Children are a precious gift, and a wonderful challenge. We want to give each child and every parent the security, empathy, and skills they need to discover the joy of being a family.
Healthy, happy kids grow from strong families. We provide training and support for parents/guardians learning to become their best selves, for their sake and for their children.
The Harvey E. Najim Hope Center is our mental health clinic, providing free and low-cost counseling and social work services for children and families. Here, we ask not “what’s wrong with you?” but “what has happened to you?”
The Children’s Shelter Family of Services delivers high quality, compassionate trauma-informed care delivered to children and families impacted by or at-risk of abuse and neglect.
LaRhesa Moon has been serving as CEO of The Children’s Shelter since August 2023. To date, LaRhesa has led the organization in becoming one of the first in the state to be credentialed under the new Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) foster care system and led a major renovation to create a 32-bed emergency shelter to care for children 0-10 years of age.
Prior to this, LaRhesa founded Articulate Strategic Communication (ASC) in 2009. ASC is a consulting firm specializing in devising solutions that enable significant revenue growth and solve strategic issues impeding corporate progress. Her expertise includes executive management and leadership, crisis and critical communications, brand management, board facilitation, stakeholder mediation, and strategic planning. LaRhesa works with CEOs and management teams across diverse industries advising on growth initiatives and communication strategies. She has extensive experience in developing annual and quarterly reporting for public and private companies and has led teams in significant acquisitions and IPO initiatives. LaRhesa worked extensively with Harland Clarke Holdings Company (now Vericast), a $3.2 Billion organization, from 2009 through early 2018, supporting many major communication and acquisition initiatives. She also served as the Advisory Board facilitator for a $2.2 Billion media company.
Before founding ASC, LaRhesa was a senior executive of Harland Clarke Holdings, reporting directly to the CEO, responsible for internal and external communications, investor relations, learning & development, and marketing functions. She also oversaw multiple product line introductions and led several award winning cross-functional teams during her tenure with the predecessor company Clarke American.
Committed to giving back to the community, LaRhesa has held several philanthropic leadership positions. She has been involved with the San Antonio Children’s Shelter in various roles since 2005, including three years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. She was the United Way Campaign Chairman for Harland Clarke multiple times and a three-year board member of Any Baby Can. She is currently a member of the Texas A&M Women Former Students Network, and served on the Board, including a term as President in 2013. LaRhesa joined the Texas Business Hall of Fame as a Director in December 2019, joined the TBHOF Executive Committee in 2022, and is currently serving as Chairman of the Board.
Adrienne Martinez joins The Children Shelter as our new Chief Financial Officer. She previously served as the CFO for another San Antonio non-profit and has a diverse career serving in various roles in the corporate, public, and private family accounting sectors. She brings 27 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant to The Children’s Shelter.
Adrienne will celebrate 30 years of marriage this December and has two children, a recent graduate of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a sophomore at Texas A&M-College Station. She loves family time, playing with the dogs and watching movies with her husband, who works for a non-profit school.
Adrienne is very excited to be a part of The Children’s Shelter and its mission. Her brother and brother-in-law both have multiple adopted children and she has seen firsthand how fostering and adoption can change lives.
“To be able to see a child, who might not have been given the chance to know a family, thrive and be loved — it’s an emotion that can’t be described.”
Adrienne is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University-College Station with a BBA in Accounting. She was born in Indiana, but got to Texas as quickly as she could.
Dr. Mary Wise is the Vice President of Human Resources for The Children’s Shelter. In this role, she provides strategic leadership to the Human Resources department and the agency overall that aligns to the mission, values, and employee promise of the agency. Dr. Wise is tasked with implementing practices that create an environment that will provide an employee-oriented, high-performance culture that emphasizes trauma informed care principles, Praesidium best practices for safety, compliance, excellence, retention, and employee engagement.
She is also the owner of WiseEvolutions, LLC. WiseEvolutions is a leading human resources consulting firm dedicated to empowering organizations and individuals through strategic HR solutions, impactful speaking engagements, and comprehensive training programs. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, WiseEvolutions has established itself as a trusted partner in driving positive change in the realm of human resources.
She has more than 35 years of human resources experience in various leadership roles working for a Fortune 500 company. Mary holds a BS and an MS in business administration from the University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, respectively. She also obtained her Doctorate in management and organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix. Additionally, she holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification.
In her 35-year career, Dr. Wise contributed to the development of the change management strategy within the business to support the implementation of HR programs and initiatives. She facilitated monthly training and development courses with close to 200 managers. She has led people strategies, leadership accountability and key HR Initiatives for over 5,000 geographically dispersed employees. In addition, Dr. Wise was responsible for leading a training team that delivered over 208,000 total training hours and 600 classes to over 1200 employees in three months to support start-up program.
Dr. Wise’s core competencies include: Change Management; Conflict Resolution; Relationship Building; Employee Engagement and Involvement; Coaching & Mentoring; Cross-functional team management; Union Containment/Avoidance Strategies; Human Resource Policy Compliance ; Organizational Development; and Training & Development.
Please connect with Dr. Wise @ mwise@chshel.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mlwise
Debra Rice-Randolph is the Director of Human Resources for The Children’s Shelter. She is a senior human resources and operations leader with over 20 years experience across nonprofit, public, and private-sector organizations. She brings a strategic, people-centered approach to workforce management, organizational development, and compliance, with a proven ability to adapt HR practices to diverse operational environments.
Throughout her career, Debra has led complex initiatives including HRIS implementations, compensation and benefits administration, leadership and management development, policy design, and employee relations within organizations of varying size and structure. She has successfully supported executives and managers through periods of growth, change, and operational transformation while ensuring compliance with employment laws and internal standards. Her experience spans talent development, performance management, labor relations, and cross-functional partnership.
Known for her energetic and optimistic leadership style, Debra approaches both human resources and life with a mindset rooted in possibility, innovation, and connection. She is naturally drawn to creating positive employee experiences, identifying opportunities for growth, and helping teams navigate challenges with creativity and resilience. She thrives in dynamic environments and is passionate about bringing people together around shared goals and meaningful work.
Debra is recognized for her practical leadership and commitment to building inclusive, high-performing workplaces. She brings clarity to complex people issues, develops systems that support both employees and organizational outcomes, and inspires engagement through authentic relationships and enthusiasm for continuous improvement. Whether working in mission-driven settings or business-focused environments, she consistently centers people as the foundation of sustainable success while fostering a culture where employees feel empowered, valued, and excited about the future.
