About
New Friends New Life Staff
Katie Pedigo
Executive Director
Katie comes to New Friends New Life with a passion for philanthropy and service. With fifteen plus years of experience in management, strategic planning, and result-driven operations, she has a proven ability to develop a vision, achieve consensus, and deliver results in a wide variety of corporate and nonprofit settings. Katie possesses strong leadership, interpersonal communication skills and a proven ability to spearhead change and execute innovative initiatives.
Katie graduated from Texas A&M University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She received her law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1998. She began working in the home care industry in 1998 in human resources, business operations and government compliance. She served as general counsel a home care company beginning in 2003. In 2007, Katie’s passion moved to the non-profit sector. She was named the founding Executive Director of Encompass Cares which raises funds and distributes grants for medical missions, community assistance and employee emergency hardships. Her philosophy is that being a good corporate citizen is not only the right thing to do, it also builds the company’s reputation, community support, employee loyalty, and consumer trust. Katie has served many non-profit organizations including the Christ Clinic in Dallas, Park Cities YMCA, Christian Works for Children and Prestoncrest Church of Christ. In 2009, Katie was named a “Hero for Children” by the Texas Education Commission. She has a passion for empowering and equipping women and children to find their passion through the love of Jesus Christ.
Reach Katie at kpedigo@newfriendsnewlife.org
Lalla Shackelford
Program Director
Lalla is the Program Director for NFNL responsible for programs, resources, volunteers and for providing guidance and supervision to the Protégé Advocates and the Children’s Advocate. Since 1985, Lalla has worked in the Dallas nonprofit world in education and direct client services as well as managing staff and programs. Her career has focused on programs to help disadvantaged women access resources, build support networks, connect with mentors and better their education and employment status.
Lalla joined NFNL in November 2006. Lalla holds a Master of Public Health Degree in Community Education from Loma Linda University.
Reach Lalla Shackelford at lshackelford@newfriendsnewlife.org
Lauri Lanier
Protégé Advocate
Lauri Lanier is a former NFNL Board Member and long-time volunteer. She resigned her position as the Director of Children’s Ministries of Willow Bend Church, one of our supporting churches, to join the NFNL staff in 2005. Lauri brings a unique perspective to the organization, sharing a similar background with the women we serve.
Lauri’s role is to walk along side assigned protégés to provide encouragement, guidance and accountability helping them set and achieve goals and navigate the new life they’ve chosen. Lauri plays a key role in facilitating Wednesday night meetings and bible study. She is a licensed minister with years of successful recovery experience and is currently pursuing a Certificate of Graduate Studies with a focus in Biblical Counseling at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Irie has over 25 years Social Work experience working with children and families in high-risk situations. She has been a Senior Parole Officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, an Investigator for Child Protective Services, and the Adolescent Coordinator for Bryan’s House, serving youth and families impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Irie holds a Masters of Divinity from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, and is the Senior Pastor of New Life Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Dallas, Texas. She also serves as the Associate Minister of North Texas Area of the Christian Church in the Southwest
Reach Irie Session at iriesession@newfriendsnewlife.org
Michelle Spurgeon
Protégé Advocate
Reach Michelle Spurgeon at mspurgeon@newfriendsnewlife.org
Roxanne Wright
Children’s Advocate
Roxanne Joiner Wright is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has over 15 years experience as teacher and school counselor in the Plano and Garland Independent School Districts. She received her Masters in education with emphasis in counseling from the University of North Texas. Her role is to plan and implement programming for the children of the protégés who accompany their mothers to weekly meetings. Her goal is to assure that the children are provided the same comprehensive services that we provide for the women as well as promote valuable parenting resources and education to build stronger families.
Reach Roxanne Wright at rwright@newfriendsnewlife.org
Stephanie Clanton
Protege Counselor
Stephanie joined New Friends New Life in 2008 as in intern while pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling. Prior to her internship, Stephanie participated in another internship in Mumbai, India with Project Rescue. There she lived with freed sex trafficking victims where she lead bible studies, counseled, and built relationships with the women. Her work included play therapy with HIV and TB infected children relinquished by their mothers to the organization to prevent susceptibility to being sexually trafficked.
At New Friends New Life, Stephanie provides counseling services – individual counseling, group therapy, and familial therapy for the protégés and their children. Therapy serves as an avenue for the women to process through their past and present experiences while equipping them with the skills and confidence to move forward in their future and accomplish their personal goals.Stephanie has a B.S. in Family Science with a concentration in Family and Child Studies from Louisiana Tech University and has a M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Reach Stephanie at sclanton@newfriendsnewlife.org
Kara Wolfe
Development Assistant
Reach Kara at kwolfe@newfriendsnewlife.org
