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

Kelly Behan
Director of Operations

Kelly Behan joined Footbridge for Families in 2021 drawn by the passion of the Footbridge community and the importance of the mission itself: to provide rapid assistance before a financial predicament snowballs into a larger issue, avoiding undue trauma for the parents and children.

Kelly’s previous careers include Strategic Procurement at Alcoa and, as a consultant at IBM, with PMOs for large healthcare projects. She has been certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). Outside of work, Kelly is active as the Chairman of the Board for the Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA) and is a mother of four. She has her B.S. in Supply Chain and Information Systems Management and a minor in International Business from The
Pennsylvania State University.
KellyBehan@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

      Val Chavis
      Director of Community Engagement

Val Chavis has helped lead Footbridge since Footbridge was just an idea. Ms. Chavis has served the organization in multiple roles: on the Advisory Commitee, as a Case Coordinator in times of need, as a Board Member, and currently she consulting as the organization’s Director of Community Engagement. 

In her full-time role, Ms. Chavis is also the Service and Outreach Coordinator and Early Childhood Community Collaborative Coordinator for The Center for Parents and Children at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a former Co-Director of The Pittsburgh Study and now serves as the Community Liaison of the Pittsburgh Study core team. 

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