Ann Fisher, Executive Director

afisher@vacares.org

​Ann Fisher worked as a legal secretary from 1975 until 1989 for the FBI, Personal Crimes Unit; Department of Justice, Fraud Section; Facilities Engineers at Fort Meade Maryland; Miles & Stockbridge in Baltimore, Maryland; and Woods, Rogers and Hazlegrove in Roanoke, Virginia.  Worked with Total Action for Progress (formerly Total Action for Poverty) in Head Start and Community Development and Outreach from 1991 until 1996.  Sat on the Board of Directors for the Dumas Hotel and the Inner City Athletic Association.  Currently on the New Market Tax Credit Board.  Executive Assistant for Virginia Community Action Re-Entry Systems (CARES), Inc. from 1996 -2002.  Became Interim Director of Virginia CARES in 2002 and then Executive Director in 2003.  Participated in the Governor’s Prisoner and Juvenile Reentry Council and a member of the Virginia reentry Coalition known as Virginia 4 Reentry:  PAPIS.  Has certificates in Motivational Interviewing, Thinking for a Change and Carey Guides, a cognitive behavioral therapy program.

Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1957.  Married 20 years.  Raised 8 children.  Currently resides in New Castle, Virginia, about 23 miles west of Roanoke, Virginia, in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

W. Anthony West, Chief Operations Officer

awest@vacares.org

Anthony is the Chief Operations Officer of Virginia CARES Inc.  He has been in this capacity since 2007, while having over 16 years of experience working in the re-entry field.

As C.O.O. he has the duty of overseeing 8 statewide sites and supervising 23 staff members.  He has refined CARES’ training procedures, monitoring procedures and enhanced program performance across the board.

Anthony has Associate Degrees in Mental Health Services and Computer Information Systems.  He has also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.  He has certifications in Group Therapy, Choice Theory Counseling, Basic Mediation, Motivational Interviewing, Thinking for a Change and Life Skills Education. He has been featured in several publications and is now in the process of writing a book about his life experiences.

Anthony is an active member of NABCJ (National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice), Ex-OUT (Ex-Offenders United Together) and APPA (American Probation and Parole Association).

Don Jones, Chief Financial Officer

djones@vacares.org

​B.A. Degree, The King’s College and A.A.S. Degree, VA Western Comm. College

A certified Business Administrator through Virginia Community Action Partnership, and featuring over twenty years of experience in accounting and finance, Don has guided Virginia CARES through financial matters and human resources protocol since 2004. He is also responsible for ensuring that Virginia CARES thoroughly and assiduously abides by the myriad of increasingly complicated and exacting financial reporting and accounting obligations that regulate Community Action Agencies. Staying at the forefront of changes in accounting rules means that Don must regularly educate himself on new developments, and in the process has obtained multiple certifications through CAPLAW and other organizations.  Don also has 13 years of experience with a CPA Public Accounting firm in Roanoke, VA before working with Virginia CARES.

Aisha Bailey, Executive Assistant / Training Coordinator

abailey@vacares.org

​Aisha is the Executive Assistant/Training Coordinator of Virginia CARES Inc.  Her duties consists of managing agency purchases and training arrangements, coordinates information flow to and from the Executive Director and oversees and maintains the agency’s data system.  She also coordinates annual statewide staff training’s, as well as, the Department of Criminal Justice Services’ mandated training’s for new staff, to make sure that they are all trained in the latest evidences-based practices.

Aisha graduated from TAP’s This Valley Works Center for Employment Training where she studied Office Automation in 2001.  Upon graduation she was immediately hired with TAP’s Team Staffing.  When that program lost funding she was hired as the Administrative Assistant for the TAP/VA Cares & Fatherhood Program in 2003. In March of 2006 Aisha was employed with Virginia CARES Inc as the Executive’s Assistant before being promoted to Executive Assistant/Training Coordinator. Aisha also holds certifications in Basic Mediation, Motivational Interviewing, Facilitating Skills For Offender Groups “FSOG”, Thinking for a Change and Life Skills Education.

Although Aisha might not be very vocal, she has assisted and served alongside some of the strongest community and statewide program leaders in Community Action.  Aisha is highly motivated and passionate about her work with returning citizens and very dedicated in making a difference in her community.

Angella Nicely, Human Resources Coordinator

anicely@vacares.org

​Angella  started with Virginia CARES in the fall of 2013 working with the Second Chance Act Mentoring Grant. Because of her organizational and social skills, she soon became the Finance Assistant for CARES in January 2014.

After serving as Finance Assistant her eagerness and desire to improve lead her to become the Human Resource Coordinator in July 2015.  She has guided CARES through Human Resource protocol by administering employee health and welfare plans, resolving benefit related problems and ensuring effective utilization of plans and positive employee relations.  She ensures plans are administered in accordance with
federal and state regulations and plan provisions are followed.

Staying at the top of changes in Human Resource means that Angella regularly educates herself on new laws and obtains multiple certificates through Fred Pryor, SHRM, and other organizations.

Angella enjoys spending time with her wonderful husband of 18 years and her two beautiful daughters who keep her extremely busy with their high school and college activities.