Healthy Start Staff
Healthy Start
Kristen Copenhaver
(She, Her, Hers)
Director of Grants Management
[email protected]
Kristen Copenhaver is the Director of Grants Management at The Family Tree Information, Education, and Counseling Center. She was previously the Healthy Start Project Director and has over 15 years of experience in working with women, children, and families. Kristen received a Bachelor’s of Applied Life Sciences Degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1998 and her Master’s in Counselor Education Degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005. She is also a Certified Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor.
Kristen is the proud single mother of two amazing young men. When her boys are not on the basketball court, Kristen loves to read. As a child, her love of reading started when her mother paid her a penny a page so naturally she started with the encyclopedias. She also enjoys spending time with family and getting together with friends. Originally, from a small town in southwest Missouri, Kristen relocated to Lafayette in 1994 to attend USL. After 25+ years, she considers herself an honorary Cajun.
Tonya Hoover, RSW, CLC, CD
(She, Her, Hers)
Healthy Start Program Manager
[email protected]
Tonya Hoover is a registered social worker with the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners, a Certified Lactation Counselor, and a Certified Doula. She attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA where she graduated in May 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Tonya’s primary focus in the field of social work has been supporting and empowering families with young children so they may achieve their greatest potential. She is passionate about making a difference in families’ long-term outcomes.
Tonya hails from the booming city of Natchitoches but moved to the Acadiana area over 20 years ago. Tonya enjoys spending time with her family and friends and doing fun things with her son.
Laurie LaFleur
(She, Her, Hers)
Community Action Network (CAN) Coordinator
[email protected]
Laurie was born and raised in Broussard, La. She is genuinely honored and overjoyed to join The Family Tree Healthy Start team as the Community Action Network (CAN) Coordinator. She has worked two previous tenors with The Family Tree Healthy Start Program from 2005-2010 and in 2014- 2016 when Healthy Start was relaunched and again in 2023. Her previous experience of over 15 years with the Healthy Start program and other non-profits will be vital to making connections with the community to create new and lasting relationships and collaborations. Her unwavering commitment remains dedicated, strong, and passionate to fulfilling the mission of The Family Tree Healthy Start program. She is fully dedicated to serving and meeting the needs to provide community resources for mothers, babies, and families in our community. Laurie and her husband Chris, enjoy traveling, home projects, traveling with Chris’ Cajun band, sharing quality time with their 3 beautiful grandchildren, and daughter and son-in-law, and rescue cat Kalle.
Jasonnaye Wilson, CBS
(She, Her, Hers)
Community Health Worker/Outreach
[email protected]
Ms. Jasonnaye Wilson was born in California. The “spoiled one” of the crew due to being the youngest child and the only girl out of four children.
After losing her first child to SIDS, she was overcome with grief and gave up on high school. However, she found the determination to go back and with faith and hope, she graduated high school at William Daylor High School in 2018. Ms. Wilson continued to beat the depression that was constantly trying to take over her mind, body, and soul. The grief never stops but she is determined to beat the odds.
She now serves as the full-time Community Health Worker for the Healthy Start Program. Being a former participant in the Healthy Start Program made her believe she had a purpose here. Her goal is to do all she can to make other parents aware of not only SIDS but also infant mortality. She is also determined to help parents give their families a better, healthier life.
Everything she does is dedicated to her late son, Najea Jr., and her beautiful daughter. She is determined to achieve great things, including opening a nonprofit that focuses on SIDS and SUIDS deaths. She will not let Najea Jr.’s death be in vain and hopes that by sharing her story, she can bring awareness and hopefully save a child’s life.
LaShanaa Brown, MS, Psy.M
(She, Her, Hers)
Case Manager Supervisor
[email protected]
LaShanaa Brown is one of the Case Manager Supervisors for the Healthy Start program here at The Family Tree. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Child and adolescent development. She has over 7 years working with families, children, and women in the mental health field. Her work during this time and her strong passion to help build strong healthy families ultimately guided her to shift gears. As a supervisor for Healthy Start, she is currently helping assist families with challenges raising small children.
