Our Mission:
Helping at-risk families with children achieve secure housing, financial stability, and long-term independence through a compassionate response.

Staff & Board of Directors

Staff

Armena Mkhitaryan-Schmidt

Armena Mkhitaryan-Schmidt

Executive Director: Armena joined Family Promise of Las Vegas in January 2024. Armena was born in Armenia, a small country known for its beauty and sunshine. She loved to study, read books, and write poems. When a devastating earthquake struck the country in 1988, she joined her aunt and uncle to volunteer and help those affected. Her love and dedication to nonprofit management began when she was 13, and she has not stopped serving since then! In Armenia, she helped the Mission Armenia nonprofit organization serve over 14,500 homeless and low-income seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities. Under her leadership at Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, over 430,000 people in need have been served in Southern Nevada. Armena received her bachelor’s degree from Yerevan State University in Armenia and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Delaware, DE. Armena has two sons, Aren and Eric, whom she loves dearly.

Beckie Larson

Beckie Larson

Family Navigation/Eviction Prevention Manager: Ms. Larson came to work at Family Promise of Las Vegas in 2022 as a Family Navigator. Ms. Larson has over 20 years of local non-profit experience. Prior to her employment with FPLV she worked for United Way of Southern Nevada in many capacities for 16 years as well as other non-profit agencies in Southern Nevada. Ms. Larson served as secretariat to our local Emergency Food and Shelter Board and served on many committees with EFSP and other federal and state granting boards which provide funding for emergency needs in our local community. Since joining FPLV she administers our Eviction Diversion programs with rental assistance for families with minor aged children as well as provides case management for families in FPLV’s Bridge Program. Ms. Larson grew up in Billings, Montana and came to Las Vegas in 2001. Ms. Larson holds an associate degree in legal administrative management.

Marisa Cervantes

Marisa Cervantes

Fund Development Director: I am the Fund Development Director at Family Promise of Las Vegas. I have a strong passion for serving vulnerable populations and have worked in the non-profit sector for over twenty years. My experience includes assisting individuals and families who are either experiencing or are at risk of homelessness or food insecurity. I have more than ten years of experience in grant writing and management, with a proven track record of successfully acquiring funds to support various programs, operations, capital, and even the creation of new programs. At Family Promise, I lead our fundraising, marketing, social media management, and grant-writing efforts, securing essential funding to maintain our programs and initiatives. I work tirelessly to ensure families have the support they need to secure stable housing, from securing funds to creating brand awareness. As we embark on the exciting journey of building our Family Navigation Center, I’m thrilled to be part of a team that’s expanding our capacity to serve even more families in need. Together, we’re making a lasting impact on our community, one family at a time.

Crystal Martinez

Crystal Martinez

Crystal joined the staff of Family Promise of Las Vegas in October of 2017 as the front desk receptionist and administrative support and data entry specialist to the case management team. Ms. Martinez has lived in the Las Vegas area for most of her life, volunteering her services to many local non-profits before coming to our agency. Crystal is bi-lingual and a great asset when assisting Spanish speaking families. Her smile is the first thing people see when they enter our office.

Bridget Ganier

Bridget Ganier

Grants Manager: Bridget attended the University of Phoenix where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 2005. Bridget moved to Las Vegas in 2008 and began working for United Labor Agency of Nevada as the Program Manager where she managed the Nutrition for Life Program, Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Outside Housing Grant, and the Supplemental Food Program and performed internal audits to ensure accuracy of all data entry on client files and reports. Bridget joined Family Promise of Las Vegas in 2020 as a Family Advocate Specialist to administer the Siemer Foundation Grant which was awarded to FPLV through United Way. Bridget began managing the Motel Shelter Program at Family Promise of Las Vegas in 2021 and worked closely with enrolled families to develop and achieve self-sufficiency goals of improved employment and sustainable housing. Bridget currently is the Grants Manager who oversees the agencies federal, state, county and foundational grants and continues to oversee the Motel Shelter and Rental Assistance Programs. She is passionate about FPLV’s mission and is always looking for ways to bring on new programs and resources through community outreach to help our families overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

Sam Black

Sam Black

Van Transportation Staff

 

Board of Directors

Brent Wood – President

Brent has volunteered with Family Promise for many years, teaching financial literacy and providing support via Family Promise’s congregant programs.
As the new Board President for 2022, Brent is excited to help Family Promise expand services to homeless families during this important time as we build the Family Navigation Center with transitional housing units and facilities for staff and services. Brent brings his business leadership skills from his experience 30 years as an manager/executive in high-tech and financial industries and his education which includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master’s Degree in Education.

Lisa Jones – Vice President

Lisa is a strong believer in education and wants all children to have the best possible chance to succeed. A stable home environment is a critical building block for that success. She has served on the board of Family Promise of Las Vegas for 9 years. In that time she has witnessed many families transition from homelessness to stability. Lisa holds a BA degree in Microbiology from the University of Colorado and a Masters in Public Administration from UNLV. She is retired from a 30-year career in public health with the Nevada State Health Division.

