Peggy L. McNamara – Interim Executive Director peggy@acresofdiamonds.org
Peggy McNamara is a lifelong entrepreneur and an accomplished real estate executive. She served as the VP of Client and Agent Services with John L. Scott, a company of 3000 agents, in the Pacific Northwest. Peggy was instrumental in creating the Career Development Center, setting up company- wide recruiting practices and working collaboratively with affiliated services to increase market share.
Prior to working with John L. Scott, and living in the Seattle area, Peggy co-owned a Huntington Learning Center, was the Director of Education for the number one real estate company in Minneapolis, Coldwell Banker Burnet, founded a pre-license real estate school which is now completely online and has given hundreds of presentations around the nation on overcoming challenges. In addition, she has been hired as a consultant for various small businesses to improve their sales and marketing performance, streamline and rejuvenate their administrative processes and re-focus their efforts.
Peggy currently serves as the Interim Executive Director and VP of the Board for Acres of Diamonds. She is a Christian who is thankful for the grace offered by Jesus. Peggy knows from experience the challenges of growing up in an incredibly dysfunctional environment, to being a really young single mom, to making decisions that were rooted in survival versus wisdom and how truly amazing transformation can be! Peggy is blessed by marriage, her son and daughter-in-law, and her three adorable dogs.
Elizabeth Miller – Program Manager elizabethm@acresofdiamonds.org
Elizabeth Miller has always been a lover of people. This began at an early age and only intensified with time. She received her BA in Biblical Studies from Prairie in 2003 and began working at Acres of Diamonds (AOD) in 2004 as a Night Manager.
Elizabeth is constantly amazed by the stories she gets to be a part of at Acres of Diamonds. While a Night Manager, Elizabeth went back to school and received her MA in Counseling Psychology from The Seattle School of Psychology & Theology (formerly Mars Hill Graduate School) in 2009. She completed a year long internship with Catholic Community Services as a part of that program, all the while, working nights with the residents.
In 2010,Elizabeth was hired as the Program Manager and now gets to combine her love for women, her heart for those who are hurting, and her counseling skills in the every day running of AOD. She is continually blessed to be a part of the transformation of women, herself included. She enjoys teaching parenting classes, teaching boundaries, helping residents communicate well, resolving conflicts and an occasional spur of the moment dance party to celebrate good choices.
Violet Cole – Night Manager
I was led to Acres of Diamonds from my mother in law, Elizabeth C., who has been involved with Acres for several years. There was a night-manager position that had opened up and I felt led to inquire about it. Being a wife, a full time mom of 4 wonderful girls and going to school full time, I wasn’t sure if this was the direction God had for me.
Needless to say, once I met with the residents of Acres and learned more about the position, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity. I started working for Acres in 2010 and the women have greatly impacted my life. I love them! Watching these ladies prosper and grow with the Lord has been incredibly rewarding. Well worth the effort in the midst of my busy life.
Elizabeth Christian – Night Manager
Elizabeth Christian came to AOD in 2009 after winning tickets to the fundraiser, and was instantly drawn to the purpose of the organization. Having a wide variety and a number of years working with at risk youth and their families, she felt AOD was the place for her.
Elizabeth began in 1986 as a Houseparent running a Shelter in Coolidge AZ. She then became a Houseparent in one of the Organizations Group Homes providing care for Abused and Neglected teens. (Coed) There she taught independent living skills, did some counseling, attended IEP’s etc. She became a Group home coordinator for 3 homes where she wrote treatment plans, attended court staffing, clinical staffing and therapy sessions.
Elizabeth also worked as a Therapeutic Foster Parent providing care for the same population in a therapeutically structured environment. She coordinated with school officials and Medical professionals in developing programs applicable for each individual child and prepared daily and weekly assessments for Social Workers. Elizabeth has experience as a Mentoring and Tutoring Counselor, Behavior Management Specialist, Therapeutic Family Development Specialist and a Residential Counselor. In those positions her job descriptions included Coordinating substance abuse prevention and early family intervention workshops for youth and families in conjunction with directing a mentoring program for youth ages 13 to 17 yrs old. She worked with families to help create a behavior management program for their children. Assisted with the planning and implementation of the neighborhood outreach to enroll students in the mentoring program. She also recruited, trained and conducted home studies for potential parents in a special Juvenile Court Program.
In each of Elizabeth’s positions, she was responsible for preparing various reports, logs, daily and weekly assessments and progress reports. Elizabeth knows she is called to work with at-risk families and says her first experience was truly a gift from God. Elizabeth has two grown sons and eight grandchildren who she adores.
