Associate Ms. Lorrie Goeins brings more than 15 years as an educator and over 10 years in retail to Goeins-Williams Associates.  Her educational career includes academic instruction in social studies at for the Howard County School District in Ellicot City, Maryland and the Christiana School District in Delaware. Ms. Goeins has expertise in facilitating meetings, leading discussion groups and moderating community focus groups.  She has been an active member of the GWA team since 1997 as has worked on a number of survey research projects including the Wilmington Consortium Infant Mortality Focus Group Study, the City of Wilmington Economic Development focus group study, the State of Delaware Strategic Planning initiative for a Diabetes, the Lutheran Community Services marketing study and Membership focus group project for the Wilmington Senior Center. Lorrie is a graduate of West Chester University and has studied in Paris, France.  She has language proficiency in Spanish and French. Michelle Knights, Ph.D. Associate Michelle Knights has over 15 years professional & consulting experience with state, private, public, & non profit sectors.  Her primary focus has been with public health and educational entities.  She has worked on many local and federal grants from agencies such as: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Maternal Child Health, Head Start, & National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Knights has expertise in leading groups through team building, performance management, group dynamics, and strategic planning activities.  She is also skilled in areas of program development, screening, conducting assessments and evaluations and guiding teams and individuals through implementation of action plans.  She has worked both locally and internationally in Belgium, England, Canada and the Caribbean.  She has worked with the University of Delaware, Delaware Department of Education, and the Delaware Sate Chamber of Commerce to advocate for mentoring across the state of Delaware. Michelle holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Delaware, and has recently completed an international appointment in Canada.  She is passionate about helping organizations and individuals gain greater prominence and efficiency in today’s changing economy climate. Maria de Los Angeles (Gela) Petrucelli  Associate A family and community social worker with a background in social anthropology, Maria “Gela” Petrucelli was born in Mexico City. Since the early 1970’s, Gela has devoted 33 years of her professional life at the Latin American Community Center (LACC) working with Latinos struggling with economic, education, social and linguistic challenges. Over the years she has been able to help many people to achieve self-sufficiency. Currently Gela is the Director of the Family Support Services at the Latin American Community Center. She has also held positions of Day Care Director for bi-lingual children, Employment Coordinator and Job Developer.  Ms. Petrucelli was one of the founding members of the Delaware Governor’s Council on Hispanic Affairs when it began in the late 1970’s. She is frequently sought out as a cultural and linguistic consultant by schools, agencies and other organizations in the greater Wilmington area.  Gela has worked exclusively with Goeins-Williams Associates, Inc. as an associate since 1998 moderating focus groups in Spanish. Selected focus group projects have included children and family services, teen sexuality, infant mortality and health for: the City of Wilmington, Children and Families First, the Division of Public Health and the Christiana Care Health System. Gela graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana of Mexico City in 1966 where she studied Social Anthropology. Gela attended Delaware Tech. & Community College and has taken English as Second Language and Oral Communications courses. Gela holds certificates in Case Management/Relapse Prevention from the Institute of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Studies and is a certified as HIV/AIDS Educator. She is the recipient of the Maria "Gela" Petrucelli award, named in her honor, for years of service given to the LACC. Employees of LACC who have worked over five years at LACC are eligible to receive this award. Lorrie Goeins