MEET THE Defend TEAM
caitlin sund, Executive Director
I have been married to my high school love, Brad for 19 years. We have three children. The Lord placed a love for the Fatherless on my heart at a young age. My husband and I adopted our youngest daughter from China in 2013.
Shortly after our adoption, I began serving as an occupational therapist in Chinese orphanages during short term mission trips. It was at that time that I decided I wanted to do more for the local foster and adoptive communities and that is how the York County Foster Closet, now Defend the Fatherless was born.
In my free time I enjoy spending time with family through boating, camping and travel.
Elizabeth Watson
Connection Coordinator
A native of North Carolina, my husband, Rob, and I have been married since 2011 and have three children; two girls and one boy. We moved to Fort Mill four years ago from Spartanburg, SC where I worked in education, as a school counselor and assistant principal. I graduated from the University of North Carolina (Go Heels!) with a B.A. in Education, and also hold a M.A. in School Counseling and an Ed.S. in Administration and Supervision.
Since having children and moving to York County, I have been a preschool teacher, before joining Defend the Fatherless in May of 2025. Our family enjoys college football games, being outside, soccer, tennis, camping, and playing with our dog, Tripp. You can also find me at the Baxter YMCA teaching group fitness classes.
In October 2023, we became a licensed foster family and have shared in the joys, fears, sorrows, and hope as foster parents. What has carried us through our journey has been the prayers and support of so many, as well as the connection we have made with other foster/adoptive/kindship families in the area. Defend the Fatherless has played an enormous role in our foster journey, and I am thrilled to serve as the Connection Coordinator to continue the support, encouragement, love, and care foster/adoptive/kindship families so greatly need and deserve.
megan giroux
Foster Closet Coordinator
I've been married to my husband, Dan, since March 2010. Together, we have two beautiful daughters and one adorable fur pup. My love for adoption began when I was 13, during a memorable journey with a close family from our church to pick up their newborn daughter in another state. That experience ignited a lifelong desire in me to adopt.
Throughout the years, many of our close friends in the community have become foster parents or adoptive parents, and we have had the privilege of wrapping our arms around them and supporting. Although God hasn't opened the door for us to adopt or foster just yet, I am thrilled to serve the community through the York County Foster Closet.
In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, working out, traveling, and soaking up the sun! Anything related to water and the great outdoors truly brings me joy.
Jenna mathewson
development coordinator
I have been married to my husband, Daniel, since 2013 and we have two precious children, whom we adore. From an early age, the Lord planted the seed in my heart to defend the fatherless. I have always been drawn to the field of child welfare because I strongly believe that every child deserves someone in their corner.
I began my career in child welfare working for several years as a case manager for a therapeutic foster care agency and then have worked in the realm of private adoption for the past eight years. It is humbling to walk alongside the folks that are showing up every day to love children despite the many challenges they can encounter. I am inspired by the way people are willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus through foster care and adoption and it is my honor to be part of the team at Defend the Fatherless who seeks to love and support these families through tangible and relational means.
When I am not working, I enjoy anything outdoors, especially summers on the lake. Our family loves to take little adventures and is currently endeavoring to visit all 50 states. I enjoy volunteering, helping with my kids’ activities, and being part of the community in York County.
Haley Weil
Volunteer Coordinator
I have been married to my husband since 2021, and we have one adorable daughter. My passion for serving vulnerable children began during my undergraduate years, when I worked at a parachurch ministry as a licensing team member. After graduation, I served as a house mother in a maternity home for women and girls in foster care facing unplanned pregnancies. Supporting them as they grew in independent living skills, God’s love, and motherhood sparked a lasting desire to serve women and children both professionally and personally.
Over the years, I’ve volunteered with foster and adoptive support agencies. I also spent a few years directing a NextGen ministry, where I created a foster-friendly, trauma-informed environment for children ages 0–18, while serving as a foster-family liaison for our church. With a background in Educational Leadership Administration, I’ve worked in career coaching, residential education, admissions, and new student programming across various universities. Returning to the work of serving vulnerable children feels like coming home—it’s where my passion and purpose live. I am excited to support our incredible families as we reflect the same love, faithfulness, and compassion of Jesus Christ.
In my spare time, I support our church ministries, as my husband is an associate director at a church plant.My family and I love spending time outdoors and hiking whenever possible. I also enjoy reading, working out, and spending time with friends.
Anthony Boddie, Chairman of the board
My wife, Kathleen, and I moved to Fort Mill in 2006. We are proud parents to Addison who volunteers in church and is involved in Fort Mill Middle School through sports and clubs.
I believe serving is good for your soul, mind, and body. After personal failures as a human being, I was presented with an opportunity to press the reset button regarding my lens on life. The reset button permitted me to gain knowledge of my WHY and exhibit some of my skill sets given from my creator. I am committed to serving the York County area and volunteer in various capacities on numerous local and non-profit service organizations, including serving as Board of Trustee for the Fort Mill School District, York District Chair of Boys Scouts, Governance Committee Member of Boys and Girls Club of York County, and Committee Member of Anne Springs Greenway. I have also served for Community Café and the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte.
