Executive Director
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FRAN BOLIN
STAFF BIOS
director of development
Michelle Donachy has a B.A. in Social Work from Meredith College with a minor in Criminal Justice. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Policy, Planning and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her early years in practice were spent as a juvenile probation and parole office in Richmond, Virginia and working with the Henrico County Department of Community Corrections. She also has extensive experience working in correctional settings with both juveniles and adults in North Carolina and South Carolina. In more recent years, Ms. Donachy has focused her expertise in serving children and families through community-based services and as a Clinician with the Hanover County Community Services Board where she provided the highest level of case management services for children and adolescents at risk of being removed from the home or requiring residential placement. Michelle’s solid educational foundation and sound clinical and macro skills lend themselves well to her new role at AFOI. Ms. Donachy is the proud mother of three wild, but wonderful, boys. In her spare time she can be found adventuring (somewhere tropical, preferably), reading a good book, or soaking up all the moments with her children.
MICHELLE DONACHY
director of programs
After graduating from VCU with a B.S. in Administration of Justice, specializing in Juvenile Justice, Lisa began her work in child welfare and family advocacy. Working as a Program Coordinator with VEFC, she recruited and supported volunteer host families that provided short term shelter care to children and youth removed from their homes. During her time with VEFC, Lisa and her family also volunteered as hosts. Lisa later worked extensively with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) an agency that utilizes court-appointed volunteer advocacy on behalf of children who have experienced abuse or neglect, serving in both Chesterfield and Henrico Counties. Prior to joining the staff of AFOI, Lisa served as the McKinney-Vento Liaison for Chesterfield County Public Schools. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating the provision of services and support for students and families experiencing homelessness. During her 20+ year career, Lisa has collaborated closely with local Departments of Social Services, court systems, schools, and community service providers to help ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable populations are met.
LISA SIMES
program coordinator, Transportation
Saleem Abdul-Basir was born in Virginia, but raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He left high school and enrolled in the United States Army. Saleem earned his GED while in the military and then went on to earn multiple associate degrees, including one in general studies from Southside Virginia Community College, graduating with honors, and another in legal studies from Blackstone School of Law. He also completed the CISCO Networking Academy and holds a Comp/TIA certification, and a Teacher Assistant Apprenticeship certification. Saleem, from 2001 to 2013, was the mastermind behind the Annual African American History Contest, which was sponsored by Southside Virginia Community College through the Department of Education. The contest is administered to college students, community members, and inmates at Lunenburg Correctional Center in Victoria, Virginia, with the goal of increasing knowledge around African American history facts. In addition to his work with the history contest, he was an inmate advisor for a pilot program called Make It Happen, a program from Southside Virginia Community College initiated in 1998 to enhance the academic success of African American male students in an institutional setting. Saleem firmly believes that “education is one key to survival”.
SALEEM ABDUL-BASIR
program coordinator, video visitation
Chris Adams was born in Oakland, California. He moved to Northern Virginia, the Ashburn area, and graduated from Broad Run High School. Chris then attended California State University before moving back to Virginia and settling in the Richmond area. He began his career in customer service and has been working in this area for over 20 years. Chris joined AFOI five years ago working with our Saturday transportation services. Since that time he has joined AFOI full-time coordinating our Video Visitation Program. Chris has been married for 18 years and is a devoted father to two adult daughters and two dogs. He loves basketball, football and fishing; he is also an avid horror movie enthusiast and music lover.
CHRIS ADAMS
office coordinator
Meet Pame Adams - a wife and a mother of two amazing young women of whom she is very proud! She is also the furmom of two dogs, Lyncoln and Leilah. After numerous years in the restaurant and hotel industries, Pame obtained her degree in Hospitality Management. She is also a Community Event Planner, through her own up-and-coming non-profit organization C’WeetPeas Special Events. Being AFOI’s Office Coordinator has been an amazing journey for Pame so far! She believes this position has helped her find HER purpose and that is to serve the people of our communities to the best of her abilities. Pame’s goal is to be the helpful, supportive resource people need to move forward and progress in life. In the future, she hopes to further her education in the social work field. Pame truly believes that with AFOI anything is possible!
