Damon Cates, Ed.D

Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, Chief Advancement Officer

A leader in the fundraising field, Cates has more than twenty-five years of substantial experience in building and leading philanthropy and constituent engagement efforts.

Dr. Cates joins One Hope United from the University of Chicago, where, for over 18 years of service, he led alumni relations and development programs for several of the University’s academic units. Cates also served as the director of the University’s last multi-billion-dollar university-wide fundraising campaign. In addition to UChicago, Cates has also held leadership fundraising positions at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University.

Cates is a sought-after speaker and regularly presents at fundraising conferences. Cates has also recently published articles on enhancing constituent engagement and building organizational capacity. Cates received a BA from Millikin University, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and an EdD from the University of Pennsylvania.

Chris Nordloh

Interim Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer

Chris Nordloh brings 15 years of experience promoting and instilling strong business practices in the health and human services sector. In his 8 years at Chicago Commons, 5 as CFO, he helped change Commons’ trajectory from bankruptcy to thriving. As CFO and later Chief Strategy Officer at Aunt Martha’s, he oversaw traditional finance areas, mergers, marketing, and the construction of two new health care centers. Chris joined One Hope United in 2015 to help manage projects, including the management of the Conscience Community Network. Chris has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MA from the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College, and a BA from New York University.

Nicole Dunham

Chief People Officer

Nicole Dunham is an accomplished Human Resources professional with 23+ years’ experience in for profit and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise includes recruitment and retention; performance/talent management; training and development; employee relations; organizational culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; compensation and benefits; compliance and continuous improvement; and strategic planning and organizational development.

Nicole served most recently as Chief Human Resources and Compliance Officer for PrimeCare Health, a federally qualified community health center that delivers quality, affordable care to medically underserved populations on Chicago’s West and Northwest sides. Nicole has also served as Vice President, Human Resources at Illinois Action for Children, a leader in early education and other family and community supports. She holds a BA in Organizational Communications/Marketing and an MS in Human Resource Development from Indiana State University. She has also earned an MA in Organizational Leadership at Lewis University, a Graduate Certification in Training and Development at Roosevelt University, and is a SHRM Certified Professional.

Dennis Delgado

Executive Director, Community-Based Family Services

Dennis Delgado, LPC, NCC, Executive Director of Community Based Family Services (CBFS) has served OHU in various capacities over the past ten years. Dennis began his career with OHU working in Youth Outreach Programs while simultaneously employed as a psychiatric technician assisting children and adolescents with their mental health needs. In his tenure with OHU, Dennis has transitioned to several leadership roles including Director of Programs and Senior Vice President. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and 15 years’ experience in child welfare/community services, Dennis leads CBFS state-wide programming, consisting of Intact Family Services, Foster Care, Behavioral Health, and Youth Outreach. As a first-generation minority of the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, Dennis is an advocate of the Latinx movement and social justice reform. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Melissa Webster

Executive Director, Residential & Day Treatment Services

Melissa Webster is the Executive Director of Residential and Day Treatment Services. She began her 20-year tenure at One Hope United as a therapist in our residential program. Webster’s focus has always been to develop her teams of professionals and paraprofessionals as skilled and compassionate teachers and treatment providers of trauma-informed services. In additional to residential care, Webster has experience in community mental health, LGBTQ issues, and the relationship of mental health service to chronic health maladies. She serves on numerous provider committees throughout the state, speaking on One Hope United and the youth we serve. She earned her MS in counseling and BS in communication, both at Indiana State University. Webster is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois.

Sarah Tunning

Executive Director, Florida

Sarah R. Tunning, LMHC, is Executive Director of Florida. She previously served as Senior Vice President for Continuous Quality Improvement at One Hope United. She has over 20 years of experience working as a social worker and therapist. With experience working for Florida Department of Children and Families in foster care and investigations and a decade of directing mental health programs, she returned to child welfare to utilize her years of experience in the mental health and substance abuse fields in the quality department. Throughout her career she has led several quality initiatives, provided training, developed curriculum, instructed college courses, and revamped systems to make them more effective and profitable. She holds a Master’s Degree in Mental Health from University of South Florida and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Malone University in Canton Ohio.

Kenny Shackelford

Executive Director, Early Learning & Child Development

Kenny Shackelford, Executive Director of Early Childhood Child & Development (ELCD) has over 16 years in the field of early childhood education in various roles including teacher, educational coordinator assistant director, director and regional manager. He began his career as a two’s teacher in Schaumburg, IL where his passion was ignited to pursue leadership roles where he could be a key player in making his favorite quote of “children are not things to be molded but are people to be unfolded” a practiced core value each day. Kenny is well-versed in NAEYC accreditation, Teaching Strategy Gold implementation, child day care licensing, ECE credentialing, acquisition of new centers, improving professional development of staff all within the lens of the continued struggles the early childhood industry is facing across the nation. He holds a BS in Family Consumer Science and a MS in Early Childhood Administration with an emphasis on supervision and leadership.

Juliana Harms

Executive Director, Behavioral Health

Juliana Harms, LCSW, ACSW, C-ACYFSW, received her BS in Human Development/Family Ecology and MSW from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Harms worked with survivors of violent crimes as the Victim-Witness Coordinator in the Livingston County State’s Attorney’s Office from 1986 to 1988. She joined the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in 1988. During Ms. Harms’ tenure with IDCFS, she served as a Child Welfare Specialist, Investigative Specialist, LAN Liaison, Investigative/Paired Team Supervisor, and Intact Family Services Manager. She joined the IDCFS Clinical Division in 2008 as a Clinical Services Coordinator. She subsequently served as the Administrator of Specialty Services which included programs addressing Domestic Violence, Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, HIV/AIDS, Substance Use and Recovery, and the LGBTQI+ community. Ms. Harms transitioned to Administrator of Social Work Practice, managing Regional and Specialty Clinical; she concurrently served as an Area Administrator for investigations and casework. She was the Associate Deputy of Behavioral Health until her retirement from IDCFS in 2021. During her time with IDCFS, she was an active advocate for LGBTQI+ youth in care and initiated an LGBTQI+ training and technical assistance project in 2013 with Dr. Gary Mallon to advance child welfare policy and practice. Ms. Harms also initiated a SOGIE data gathering project for all youth in care in 2018.

Ms. Harms was an Adjunct Instructor for the Illinois State University School of Social Work until she retired in 2021. She has also served as a guest lecturer at Illinois Wesleyan University and Heartland Community College. Ms. Harms helped coordinate training on child welfare issues for local law enforcement agencies, attorneys, and other social service agencies. She was active in organizations such as the 11th Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council, Partners for Community, and the McLean County Child Protection Network (Children’s Advocacy Center). Ms. Harms and colleagues presented at the 2011 NASW Conference on international adoptions; she also was a presenter at the 2012 NFPA conference. The presentation “I Have Something to Tell You: Managing Those Big Disclosures” evolved into a November 2012 article for Fostering Families Today. Ms. Harms has presented in numerous settings regarding supporting LGBTQI+ youth, including private agencies throughout the state, youth correctional centers, CASA teams, Court Services teams, LGBTQ I+ Workshops, AICI training, and the 2014 Cook County LGBT Homeless Youth Summit. In May 2015, she was a national webinar panelist for “Supporting Permanency for LGBT Youth in Foster Care”, sponsored by the Children’s Bureau. Ms. Harms has been a trainer for specialty projects for IDCFS and coordinated efforts regarding child welfare use of the IM+ CANS. She continues to coach child welfare workers and administrators regarding best practices for serving youth in care.