OUR TEAM
Danielle Schmidt
Executive Director
Danielle Schmidt, a long-time volunter for our CAC, moved from Board President to Executive Director in January 2022. Over the course of her 20 years of working in the social services field, Danielle has worked as a case manager at Totin Family Services and at Butler County Health System with Family Services and Maternal Services. In the latter role, she conducted psycho-social assessments and led a teen parenting program. She worked at Bethany Christian Services as a Foster Care Worker, and most recently at the Butler County Housing and Redevelopment Authority as the Assistant Director of Grant Management and Resident Services. Danielle is also a certified doula. Danielle is looking forward to supporting the CAC’s continued growth. In working with the Board of Directors and staff to ensure the CAC's programming and services best serve families, she sees her role as one of stewardship. She is eager to be in the community raising awareness about child sexual abuse, child abuse prevention, human trafficking, and the critical work of the CAC and its multidisciplinary partners. Danielle is passionate about not only mitigating the impact of abuse for children, but working diligently to empower community members to support one another. Danielle is the proud mother of three children, three dogs, and a hive of bees. She and her husband, Rob, enjoy skiing, kayaking, and myriad outdoor activities together.
Joshua Strelbicki
Assistant Director
Forensic Interviewer/Coordinator
Multi-Disciplinary Team Coordinator
Joshua Strelbicki is a Northeast Ohio native and graduate of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Joshua has been engaged in the non-profit world throughout his entire career and has a passion for helping populations in need. Joshua has experience working with children and adults with special needs, adult and adolescent mental health, adoption and permanency, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Joshua has a deep appreciation for learning and teaching and worked long-term as a part-time as a lead facilitator at Slippery Rock University's Leadership Development Center, facilitating corporate and student teambuilding workshops on low and high rope courses. He also serves as the Past Chair for the Butler Collaborative for Families, which is dedicated to reducing barriers to services for people all across the life span, of which the Child Advocacy Center has been a long-time member. When not engaged in community or learning efforts, Joshua is found in the outdoors pursuing his love for rock climbing, kayaking, backpacking, and nature photography.
Sue Cabrey-Counts, MSW, LSW
Lead Forensic Interviewer/Coordinator
Sue was born and raised outside Philadelphia and moved to western Pennsylvania in 1981 after graduating from Penn State University. Sue’s introduction to social work began as a foster parent, and it is there that her passion for working with children began. To this day, Sue maintains a relationship with one of her foster children who is now a grandmother. Throughout her career, Sue has worked with at-risk children in various capacities. As a 23-year-veteran intake investigator for Butler County Children & Youth Services, Sue has developed a specialized interest in forensic interviewing and has been conducting interviews since around 2000. She is currently certified in several modalities of forensic interviewing. When Butler County decided to pursue a child advocacy center model for abuse and neglect investigations, Sue transitioned to the child advocacy center with the founding executive director, Dr. Denna Hays. It has been an honor for her to serve the children and families locally and participate in a child-focused multidisciplinary team model. Sue previously trained for the University of Pittsburgh’s Child Welfare Training Program to onboard child welfare caseworkers and has educated caseworkers on investigating child sexual abuse. She was also an instructor for Youngstown State University when their social work department offered classes at Butler County Community College. Sue and her husband, Chuck, share five children and six grandchildren who light up their lives. And we can’t forget Deuce, Sue’s most loving and supportive fur companion, who provides comfort and love to all.
Ashley Rummel
Forensic Interviewer/Coordinator
Ashley graduated from Penn State Behrend in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, stemming from a strong desire to work with children that began blossoming when she was in 7th grade. Although she didn’t know then the exact path she’d take, her passion to help children and families became her guiding star. At her first post-college job as a Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS), Ashley designed and implemented treatment and behavioral plans for children. Beginning in 2004, she worked at Family Pathways as first a Permanency Facilitator then in the placement department, certifying foster/kinship homes and monitoring child placements. In 2010, Ashley became a supervisor of the Placement and Legacy Departments, programs that worked with biological parents to try to maintain their children in their home or work toward reunification. In 2018, Ashley was hired at Children’s Advocacy Center of Butler County as a Forensic Interviewer. She is currently trained in the Child-First, National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC), and Cornerhouse modalities of interviewing and has specialty training in Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities, Interviewing Child Sex Trafficking Victims, Interviewing Young Children, and Court Preparation and Testimony. Her ultimate objective is to learn enough under the tutelage of Sue Counts to become Lead Facilitator and as skilled at her role as her highly-respected mentor. With her dedication, experience, and drive, she is well on her way to this goal. Ashley and her husband, Josh, adore their two boys, Issac and Camdyn, and their dog Breckin. They can be found most days at the hockey rink.
Sam Taylor
Human Trafficking Coordinator
Sam Taylor is a born-and-raised Butler County native and 2012 Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in promotions and non-profit management. Post-graduation, Sam moved from the area to eastern Pennsylvania where she began to develop her career. It was then that she started working in the “helping” field and commenced working with children and adults with special needs as a therapeutic support staff through Youth Advocate Programs in Lebanon, PA. She then went on to work as a district office staff member for former State Representative Mauree Gingrich in Palmyra, PA, where she aided with constituents' local and state level concerns. Sam became a Child Protective Services caseworker through Dauphin County Children and Youth Services in 2015, conducting physical, sexual, and medical neglect investigations and causing her passion for child safety to soar. Since moving back to Butler County to raise her family, she has worked as a Transition Specialist for Lawrence County Social Services and as a Systems Advocate through Victim Outreach Intervention Center. It was through VOICe that Sam was introduced to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Butler County and her newest adventure began as a Human Trafficking Coordinator. She will be assisting in establishing the county’s very first human trafficking taskforce. Sam and her husband, Antoine, have two children, Korrine and Quintin. She can always be found with a coffee in her hand and her family by her side.
Lauren Merten
Administrative Assistant
Lauren graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology. While an undergrad student, Lauren was an intern for the Children's Advocacy Center of Butler County. In May 2023, Lauren stepped into the role of Administrative Assistant. Lauren has a passion for helping those in need and working with children of all ages. When she's not at the CAC, you can find Lauren enjoying time with her family & friends.