PAME ADAMS
program coordinator, family services
Previous to beginning this full time position at AFOI in July, Karen Beiber was a part-time employee with AFOI as a Program Facilitator at the Family Reunification House at VCCW (Virginia Correctional Center for Women). In 2022, she also worked as the lead volunteer to establish an AFOI Video Visitation Center in Charlottesville, which opened in January 2023. Karen has a B.S. in Elementary Education/Early Childhood from SUNY Fredonia, a M.S. in Counseling and Student Development from Radford University, and a Ph.D. in Family Studies/Gerontology from Virginia Tech. She worked as Assistant Dean of Students at Roanoke College, was on the faculty at Virginia Tech and Ohio University, and worked for non-profits in the Charlottesville area serving both homeless and elder populations. She has spent many years coaching youth sports and singing in community and church choirs, having directed the Charlottesville Women’s Choir for eight years. She and her partner Jeanine have nine grandchildren and held weeklong summer grandkids camps for 15 years at/near their home in central Virginia.
KAREN BEIBER
MSW FIELD SUPERVISOR
AFOI is thrilled to have Erin Dangerfield join our team as the MSW Field Supervisor for our VCU School of Social Work students! Erin obtained her MSW degree through the VCU School of Social Work in 2005, and has worked as a social worker in the community since 2001. Ms. Dangerfield is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and her professional experience includes working in public child welfare with Permanency Services and as a School Social Worker with Chesterfield County Public Schools. For the past five years, Erin worked part-time as a Family Engagement Specialist with families and students experiencing homelessness through the McKinney-Vento Program with Chesterfield County Public Schools. Erin has a passion for teaching social work to new students in the field. She has previously taught as an adjunct at Longwood University’s Social Work program and volunteered her expertise as a MSW Field Instructor with the Launch for Life organization. She also currently reviews MSW Admissions Statements for VCU part-time. Most of all, Erin enjoys being a mom to her three children and spending time with her husband of sixteen years. In her spare time, Erin most enjoys discovering new adventures with her family, eating good food, and reading fiction.
ERIN DANGERFIELD
project manager, video visitation
Tammy joined AFOI in July, 2023 as a Project Manager working in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Corrections and our video visitation program. She also works full-time for CENTS, a low voltage company based in Nevada, as a Strategic Planner and in Operations, leading the east coast office. Tammy brings with her a multitude of experience. Throughout her career, she worked in several markets including finance, manufacturing, heavy highway construction, legal and e-commerce. She is active in her community and volunteers for several organizations with her focus on veteran organizations. Tammy’s educational journey started at Butler County Community College where she achieved an Associates Degree in Business Administration. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. She achieved her degrees while raising three children as a single mother. Her next stop was LaRoche University in Pittsburgh PA where she graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Leadership. However, she did not stop there, she returned to the community college to graduate with an Associate Degree in Accounting. Her belief in education has Tammy attending trainings and taking classes whenever possible. When Tammy is not working, you can find her with a coffee in her hand, completing home renovation projects .
TAMMY HUGHES
program coordinator, childrens services
Constance Hull graduated with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Public Policy from the College of William & Mary. After graduating, Constance received a Fulbright award to study employment for people with disabilities in India and then served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Dallas. Constance has over eight years of experience researching issues related to the criminal and youth legal systems and working with system-impacted people. She spent four years as a student researcher at the Healthy Beginnings Project delivering nutritional counseling to pregnant incarcerated people. Later, she worked as a Policy Associate at Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, where for four years she researched various policies related to criminal and juvenile legal systems. Constance went on to obtain an MSW at the University of Chicago where she was a graduate research assistant at the Smart Decarceration Project, and an intern with the Federal Defenders of the Northern District of Illinois and with Chicago CRED.
CONSTANCE HULL
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