Who We Are
OUR SITE MANAGER
Kaitlyn Brennan
Kaitlyn is our amazing site manager! In this role, Kaitlyn runs our marketing, social media, community engagement, fundraising, events, facility management and so much more.
Kaitlyn has a degree in disability services from Ohio University. Since graduating, Kaitlyn has worked as a communication instructor, residential care professional, data specialist, participant liaison and community behavioral health manager. Kaitlyn brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati team.
Kaitlyn lives in the Loveland area of Cincinnati with her husband and their two dogs.
You can email Kaitlyn at cincinnati@gigisplayhouse.org or call her at (513) 888-1653.
OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD
Angelo Veotte - Board President
Angelo is the president of our executive board.
Angelo is originally from South Africa but moved to the United States in 2010. He lives in the Montgomery area of Cincinnati and works at Procter & Gamble. Angelo and his wife Christine (who runs our programs) have three children: Adam, Elli and Selah. Selah has Down syndrome.
Anna Shelton - Board Vice President
Anna serves as our board vice president.
Anna lives in the the Anderson area of Cincinnati with her husband Dan and four daughters. Their daughter Izzy has Down syndrome. Anna works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as a registered nurse.
Joe Morand - Board Treasurer
Joe is our board treasurer.
Joe lives in the Oakley area of Cincinnati with his dog, Sandy, and works as an accounting manager. Joe joined the board of GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati when his friend had a baby with Down syndrome. "I wanted to make a difference," he says.
OUR GENERAL BOARD MEMBERS
Pam Carver
Pam helps on our fundraising and events committee and serves on our board.
Pam lives on the west side of Cincinnati with her husband Joe. Together they have five grown children. Pam's granddaughter Journee has Down syndrome. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Pam moved to Cincinnati on the recommendation of Journee’s doctors.
Fred Brushaber
Fred plans all of our events, focusing mostly on our big annual fundraiser (the next one happening in March 2024)!
Fred lives in the Anderson area of Cincinnati with his husband Mark and their sons Freddy (who has Down syndrome) and Maxwell. Fred works as a patent examiner for the federal government.
Tim Poirier
Tim runs our facility maintenance, does our IT work and serves on our board.
Tim lives in Cincinnati with his wife Ann (one of our key volunteers) and their four children. Their second child, Alice, has Down syndrome.
Whitney Campbell
Whitney has many years of experience working with Special Olympics. We are so excited to have her on our board! Whitney also serves as our volunteer liaison, working closely with our site manager to recruit and keep great volunteers. She also helps with our fundraising and development. Whitney is a passionate advocate for the special needs community.
Whitney lives in the Anderson area of Cincinnati with her husband Jeff. They have two grown children, Grant and Cate.
Elizabeth Bell
Elizabeth is a phenomenal board member who also helps out tremendously with our programs! She has a master's degree in early childhood special education and now works in developmental disability services.
Elizabeth lives in Cincinnati with her husband Brian. They have two college-aged children.
OUR ADVISORY BOARD
Matt Lumb
Matt leads our advisory board.
Matt lives in Cincinnati with his wife and four children. He got involved with GiGi’s Playhouse Cincinnati because one of his good friends has a child with Down syndrome.
Nicole White
Nicole serves on our advisory board and helps plan events for GiGi’s Playhouse Cincinnati.
Nicole works for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, consults with Down Syndrome Achieves and volunteers for the Special Olympics. She recently earned her PhD.
Nicole has four children, one of whom has Down syndrome.
Gretchen Carroll
Gretchen serves on our advisory board.
Gretchen also works as the clinical special educator and school liaison for the Thomas Center for Down Syndrome at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Gretchen has worked as a clinical special educator, learning specialist and school consultant for more than 25 years. During this time, she has worked with hundreds of children and schools to improve outcomes for children with Down syndrome. Gretchen lives in Cincinnati and is married with four young adult children.
Mark Wiehe
Mark serves on our advisory board.
Mark is married to Karen and they have four children. Their daughter, Becca, has Down syndrome. Lighting up when he talks about Becca, he says, “Having a child with Down syndrome has made us a better family and me a better person.”
Dan Shelton
Dan serves on our advisory board.
Dan lives in the Anderson area of Cincinnati with his wife Anna (one of our board members) and four daughters. Their daughter Izzy has Down syndrome.
Tim Bingaman
Tim serves on our advisory board.
Along with his wife, Tim co-owns Jules & BING! Monograms and Embroidery. He also works for the Small Business Development Center at Miami University and does leadership consulting. Tim and his wife have three children and two grandchildren. Their grandson Wally has Down syndrome.
OUR KEY VOLUNTEERS
Christine Veotte
As our program coordinator, Christine develops our programs that we offer for free to all participants.
Christine and her husband Angelo (our executive board president) live in the Montgomery area of Cincinnati. They share three children: Adam, Elli and Selah. Their daughter Selah has Down syndrome.
As a former teacher, Christine loves planning programs for children and adults with Down syndrome. She says, "My desire has always been to have a place for families to come together, not only for free programs, but to find community and support. I firmly believe that we were all created by God and each have a unique plan and purpose for our lives. Selah has taught our whole family about what is really important: kindness, patience and loving the people around us."
Ann Poirier
Ann was on our startup team, served two years as our board secretary and is now a key volunteer! Ann does a lot of our marketing, including most of the writing for our blog, website, flyers and more.
Ann was born and raised in Cincinnati and never plans to leave. She lives with her husband Tim and their four children: Lucy, Alice, Calvin and Peter. Alice has Down syndrome. Ann runs a blog about Down syndrome and writes articles about Down syndrome that have been published on Yahoo, The Mighty, The Catholic Telegraph and more.
Lindsey Schaaf
Lindsey has a heart for children with special needs and works as an intervention specialist. At GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati, we're blessed to have her run our Kids Club program!
Lindsey and her husband Chris live in the Anderson area of Cincinnati and have three kids: Luke, Millie and Hazel.
Lindsey found out about volunteering at GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati through her good friend Ann Poirier, who serves as our board secretary. Lindsey says, "I wanted to get involved because some of the very best people I know are rocking an extra chromosome, and I wanted to support their development and interests. I love people with Down syndrome and their zest for life, their contagious smiles and their friendliness!"
Tim Andrews
Tim volunteers with GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati by running our Fantastic Friends program! He wanted to get involved with GiGi's Playhouse Cincinnati after his son and daughter-in-law recently had a baby with Down syndrome.
Tim lives in the Montgomery area of Cincinnati with his wife Kathy. They have two grown children and four grandchildren.
Can you see yourself listed here? Want to join our amazing team?
We’re always looking for people who are passionate about Down syndrome and have the desire to make this world a better place. If you'd like to join our board or become one of our key volunteers, please email cincinnati@gigisplayhouse.org.