The Dayton Southeast Weed & Seed initiative is blessed to have the support of not only the community and various local, state and federal organizations but also a wonderful and dedicated group of staff and volunteers whose tireless efforts do not go unnoticed. Below is an abbreviated list of our staff members.

Joanne M. Hale, Seeding Site Coordinator
joanneh@sunrisecenter.org

Joanne M. Hale has served as the Seeding Coordinator for the Dayton Southeast Weed and Seed Initiative for the past three years. The Director of Montgomery County Sunrise Center, Joanne has worked for the County for 20 years – serving as Director of Nursing of MRDD units and ICF/SNF units for Montgomery County prior to assuming her duties with Sunrise Center 18 years ago. As director, Joanne has obtained more than $2,000,000 in grants that also brought in innovative programming to the eastern half of Montgomery County – including Weed and Seed initiative and the Family Employment Support Network (FESN). Prior to her service for Montgomery County, Joanne managed health care services for Headstart in five area counties, performing Federal reviews in five states and managing health care in migrant camps in Darke and Miami counties. Joanne sits on several boards, including: Center for Health Communities, Homeless Solutions Task Force, Service Integration Task Force, Bomberger Teen Center Board, and the Appalachian Advisory Board at Sinclair Community College.

Joanne has also served as the local chair of Beginning Experience, a support program for divorced, widowed, and separated adults. She is a registered nurse, with a healthcare management degree and Associates Degree in Human Services.

Reverend Beth A. Holten, Weeding Site Coordinator

The Reverend Beth A. Holten is a native east-end Daytonian, a graduate of Cleveland Elementary School and Belmont High School. Beth has degrees in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati (BBA 1981) and Wright State University (MBA 1985). Prior to entering full-time ministry, she was a Banking Office Manager and Investment Operations Manager at Third National Bank in Dayton (now Key Bank). She received her Master of Divinity Degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 2001 and was ordained in The West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church in 2006. Reverend Holten has served at St. Paul United Methodist Church since 2005 and has been active in the east Dayton community working closely with both the Southeast Weed and Seed and the East Dayton Business Association. She has a passion for urban ministry and for working towards a society in which economic poverty is eliminated.

Norma Ryan, Project Manager
normar@sunrisecenter.org

Norma Ryan has been the program manager for the Southeast Dayton Weed and Seed Initiative for the past three years. She brings a wide range of program and organizational management experience to our Initiative, including service as Deputy Clerk for the Preble county Juvenile Courts, curriculum manager for the Family Employment Support Network (FESN), program manager of the Male Responsibility Program – a Byrne Memorial Grant obtained by the City of Riverside, program manager of the Male Responsibility Program funded through Montgomery County’s Targeted Community Based Collaborative (TCBC), and as the Case Management Commissioner for the Youngstown Municipal Court. She sits on several boards including the Sinclair Appalachian Studies Board and the Dunbar Institute Board.

Norma is also a jail chaplain from Christ Episcopal Church - Dayton, where mentors indigent female inmates in local jails. Born and raised in West Virginia, Norma is particularly devoted to southeast Dayton’s Appalachian community.