Most of the staff started out as volunteers who gave countless hours in the hopes that they would see more orphaned children placed into loving families. The team of volunteers is consistently growing to include many individuals who are passionate about the mission and willing to offer their time and talents to serve children. We currently have one full-time staff person and five part-time staff members.
Staff
Micala Siler, Executive Director
Micala Siler, the Executive Director, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2001. She commanded troops during two combat tours, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Sister to two adopted children from the US, her biological family also served as a foster family when she was a teenager.
Her experiences as a leader under pressure, her knowledge of project management, and her writing skills have proven to be highly effective in developing the A Family for Every Orphan team, establishing the organization’s infrastructure, and promoting the cause over the last six years.
She and her husband Jason currently live in Germany with their daughters Keira, Noelle, Cheyenne, and Natalie.
Sarah Wolfe, Chief Operations Officer
Sarah Wolfe served as a board member before joining the staff as Chief Operations Officer in 2011.
Her journey towards working with orphans and vulnerable children began several years ago when she graduated from Huntington University in 2005 with a degree in Psychology. She then spent three years as a case manager working with children at risk for delinquency and later working with low-income families, including a large immigrant population from Eastern Europe. During that time, Sarah recognized a growing passion for serving the people of the former Soviet Union and became the administrative assistant at Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries (now Mission Eurasia), where she coordinated meetings and travel for the leadership, facilitated communication between the US and affiliate offices in Russia and Ukraine, and assisted in the smooth running of the office.
Sarah received her MA in Russian and East European Cultures and Societies from the University of Manchester in November 2011. She and her husband Jared currently live in Steilacoom, WA.
Chelsea Elizabeth, Program Director for Asia and Africa
Chelsea has led AFFEO’s programs in Asia and Africa since 2014. Chelsea became involved in the orphan crisis while serving in Southeast Asia. She became known locally as the “orphan lady” as she connected hospitals with local orphan care NGOs, often rescuing abandoned children and finding placements for children with special needs.
In addition to her work in the field, Chelsea studied at Peninsula Community College, Seattle Pacific University and completed a Communication & Design course through the University of Nations in Switzerland. When she's not busy working for A Family For Every Orphan, she's pouring her energy and heart into Amma’s Umma, her online fair trade boutique that also raises funds for adoptions!
Chelsea and her husband Amith currently live in the Pacific Northwest. She is an adoptive mama to their sweet son from India, and hope to move back someday.
Olha Prytula, Program Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Born and raised in Kherson, Ukraine, Olha graduated from Teacher’s Training Institute with a bachelor’s degree in teaching English and German. Her alma mater provided not only the desire to master the languages but a love for children. Olha received an MA in practical ministries from Training Christian Ministers (TCM) Institute in Vienna, Austria. TCM got her excited to help people, big and small, to find their passion in life and follow it wholeheartedly.
In 2003 Olha was at the cradle of “My Home” in Kherson, Ukraine, an organization that helps children find families, provides educational trainings for adoptive parents and works with orphanages. Olga enjoys seeing children in happy families. It is a pleasure to be a part of the process of preparing and helping parents to adjust, to learn to trust, to develop relationships with kids.
Olha’s passions include photography, traveling, writing and horseback riding. Currently, she lives in Kiev, Ukraine.
Sarah Shaffer, Operations Manager
Sarah Shaffer’s journey to A Family for Every Orphan began at a young age through an international child sponsorship program, igniting a passion for serving our world’s most vulnerable children.
Sarah traveled to Malawi, Africa in 2005 and Cap-Haïtien, Haiti in 2010 to work with at-risk children, quickly learning about the world’s international orphan crisis. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations with a Communication Studies minor from Westminster College (PA). Her past work experience clearly reflects God’s plan to prepare her for a career at A Family for Every Orphan, ranging from banking, operations at a small magazine publishing company, and working as a community outreach coordinator through AmeriCorps.
Sarah is married to her college sweetheart, Jake, an Army JAG officer. She is involved in local foster care and spends her free time reading, practicing yoga, volunteering at her church, and spoiling her crazy pit bull-lab mix, Mikan. She currently lives in Waynesville, Missouri.
Volunteers
Elaine Springer, Coordinator of Pray for Every Orphan
Elaine Springer has a BS in nursing and works as a registered nurse in community health. She spent 25 years as a missionary with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) and Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries (PDRM) in several capacities including publications manager and editor/writer for a variety of radio programs and publications to English-speaking prayer partners and financial donors. She also taught English and practiced "friendship evangelism" for Soviet émigrés near Rome, Italy. In addition, she served as a liaison for exchanges between Soviet and American universities in the early '90's.
