Our Staff

Bonnie Baxley, Executive Director, baxley@starpower.net
Bonnie Baxley brings a unique combination of talents and experience to her leadership of Community Lodgings. She became executive director in September 2005 after seven years’ service on the Board of Directors, one as Board chair. She is thus thoroughly knowledgeable about Community Lodgings and strongly committed to its mission. An experienced educator, she has classroom teaching experience and a master’s degree in special education. She also has extensive business experience, having operated a successful private tutoring service serving Washington-area students for 25 years. Bonnie’s wide community connections are a great asset, both in community outreach and in developing partnerships. She has over 25 years’ experience in the nonprofit arena, including service with the Alexandria Hospital Auxiliary, Campagna Center Junior Friends and many others. She is a hands-on leader of the after-school programs, enriching the program through her expertise in curriculum and education, as well as her experience in teaching middle school. Bonnie holds a BS in special education (mental retardation) from Radford College and an MA in special education (learning disabilities) from George Mason University.

Jim Dempsey, Associate Executive Director, jdempsey@communitylodgings.org
Jim Dempsey joined Community Lodgings in August 2008 as Director of Development. In July 2011, he was promoted to Associate Executive Director. His duties include: researching and writing grant proposals; managing donor outreach; directing public relations for the organization; planning fundraisers and events; maintaining the website; and designing/producing all marketing materials for Community Lodgings. In Spring 2011, Jim researched and re-built a Volunteer Program from the ground up. He also devoted significant efforts to revamping and strengthening our Transitional Housing Program for homeless families. He now manages Family Learning Center staff and evaluates programs for youth and adults held at the Family Learning Center. Jim graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 2006 with a BA in History.

Karina Wiggs, Director of Operations, cli@communitylodgings.org
As director of operations for Community Lodgings, Karina Wiggs assumes a broad range of responsibilities critical to the agency’s efficiency and success. She manages all aspects of Community Lodgings’ financial affairs, including payroll and development of the annual program budget, in conjunction with the executive director. She also coordinates all human resources activities. In addition to her administrative duties, she is a certified housing counselor. With this expertise, she is able to advise our clients as they work toward their goal as eventual homeowners. She holds a BA in computer networking from Strayer University.

Charlyne Braxton, Case Manager, cbraxton@communitylodgings.org
Charlyne is the case manager for our Transitional Housing Program. She came from a transitional shelter that served women and their children. She has eight years of experience working and collaborating with organizations throughout the metropolitan area for people in need. Charlyne’s work with various organizations allowed her to motivate and assist needy clientele through job placement; social service referrals; substance abuse services; court advocacy; reunifying mothers and their children; and community outreach and collaboration. She has also helped to educate the DC Metropolitan community of the plight of people in need. She holds an Associates Degree in Human Services and Criminal Justice.

Becca Waltrip, Education Coordinator, bwaltrip@communitylodgings.org
Becca Waltrip, who has worked at Community Lodgings for two and a half years, serves as Education Coordinator at our Family Learning Center. Previously she supported our afterschool programs by providing direct assistance to English Language Learners and also directed three levels of ESL and computer literacy courses for adults throughout our community. She also supported homeless children in the Transitional Housing Program, working with parents to coordinate all children’s needs and services, and implemented our literacy development class for infants/toddlers. Before coming to Community Lodgings, Becca gained extensive experience working with families and children, first as a public school teacher in southern Spain and then as part of a medical mission team in Honduras. She holds a BA in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Richmond.

Antonio Tamariz, Family Learning Center Administrator, atamarizg@communitylodgings.org
Jose Antonio Tamariz is an international relations professional with over five years of experience working with government, private and public institutions. He has experience in interacting with individuals at various levels from providing assistance to high level government officials to tutoring young children. His responsibilities have included drafting informational pieces, reviewing and analyzing proposals and communication documentation, providing customer support and teaching English and computer skills. Antonio holds a BS in International Relations with a specialization in International Business. He is a native Spanish speaker and is fluent in English.

Erika Orozco, Executive Assistant, eorozco@communitylodgings.org
Executive Assistant Erika Orozco is a bilingual professional with over 12 years of experience in office operations. Her customer service expertise is an asset for our organization as she responds to each of our families’ individual needs in a timely and sensitive manner. Erika works with Transitional Housing and Family Learning Center program staff to ensure the continued success of our mission. She manages office calendar, administers all data entry, initiates IT maintenance, maintains contact with all homeless and low-income families in our programs, directs mail correspondence, manages client program fees and handles donor database.

Janine Harrigan, Family Therapist, jharrigan@autumnleafgroup.com
Our Family Therapist Janine Harrigan possesses over sixteen years of proven effective practice in the social services arena. Since 2005, she has led the Autumnleaf Group as CEO. She possesses social work professional licensure as a graduate social worker in the State of Maryland and as a licensed social worker in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Janine works with homeless families in our Transitional Housing Program, serving them through group and individual counseling.

Mignonne Willis-Gray, Employment Counselor, mwillis-gray@communitylodgings.org