Meet The Project NICU Operations Team
Amy Finn- Program & Events Coordinator
Amy is a proud NICU mama to Piper James, born at 33 weeks due to a sudden HELLP Syndrome diagnosis. After returning home from the NICU after a 21 day stay, the Finn family quickly recognized the great need of peer support for NICU families in their area. Amy is also an Ambassador for Project NICU working to bring our incredible resources and support to families in the Quad Cities of IL/IA. Amy lives in Davenport, IA with her husband Jim, their daughter Piper James and cat, Jameson. She has over nine years of non-profit experience and also owns and runs a photography business, Shamrock Photography.
NICU PARENT
Leah Jackson- Program & Events Coordinator
Hi, I'm Leah & we are the Jackson 5! I'm the Program & Events Coordinator here at Project NICU while also working full time as the President's Office Manager at Lake Erie College. I have both my Bachelor's of Science in Sport Management and Marketing and Master of Business Administration from Lake Erie College as well. My husband, DeWayne, and I welcomed Skylar at 40w3d in July, 2016. We then welcomed our B/G twins, Reagan & Lincoln, in August, 2019 at 32w3d by emergency c-section. They were taken to Rainbow's Babies & Childrens Hospital in Cleveland where they spent 36 days. My passion is to help parents of NICU babies with older siblings at home. I understand the struggle of leaving children behind while parents visit the NICU while also trying to entertain them in a room full of alarms, wires and machines. I'm forever grateful to the NICU nurses who gave me a shoulder to cry on, answered my calls at 3:00 a.m. and helped our NICU graduates get home!
NICU PARENT
Valerie Collignon- Partnership Development Specialist
Valerie Collignon is a proud mom to two NICU graduates – 35-weeker, Tommy and 37-weeker, James. Her boys’ very different experiences in the NICU inspired her to become more involved with supporting NICU families. Val loves to connect with other NICU parents to let them know they are not alone in their journey.
Val has spent over 12 years of her career in college admissions. She has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and an MBA from The University of Tampa. In 2020, she took a total career lane switch and now works in federal healthcare IT as a Salesforce Project Coordinator, working on various Salesforce projects for the VA.
Val and her husband, Jeff, live in Orlando, FL with their two boys – Tommy (5) and James (1). In her spare time, Val enjoys riding her bike, drinking good coffee, spending the day at the beach, cooking, and visiting the Florida theme parks.
NICU PARENT
Brandi Walcott- Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
Brandi is a 2x preemie mama! She has two boys, Declan (born at 22 weeks, now in heaven) and her rainbow baby, Maddex who was born at 27 weeks and spent 61 days in the NICU. Two weeks after bringing Maddex home, Brandi became a Project NICU Ambassador. She is passionate about getting parents connected to this community in whatever capacity they’re comfortable with so they know they’re never alone in their journey. Brandi lives in Clovis, California with her husband Anthony, their NICU grad Maddex, and their two rescue dogs Reese + Callie.
NICU PARENT
BEREAVED PARENT
Carly Dulabon- Partnership Development Specialist
"My family consists of my husband Rob, my 1 year old twin sons Micah and Gabriel, and our dog Duncan. I'm a local pediatric hospitalist in the northeast Ohio area and grew up in the area as well. Our boys were born at 30 weeks exactly, and spent 40 days (Micah) and 45 days (Gabriel) in the NICU. They have been doing wonderfully since then, are growing, thriving, happy little boys!
NICU PARENT
Haley Rhoades- Project Coordinator
Haley Rhoades is the proud mom to her 34 week twins. Their NICU stay gave Haley the desire to volunteer and give back to the area NICUs, the staff, and the families within those walls. She is so grateful to have found Project NICU to pursue this desire and to help it grow nationwide!
Professionally, Haley works for an automotive supplier as a Program Engineer. Haley has her M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue and is thrilled to be able to use the experience from her career and education to help further Project NICU's mission!
Haley lives in Central Illinois with her husband Chris, twins Ben and Lilly, and their Jack Russell, Riley."
NICU PARENT