Meet Our Board of Directors

Dawn Ferguson

Chair

Community Health Worker, Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing
Dawn has been the CHW for Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing and the associated Dover Interfaith Mission Resource Center since June of 2018. She serves both the men’s shelter and the wider community of those experiencing homelessness, persons with very low to no income and those unstably housed. Additionally she is a Licenced Veterinary Technician having worked in both general and emergency settings for 31 years.

Nanny Vega-Morales

Vice Chair

Born in Ponce, PR. Obtained a BA from the University of PR, Mayaguez Campus and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. More than 15 years of experience in the health system. Currently works for Quality Insights as a CHW in Maternal Health project and as a Health Coach in the Wisewoman program. Without a doubt, Nanny is very passionate about being in direct contact with the Hispanic community, especially women, serving as a bridge between their needs and the resources they request.

Maite Aros

Treasurer

Domestic Violence Community Health Advocate Program Coordinator, CHILD, Inc.
Maite is the coordinator of a collaborative pilot project between CHILD, Inc., DCADV, Christiana Care, Westside Family Health and St Frances Hospital, addressing Domestic Violence as a public health issue that is impacting victims regardless of socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and gender backgrounds.

With almost 30 years of experience performing a range of roles in domestic violence services, Maite is a passionate victim’s advocate with extensive knowledge of resources for crime victims and the Criminal Justice System, experienced supervisor, knowledgeable in program development and management, resourceful case manager with strong background in trauma informed care and extensive knowledge on the dynamics of domestic violence.

She graduated with a five-year bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Maite has dedicated her professional life to be the voice for the underserved population serving as domestic violence shelter/case manager, bilingual hotline counselor, bilingual case manager and advocate. She is also a group facilitator for the Domestic Violence counseling intervention Program for Spanish- Speaking offenders and she is a Parenting Education instructor too. She received the Elaine Aviola Memorial Award of Outstanding Professional in 2018 and the DCADV Domestic Violence Specialist certification in 2006.

Donna Monroe

Secretary

Donna Pennington Monroe is currently the Health Program Coordinator for the Division of Public Health Lead Poison Prevention Program. Prior to working for DPH, Donna worked for the Division of Social Services as a training administrator. She also had a 30-year career in the insurance industry.

Donna has a BA in Humanities, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and a MS in Health Promotion from the University of Delaware. Donna is also a certified CHW through Sickle Cell Association of America.

In her spare time, Donna is focused on establishing a Sickle Cell Association in the State of Delaware.

Erin Ridout

Social Media Representative

Erin Ridout is the Domestic Violence and Community Health Program Manager for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV). In this position, Erin collaborates with community partners to address domestic violence as a public health issue, manages an integrated, CHW service delivery model, and engages in policy advocacy around Community Health Worker sustainability. Erin is a social worker by training who has worked with children and families around issues of abuse and neglect; provided in-home therapeutic counseling; and worked in a domestic violence shelter.

Erin earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina and her undergraduate degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. In 2021, Erin completed her Master’s of Public Health degree from the University of Delaware, focusing on the policy and practice issues of health equity.