Staff

Jodi Burns

Executive Director

Since 2010, Jodi Burns has served as the Executive Director of Heart of Hope. Jodi has presented to over 200 churches and organizations since becoming the Executive Director. Jodi serves on the National Christian Housing Conference Board and has led workshops and been the Keynote Speaker at Pro-life organizations and events. Since Jodi has experienced unplanned pregnancy in her own family, she recognizes the blessed opportunity that God has given her to share the healing power of God's love and faithfulness with the young ladies who choose Heart of Hope as their home away from home. Jodi and her husband of 33 years, David, reside in Shreveport, Louisiana and their daughter and son-in-love have given them four grandchildren.

Rochelle Bledsoe

Administrative Assistant

January 1, 1990 is when Rochelle Bledsoe moved to Shreveport, La from Gardena, Ca. With this dramatic change in life, Rochelle had no idea what God had in store for her. She knew this, God was going to use her for His Glory. Her home church is Life United under the teachings of Pastor Sam Carr where she serves in the choir, as a greeter and children's church.

"For me, serving God is an honor and His reward is His promise."

Rochelle brings 25 years of administrative experience to Heart of Hope where she serves as the Adminstrative Assistant. You can hear singing songs down the hall when she needs to rehearse for choir.

Her goal in life is to serve God with all her heart, mind and soul with the Spirit of Excellence. "When I serve and follow God, everything else just falls into place".

Rochelle's favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13 - "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Rochelle applies that to her professional, spiritual and personal life.

Jenny Moreno

Case Manager

Jenny was born and raised in South Louisiana. As a ministry family, her family moved to Shreveport in 1993 where her parents would pastor The Healing Place for the next 15 years. Over the next few years, Jenny’s calling to serve and encourage people began to blossom. She married her first love, Matt Moreno, in 1997 and they spent the next two years serving students and young adults in Kailua, HI.

 

Upon her return to Shreveport in 1999, she entered the dental field and continued her ministry journey serving babies, kids, students, young adults, and ladies at The Healing Place. She also used her gift of handling finance at her church by serving as the bookkeeper for many years.

 

Understanding the importance of being a mom, Jenny chose to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool their son, Caleb, until he graduated high school. She entered the dental field once more and recently received her diploma from Penn Foster College for completing a program of study in bookkeeping before God opened a door for her to serve young ladies and children at Heart of Hope.

 

She has a heart to follow after Jesus, a desire to serve people, and a knack for bringing the peace of God wherever His Holy Spirit leads her.

 

Barbara Foulk

Certified Educator

After graduating Northwestern State College in 1969, I married and moved to Shreveport to start married life and a teaching career. During these early years, I had two children, boy and girl, and I managed to earn a Master’s Degree in counseling. Several years prior to retirement, I started praying. Didn’t know what, didn’t know where…just knew He had a retirement plan for me! I prayed daily going and coming from work, believed in him and waited on His perfect timing. “God call on You to hear me, I know You will answer me in your time; hear my prayer, O God.” He did, of course! Better yet, He didn’t want me to miss His answer! It was displayed on a billboard on Walker Road near Mackey Lane – HEART OF HOPE – HELP FOR YOUNG LADIES DURING UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES. When the first girls arrived in December 2010, I was in and remain in the classroom today. What may not have been important prior to pregnancy and arriving at HofH often changes. School becomes very important to each and a main concern is not going to the next grade. This is God’s plan for keeping me busy during retirement. All my girls are so special to me. They are not just any young lady; they are a part of me and will always be a part of me.

Hannah Haggard

Volunteer/Event Coordinator

Hannah has a bachelors degree in psychology and a huge passion for event planning and ministry. Ministry is an active part of Hannah’s life not only here at Heart of Hope, but also in the youth ministry at Bethany Baptist Church along with her husband, Sam Haggard, who is the Youth Pastor. Sam and Hannah will have been married two years August 21st. August will be a busy month as they are expecting their first baby! Even with so many new adventures on the horizon, Hannah’s ultimate goal remains the same. She strives to further God’s kingdom by doing His work, by obeying His voice, and by speaking truth and hope into the lives of others.

Board of Directors

Carolyn Hammond

Carolyn is a retired homemaker and co-founder of Heart of Hope. She lived in the community for 58 years before moving to Reno, NV to be near her children and 5 grand children. She is married to Scott, a retired SFD Captain. Her favorite past times are spending time with her family, writing and digital scrapbooking. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “ While volunteering at the CPC as an adoption specialist, I saw a need for a ministry that would house girls experiencing an unplanned pregnancy who needed a safe place and aftercare. The closest options at the time were all at least 2 hours away and not an option for most of the young ladies in our community. Believing our community could sustain such a ministry I decided to say ‘yes’ to God and make my vision a reality.”

