Child Welfare & Safety - Safe Families New York City

Our Team

Our amazing volunteers bring the Safe Families movement to life in the community, guided by a devoted staff pouring their hearts into supporting isolated families, training and vetting volunteers, and partnering with local agencies to help keep families together!

Alex Tindal Wiesendanger…Director

Alex Tindal Wiesendanger is the NYC Director of Safe Families for Children. Alex is a native New Yorker, born in Harlem and now living in the Bronx. He has a Masters Degree in Social Justice and Community Development from the Loyola University Institute of Pastoral Studies. He brings more than two decades of leadership experience in faith, labor and non-profit settings and is the author of Seeds of Justice: Organizing Your Church to Transform the World. Alex’s passion for supporting families and preventing separation is fueled by he and his wife’s journey to adopt their two beautiful children out of the foster care system. Alex is also a dedicated coach for Harlem Little League.

Gaby Amorelli…Family Support Coordinator (Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens)

Gaby was born and raised in Queens, NY. She grew up in a church community and home that emphasized the importance of hospitality and generosity, which continually impacts her life choices. She moved to Tennessee to attend Covenant College. In 2021, she started as the Safe Families Coordinator in Chattanooga, TN. Gaby moved back to Queens in 2024, and transferred her experience to her role with Safe Families NYC. She is passionate about the Safe Families mission and loves serving the City of New York.

Jasmine Francis…Community Engagement Specialist

Jasmine is from upstate New York and was raised in a loving family that was deeply engaged in their church and local community. Her parents consistently modeled hospitality and sacrificial generosity, opening their lives to those in need. Their example profoundly shaped Jasmine and sparked a lifelong passion to serve those who are often overlooked. She earned a Master’s Degree in Human Services and has devoted much of her career to ministry and community work. Jasmine is especially passionate about seeing families flourish in healthy, life-giving relationships. Jasmine and her husband also pastor Liberty Church NYC in Lower Manhattan. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and children.

Anna Lourelle Pelayo…Mighty Village Program Manager

Before settling in New York City 11 years ago, Anna traveled around the world as a youth program director and singer on international cruises. She now resides in the Bronx, and has two adorable boys, aged ten and seven years old. Anna has always had a heart for others and a strong dedication to supporting families and their wellbeing. She is a certified Family Healing Ambassador in the Department of Education, facilitating workshops for parents, staff, educators, guardians and students. Now, Anna is the Program Manager of Mighty Village, Safe Families NYC’s peer-to-peer program for isolated parents. Her favorite quote is, “You’ll never know how strong you are until the only choice you have left is to be strong.”

Emily Cowan…Associate Director

Emily has enjoyed calling many parts of the US south and Midwest home, but, since 2012, she and her family have made a life in Brooklyn. She received her Master in Social Work at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC where the ideals of prevention, equity and social justice took deep root. Since 2016, Emily has served Safe Families NYC, supporting our dedicated staff, generous volunteers and some of the most resilient families in NYC. Emily brings 2 decades of professional experience working with marginalized youth and families and her personal experience as a licensed foster parent to the Family Support Team at SFFC. You can also find Emily and her fluffy sidekick Jellybean serving NYC as a therapy dog team with Good Dog Foundation.

Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez…Family Support Coordinator (Upper Manhattan & The Bronx)

Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez is a proud daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and was born and raised in New York City. She currently lives in the Bronx with her husband and son – where she is a local Associate Pastor at Renovation City Church, leader of Full Collective ministry, and the author of ‘Being a Sanctuary’ and ‘False Peace’. She received her Masters in Social Work from Alliance University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Theological and Biblical Studies at Denver Seminary. She is passionate about serving the Bronx and helping people be pro-neighbor in her role as Family Support Coordinator for Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

Nicole Amoako…Community Engagement Specialist

Nicole is a life-long New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx, NY. She grew up in a thriving church community that was active in their community, meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. Nicole brought this same passion for others into her career when she began working with young adults. Her professional work has focused on workforce development and economic justice. She currently lives in Yonkers, NY with her husband and kids. Nicole loves serving her city with Safe Families for Children.

Jackie Amorelli…Bilingual Program Coordinator

Jackie was born and raised in New York City, where she grew up in a single-mother household on the Upper West Side. Her home was always open to other single mothers. When she was twelve, Jackie moved to Queens, started attending church, and committed her life to Christ. She graduated from Queens College with a major in French and a minor in Spanish (her first language). Now, Jackie lives in Queens with her husband. She has three children and two grandchildren. Jackie is excited to work with Safe Families for Children and come alongside the Hispanic community helping them to create meaningful connections and ease their burden.

Olivia Voegtle…Program Administrator

Olivia graduated from The King’s College, Manhattan with aBachelor of Arts in English. Her writing on the relational consequences of the purity culture movement has been published in Christianity Today. As our Program Admin, Olivia handles a variety of duties that allow her to combine her creative spirit and love of writing with her desire to love her neighbors and see her city thrive. Olivia resides in Brooklyn with her husband and many plants.

Our staff members function in three teams:

1. Family Support Team (conduct intake with families and provide professional support to volunteers).

2. Community & Volunteer Mobilization Team (recruit churches, community organizations and volunteers).

3. Mighty Village (elevating the voice of parent participants, leading Parent Cafes and peer support workshops, and innovating new ways to improve the model).

Our Volunteers

Our volunteers are not case managers. They aren’t perfect parents; some of them aren’t parents. They are all compassionate New Yorkers who believe that partnering with us to help strengthen families is one way we can all work together to help make NYC a great place to raise a family.
We have a team approach to volunteering so that no one feels alone or overwhelmed. We average 3 volunteers matched with each family and our vision is to have volunteers in every neighborhood in all five boroughs.