Who we are Alexey Ferrell | Executive Director Phone number: 336-342-5238 ext. 13
It has been said that most people do not end their careers in the same field in which they started and this is certainly true of Alexey. Her first career was that of a high school English teacher. However, it was when she became a volunteer for the Humane Society that she found two things she really enjoyed: one was working to help animals and the other was working in the nonprofit sector.
She started working in the nonprofit sector prior to coming to work at ReDirections in 1994 as Executive Director when the agency was just beginning and left after three years to work for the Humane Society. After ten years she returned to ReDirections again as Executive Director to find a larger agency with many more programs than when she left. Today she volunteers for Triad Golden Retriever Rescue and spends much of her free time either walking Casey, her rescue Golden, or vacuuming up his hair.
Bonnie Dickens | Finance Officer Phone number: 336-342-0882 ext. 14
Bonnie began her career as Program Director for Mediation Services in 1995. At that time Mediation Services was a new program and its primary focus was on community and district court mediation. Since then she has been instrumental in identifying needs in Rockingham County which could be met by mediation, e.g., children with attendance problems through truancy mediation.
Bonnie enjoys volunteering and currently serves as treasurer and assistant pianist for her church. In the past she served as the first Exalted Ruler for the Reidsville Elks. She also volunteereed with the Boy Scouts of Cherokee Council and received the Silver Beaver and Allan "Doc" Lewis Award. However, one of her most favourite experiences was the 18 years she worked the NASCAR circuit as a scorer for a variety of teams. Not only did she get to see all the races but also she got to travel all over the country and made lots of friends with whom she still communicates.
Diane Purgason | Mediation Manager Phone Number: 336-342-0882 ext 10
Diane started volunteering with ReDirections several years ago. Today, she mediates district court and business cases in addition to teaching conflict resolution classes at Rockingham High School. During court mediation she acts as a neutral third party in order to resolve the types of conficts that tie up the court system and which are better solved by the parties themselves. Diane taught school for a number of years and that is one of the reasons why she appreciates the value of our mediation programs. She also teaches Conflict Resolution classes to high school freshman in order to teach them ways to prevent as well as resolve conflicts they may encounter at home, school or in the community.
Volunteering comes naturally to Diane as she began volunteering with her Irish Setters, collies and now her retired greyhounds doing pet therapy at local nursing homes and hospice many years ago. She and her three legged greyhound, Sampson, started the pet therapy program at Hospice Home in High Point four years ago.
Diane likes to share a couple of quotes that she says speaks for why she enjoys what she does at ReDirections:
You may not have saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartaches for other folks, you are a pretty rich man. . - Seth Parker -
It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference. - Tom Brokaw -
Guilio Dattero / AMENDS Coordinator Phone number: 336.342.5238 ext. 212
Since the summer of 2017, Guilio Dattero has served as coordinator of AMENDS (Abusive Men Exploring New DirectionS), a domestic violence prevention program. This marks a return for him to ReDirections after having worked working here in 20011-12 in an anti-gun violence grant position. As a law enforcement officer,Guilio witnessed many vicious, horrible domestic crime scenes, and he says, “You never know who in your class is capable of committing such an offense” So as a facilitator, he understands the importance and challenge of delivering effective, relevant lessons, hoping all the while that the students are listening and changing their attitudes and behavior. It must be working because so far, no AMENDS student who has successfully completed the 26-week course has re-offended with a domestic violence-related crime. That’s quite an accomplishment.
Guilio spends some of his off-time working out at the Reidsville Family YMCA, where he has served on one of its boards. He has several crime novels to his credit, having drawn on experiences from his police career at the Reidsville Police Department, and he occasionally enjoys writing humorous poetry. In the summer, he and his wife, Cathy, a local educator, enjoy spending time at the beach. They have two wonderful grandkids who live in Raleigh, so I-40 stays hot!
We have a dedicated board of directors with vast and varied experience including the law, business, and human services. The board and staff work closely together to create organizational policy and to ensure that ReDirections fulfills its mission.
Kerri J Wikle - Board Chair Beth Simmons - Vice President Business Consultant, United Healthcare CPA, Richard Westmoreland CPA
Lynn Smith - Secretary Joe Snell - Treasurer Community Volunteer Community Volunteer
Joshua Bowers - Member Linda Dunn - Member Attorney Professor, Elon College
Jason Gibson - Member Jeane Heath - Member Probation Officer Community Volunteer
Bill Shreve - Member Julie Talbert - Member Community Volunteer Executive Director, Eden Boys & Girls Club
Our Board of Directors