Marsha Spell

Marsha is a retired educator and has lived in the community for 40 years. She is married to Patrick and has 2 boys who are adopted. Her favorite past times are playing tennis and pickle ball. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “ While attending a fundraising banquet for the CPC, the speaker challenged everyone to do more for the pro-life community so I took the challenge and decided to serve at Heart of Hope.”

Melinda Gannon

Melinda is retired after 30 years as an educator and counselor in Caddo public schools. Of the many areas she worked in, her favorites were counseling and teaching in the classroom. She is married to John and together they have a blended family of 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Her interests include gardening and camping and spending time outdoors as well as time with her family. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, " She loves seeing the girls realize they have a hope and a future and they can learn ways to share God's love with their baby."

Reisa Johnson

Reisa was born and raised in the Bahamas. Her family relocated to Shreveport in July 2016 and joined the Summer Grove Baptist Church family in November of that year. She has been married to Glenn for 20 years and together they have 4 children: Gabrielle, Geneal, Ethan & Emery. Her hobbies are traveling, listening to live music and dancing. She has served at Compassion House, as a volunteer, then as full operation manager. In 2020 she joined the staff at Summer Grove as Missions Director, responsible for Compassion 360 and local missions. She states,”Having the opportunity to serve and support Heart of Hope is a dream come true. To be able to come alongside girls and young women during an unplanned pregnancy is so humbling and the greatest honor I could ever receive. This ministry allows me to be a tangible expression of our Heavenly Father’s love, grace and mercy to the ladies we serve.”

Sandra Morehart

Sandra completed her Finance degree and MBA at the University of Central Arkansas and moved to Shreveport/Bossier with her husband Travis in1981. She worked for Pickett Industries for 15 years and for Coca Cola for 20. She is now retired. They have two sons, Daniel and Stephen, two wonderful Daughter-in-laws, Kim and Kendall and six amazing grandchildren, Bryce, Dylan, Paige, Milly, Monty and Cotton. Also, one granddaughter-in-law, Alissa who is expecting their first great grandchild, a boy, Reign Allen. Her hobbies include “loving my grandchildren by playing games, making messes in the kitchen and spending time watching and supporting their lives. I love working with children in our various ministries at church. This includes a free Tutoring Ministry, Childrens church, Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. We also love boating on Greers Ferry Lake, Arkansas while we are pondering the worlds problems as we float the day away.” She met Jodie years ago when she shared her vision for Heart of Hope with her church. She states,”Helping young women in their time of need tugged on my heart. I wanted to help. I am excited to get involved using my skills and energy to promote and expand this amazing ministry. It is deeply fulfilling to contribute to a mission that empowers young women and supports them in building brighter futures.”

Sara Smith

Sara was born in Texas but raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her education and professional background is social work. She owned and operated a local small business, Sugarwalk Popcorn, a gourmet popcorn and snack store. She is a wife to Aaron and mom to four as well as a birth mom to one. She enjoys working out, baking bread, anything crafty or creative and serving at her church. She proudly served at Heart of Hope as an intern while she obtained her Masters in Social work, as a volunteer, the Social Worker, and an administrative assistant. She states “It seems I bleed Heart of Hope. As a teen mom and a birth mom, the emotions and reality that come with unplanned pregnancy are very personal to me. I pray I may share the hope and joy that can come from a very scary situation through serving Heart of Hope in whatever capacity I can.”

Shannon Leone

Shannon is a registered nurse and has experience working in NICU. Presently she is the CFO of Leone Rehab Resources along side her husband Stephen. She has 3 children and 1 grand daughter. She has lived in the community for 51 years and is a co-founder of Heart of Hope. Her favorite past times are spending time with her family and hosting events. She volunteered at the CPC as an ultrasound nurse and met girls experiencing unplanned pregnancies who had no support, no where to go and thought their only choice may be abortion. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “I saw the need for a local residential home where these girls could go. At the same time I was considering adoption, but after asking God for direction I decided my desire to minister was going to be met through establishing a maternity home and building relationships with the girls who came to live there.”

Todd Nottingham

Todd is the Customer Service Manager for AEP SWEPCO and has worked there for 30 years. He and his wife Amanda have been married for 23 years and live in Benton. They have two children,Wesley and Jacob, who will be attending Louisiana Tech this fall. Todd teaches adult Sunday School for married couples at his church. He is a certified scuba diver and loves traveling to new places. He supports Heart of Hope because it is a Christ-centered place for those who need to know they are loved and cherished. He states, "The nuclear family is what God's paln was from the beginning. Heart of Hope helps restore what was broken and gives hope to those who are blessed to come through this place."

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