With over 25 years of leadership experience, my professional career has revolved around creating memories for millions of visitors in the leisure and tourism industry across North America. Essentially, I managed revenue generating services, as a third-party operator inside of Theme Parks, Zoos, Aquariums, and other entertainment venues. Over the years, I honed my management, human resources, communication, training, planning, and sales skills in executive positions. Currently, I work as an executive sales rep for a global organization named RICOH USA, selling workplace solutions and digital transformation services designed to help manage and optimize information flow across your business.
Greg Burch, Treasurer
Shortly after I first learned about the Scripture-based mission of Defend the Fatherless, I began supporting the ministry both personally and professionally. The services provided to the community by the extremely talented and selfless staff are all offered with love to the often-underserved group of people that are led to foster or adopt. When an opportunity opened for me to serve in a larger way, I jumped at the chance to serve as a board member at Defend the Fatherless.
Like most people, I have seen families close to me foster and/or adopt children. These families selflessly fill an immediate need in a child’s life which also can have a profound positive effect on the rest of that child and family’s lives. Making things a little easier on these families as they take on foster/adoptive responsibilities is an easy choice. We all have something to give towards this effort.
I was inspired by my wife Diane’s community service over the years as she worked within several organizations to help people. After a long career in executive management, I am excited to serve Defend the Fatherless as we help support foster/adoptive families. I feel lucky to have found a way to serve alongside a great group of selfless people that work tirelessly, and often far away from the spotlight, to help foster and adoptive families say yes.
Jason fore, board member
My wife, Kimberly, and I moved to Fort Mill in 2008 and have firmly planted roots here. We are proud parents to Avery, Nolan and Alex who are all active in their respective schools through sports, clubs and volunteering.
I’ve spent my sales leadership career in the medical device industry representing products in a variety of medical specialties. Specifically, I’ve specialized in the start-up setting bringing new technologies to market and helping scale organizations. My experience has mainly been in the cardiology/cardiac surgery specialty and involved companies from pre-market status to full FDA approval and market implementation.
I thrive in connecting people, helping organizations share their vision and aligning goals. I feel called to assist companies in maximizing their financial considerations to make a greater impact in our local community and I have a strong desire to serve people in need.
As a family, we enjoy all things outdoors including snow skiing, boating, mountain biking and travel in general.
james holt, board member
In 2018 I retired from a career in nuclear power generation. God has made it clear that his desire for me in this season is to come alongside the next generation as a shepherd, pastor, mentor, brother and friend. He desires my gifts, time and financial blessings to be used inside this context.
Currently, I serve as an elder at Forest Hill Fort Mill Church and am actively engaged in mentoring the next generations. God also has provided me the opportunity to serve on the York County Young Life executive committee and mentor its area director.
My wife Cheryl and I have never received the call to foster or adopt, but God has always given us opportunities to support those who have. We believe that a pastoral role with the board of Defend the Fatherless is in complete alignment with what God has gifted and called me to.
kendra king, Board member
I'm a wife of twenty years and a mother of three kids. We have lived in Fort Mill for nineteen years. I love our community and am dedicated to serving it. I've served in different capacities such as room mom, fundraising, spirit night coordinator, serving on several PTO boards: Riverview Elementary, Banks Trail Middle, and Pleasant Knoll Middle. I've also served on the school improvement board, Parent Liaison, Kitchen Cabinet through Fort Mill School District and HOA board for my neighborhood.
After serving my community for seventeen years I decided that I wanted to work fulltime. I secured a full time position with Fort Mill school district. Although, I liked my job as a kindergarten assistant at Kingstown Elementary, I really missed serving my community. After two years of working I resigned in June and started looking for ways to continue my commitment to serve.
I'm currently serving on the board for Young Men Service League. We started the first chapter in South Carolina. Our goal is to foster a love of serving among the young high school men in our community. I was connected with Defend the Fatherless as I was researching organizations for our young men to serve.
The more I learn about Defend the Fatherless the more I want the young men in my service group to serve. Beyond that, I feel compelled personally to serve as well. I witnessed your organization's mission come to life when I visited the warehouse and observed a caseworker getting necessary items to reunite a mother with her children before nightfall. The caseworker was offered a crib, diapers, clothing and even a meal to make the mother's night back with her children as stress-free as possible. I was overwhelmed with the joy that mom must have felt when she received those items to help make her childrens' homecoming less stressful.
When I had the privilege of being a caseworker for Children's Services in Columbus Ohio one of my favorite parts of serving was assisting families in maintaining their family structures. I relish the opportunity to do this work through Defend the Fatherless. I love that our community has this resource. I wish that I had access to something similar when I was serving as a caseworker - such a beautiful resource to assist families and to keep families intact.
