As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Michele brings vital experience to our board.  Her know-how has helped put new budgetary and accounting procedures in place, and the organization and its finances are much stronger for it.

Michele points out, “When asking donors for contributions and mentors to volunteer their time, it’s important for an organization to have strong internal controls and demonstrate responsible spending.  Even in a economy where charitable dollars are shrinking, an organization like BEST Kids can really shine by showing its current and prospective donors that each dollar is spent prudently.”

“My consulting background,” says Michele, “provided experience in a variety of industries, which helps me to identify strategies to employ and risks to mitigate.  It also helps me to focus on the initiatives best aligned with our mission, and what can be successfully undertaken within the limited resources available to the organization.”

Finally, Michele notes, “The most important element that attracted me to BEST Kids, besides the opportunity to help many DC foster children achieve personal and academic goals, was our dynamic executive director, John Palinski.  He is highly motivated, capable, resourceful, and efficient.  I look forward to working with John and my fellow board members to help BEST Kids reach out to more children.”

Lyle Wilson has been a BEST Kids mentor for almost four years and he’s been a supporter for even longer than that.  Over this time, Lyle has mentored two different youth and become a regular fixture at our monthly peer group meetings.  Lyle brings a remarkable life experience and insight to his mentoring.  “There is nothing theoretical about what I’m saying, because I’ve been there and I’ve seen it,” he says.

Having attended more than 20 different schools before completing his high school diploma, and growing up in circumstances similar to those of BEST Kids youth, Lyle can truly say that he understands and empathizes with some of the needs of his mentee. success story given similar circumstances provides a helpful reminder to our mentees.  As a mentor, Lyle believes his role is to provide the stability that his mentee’s life would otherwise lack.  Even in his toughest times, Lyle’s mentee, Peter*, can rely on him to be supportive and empathetic.

Unfortunately, several crises have challenged the life path Peter is attempting to follow in order to reach his goal of becoming a lawyer.  Throughout this, Lyle has supported Peter by keeping in frequent contact and taking him out as often as possible, thereby allowing Peter to experience new things and decompress from his challenging home life.

Despite the obstacles, Lyle and Peter’s relationship has become quite strong.  One particularly touching moment occurred when they were making plans to go out to dinner and study.  After some back-and-forth about meeting location and directions, Lyle realized that Peter was looking out for Lyle’s safety while in Peter’s neighborhood.  Peter’s thoughtfulness made Lyle and the BEST Kids staff smile a great deal.

BEST Kids understands that most mentors will enter the program with much less experience than Lyle; however we continue to feel fortunate for his commitment to his mentee, the program and the community of fellow mentors.

*Names of youth are changed to protect their identities.

BEST Kids is pleased to announce the appointment of John Palinski as Executive Director. In this position, John will run the day-to-day operations of BEST Kids, including managing mentor recruitment, support and training, supervising mentor-mentee matching and reporting and leading BEST Kids’ outreach and fundraising efforts.

John has spent the majority of his career in the youth development field, beginning with his AmeriCorps service in 2002, where he served at the National Runaway Switchboard, working through the Public Allies Chicago program. After his term of service, John was hired as the DC Program Director of Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP), a community-based organization committed to introducing youth to volunteer service through work with hungry and homeless people. At YSOP, John helped build a sustainable Washington program for this New York-based nonprofit. John left YSOP to pursue his Master’s degree in 2006, when he was chosen as the John Ben Snow Fellow in Nonprofit Management at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. As a Snow Fellow, John was responsible for coordinating four grant programs at the Central New York Community Foundation alongside his studies.

Upon graduation, John joined Common Ground Consulting LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in managing change for domestic and international NGOs. In this capacity, John traveled extensively, engaging clients in organizational assessments and board and staff trainings. This hectic travel schedule prepared him well for his next calling, as a Field Organizer for Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign. John’s work on the campaign began in Iowa and took him to South Carolina, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., Indiana, and Pennsylvania.  In February of 2009, John joined BEST Kids’ staff as Interim Executive Director.

According to BEST Kids’ Board President, Todd Leibbrand, “John has brought to BEST Kids a unique blend of capacity, know-how and willingness to roll up his sleeves, which makes him exactly the right person to lead BEST Kids now.” In fact, Leibbrand continues, “he has already increased our cohort of mentor candidates, energized our fundraising efforts, and enhanced BEST Kids’ relationships with the city agencies that oversee the welfare of children in foster care.”

