Ginger Griffeth – President/Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Ginger Griffeth became the President and CEO of Partnership for Strong Families in June 2022, bringing with her over 20 years of dedicated experience in child welfare. A passionate advocate for family preservation and prevention, Ms. Griffeth has devoted her career to improving the lives of children and families across Florida. She earned her degree in Psychology from Florida State University, which laid the foundation for her extensive work in community-based care.
Throughout her career, Ms. Griffeth has held various roles on the frontlines of child welfare, gaining a deep understanding of the challenges faced by children and families involved in the child welfare system. During her recent eight-year tenure with the Florida Department of Children and Families, she oversaw critical policy/programs such as prevention, child protection investigations, human trafficking, child welfare case management, adoption, and Independent Living. She also held positions in the State’s Child Welfare Quality and Innovation Office in capacity of Chief Quality Officer within the Department overseeing, qualitative, quantitative, and performance improvement data/outcomes for child welfare Substance Abuse, and Mental Health.
A lifelong resident of Levy County, Ms. Griffeth continues to reside there with her family, deeply connected to the community she serves.
James Weaver – Chief of Staff
James Weaver joined PSF as Chief of Staff in August of 2022. He is responsible for overseeing PSF’s administration arm, which includes human resources, staff development, contracts and procurement, information technology, finance, revenue maximization, innovation, and data analysis and reporting.
Mr. Weaver has been working in child welfare in Florida since 2004, when he began as a frontline case manager. During his career he worked his way into leadership positions of increasing responsibility with Camelot Community Care, PSF, and most recently, the Department of Children in Families. During his almost 5-year tenure with the Department, he was the statewide child welfare director over child welfare data analysis and reporting, quality assurance, training, and FSFN, as well as policy and practice for child protective investigations, missing children, criminal justice services, human trafficking, and revenue management (Title IV-E, TANF, etc.).
Mr. Weaver has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Valdosta State University and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. He is married and has three daughters.
Kelsey Burnette – Chief Legal Officer
Kelsey Burnette joined PSF as Chief Legal Officer in December 2022. With more than twenty-five years in child welfare, she has extensive experience in both Florida and West Virginia. She began her legal career in West Virginia in 1997 as an assistant prosecuting attorney, in which she also represented West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources in child abuse and neglect matters. She later provided direct legal representation for children in dependency and contested custody cases. Ms. Burnette was a founding member and board chair of the first child advocacy center in West Virginia to receive full accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance.
After moving to Florida in 2006, she worked at the Department of Children and Families’ Children’s Legal Services for more than sixteen years, primarily as a managing attorney, first in Circuits 3 and 8, and then in Circuit 5. During her tenure with the Department, Ms. Burnette worked with Partnership for Strong Families and Casey Family Programs on initiatives to redesign foster care and implement solution-based casework, as well as Permanency and Youth-Centered Round Tables. She served as the statewide lead of the related permanency workgroup from 2016-2018. Ms. Burnette also spearheaded a CLS project to review “cold cases” of youth who are most at risk of aging out of foster care.
Ms. Burnette is a graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Massachusetts, and West Virginia. She is married, and she and her husband have three sons.
Pebbles Edelman – Chief of Clinical and Community Services
Pebbles Edelman is the Chief of Clinical and Community Services for Partnership for Strong Families. She has served in her role since 2009 and is responsible for the oversight and development of all clinical and family preservation programs within PSF’s system of care, as well as provider and community relations. Her responsibilities include oversight of a multi-million dollar services budget, ensuring children and families are receiving quality services and achieving desired outcomes; enhancing PSF’s collaborative relationships with service providers and partners; and overseeing and developing quality prevention programs, including PSF’s network of Resource Centers as well as a $2.5 million federal grant to evaluate and expand their Resource Center Model. Prior to joining PSF in 2004, she served as a Clinical Program Director at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare.
Casey Family Programs has requested Edelman as a presenter and group facilitator in multiple communities nationwide seeking to replicate the Resource Center Model. She has received numerous awards for her achievements, including the Distinguished Service Award for Exemplary Service to the Counseling Profession from the University of Florida, a Meridian Outstanding Supervisor Award and the Partnership for Strong Families’ Rising Star Award in 2009.
Edelman holds a Master’s degree and a Specialist’s degree in counselor education with a focus on marriage and family therapy from the University of Florida. She has been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor since 1997 and a Gainesville resident since 1988. She is a wife and mother of two.
Carol Ruth – Chief of Placement and Caregiver Supports
Mrs. Carol Ruth was appointed Chief of Placement and Caregiver Supports in January of 2023. She is responsible for Placement, Foster Care Licensing, Guardianship Assistance Program, Caregiver Support and Recruitment. She has worked for PSF since 2004, most recently as Director of Quality Operations. Prior to joining PSF, she was a supervisor with the Department of Children and Families. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree from the University of Florida and a Master of Science degree in Social Work and Community Services from Capella University.
She has a heart for caregivers, both kinship and foster parents, who step up to provide care for children in out of home care and the challenges they face. She and her husband have served as kinship caregivers and adopted twice from the child welfare system. She is a lifelong resident of Levy County.
Alissa Cross – Chief of Case Management and Permanency
Alissa Cross is the Chief of Case Management and Permanency. She joined Partnership for Strong Families in 2022 and prior to that was worked over 20 years in child welfare. Her career in child welfare began after an internship with the Department of Children and Families. After that, she spent 12 years in frontline operations in Circuits 2 and 14 and 8 years working at the Department of Children and Families statewide headquarters. During this time, she oversaw programs for prevention, child abuse hotline, child protection investigations, and child welfare case management. She also implemented an innovative qualitative contract monitoring model that focused on evaluating the functioning of child welfare and behavioral health lead agencies.
She most recently served in the Office of Quality and Innovation at the Department of Children and Families. During this time, she was heavily involved in the development and implementation of the Life-of-Case Review tool and collaborated with federal partners on the federal Children and Families Services Review.
