This is a space for COMMUNITY, CONNECTION & ENGAGEMENT. A place to belong and to gather together. A place with topics related to community-building, parenting, family life, and personal growth. Together, we hope to increase awareness, build knowledge, create empathy, and move forward with action.

Meet Your Hosts

Adhara Jimenez-Banse is the 2Gen Program Manager at CCE. In addition to running 4-H After School programs in Newburgh and Warwick, Adhara works with the youth in the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) in Middletown and New Windsor. Adhara has extensive professional experience in Human Services; her passion is creating a safe space for adolescents and young adults in the community where they can freely express their thoughts and interests without judgment. Adhara earned her Master’s in Social Work from Adelphi University and is an adult educator. She is married, has two teen boys, lives in Orange County, and is passionate about exploring different cultures and their foods.

Caitlin O’Brien is the RAPP Program Manager, working for Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County.  She deeply enjoys her work with Kinship Families, and how it unites her passions for advocacy, education, resilience, and youth development.  She, too, lives in Orange County, New York, with her husband and two young sons. Her hope for this blog is to create a space for the community to find resources in an open and affirming space, and she dreams of a future with lots of love and connection in the community around her.

Dr. Julika von Stackelberg works on building resilient communities on all scales, inside families, and in collaboration with community leaders in other parts of New York State. She loves facilitating workshops and developing new programs. As a researcher, she is interested in learning about strategies that support and sustain just and well communities. The Community Resilience Builder Program represents one of her great passions, and she loves to add newfound resources and insights where possible.

Suzan Sussmann is a human development educator working for Cornell Cooperative Extension. She has worked with families and professionals in this capacity for over 9 years. In addition, she has worked in a corporate environment in operations and oversaw a team of 13 young professionals. Building relationships is extremely important to her, and helping others to develop themselves. She has earned her Master’s in Social Justice Education from SUNY New Paltz.  She has three adult children and has been married for more than three decades. She lives in upstate New York and loves the outdoors. In addition, she is a weaver and loves to make homemade soap.