Board of Directors 2024

The Haven for Children Board of Directors

Blair Wilgus, Board Chair

Karly Patterson, Vice Chair

Karly Patterson has been a resident of Brevards’ Beachside community for over 30 years. Karly attended Satellite High School, Florida State University (undergrad) and the University of Central Florida (Masters). Professionally, her career began in administration, transitioning into Human Resources Management where she worked for several years before switching gears completely & becoming a Real Estate Agent for the past 5 years.
When Karly is not showing house & writing contracts, she is spending time with family & friends. Karly is married to her high-school sweetheart, Kenneth, and has one daughter, Isla Blair.  Karly has been a Haven Volunteer for many years starting with the Haven Guild, Chef du Jour and now is the Vice Chair of the BoD. She loves giving back to the kids and supporting everything the Haven stands for.

Nancy Unum, Secretary

Nancy was born and raised in Brevard County where she attended Melbourne High School having Cathy Ford, a founding member of The Haven, as one of her favorite  teachers. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from UCF, she spent 35 years as a Software Engineer at Harris Controls and later General Electric until her retirement in 2019 whereupon she joined The Haven Board of Directors.

Nancy and her husband Mike raised their two boys in Merritt Island and wish to give back to the community where they live. While the boys were growing up, Nancy volunteered at their son’s school, Holy Trinity Academy in all phases of the boys years there, from pre-school helper to JV Lacrosse Team Mom. Nancy participates in the Chef du Jour program for The Haven, cooking monthly for Haven 1. She is proud to serve on the board of The Haven and is entering her fourth year as Secretary.

Sandra D’Cruz, Treasurer

Heather Harris

Patricia Ryan

Paul Roub

Colleen Hunter

Jodi Quillet was born and raised n Brevard County and graduated from Satellite High. Her entire family resides Beachside, and she loves spending time with all of them. Jodi has worked for Health First for 8 years and enjoys hers role as Events specialist! Jodi became involved with the Haven in 2014, as part of the Chef Du Jour program.  She says, “I love giving back to the kids and love that the Haven can provide this special place for them.”

Kathy Heron, Guild Chair

After working as a production manager in the textbook industry, Kathy Heron decided to take the plunge and start her own business. Kathy is the owner of Sport Clips Haircuts, which caters to men and boys by providing hassle-free hairstyling in a sports-themed environment. Heron opened her first location at the Avenue Viera in April 2007. Five years ago, she opened her second location in West Melbourne at Hammock Landing. Each year Kathy increases year-over-year net sales and client count and has built a highly successful operation that has been regularly recognized as one of the top stores in Florida and nationwide. 

Kathy has a passion for advocating for children. For the past ten years, she has served as Race Director for Superhero run, an annual 5K and 1M race to raise funds and awareness for abused children in our local community. The 2022 Superhero Race will be on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at the Avenue Viera. The race is the signature fundraising event for Friends of Children of Brevard, where Kathy has serviced on the board since 2014. This hard working non-profit, run by volunteers works to improve the lives of local abused children. Kathy has been honored several times for her work as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem where she advocates for local abused children before the court, social service agencies, and the community. 

Kimberly Straehla, Executive Director