Our Team

Stacy and husband

Stacy Knox, LPC

Director

Stacy serves as our Director of Spirit of Faith Adoptions. She joined the SOFA Team back in 2007, at which time, Stacy was a single parent. She and her husband, Jeff have 3 adult daughters.

Ellie with her kids

Ellie Hartford

Adoption Support Specialist

Ellie serves adoptive families as our Adoption Support Specialist.  In her role, she manages all homestudy and adoption documentation and files. Her family grew through the blessing of open adoption in 2009 through Spirit of Faith Adoptions, and later joined the SOFA Staff.

Jennifer

Jennifer Mae, LSW

Care Coordinator & Founder of Fireweed Retreat

Jennifer lovingly placed her first born child with an adoptive family, with the assistance of SOFA’s Founder, Phillip Wurster. Two years later, SOFA opened its doors, and Jennifer Mae now provides care and support for expectant parents and birth parents.

Kathryn

Kathryn Gorney, LPC

Adoption Supervisor

As our Adoption Supervisor, Kathryn supports adoptive families through the homestudy and adoptive placement steps. She has provided support to adoptive and foster families for 10 years, and has many foster/adopted siblings.

Kathryn

NiCole Reed, LPCC-S

Interim Program Director

NiCole is a Licensed Clinical Counselor, specializing in trauma recovery. As Program Director, she oversees SOFA's client care programming and writes grants to support funding needs. NiCole also provides trainings for foster and adoptive parents.

Keith with his family

Keith Simpson

Chaplain

Keith serves on our SOFA team as Chaplain. He is the pastor at Holland Free Methodist Church. He has been married to Rachel since 2002, and they have six children, 3 of which entered their family through the blessing of adoption. Pastor Keith has degrees from the Moody Bible Institute and the University of Toledo.

Phillip and family

Phillip Wurster

Founder of SOFA & Chief Executive Director

Phillip had a vision to establish SOFA, a Christian adoption agency over twenty years ago. He now serves as the Chief Executive Director of SOFA as well as a member of its Board of Directors.  He and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of five children, 2 biological and 3 adopted.

Emily and family

Emily Gallagher, LISW-S

Training Coordinator & Adoption Assessor

Emily Gallagher has worked in foster care & adoptions since 2006. She plans our Foster and Adoptive Family Trainings, provides support to adoptive families in Northeast Ohio. Emily and her husband have four children, and two of them were adopted into their family.

Phillip and family

Kayren Woolum

Outreach Coordinator

Kayren Woolum serves as the Outreach Coordinator. In this role, she provides churches, partnering organizations and ministries in Ohio with adoption resources and information. She and her husband have two adult children. In addition, they shepherd a church congregation in northwest Ohio.