For his part, John says that he is “excited to come to work each day, and humbled by the stories he hears about our mentors.” He explains: “Talking with mentor coordinators, mentors, mentees, and their caregivers, I am continually amazed by the positive role our mentors play in the lives of these children. The commitment of our mentors inspires me to help support them in any way I can. I look forward to doing that, and to recruiting quality new mentors so that we can provide that support to greater numbers of needy kids.”

John’s Master’s Degree is in Public Administration with a concentration in Public and Nonprofit Management. He also holds a B.A. in Economics from Grinnell College.

(March 2010)

BEST Kids has partnered with CFSA and has endeavored to raise awareness regarding the importance of foster care mentoring through an a city-wide event held on October 8, 2008 in which decision makers, including Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee of the District of Columba Council; The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring, Chief Judge of the Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; Marilyn Benoit, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School; and Dr. Roque Gerald, Interim Director of CFSA, gathered to praise the work of BEST Kids and discuss how to further improve the lives of foster care children through volunteer mentoring.

The child at the end of the clip was missing so many days at school his principal told our staff he wasn’t going to graduate from sixth grade. Our super mentor Stephen Lozano started mentoring him 10, 20 hours a month with weekly contact. He graduated from 6th grade. This past September this mentee then attended our peer group event with a Ritz Carlton chef. They learned how to make smoothies, omelets, waffles and lasagna. Now this mentee, as stated in this clip, wants to attend culinary school. There are several other kids that now want to be lawyers. Our kids are staring to imagine a different life story. A big step towards actually living a different life story. Enjoy Clip.

Steve Wiltse, co-founder and tax partner of Argy, Wiltse and Robinson, Inc., in McLean, VA, has joined the Board of Directors of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization Best Kids, Inc., whose mission is to provide high quality mentoring to foster care children in the District of Columbia. A primary goal of the mentoring is for each child to develop a positive, consistent relationship with a trusted adult who serves as a role model.

Wiltse was recently recognized by Smart CEO Magazine as a 2008 SmartCPA, nominated by clients based on leadership, expertise, and accomplishments in the profession. As a tax partner with Argy, Wiltse & Robinson, P.C., he is responsible for overseeing and managing proactive tax planning activities, addressing complex tax issues, and tax compliance services for closely held corporations and partnerships. “I am thrilled that Steve Wiltse has joined Best Kids to help make a difference in the lives of at-risk children. Best Kids, Inc. works to not only make a positive difference, but to help change the life story of these children and support them in becoming productive citizens,” says Todd Leibbrand, President of Best Kids, Inc. “Steve can provide needed expertise to Best Kids, Inc., and help us grow to the next level,” Leibbrand continues. Wiltse says, “I am pleased to support the mission of Best Kids, Inc. The work of this organization, through their cadre of dedicated volunteer mentors, staff, and volunteer psychologists, psychiatrists, educators, and board members, is truly saving lives of children who might otherwise be lost.”

About Best Kids, Inc., and Argy, Wiltse, and Robinson, P.C.

In mid-February, the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) awarded Best Kids, Inc., one of the first grants to provide mentoring services to children under a new volunteer mentoring model now in place. In 2010, the District of Columbia is moving from a system of paid mentoring to a system which contracts with organizations that provide longer-term volunteer mentors who are better able to develop positive relationships with the youth. Best Kids, Inc. starts with youth between six and 11 years old, and commits to provide mentoring to each child until the youth has graduated from school or is employed. For more information on Best Kids, Inc., visit www.bestkids.org . Argy, Wiltse, and Robinson, P.C. (www.awr.com ) is the fifteenth largest accounting firm in the Washington, D.C. area, and is in the top 100 in the nation. It has been recognized by numerous organizations as a top accounting firm. It has been consistently named as a “Top 100 Tax and Accounting Firm” by Accounting Today. As well, It has been named to the list of Top 100 CPA Firms in the United States by INSIDE Public Accounting and Public Accounting Report, as well as to INSIDE Public Accounting’s ‘Best of the Best,” a list of the best-managed accounting firms in the nation according to 25 criteria, from 2004 through 2009.