Caring for our children and our families

Our Team

Sharon DiPietro, Director of Permanency and Adoption Services

Sharon joined our team in 2009 and has over 40 years of child welfare experience that includes child protective services, general protective services, and all aspects of private and public adoptions. Sharon oversees all SWAN services at our agency and supervises 6 staff as well as several independent contractors.

Tracy Buchanan, Director of Foster Care Services

Tracy joined our team in 2018 and has 20 years of experience in child welfare services. She has worked in direct care, supervisory, and administrative positions throughout her career. She has extensive experience in foster care recruitment, approval, and training of resource families. While Tracy’s primary responsibilities at LVA are to oversee the day-to-day operations of foster care services, she takes an active role in case management services. Her vision for foster care services is to continue to improve programmatically so that children and families are provided with the highest quality case management services from our agency.

Sheila Maslo, Foster Care Supervisor

Sheila joined our team in 2019 and has 15 years of child welfare experience. Her background includes both foster care and adoption work, and she has held both direct care and supervisory roles. Sheila supervises 6 foster care caseworkers and is committed to ensuring the children and families we serve are provided with the quality care they deserve.

Charis Koch, Foster Care Supervisor

Charis joined our team in 2018 and has 15 years of social work experience. Her background includes drug and alcohol counseling and mental health work, where she has held both direct care and administrative positions. Charis supervises 6 foster care caseworkers and is dedicated to meeting the needs and best interests of the children and families we provide care for. Charis is also our team expert in LVA’s electronic case management system and ensures the system runs smoothly day-to-day.

Sue George, Intake Coordinator

Sue worked for many years in the Early Childhood field as an educator, trainer, mental health consultant, and provided behavioral support for children and teachers. She was involved with quality assurance at the state level with the Keystone STARS program and served as a quality coach for childcare programs located in multiple counties throughout NEPA. As Intake Coordinator, she ensures that our families receive the support needed in order for them to be successful with Foster Care. Intake workers go into the home within days of a child being placed to get them started on the path to success and remain with the family for the first 60-90 days.

Jacqueline Eckenrode, Program Coordinator

My name is Jacqueline Eckenrode. I’ve been employed by Loftus-Vergari and Associates for the last six years. During this time, I’ve provided case management to kinship families and completed numerous adoptions. Prior to joining LVA, I worked in the Scranton area for 20 years delivering a variety of programs aimed at helping children within the child welfare system and their families. My current role at LVA is coordinating the Post Permanency Program, an initiative offered through SWAN that supports children and parents after permanency is established.