Claudia Widhalm – Treasurer

​​​Claudia is the Finance Manager for The Crossing, a Christian Church, since 2014. Previously she was the Chief Financial Officer for Templeton Development Corporation, a real estate development and construction company, for 17 years. She received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University. Claudia is committed to the mission of Family Promise of Las Vegas and is honored to serve on it’s board since 2007.

Chris Walther – Secretary

Chris is proud to serve on the Family Promise of Las Vegas board and support Family Promise’s mission of helping homeless families achieve sustainable housing and independence. Chris was introduced to Family Promise through his wife, who is a Family Promise volunteer coordinator. Chris is a business and real estate transactional attorney at Fennemore Craig, P.C., and has resided in Las Vegas since graduating from Brown University (where he played college football and earned Academic All-Ivy-League honors) and the University of Oregon School of Law.

Kristin Kirui-Case

Kristin is the Owner of MattNik Bookkeeping and Tax Solutions. With her Master’s Degree and over 6 years of experience, Kristin has been working with Small Business Owners and Self-employed Individuals helping them with their Bookkeeping, Budgeting and Financial Analysis needs. Her goal is to educate, help them get organized and prepare them and their businesses for success. Over the years she has helped her clients understand their financial numbers so they would be prepared to make the big decisions in their businesses. Kristin Kirui-Case is the creator and host of Educating Your Money Podcast. Which is a podcast geared towards small business owner’s and self-employed individuals.

Curtis A. Parker, Jr.

Curtis joined the Family Promise of Las Vegas board in 2022, with the passion to support the mission of helping homeless families achieve independence. Curtis has over 16+ years of human resources experience, with 12 years of leading human resources change agent. He oversees all aspects of Human Resources, Payroll and Facility Management for ResortCom, while serving on our Executive Leadership Team. Under his leadership, ResortCom’s HR department has received industry recognition as a 2018, 2019, & 2020 ARDY award finalist from the prestigious American Resort Development Association (ARDA). Prior to ResortCom, Curtis worked as the Vice President of Human Resources with Resource Bank, where he helped further an Employer of Choice environment. Curtis graduated from Southern University with a Bachelor of Arts, and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the prestigious Public Administration Institute within the E.J. Ourso Business School at Louisiana State University. He has led companies in the private, public, and non-profit sector, and is an integral part of the community, coaching youth soccer and mentoring young professionals.

Steve Marlow Bio Picture

Steven Marlow

Steve joined the board of Family Promise in 2021. In a search for new non-profits in which to participate, he came across FPLV. Upon learning about FPLV’s mission, success rate, and passionate staff, he became a strong believer in the work that we do and wanted to become involved. Steve graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and has spent the majority of his career as an equity and financial derivates trader, in addition to working in the actuarial department of a property and casualty insurance company for a few years. After bouncing around between New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Sydney, he ultimately made his home with his wife in 2006 and is the proud father of two boys. He is a strong believer in the value of community and has found FPLV an excellent vehicle for supporting that.

Jonathan “Luke” Aseltine

Jonathan joined Gerety and Associates, CPAs in February 2024. Originally from the Pacific Northwest Jonathan, his wife and first son moved to Las Vegas in 2001. He spent 15 years in the gaming industry where he did everything from dealing to shift manager before transferring to public accounting. He then went back to school at UNLV to get his accounting degree where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2019. He received his CPA license from the Nevada State Board of Accountancy in 2021. During his time in public accounting, he has been exposed to all kinds of tax work from large casinos to personal returns. He has specialized in S-corporation and partnership passthrough returns but enjoys the complexity of all kinds of tax work. He also loves to give back to Las Vegas and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Family Promise of Las Vegas, a local non-profit that helps families in need. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife and two sons. He also enjoys the many great restaurants of Las Vegas, playing video games and anything Star Wars.

Lenny Chide

Lenny started serving the community during his time off working with underprivileged youth at the YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs in 1981. Lenny moved to Las Vegas in 1987 where he attended UNLV to obtain a BS in Business Administration – Accounting. He began his banking career in 1990 and started volunteering to teach financial education. After 25 years in banking, he joined Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada as their Executive Director in 2010 where he taught homebuyer education and developed a program to purchase distressed houses, rehabilitated them, and NHS sold them to low to moderate-income families. Lenny returned to banking in 2015 and has sat or sits on various boards in various officer roles as Board Chair or Treasurer. The organizations have included Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada, Policy Council of Homelessness, HomeAid of Southern Nevada, and most recently Family Promise of Las Vegas. Lenny enjoys serving on the board of Family Promise as he shares their vision of helping homeless families achieve sustainable safe housing.