HOPE Toledo Adds Two New Staff Members to Support both HOPE Toledo Programs: Pre-K and Promise

Toledo, Ohio, June 28, 2022 — HOPE Toledo is proud to announce the addition of two new staff positions and the experts that will lead in this expansion. Autumn Parker has been selected as the HOPE Toledo community and family navigator and Monica Cardenas has been chosen as the HOPE Toledo family and engagement liaison.

“HOPE Toledo is growing and affecting real change in the community. We must expand our efforts to continue building our whole family approach and we are thrilled to welcome these highly-qualified individuals to our team,” said Rev. John C. Jones, president and CEO of HOPE Toledo.

As the community and family navigator, Parker will support the HOPE Toledo Promise scholars across their range of needs, in an effort to expand postsecondary education, access, and success for low-income and marginalized students across the city of Toledo.

Most recently, Parker worked for Michigan State University through the School of Education, served as a dual enrollment professor for Wayne County Community College and most recently transformed the College Readiness Program at River Rouge High School which is also her alma mater. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and was a recipient of the Bill Gates Scholarship in 2001. She attended graduate school at Wayne State University and has recently relocated from Michigan to reside in Toledo.

“I believe I am called to be of service to others and a resource for those in need. My years of firsthand experience working with underserved students and locating resources and services that aid in the advancement of students educationally and personally have led me to work for HOPE Toledo and its mission,” said Parker.

“The community and family navigator position is key to educating how HOPE Toledo’s two-generational college promise approach can become a model for other programs across the county,” said Shawna Woody, vice president of operations for HOPE Toledo. “Autumn will be an asset for integrating career pathways and working with new partners.”

This position is funded by the CoPro2.0 grant from the Kresge Foundation in which the HOPE Toledo Promise program was a recipient in the programming category. The goal is to achieve both postsecondary educational opportunities and targeted career and employment pathways for more students.

As the family engagement liaison, Cardenas will be central in supporting HOPE Toledo Pre-K Providers as they work to engage and support families in their child’s learning, development, and successful educational experience.

Cardenas’ career has always involved teaching and serving children. She taught preschool for nine years, while serving at her local church as the youth leader for the past ten years and as the district youth leader for the past two years.

“My passion is not only to help children but their families as well. Which is why I am here to support our families in making sure that they are receiving the adequate resources to ensure high-quality education for their children,” said Cardenas.

“The family engagement liaison is key to providers as well as families. Cardenas has the unique skill set to make personalized connections to community-based social support systems to bolster the health and well-being of the child and family while offering guidance and insight to the teacher, so the family is fully supported,” said Elisa Huss-Hage, the director of early childhood education for HOPE Toledo.

This position is funded by a grant from the Bainum Foundation which funds educational opportunities to help children exit poverty and provide the support needed for lifelong success.

For more information on HOPE Toledo, contact John C. Jones at john@hope-toledo.org.