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Building Brighter Futures
Since 2017, Santa's Little Helpers, Inc. (SLHI) has been dedicated to empowering foster youth and young adults impacted by the foster care system throughout Jefferson County, Kentucky. Through year-round programs, essential resources, life skills education, and the support of a caring community, we help young people gain the confidence, knowledge, and tools they need to thrive during foster care and well into adulthood.
(Updated 6/29/26)
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4,086 Care Packages
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31 Christmas Trees
Michelle Williams
Founder & Executive Director
Michelle Williams is the Founder and Executive Director of Santa's Little Helpers, Inc. (SLHI), where she has dedicated her leadership to creating brighter futures for foster youth and young adults transitioning to independence. Guided by the belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to succeed, Michelle has built SLHI into a year-round organization that provides essential resources, life skills education, and meaningful community support to help young adults thrive during and beyond foster care.
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in higher education, Michelle recognized the unique challenges faced by students who have aged out of foster care and the need for ongoing support beyond high school. In 2017, she founded SLHI to bridge those gaps by providing practical resources, educational opportunities, and programs that foster confidence, resilience, and long-term success.
Under Michelle's leadership, SLHI launched the Future Forward Program, a comprehensive initiative that empowers foster care alumni pursuing higher education, vocational training, and workforce development. Through monthly care packages, financial literacy, life skills workshops, wellness programming, and educational resources, Future Forward helps participants overcome barriers, remain engaged in their goals, and build successful, independent lives.
Michelle is passionate about bringing together volunteers, community partners, businesses, and supporters to create opportunities that change lives. She believes lasting impact is achieved through collaboration, compassion, and a commitment to walking alongside young people as they discover their potential.
In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Michelle is a published author and screenplay writer whose work celebrates hope, kindness, and the power of community. Whether through storytelling or service, her mission remains the same: to inspire others, strengthen communities, and ensure every young person impacted by foster care has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Board Members
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Board President
Angela Howard
Angela has 30 plus years of experience in all facets of Human Resources with UPS. She retired in September 2021 as Vice President of Human Resources the U.S. East Region. Her responsibilities were strategic and tactical H.R. support to approximately 150,000 UPS employees in 26 states – more than a third of UPS’ global workforce. With five relocations across the country with her tenure, she had become a community champion in every location she lived and worked. Angela has served on boards including, Figure Skating in Harlem Foundation NYC, Women in Trucking Foundation NYC, Girls Inc, Southern California, Inside the Outdoors Foundation California, Urban League New Jersey, and currently serves as Board President for Santa’s Little Helpers, Inc.
Angela holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from William Penn College in IA, and a Master’s degree from Webster University in MO, with a double major in Human Resources and Management. After retiring from UPS, she started her own firm, Passion Works, LLC. which Is dedicated to inspiring organizations to equip leaders to improve their cultural competence by providing them with tangible tools to bring awareness to issues that are creating strain in the workplace and create solutions, with courage and passion to help leaders thrive.
Secretary
Sharon Ray
Sharon is the Founder and CEO of S. Thompson & Associates a consultancy that partners with senior leaders in small to midsize companies to develop and optimize HR strategies and processes to achieve their business growth goals. She currently serves as interim head of people for several technology companies.
Sharon’s passion is to enable teams to create and implement strategies that develop, engage and celebrate the contributions of all people. Creating environments where everyone can contribute to an organization in their own unique way is what drives success. She has spent over 25+ years in human resources at large, medium and small organizations building the HR infrastructure to drive success across organizations and teams.
Treasurer
Dustn Delaney
Dustin Delaney is a Financial & Accounting supervisor with more than two decades of corporate experience. Dustin specializes in planning, forecasting, and reporting expenditures. Dustin holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Accounting from Sullivan University. Dustin has completed leadership training with SOAR, a program designed for high-potential employees.
Kim Buford
Kim Buford is a Senior Associate Project Manager at McKesson, where she focuses on employee engagement and communication while also leading and supporting project initiatives that improve operational efficiency and cross-functional collaboration. She brings a strong foundation in Business and Information Technology, with a Bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University and a Master’s degree from the University of Phoenix.
She is also a former high school Business and Technology teacher, bringing an education background that strengthens her ability to communicate, train, and support others in both corporate and community settings.
Alongside her corporate career, Kim is an entrepreneur and owns Elite Markets Design and Consulting Services, a business focused on branding, creative design, and business consulting. Through her company, she helps clients strengthen their brand identity, develop strategic direction, and build more effective business presence.
Kim is also deeply engaged in her church community, serving in the Women’s ministry, Youth ministry, and Technology ministry. Her service reflects a commitment to faith, leadership, and using her skills to support communication, outreach, and ministry operations.
Above all, Kim is a devoted mother of three children—two daughters and a son. Her family, faith, professional work, and entrepreneurial efforts are central to her purpose, and she is intentional about using her skills and leadership to make a practical difference in every space she serves.
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Sarah Rosenbalm
Coming Soon
Advisory Board Members
Channing Palazzo
Owner, Vine Counseling
Jill Mullaney
University of Louisville
Vice President of Budget & Finance
Interns
Open Position
Social Media Intern
This position will assists with creating engaging content, managing social media accounts, and analyzing performance metrics. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain hands-on experience in digital marketing
Keyona Hughes
Intern
Keyona will assist with the day to day functions of the organization. Her duties will include grant writing, event planning and coordination, and administrative tasks.
Open Position
Event Planning Intern
This position is responsible for assisting with the coordination and execution of our annual fundraising event. This role involves managing logistics, budgeting, relationships, and ensuring the event runs smoothly.