Kaitlyn Dishman, Secretary
I have spent over 15 years serving children and families through foster care, adoption, and nonprofit work. I began my career with the Danville Department of Social Services in Virginia, where I worked for nine years as a Foster Care and Adoption Case Worker and later as a Child-Specific Recruiter focused on finding permanent families for hard-to-place children. I then served six years with Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, recruiting and supporting foster families as they stepped into the calling of caring for vulnerable children.
In 2022, I chose to step away from full-time child welfare work to focus more intentionally on my ownfamily. I transitioned into teaching preschool at Ivybrook Academy, where I continue pouring into children during some of their most formative years.
My husband, Steven, and I have been married for nine years, and we are raising our two boys, ages 7 and 5. Both personally and professionally, I am deeply passionate about strengthening families and living out the call to care for the fatherless.
Louise Southern, Board Member
I have been married to my husband Michael since 2004, and we have 3 children. We adopted our two oldest boys through the North Carolina foster care system in 2012. Just about everything that I thought I knew changed the moment that they came to live with us on that October night.
I hold a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from North Carolina State University and I am a Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Since 1998, I have worked with children and adults with socio-behavioral and learning differences in educational, clinical and community settings. I provide consultation and coaching to school systems, service providers, and other stakeholder groups, and deliver conference presentations and workshops to thousands of participants each year. Professional focal areas include equity in education and behavioral intervention, supporting neurodiverse children and their caregivers in foster care and post-adoptive contexts, culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices, and scaling up the implementation of evidence-based practices across schools and services systems.
The greatest privilege of my life has been my role as mother to three amazing boys. I am deeply passionate about serving my heart and home community via my role with Defend the Fatherless.
Brad Sund, Board Member
I graduated from the University of Florida with a Business Management Degree and a Minor in Environmental Engineering. After College I started a Cabinetry Company in Naples Florida and ran it for 5 years until I made my move to Charlotte. I currently serve as a zone manager for Advanced Drainage Systems where I have been employed for the last 19 years.
I have been married to my wife Caitlin for 20 years and we have three children. I have a passion for volunteering with children including coaching soccer and serving through special needs ministries. In 2011 I found my love for adoption when Caitlin and I welcomed Olivia from China into our family.
I combine my business acumen and love for Fatherless as I help to guide Defend to achieve all of their goals.
Darci Laroche, board Member
My husband, Justin, and I were married in 2012. We have one son, who we both adore. We moved to Fort Mill in 2017, from Charlotte, when we found out we were expecting. We were drawn to Fort Mill because of the strong sense of community, and we wanted to be a part of it. I believe every family deserves to feel loved, supported, and included in our wonderful community.
The families served by Defend are making a profound difference in our community, and I want to do my part to make sure they have the resources and encouragement they need to thrive. Defend the Fatherless resonates deeply with me because it stands alongside foster, adoptive, and kinship families in York County to ensure they have what they need. I’m grateful for the chance to help families say “yes,” and to ensure the welcoming Fort Mill community is shared with every family—so every child knows they belong, and every family feels seen and valued.
Professionally, I serve as Director, Finance Systems & Projects at Duke Energy, where I’m known for connecting teams, organizing complex initiatives, and leveraging technology to make everyday work easier. I hope to bring this skill set to help Defend the Fatherless serve more families in York County.
Mandy Cordell, board member
My husband and I have lived in the Carolinas since the early 2000's and raised our children here. We could not have chosen a better place to call “home.” I graduated with an English degree and teaching certification that later supported my return to school to earn my law degree. Throughout my adult life, I have remained committed to helping children and this commitment led me to focus my legal practice in the field of adoption.
As an adoption attorney, I partner with adoption agencies and work directly with adoptive families as they navigate adoption and the legal system. I have witnessed both the strength of these families and the challenges they face. I have observed firsthand the positive impact Defend the Fatherless has had on the families in York County.
Serving on the Board of Directors for Defend the Fatherless is an honor, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute my skills, experience, and perspective in support of its mission. I am committed to helping strengthen families and ensuring that children in York County are truly seen, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.
Matthew Vaccareillo, board member
My wife, Laura, and I have lived in Fort Mill for the last 10 years. We have 2 children and we consider ourselves very privileged to be a part of this community. We see the ways that the people and environments around our children shape who they are becoming, and we are passionate about helping to support the families who work to create positive environments for children in our community.
After graduating from Boston College, I have spent the past 15+ years leading financial strategy and operations for a variety of organizations including a Fortune 100 retailer and a national senior living organization. In these roles, I have specialized in designing and leading initiatives that build culture and community, increase operational efficiency, and strengthen organizational resilience. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to serve Defend the Fatherless and am excited to be part of the network that allows families to say “yes” to children in need.