LaShanaa truly believes that the most important part of building healthy families is ensuring they have the tools, resources, and knowledge to do so. Some of her favorite pastimes include traveling, selling homes as a licensed Louisiana realtor, and spending time with her mother and amazing daughter.
Amber Savoy, LSP, CPST, CBS
(She, Her, Hers)
Lead Case Manager
[email protected]
Ms. Amber Savoy was born and raised in Breaux Bridge, LA. She obtained her bachelor’s in Child and Family Studies with a minor in Sociology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Amber finds great joy in helping families find the services they need. Her creative and innovative thinking, coupled with precise attention to detail has enabled a long history of working with individuals with developmental disabilities. She is excited to take this experience and work with a variety of families to locate appropriate resources for every individual in the family unit. Amber is passionate about improving the quality of life of families here in the Acadiana community and looks forward to continuing her education so that she may better serve families in her community.
Amber truly believes that family is one of the most important things in a person’s life. Her greatest passion in life is spending time with her husband and daughter making beautiful memories. In the rest of her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, fishing, and riding in their boat.
Jasmine Ledet, LSP, CPST, CBS
Case Manager
[email protected]
Ms. Jasmine Ledet was born and raised in Lafayette, La. She Recently Graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette majoring in Child and Family Studies with a minor in Psychology. Growing up Jasmine always had the passion of teaching and giving back to the community. When Jasmine has free time, she loves to travel and spend time with family and friends. During her internship with The Family Tree Healthy Start Program, she loved helping families and encouraging others.
Destiny Broussard
(She, Her, Hers)
Case Manager
[email protected]
Ms. Destiny Broussard was born and raised in Opelousas, LA. She obtained her bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Sciences with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Destiny is compassionate and dedicated working with individuals struggling with mental health. In her time at UL Lafayette she helped start an initiative for students to be able to observe Mental Health Day in the upcoming 2023-2024 Academic School Year. She is committed to providing top quality care and personalized service to each individual. Working as a team and utilizing all appropriate resources is something Destiny finds beneficial to help support individuals/families.
In her spare time she loves being with family and friends as she starts her journey for MSW at Louisiana State University.
Devon Espree
(She, Her, Hers)
Case Manager
[email protected]
Mrs. Devon Espree was born and raised in Carencro, Louisiana. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Behavioral Sciences with a minor in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Devon is passionate about education and mental health and loves being able support the advancement of women in any way possible. She is married with 3 children ranging from 10 to 4 years old. In her downtime she enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her family.
LaShanaa truly believes that the most important part of building healthy families is ensuring they have the tools, resources, and knowledge to do so. Some of her favorite pastimes include traveling, selling homes as a licensed Louisiana realtor, and spending time with her mother and amazing daughter.
Lauren David, BSN, RN, IBCLC, RLC
(She, Her, Hers)
High-Risk Clinician
Lauren is a Registered Nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She joined The Family Tree as the High-Risk Clinician in 2023. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Louisiana @ Lafayette (2002) and was originally certified as an IBCLC in 2011. She has also had special training in infant feeding issues through Chrysalis Orofacial’s TOTS (Tethered Oral Tissues) Specialty training program, which allows her to better identify and assist mother/baby dyads who are having difficulties with breastfeeding.
Lauren has over 20 years of experience in Maternal-Child services, working as a nurse in labor and delivery/nursery, as a public health nurse with the WIC & KidMed programs, and as a lactation consultant for a local hospital’s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. She has her own lactation private practice, Drops of Hope Lactation and Wellness Consulting, where she visits families who need specialized support with breastfeeding. In the community, she serves on the Boards of both the Acadiana Breastfeeding Coalition & Family Strong Foundation.
Lauren’s current role with The Healthy Start Program as High-Risk Clinician involves meeting with mothers who have a high-risk medical or nutritional condition to help clarify any questions or concerns they may have and develop a care plan for a healthy pregnancy, mother, and baby. She is also available for lactation consults to help with any specialized breastfeeding concerns.
Born and raised in Marksville, LA, Lauren moved to the Acadiana area for college in 1998, met her soulmate, and has been here ever since. She and her husband, Shawn, have 3 very active children who keep them busy and running every day of the week. In her few moments of downtime, she enjoys cooking, audiobooks, and sharing the wonders of natural solutions through essential oils.
