John Hitchens
Founder, Board President
Founder and President, retired military fighter pilot who held numerous command jobs, retired management pilot and supervisory role for American Airlines, and Director of Operations of Therapy for a 12-facility nursing home organization in Southeastern Ohio.
Elizabeth Hitchens
Co-Founder, Secretary
Caregiver for over 30 years with several special needs children. Home schoolteacher of six children.
Karen Herdina
Vice President
Karen Herdina has a history of starting up new operations, rescuing failing projects and improving fledging departments. Her fix-it strength melded with her technology and operational experience is why Operational Performance Success (OPS) has been so successful.
Dana A. Dunmyer
Chief Information Officer
President of TQI Solutions, an IT company with clients throughout the world including GE, Boeing, and several large commercial banks and nonprofits.
David F. Petroni
Director of Operations for Buildings
An accomplished and dynamic leader with extensive experience and proven successes involving key decision-making and strategy in relation to real estate and finance. Able to develop real estate across multiple markets while navigating the complexity of organizational systems to create enterprise value. Adept at completing financial analysis of all prospective projects to determine funding strategy. Capable of managing the full scope of the real estate development process including financing, closing, and construction administration. Familiar with contributing to strategic planning and various other executive management processes. Expert at building relationships with State Agencies.
Larry Couchot
Accountant, Director of Finance
Upon completion of college in 1976 I joined Friendly Ice Cream Corporation in their management training program. The structure and depth of their training was excellent and enhanced my abilities. From January 1979 to January 1982, I worked at the accounting firm of Monnier & Co. in Sidney, Ohio where I served small business clients. In January 1982 I took a position as corporate controller for a plastic injection molding company with the opportunity for ownership in a growing industry. The economy of the early 80's and 20% interest altered the plans for the owner and decided to go back into Public Accounting. Although I enjoyed my time in the private sector, I realized how much more I liked the challenges that public accounting offered and with that I returned to public accounting with the firm of Cohen, Haught & Taylor/Norman in Dayton, Ohio. I spent the next seven years serving the clients and growing the firm. In December 1990 I moved on to start a public accounting firm that I have managed for 24 years. As I transition from public accounting into consulting and advisory services within the company, I join with my wife and continue to advise my many clients through the years at Couchot & Associates Inc and its successor names.
Richard Boucher
Legal Advisor
Richard has the additional advantage of experiencing the law from both sides of the judicial bench and employs this knowledge and background to better serve his clients. Since 1991 he has been an acting Magistrate of Kettering Municipal Court. In his capacity as Magistrate, he has conducted several hundred civil trials including small claims court. In addition to his work as an attorney and Magistrate, Richard was also the owner and operator of Augusta Title Agency, Inc., a full-service real estate title company, for over fourteen years.
Mariesa Brewster
Director of Community Awareness
Mariesa has worked in social media and marketing for several years across many industries. With a background in Marketing & Management Information Systems, she enjoys both the creative side of social media content creation as well as the strategic side of analyzing the results. She loves working with local small businesses and non-profit organizations to increase their brand awareness.
Justin Banks
Mentor and Leadership Development Director
Justin is a native Californian who transplanted to the Midwest in 2014. He is the father of a teenage daughter, a sponsor to men in the AA Recovery Program, and an advocate in the community for those who struggle with substance use and mental health disorders. He is compassionate and understanding as a social services provider with both a personal and professional understanding of mental health, substance abuse, and chronic homelessness. He also has years of sustained, successful customer service and Human Resource experience in the corporate arena. After several years of struggling with a personal addiction, the fall out that followed, and then the journey of recovery, Justin has found his calling by working with others to navigate their paths by sharing resources, experiences, and hope!
Jeff Stokoe
Lead Facilitator
Jeff believes that all people are infused with “Imago Dei,” the image of God. Because of that none of us are labels, rather we are beloved children of God and worthy of respect and dignity. Jeff’s life path has taken him to seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity; to serving churches in Indiana; to providing mental health counseling in Indiana and Ohio; to providing substance use counseling in Ohio; to providing leadership in non-profits who serve those experiencing challenges with their mental health, their struggles with substance use, and to those who experienced homelessness. He recently retired from full time work where he oversaw group homes for those with severe mental health challenges and housing for the those experiencing homelessness. Even though now retired he continues to serve in leadership as a pastoral counselor at SouthBrook Christian Church in Miamisburg, Ohio. When not working his enjoys being a husband, father and grandfather. He enjoys a passion for baseball and served as a Little League and high school umpire for 25 years. His family refers to him as the “Iron Chef” as he enjoys cooking, grilling and using his smoker – sharing meals with friends and family!