Lena M. hicks

Executive director


Lena is a Southern Illinois native with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Mid-Continent University.  She is a certified Family and Community Development Specialist from the University of Illinois at Springfield and the Illinois Community Action Association and a Certified Community Action Professional.  Lena also received Care Coordinator Director certification from the Illinois Department on Aging.  She serves on the Family Selection Committee of the local Habitat for Humanity and has served on the Southern Illinois Continuum of Care for Homelessness.  She was also the Chairperson for the Saline County FEMA Board for several years. 

Lena started her career at WADI in 2005 as the Saline County Manager and was promoted to Emergency Service Director in 2009.  In 2012, Lena was promoted to the Head Start / Early Head Start Director until July 1, 2014 when she was promoted to the Deputy Director position for Wabash Area Development, Inc. Lena move to the Executive Director position on July 1, 2017.

lori caruso

Fiscal officer

Lori is a Southern Illinois native with an Associate degree from Frontier Community College with over 25 years experience in the social service field. 
Responsibilities as Chief Fiscal Officer include:
  • Overall operations of the fiscal department
  • Reporting to funding sources
  • Coordinating program and agency audits

ashley garlick

critical records/ risk management/ marketing director

Ashley Garlick is a Southern Illinois native with an Associates Degree from Southeastern Illinois College in Business Administration and a Bachelor Degree in Business Management with a minor in Marketing from Southern Illinois University- Carbondale. 

Ashley started her career with WADI in 2013 as Hamilton County Manager in McLeansboro.  After two and a half years as County manager, Ashley accepted the position of Liheap Specialist at our Central Office in Enfield. After working two years in the Liheap Department, Ashley was promoted to the Specialized Service Coordinator at the Central Office. In July 2018 Ashley was promoted to Senior Nutrition/ Specialized Service Director. In February 2019, Ashley became the Critical Records/ Risk Management/ Marketing Director.

marsha knight

energy director

Marsha is a native of McLeansboro, in Hamilton County.
She began her career at WADI in 1983 as a Liheap Verifier, working her way up the ladder to become the Liheap Director.

alisa newman

head start/ early head start director

Alisa is a Southern Illinois native with a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Leadership from Mid-Continent University in Kentucky and an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Southeastern Illinois College.  She is a certified Family and Community Development Specialist from the University of Illinois at Springfield, a Certified Community Action Professional, CCAP,  and serves as a board member of the Illinois Head Start Association.  Alisa is a past Head Start parent and has worked with WADI for more than 16 years.  She has held a variety of Head Start positions related to teaching children and families, training Head Start and Early Head Start staff, and overseeing the education component in Head Start centers.  Alisa has been the Head Start / Early Head Start Director since April of 2014.

angie peyton

csbg/wioa director

Angie is a Southern Illinois native with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY. She is also a certified Family and Community Development Specialist from the University of Illinois at Springfield and Illinois Community Action Association. Angie serves as a volunteer Salvation Army clerk, serves on the local FEMA board, is a ROMA Implementer, and became a Certified Community Action Professional, CCAP in 2018. Angie began her career at WADI in 2003 as the White County Manager and was promoted to CSBG/WIOA Director in 2017.  

Responsibilities include management of Community Service Block Grant, WIOA (Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Worker Programs), and supervision of the County Managers in the outreach offices.

tammy talley

housing/ weatherization director

Tammy is a Southern Illinois native with a Bachelor of Art degree from Ashford University. Tammy started her career at WADI in 2010 as a White County Home Visitor. In 2016, she was promoted to the Operation Planning Specialist until July 23, 2018 when she was promoted to the Housing/Weatherization Director.

Responsibilities include management of the Weatherization grants, Single Family Rehab, Home Accessibility Program, Homeless Prevention, Emergency Transitional Housing, and Emergency Solution Grant