Shelly Daigle, M.S., M.Div., LPC, PMH-C
(She, Her, Hers)
Mental Health Clinician
[email protected]
Ms. Shelly is a licensed professional counselor and is perinatal mental health certified (PMH-C). She joined The Family Tree as the mental health case manager in the fall of 2019. She holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Oklahoma State University (2019) and a master’s of divinity from Claremont School of Theology (2004).
Shelly is passionate about supporting families through the transition of parenthood, whether that is welcoming their first or sixth child. She regularly utilizes her training as a counselor, breastfeeding specialist, and doula to help her empower moms in Acadiana through individual, couples, or family counseling, support groups, and postpartum phone calls. Shelly seeks to support her clients through a person-centered, strength-based, and self-compassionate approach. She has also been trained in EMDR and is interested in the interplay of attachment, brain development, and trauma and how those connections can impact the therapeutic relationship and work.
Shelly has lived throughout the U.S. before relocating to Lafayette with her family in 2019. She previously worked in the leadership of local churches, with domestic violence organizations and foster care agencies. She and her husband, Adam, are raising 4 dynamic children. While she has been married to her Cajun husband since 2011, she is learning more about the food and fun that comes with living in Cajun Country.
Christopher Lazard, CD, CBS
(He, Him, His)
Fatherhood Coordinator
[email protected]
Christopher Joseph Lazard was born in Opelousas, LA. Chris attended LSUE and All Nations Biblical Study Center. In 2010, Chris accepted the call to preach and in 2014, he brought to fruition the Spirit of Elijah Life Institute Church where he is the Founder and Senior Pastor. Learning to cope after the suicide of his cousin, Dominique Domino in 2016, Lazard started the Domino Effect – an organization geared towards the prevention and education of suicide. He is also the owner and operator of Lazting ImpressionZ LLC. Since the age of 12, Chris has played the piano, which helped him in the transition of becoming both a recording artist and a songwriter. His love for the betterment and empowerment of the world led him to the social service field. In his spare time, he enjoys singing, writing, traveling, and laughing whenever the chance presents itself. If asked what he is doing, his response would be “I’m trying to make the world a better place!”
Skasa Rideau
(He, Him, His)
Fatherhood Case Manager
[email protected]
Skasa Rideau was born in Mamou, LA, and raised the majority of his childhood in Lake Charles, LA. Skasa attended McNeese State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 1999. Since graduation, Skasa has taken on various management and supervisory roles helping to build his desire and ability to lead, mentor, and coach people of various backgrounds and experiences.
After getting married in 2001, Skasa relocated to the Lafayette area where he has resided for the last 21-plus years. He and his wife are the proud parents of two exceptional kids, one boy and one girl. Spending time with his family in any capacity is his top priority. When not working or going from one extracurricular event to the next, Skasa enjoys reading and writing. He has written one book of poetry, published in March of 2022, addressing anxiety, trauma, and toxic mindsets on other topics. He is a strong advocate for those who struggle with past or current trauma, particularly from loss of any type and/or lack of parent involvement. Upon being presented with the idea of helping to curve the negative impact(s) associated with the lack of father involvement, Skasa was eager to become part of the solutions provided by the Family Tree Healthy Start program.
Mayci Doucet
(She, Her, Hers)
Community-Based Doula Coordinator
[email protected]
Mrs. Mayci Doucet was born and raised in Carencro, Louisiana, and has relocated to Scott. She is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she received two Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Sociology and English Linguistics with a minor in Spanish. After graduating, she joined The Family Tree team and was a case manager for the Healthy Start Program for one year before being promoted to the Community Action Network (CAN) Coordinator. Her volunteer and professional experience has fueled her desire to help moms and families recognize and reach their full potential by not just surviving through life but thriving.
Mayci is happily married to her college sweetheart, Joshua. Her favorite pastime is exploring the world with her husband. Lastly, her long-term goals are to earn a master’s degree in social work and apply all of the Healthy Start knowledge to a family of her own.