relishes any opportunity to speak Flemish or visit with friends from her time abroad.  She also enjoys tennis and travel and is an avid fan of any sport her children play or in any activity in which they get involved.  She loves learning and therefore loves listening, reading, and asking questions to find out what other people know and have learned. She enjoys being on the children’s school advisory committees and volunteering whenever she can.  She loves living in sunny Florida and soaking up the light from the sun and all the wonderful people around her, and hopefully, reflecting some of God’s light into the lives of those around her.

Suzanne Zeinfeld learned early in life that she was a people person and caregiver.  The oldest of five whose parents both worked, and growing up in a small town in Ohio gave her a real sense of what it meant to take care of family and the importance of community.

She graduated from Owens Technical College with a computer programming degree, but quickly learned that she did not want to sit in front of a computer all day. She wanted to be with people!  Suzanne continued her education receiving a degree in Business and Computer Science with minors in Finance and Accounting at the University of Toledo.  That opened doors to the retail and banking industry and eventually to meeting her husband of 30+ years.  She has lived most of her married life in Fort Worth, Texas, Virginia/DC area and now Orlando, FL.  While she has no children, Suzanne says she has had ‘children’ of the four-legged variety!

Suzanne’s interest in helping people and her love for animals led to an opportunity to volunteer at Loudoun Therapeutic Riding in Virginia where she assisted trainers with horses used as therapy for disabled children and military vets.  Wanting to give back to the wonderful horses that gave so much to the children and vets, Suzanne began training in the Masterson Method for Equine Massage.

It was there that Suzanne decided that it was more important for her to invest her time and money in local charities rather than big national organizations.  She felt strongly about supporting those in her own community where she could be part of the solutions and results could be seen first hand.

Suzanne is currently a mentor to a recipient of the Support Our Scholars program and assists with their fundraising efforts.  She is actively involved with the local Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization where she gets to build beds for children and use power tools!  She volunteers at Give Kids the World and supports other local organizations, such as Southern Cross Service Dogs, nonPareil Institute, Advent Health and The Faine House.  She also enjoys tennis, golf, travel, the beach and time with friends and family.

Suzanne believes that helping others to see and locate the resources and opportunities available gives them the ability to make choices that educate, elevate and empower them to improve themselves and their situation.  This builds a stronger individual which extends beyond to a stronger family and community.

Suzanne is often reminded of something that her high school band teacher once said… ‘We are only as good as the weakest member of this band.  It is ALL of our jobs to help each other if we want to be the best we can be’.  Words she lives by.

Kimberly Adamski serves as the Compliance Officer for the Florida PTA.  Prior to being an employee, she volunteered her professional knowledge, and time serving local PTAs/PTSAs in the positions of Treasurer and Vice President.

She is a PTA advocate and strongly holds to the PTA Mission “to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.”

She has a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (Computational Sciences, Psychology, and Elementary Education) from the University of Central Florida and an AA in Early Childhood Education from Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. She holds a valid Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion and complies with IRS AFSP requirements. Kimberly is the CEO of “ITaxYouRelax”.

She is mother to four wonderful children and resides in Orlando, Florida.

Elizabeth Wallis is all about families.  She has four children with her husband of 30 plus years.  She is a dedicated mom who has volunteered countless hours to making the schools and communities they lived in a better place.  She has been involved in both National Charity League as well as Boys Team Charity.  Both organizations teach teens to give back to their communities and the power that serving others brings into our lives.

All types of families have blessed Elizabeth’s life. The strength of the families she has met, as she has moved around the country, has been an inspiration.  She grew up in Utah and Houston and with her husband raised her children in Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Denver.  She currently resides in Orlando with her husband and is a recent empty nester.  She treasures having lived in so many different places as it has helped her appreciate the diversity and strength of all kinds of families.

Elizabeth loves spending time with her family talking, skiing, traveling, serving, relaxing and exercising.  She is an avid tennis player and enjoys playing league tennis in Orlando.  She loves to read, cook, travel and entertain family and friends.

Elizabeth has a bachelor’s degree in Travel and Tourism from Brigham Young University.  While there she had the privilege of studying in both London and Jerusalem.  She has traveled the world with her family and has loved exposing them to the unique cultures of the world.

Elizabeth is a life coach dedicated to reducing anxiety in families. She specializes in helping parents learn techniques which can improve their relationship with their children and empower their kids to go into the world and make a positive impact.

As a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Elizabeth has spent countless hours volunteering and serving in different capacities ranging from leading women and youth organizations to being a scout leader for young boys.

Elizabeth loves the mission of the “Week of the Family.”  She grew up in a family that had the motto “Families that play together stay together.”  Strengthening families through relationships, education, activities, fitness, and community service are right up her alley.