Our team

Jo Leonard
​Founder

With ten years in the NYC marketing agency world behind her, Jo Leonard is now in her 18th year of practice as a professional college and career coach, based in Bucks County, with clients all around the world.
“I followed the advice of mentors, family members and my own instinct and have had a fantastic career as a result. Now I find myself in the fantastic position of being able to help others find their own purpose and path. I understand the experience of being a confused young adult and consider myself very lucky to have built a career around my passion, guiding and teaching, and building their confidence to make important decisions.”
​Jo has been asked to train and coach Fulbright Scholars, Ted speakers, university business students, high school student leaders and professionals in transition. She speaks on the power of personal branding, the pitfalls and value of social media, advanced job search skills, and many other topics relevant to 20-somethings as they try to launch.

Joelle Pitts
Executive director

Joelle Pitts, LCSW, has over 15 years of experience in the social work field. Joelle has primarily worked with young people and their families, particularly those who have experienced homelessness or who have involvement with the child welfare system. As a leader in the field, she has overseen emergency shelter, street outreach, mentoring, rapid re-housing and supportive independent living programs.
Joelle graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Social Work. She has an undergraduate degree in Health and Human Development from The Pennsylvania State University. Joelle practices a Positive Youth Development philosophy and has presented nationally on the model. Joelle lives in Warrington, PA with her husband and children.

Susan Coyle
program director

Susan Coyle, MSW, has nearly a decade of experience in the social work field, having worked primarily with adolescents and young adults. Prior to joining RJLF, Susan oversaw independent living programs for youth who had been or were currently in foster care. She also has experience working with individuals affected by substance use, as well as those facing significant transitions in their lives. Additionally, Susan has 15 years of experience writing for a number of publications.
Susan earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Scranton and her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Scranton. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband and children.

Our Board

KATHLEEN KASPER

Kathleen Kasper joined RJLF in 2012 initially as a volunteer and shortly after was brought on as RJLF’s first employee. Kathleen served in a variety of roles, primarily as senior director through October 2019 when she made the decision to transition into a supportive capacity as a board member. With a bachelor’s degree in business and a background in health care human resources, Kathleen’s true passion is working with nonprofits in her community that support the disadvantaged.
​Kathleen is the mother of three and lives with her husband Keith in Ambler, PA. She enjoys travel, biking, photography and anything outdoors.

MELANIE AUGUSTIN

Melanie first learned about RJLF while serving as executive director of the nationally-recognized non-profit software development school, Zip Code Wilmington, which trains adults in in-demand technology skills and provides job placement assistance with its robust network of corporate partners. She also spent eight years representing employers in federal and state courts in employment law matters as an attorney in Washington, D.C. 
Melanie currently manages business development at Epic Research, a direct marketing company in Wilmington, DE. She also serves as a Board Member at Zip Code Wilmington. Melanie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children. ​​

Dr. Abby Applebaum

Abby Applebaum, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist with over 25 years of experience. Dr. Applebaum worked as a school psychologist before establishing a private practice in 2012 where she provides adolescents and their families with the tools they need to build on their strengths and reach their goals.
​Dr. Applebaum mentors prospective college students through the University of Pennsylvania Secondary School Committee, and serves as a Board Member of a family foundation focused on helping at-risk and developmentally-challenged adolescents. Dr. Applebaum joined the board of the R. J. Leonard Foundation in 2019. She is the mother of three and lives with her husband Scott in Philadelphia.

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John Ortolf

John is a Certified Financial Planner® with a master’s degree in Personal Financial Planning. He has worked in the financial services industry for almost 20 years. In 2001, he retired from the US Navy at the rank of Commander after a 20-year career as a Naval Flight Officer. Flying the EA- 6B Prowler aircraft, he has over 2,000 military flight hours and 620 aircraft carrier arrested landings.
In addition to serving on the board of the R.J. Leonard Foundation since 2013, John is Past President and has served on the Board of both The Rotary Club of Doylestown and The Bucks County Estate Planning Council.
​John has two adult children and lives in Doylestown Borough, PA.

Caitlin Deppeler

Caitlin Deppeler has an MSW from Temple University’s Clinical program, with a concentration in children and families. She has spent most of her career working with young people involved in the child welfare system and counseling at-risk youth and their families. Caitlin most recently served as RJLF’s Executive Director before returning to a board role and prior to that supervised Valley Youth House’s Bucks County emergency shelter for runaway and/or homeless youth. Prior to Caitlin’s social work career, she was an entrepreneur, running Lucca Salon in Doylestown, PA where she offered free services to young people in the juvenile justice system. She shares that it was this experience that propelled her to pursue a social work degree.
Caitlin recently diversified her career yet again, in pursuit of her dream to be more connected to her family history in Italy. As a dual US/Italian Citizen, Caitlin is the international consultant for Property Organisers and a realtor with Keller Williams Doylestown. Caitlin supports clients all over the world to purchase properties in the United States, Italy, and supervises Property Organiser’s Italian Citizenship Program. Caitlin is thrilled to share her expanding networks with RJLF Fellows.

Miles Hanley

Miles Hanley has worked in technology from Philadelphia, to San Francisco, to Los Angeles, where he currently resides. After ten years as a solution engineer with SAP, he most recently joined Google as an engineer as part of their Google Cloud Center of Excellence, which supports large enterprises in their technology decisions.
​Miles has been involved with the R.J. Leonard Foundation since 2009. Miles first connected with the foundation as a Fellow, then has served on the Board of R.J. Leonard Foundation since 2017.

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megan craig

Megan Craig is a former elementary teacher with eight years of experience in the classroom and has also previously worked as a non-profit Youth Director. Megan is passionate about foster care; she is a foster parent, mentor, and featured blog writer at fostercare.com. Megan left teaching in 2015 to become a full-time parent/foster parent. In that time, she has welcomed numerous children in foster care into her home and has worked closely with several local agencies and Children and Youth offices.
​Megan has a degree in psychology from Muhlenberg College and master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Delaware Valley University. She currently lives in Doylestown with her husband and four young children.

Micah jackson
Board advisor

Micah Jackson shares a unique connection with all the RJLF Fellows. He can relate to their struggles because he has walked in their shoes, growing up in foster care. After aging out at 18 with no guidance and facing many challenges, with a little help from some compassionate people, Micah became independent and self-sufficient.
Micah has a degree in automotive technology and over 12 years of experience in the industry. He is a strong supporter of RJLF’s “Working Wheels” program and has shared his knowledge and experience with RJLF Fellows at a 2019 spring workshop. Micah has generously assisted the foundation with many transportation emergencies and general auto questions as well.
​He has a 10-year-old daughter and is a mixology instructor.

chris giangrasso
Board advisor

Chris Giangrasso has worked in the field of Human Resources and Communications for more than 30 years and is currently Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Communications and Site Services at Arkema Inc., a chemical manufacturing company headquartered in King of Prussia.
​Chris has undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology and has designed and taught college and graduate school courses in HR and communications since 1991. He also currently serves
on Temple University’s Senior HR Advisory Board. Chris lives in Radnor, PA with his wife and they have three college-aged children. He joined the R.J. Leonard Foundation as a board advisor in 2020.