Meet the Team

Kim Eckel
Founder and CEO

Kim Cauley Eckel is the CEO of Footbridge for Families and founded the organization in order to fill a much needed gap in our society’s safety net.

Kim has been the Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Allegheny County’s Office of Children, Youth and Families, the state’s Young Child Wellness Coordinator for Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health), and earlier, a Senior Advisor in the Office of Data Analysis, Research and Evaluation at Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services. Kim spent nearly a decade in management consulting at the beginning of her career.

She holds a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University, an M.Sc. in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston College.

KimberlyEckel@afootbridge.org

Deirdre Riely
Director of Operations

Deirdre is the Director of Operations at Footbridge. She has a history of volunteering and believes that all people deserve support in times of need.

Prior to joining Footbridge, Deirdre has worked as an assistant project manager for an online brokerage firm and recently worked at Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation in Mountainside, NJ, where she assisted with aspects of the foundation operations. Working for CSHF fostered her passion for helping children and families facing difficult circumstances.

Deirdre holds a B.A. in History from Yale University, a Diploma in Business Studies and Information Technology from University College Dublin, and a Masters in Accounting from Seton Hall University.

DeirdreRiely@afootbridge.org

Jeff Wolstoncroft
Director of Fiscal Services

Jeff joined Footbridge for Families, as he feels everyone needs a path across the turbulent waters of life. Jeff ‘s role as Director of Fiscal Services for Footbridge is to help ensure Footbridge is capable of providing all families that footbridge across to a more stable stage in life. 

In addition to Jeff’s role at Footbridge, Jeff is a senior manager at H2R CPA where he advises organizations or all types including his passion, nonprofit organizations.

Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and received his B.S. in accounting from Westminster College.
JeffWolstoncroft@afootbridge.org

Deb Stuligross
Director of Technology

Deb coordinates technology and related areas for Footbridge for Families. She became enamored with the mission of Footbridge to help families stay together, particularly in times of acute need, and is looking forward to helping Footbridge achieve that goal.

Along with her Footbridge role, Deb serves as an Executive In Residence with The Forbes Funds, where she helps nonprofit executives improve how they prioritize and implement investments in technology. Deb also serves on the working group of the Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable and on the boards of the Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition and Fine Art Miracles.

Deb’s prior career included many years building a software startup, then stints in corporate IT, followed by helping to launch Holy Family Academy (now Nazareth Prep). She has a B.S. in industrial engineering and M.S. in operations research from The Pennsylvania State University.

DebStuligross@afootbridge.org

Jessica Mullen
Case Administrator

Jessica joined Footbridge for Families in March of 2022 as a Case Coordinator. Having the opportunity to carry out the organization’s vision and mission solidified her belief that Footbridge is where she is meant to be and in October 2022, she was promoted to become the first-full time Case Administrator to support the organization’s growth.

Jessica leads our Case Coordinator team to ensure the delivery of quality services to our Caregivers and Referral Partners.

Prior to Footbridge for Families, Jessica was an Account Manager at a leading home warranty company. Jessica’s hobbies include spending time with her husband, daughter, and grandson, as well as crafting personalized greeting cards, signs, and banners. JessicaFish@afootbridge.org