Staff Spotlight: Anna McDonnell, Advocacy Initiatives and Implementation Manager

Anna McDonnell is the Advocacy Initiatives and Implementation Manager for Texas CASA. She moved to The Woodlands, Texas in 2014 and began volunteering for Child Advocates of Montgomery County. Her background before being involved with CASA was in the retail sector, where she has over 20 years of experience working in Human Resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana University.  

Tell us about yourself and what drew you to working in the child welfare space. 

When we moved to Texas in 2014, I was still commuting between New York City and Houston a few days a week. I had a hybrid role before hybrid was even a thing! Eventually, I realized that the commute was too demanding and decided to leave the organization. A friend who knew about my background in training and recruiting introduced me to the local CASA program in Montgomery County.

Interestingly, I had started college as a social work major, so advocacy has always been close to my heart. I’d previously volunteered with organizations supporting children, and becoming a CASA volunteer felt like coming full circle. I loved being an advocate and also enjoyed serving on the recruiting committee. That experience truly reignited my passion for child advocacy.

How long have you worked for Texas CASA, and how did you get involved with the CASA mission?

I began working with Texas CASA as a consultant in 2016. At the time, I was a volunteer with Child Advocates of Montgomery County, and one of the children I was assigned to had one of the first cases in Texas to receive Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) services. That experience allowed me to work with Candice Dosman, who greatly influenced my approach to engaging families and advocating for the best interests of children.

When the CFE Coach roles were introduced, I applied and became the coach for Region 6. It was such an exciting time, as we were helping to roll out this innovative initiative. Over the years, my role evolved from CFE Coach to Implementation Specialist, focusing on embedding the CFE approach across various aspects of advocacy work.

Tell us about your work in your current role. 

I’m currently the Advocacy Initiatives and Implementation Manager, and it’s a role I find incredibly rewarding. With my background in project management and launching new initiatives, I’m thrilled to support programs participating in various advocacy pilots. Right now, I’m working on two key initiatives: Court-Ordered Services (COS) and Justice-Involved Youth (JIY).

In COS advocacy, the CASA volunteer advocates for the child who remains with their parents at home while they continue to work through a service plan. The hope of this advocacy is to help build a support network around the child and family, so that family preservation occurs, and the child is not removed.  The JIY pilot involves assigning a CASA volunteer to a youth who is involved with the juvenile justice system. The advocacy for these youth is very similar to advocacy in the child welfare system, with the hope that the youth, with the strong support of the CASA volunteer, can develop a strong positive network and identify a different path forward that does not include further involvement with the juvenile justice system. In both pilots, my role is to support local programs, identify meaningful data to demonstrate the impact of CASA volunteers, and help create implementation pathways for other programs interested in these efforts.

Another part of my role involves supporting our CASA Anti-Child Trafficking advocacy (CASA ACTS). Working alongside Torey Tipton, our ACT Consultant, we help programs incorporate available ACT resources and collaborate with stakeholders to protect children in foster care and juvenile justice from traffickers.

What is your favorite part of your job? 

My favorite part of the job is collaborating with the incredible CASA staff, volunteers and local programs across Texas who share the same passion for improving outcomes for children and families. I’m constantly inspired by their dedication and creativity in finding ways to support those we serve.

It’s an honor to walk alongside these local CASA programs and be part of their journey, whether that’s through new advocacy pilots or anti-trafficking efforts. I also love being a member of the Network Services team and seeing the variety of ways we work together to connect children with family members and promote healing. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities, and I’m grateful to be part of this meaningful work.