Our Founders
Rob and Reece Scheer are the proud fathers of five children from the foster care system who arrived at their home with trash bags. Growing up in foster care himself, Rob remembered feeling disposable as a child carrying a trash bag to his foster home, and he wondered how this could still be happening 30 years later.
In 2013, the Scheer family set out on a mission to eliminate the use of trash bags in the foster care system and provide children entering the system with brand new essential and comfort items. To date, Comfort Cases has impacted over 200,000 children in the foster care system.
Rob is currently the CEO of Comfort Cases, traveling the country to share his story and advocate for youth in foster care. He published his memoir in 2018: A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time. Reece cares for their five children at home. They live on a farm in Darnestown, MD with 2 cats, 2 dogs, a bird, 3 goats, several chickens and ducks, and a pig named Penelope.
READ ROB’S FULL BIO
Board of Directors
Laura Degnon
President
Read Bio Laura Degnon
President
Laura Degnon, CAE, is President and CEO of Degnon Associates, an accredited association management company serving medical, health and scientific professional associations. Laura resides in Rockville, MD with her fiancée, six of their seven children and their Labradoodle.
Andrew Lewis
Treasurer
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Treasurer
Andrew Lewis is an audit partner at KPMG LLP, one of the world’s leading professional services firms providing audit, tax, and advisory firm to many of the world’s largest organizations. He lives with his wife and three children in Maryland.
Elizabeth Luke
Secretary
Read Bio Elizabeth Luke
Secretary
Elizabeth Luke is a graduate from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. A true trailblazer in the public relations industry, in 2020 Business Insider highlighted her as one of the top, up and coming public relations professionals in technology communications. Currently the Communications Lead at Pinterest, she previously worked at Twitter. Elizabeth is committed to our Mission of eliminating trash bags throughout the foster care system.
Bill Lynch
Read Bio Bill Lynch
Bill Lynch is a proud Father, Husband, Grandfather, and U.S. Air Force Veteran. Bill has a passion for process improvements and has dedicated his life to improving the lives of others. As the co-Founder of a Project Management Consultation Firm (ProChain Solutions, Inc.), Founding Member of The National Women’s Soccer League, and co-Owner of Washington D.C.’s Women’s Professional Soccer Team, The Washington Spirit, Bill has had a direct, positive impact on thousands of lives. Bill joined Comfort Cases to help make an impact and improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable youth.
Lisa Dallos
Read Bio Lisa Dallos
Lisa is a public relations veteran with decades of experience providing media strategy, production, reputation management, crisis communications and consulting to some of the world’s best brands and most respected companies. Since 2010, Lisa has been High10’s founder and CEO, bringing her keen networking sense and strategic decision making to provide high-level service to the executive teams of the agency’s clients, focusing on their global industry positioning and long-term goals. Lisa is a graduate of Boston University. Her dog, Bae, is High10’s mascot.
Our Team
Aleks Schiff
Director of Operations & Programming
Read Bio Aleks Schiff
Director of Operations & Programming
Aleks and her family have been volunteers and supporters of Comfort Cases since 2014 when they met Rob and Reece in their community and heard Rob’s story! And now she is bringing over 27 years of executive level experience in business development, digital and traditional marketing, operations, and management to Comfort Cases as the Director of Operations. Aleks provides a vast range of skillsets which will assist Comfort Cases in growing and reaching their business goals in support of their mission!
Barrie Carr
Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator
Read Bio Barrie Carr
Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator
Barrie first became involved with Comfort Cases in 2014 when her son Miles was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah with the requirement to participate in a meaningful social action project. Her entire family soon learned Comfort Cases was more than just a project. It became their mission and they joined forces with Comfort Cases to provide dignity, hope and love to youth entering the foster care system. Barrie now oversees the logistics of all off-site events, including school events, faith-based events, birthday celebrations, nonprofit fairs and major corporate engagements. She serves as the point person and liaison for all partnerships and special initiatives, as well as works closely with, and leads our volunteers in our production suite.
Patricia Blake
Donor Relations Specialist
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Patricia Blake
Donor Relations Specialist
Trish has been a supporter of Comfort Cases since 2014 and sat on the Board until November of 2016. In 2020, she joined the team officially as an employee. In her professional career, Trish managed HR systems, vast reporting, and many data management and migration projects using programs such as PeopleSoft. She stepped away from her professional career for several years to raise her two boys and is now back in the game managing our donation platforms, mechanizing, and our donor appreciation program!
Jennifer Whitman
Inventory Manager
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Jennifer Whitman
Inventory Manager
Jenn is a long-time volunteer and supporter of Comfort Cases. In 2019, she officially joined our staff as our Inventory Manager. Jenn is a former MCPS teacher who is passionate about supporting youth in our community. She also owns and runs Whitman Summer Camp along with her husband. The Whitman Family is actively involved in Comfort Cases and has helped to co-found the Comfort Cases Club at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. Jenn loves watching the community come together to support youth in foster care.
Blaise Strandquist
Shipping Manager
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Blaise Strandquist
Shipping Manager
Blaise is a military retiree who has been a member of the Comfort Cases team since March of 2019 as the Shipping Manager, ensuring the much-needed cases get to agencies across the country in a timely manner. He also manages our vast volunteers during the day by prioritizing the tasks needed to be completed each day. He is the backbone of keeping the Production Suite running smoothly. He and his wife live in Silver Spring, MD where their teenage son and daughter work hard to keep their cupboards bare. His hobbies include hiking, camping and genealogy.