She has traveled to the former Soviet Union numerous times (twice with a music team!) and has written the biography of one of SGA's entrepreneurial missionaries. One of Elaine's favorite responsibilities was advocating prayer for The CoMission and its missionaries from the early through late '90s as contributing editor for The Chariot, a quarterly newsletter for CoMission supporters. (The CoMission was a collaborative effort of more than 80 Christian organizations to take the love of Christ to those living in the former Soviet Union.)
Elaine is passionate about prayer and is thrilled to encourage prayer for the World Without Orphans movement.
Sasha Parker, Volunteer and Former Board Member
Sasha's passion for the orphan was cultivated early in life while growing up in a large family of eight children that included two adopted sisters. Shortly after the birth of their fourth child, the Lord began to place adoption on the hearts of both Sasha and her husband, Mike. Over the past 4 1/2 years, Sasha and Mike have adopted three children-- one from the United States and two from Ethiopia. These experiences, along with her unique upbringing, have had a profound impact on her life-- enabling her to see the many unique facets of adoption.
Her heart has been expanded by walking alongside and witnessing the burdens of birth parents and seeing God's heart for the orphan both domestically and internationally. She considers it a privilege to advocate for the care and the cause of orphans worldwide and she encourages others to prayerfully consider how they may take part in bringing hope and redemption to the vulnerable and fatherless.
Sasha, her husband Mike, and their seven children reside in Wheaton, IL.
Joseph Leman, Volunteer and Former Board Member
Joseph Leman is a captain in the U.S. Air Force and serves as a C-17 pilot in Tacoma, WA. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Russian. He is currently completing his Master's studies in Aeronautical Science.
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Joseph is a 9th generation Alaskan. His family background has several generations of Russian influence. He returns each summer to commercial fish in a small Russian fishing village in Alaska to carry on the family tradition started by his great-grandfather. By listening to his grandfather speak Russian and by taking part in two high school mission teams to Sakhalin Island, Russia, God began to place a heart for the Russian people in Joseph. This love for their people was deepened when he spent a year during college ministering to college students and orphans in Samara, Russia. Joseph's bride, Erica, is a wonderful support to him. They have a two-year old daughter, Ruth, and a younger son, Isaac. He looks forward to the day when he will be able to introduce his family to the Russian culture.
Lindsay Meeker, Communications and Events Coordinator Volunteer
Lindsay and her husband, Warren, live in South Carolina with their 3 children, Lucy, Seamus, and Kendall, plus their 3 dogs, Curry, Greta, and Ranger.
She has an Associate's Degree in Education and has most recently worked in the medical field as an ER Technician and Unit Secretary. God's call on her life to work with orphans began about two years ago. She started working with the orphan care team at Eternal Church planning Orphan Sunday events and getting their Eternal Grace Adoption Fund off the ground in 2011. Lindsay and Warren traveled to Chichicastenango, Guatemala in July 2013 for missions and it was there that she realized that God was calling her into ministry as her career.
A Family for Every Orphan brought Lindsay on as an Intern in October 2013 and recently brought her on staff as the Communications and Events Coordinator. She has a passion for spreading awareness for the worldwide orphan crisis and desires to see every waiting child placed into a permanent loving family.
Raya Shelashskaya, Former Program Director for Eastern Europe and Volunteer
Raya started her journey serving kids in 2006 when she and her husband were invited to work as house parents at the Center of Family Care in Ukraine. They were able to provide 10 children with the opportunity to live in a healthy family environment until they were reunited with their biological parents or were adopted.
In two years Raya became the Director of the Center and remained in this position for the next 6 years. Within the last 7 years she has accomplished a number of educational trainings provided by the Institute of Human Services, Ohio, and Texas Christian University, Texas. Since 2009 Raya has been a National Trainer for foster and adoptive parents, and professionals who work with traumatized children. In 2006 she graduated form Kiev National University with a major in Management and is now getting her second degree in Psychology.
Raya and her husband Oleg live in Ukraine and have four wonderful children: 11 year old twin boys, a 2 year old son and an adopted daughter.
Trey Fryman, Volunteer and Former Board Member
Trey Fryman is a former board member who now volunteers for AFFEO. He's worked for the US Air Force for over 10 years and currently serves as a commander in a contracting squadron under the Air Force Installation Contracting Agency. Trey holds an MBA from the Naval Post Graduate school in Monterey, CA and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the US Air Force Academy. Trey served on the AFFEO board as Treasurer and improved the financial accounting systems. In addition to his financial background, Trey's passion for the world's most vulnerable children makes him a wonderful asset to AFFEO.
Trey, his wife Hannah, and their three beautiful children live in Germany.
