December 16, 2017
For Immediate Release
Dianne Davis and Leanne Reese, Missouri Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association deputy director, were chosen to speak at the 2017 National CASA Association Annual Conference. The Building Brighter Futures for America’s Abused and Neglected Children conference will be held at the Sheraton Hotel March 11-14 in Seattle, Washington. National CASA chief training and organizational development officer, Susan Grant, notified Davis and Reese of their selection for the rural program track.
Davis, who has 28 years of marketing and advertising experience with both local and national clients, will lead a session titled “How to Effectively Combine Digital and Traditional Media to Recruit Rural CASA Volunteers while Building Program Awareness.” Reese, who has worked with the Missouri CASA Association for nine years, will contribute to the question-and-answer segment and provide session support. As a CASA deputy director, Reese is responsible for state and federal grants for Missouri CASA, including reporting and grant fund distribution, and outreach and awareness activities that support local CASA programs.
“Dianne understands our organization and has worked with us to maximize our resources to create statewide recruitment and awareness campaigns,” says Reese. “We are very excited that other CASA organizations will have the opportunity to learn from Dianne.”
The rural program track session, scheduled for Sunday, March 12, will help educate attendees on how to successfully recruit volunteers, build an advocate base and increase awareness in rural communities, a task often made more challenging by the distance between rural community members and CASA representatives. The marketing and communication topics covered will serve to provide participants with a basic knowledge of new media terminology, an understanding of the benefits of digital media, insight into how to utilize social, digital and traditional media to create awareness, parameters for defining successful media strategies in rural communities and the ability to evaluate performance and tracking mechanisms for digital media campaigns.
“It’s very rewarding to find an opportunity to share my expertise and, at the same time, make an effort to benefit someone in need,” says Dianne Davis. “I’m passionate about CASA’s mission to lift up the voices of children.”
The National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association leads, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy through a network of nearly 1,000 state and local member programs. Its mission is to ensure every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive. Local CASA programs recruit, train and support volunteers in these efforts. Learn more at casaforchildren.org.
The Missouri CASA Association (MOCASA) is the coordinating agency for CASA programs throughout Missouri. There are 21 CASA programs in Missouri serving 22 of the 45 Judicial Circuits. MOCASA cultivates resources, improves systems and advances public policy to further the CASA movement in Missouri and is focused on expanding CASA programs throughout the state. Learn more at mocasa.org.