Staff
Co-Founder & Director
Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Russo
andrew@nationalfamilysupportnetwork.org
Tel/Cell: (415) 730-5310
Andrew Russo co-founded the National Family Support Network in 2011 and served as its co-chair until December 2015 when he was hired as its first Director and relocated from California to Washington DC. He has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit social service sector at the direct service, management, and network levels for more than 25 years in Boston, Chicago, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC, and Taiwan.
He began working in the Family Support and Strengthening field with the refugee community in Chicago, by developing and launching the Strengthening Cambodian American Families Program. Moving to California after graduate school, he worked as a therapist with children and youth at school-based Family Resource Centers in the Oakland Unified School District. He went on to establish and direct new Family Resource Centers, including the first Family Resource Center serving the Asian community in Contra Costa County, and the Joy Lok Family Resource Center in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The Joy Lok Family Resource Center was subsequently recognized by First 5 San Francisco as a model center with its successful programs, effective development of parent leaders, and high level of father engagement.
Because of his keen interest in working collaboratively at the systems level to ensure even more families would be supported, he went on to co-found and serve as co-chair of six Family Support and Strengthening networks at the neighborhood, city, state, and national levels, including the Chinatown Families Economic Self-Sufficiency Coalition, San Francisco Family Support Network, San Francisco Family Economic Success Coordinating Council, California Network of Family Strengthening Networks, and the National Family Support Network.
In those roles, he co-authored several landmark documents in the Family Support field including the San Francisco Family Support Standards, the San Francisco Family Support Network Policy Platform on Family Economic Success, and the nationally-adopted Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support.
He earned his B.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and his M.A. in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University Chicago. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Senior Manager - Standards Training & Implementation
Corning, NY
Julie Matusick joined the National Family Support Network as its Membership & Administration Manager in 2018. Julie was promoted to her current role as Senior Manager - Standards Training & Implementation in 2021.
Her past experience in the Family Support field includes ten years in direct service, program development, management, and training and teaching roles. She served as the Education Manager at the Nonnie Hood Parent & Family Resource Center in Corning, New York from 2008-2018. In that capacity, she coordinated and oversaw two programs, the parent education and supervised visitation program. She participated in various networks of service providers, including the New York State Family Resource Center Network, Family Enrichment Collaborative, and the New York State Parenting Education Partnership.
Her experience as a trainer includes being a Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support Trainer since 2016, a New York State Parent Education and Awareness Program Certified Provider, and a Devereaux Center for Resilient Children Flip It Trainer. She received her B.S. in Human Services with a concentration in Management from the State University of New York Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Since completing the Standards Certification Training, she actively implemented the Standards in the daily practices at the Nonnie Hood Parent Resource Center. She presented at the 2017 National Summit on the Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening and Support about both integrating the Standards at the Program level and on developing Family Resource Center Networks through Standards implementation.
She is active in her upstate New York community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Ready, Set, Grow Child Care Center, as a volunteer at Hope Church, and as a member of the Steuben Kids on Track Community of Practice group.
Administrative Coordinator
Maysville, KY
Mary Robinson-Griffey joined the National Family Support Network in 2021. Her extensive past work experience after earning her Associate of Arts and Science degree from Maysville Community and Technical College includes being a legal secretary/clerk, assistant daycare director, Family Resource Center Assistant Coordinator, and Family Resource Center Coordinator.
At the Straub Family Resource Center for Mason County Schools in Kentucky, she worked to make a difference in the lives of the students and families. She brokered services from available community resources on behalf of students and families and created programs and unique educational opportunities to ensure academic success and support family stability. In her role, she successfully completed the NFSN's Standards of Quality for Strengthening & Support Certification Training, and implemented the Standards in her work.
She is active in her community, serving as the Chairperson for the Ready-to-Learn Community Early Childhood Council, which focuses on improving parent/guardian knowledge of child development, the importance of early everyday learning, and strategies to create a strong foundation for kindergarten readiness and future academic success.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, especially her two grandchildren, crocheting, reading, playing piano, and singing with a contemporary Christian group called Voice of Praise.
Administrative Coordinator
Madison, WI
Robyn Shemwell joined the National Family Support Network in 2022. She brings seven years of experience at the program level in the field of family support. She began her career working in child abuse prevention at La Causa Crisis Nursery & Respite Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In her role as program coordinator, she worked within Milwaukee’s Continuum of Care to coordinate entry into the shelter care network. She was trained in Trauma Informed Care and focused on family unification and long term stability and support. Robyn went on to oversee support services for a K-8 school and manage child nutrition programming, serving families facing food insecurities and connecting with community resources to ensure that students would thrive.
She received both a B.A. in Spanish and International Studies, with a focus on World Languages and Cultures, as well as a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In her free time she enjoys practicing yoga and hiking with her bullmastiff, Otis.
Fiscal & Planning Consultant
Lexington, KY
Michael Jones began working with the National Family Support Network in 2019. His experience in the Family Support field includes twenty years as the Administrative Manager and Conference Coordinator for the Family Resource and Youth Services Coalition of Kentucky (FRYSCKy), where he has provided a variety of member support services for more than 850 centers, which includes coordinating annual statewide conferences, supporting public policy efforts, hosting a biennium legislative reception, managing financial matters, and being a central point-of-contact for the organization.
He has managed grants and contracts with cumulative totals in excess of $10 million for agencies and non-profit organizations supporting human service professionals in child welfare, juvenile justice, corrections, mental health, and at-risk education. He has coordinated more than 100 state and national events, including conferences, trainings, satellite broadcasts, and webinars.
He has provided a range of organizational management and planning guidance for the National Partnership for Juvenile Services and the International Association of Correctional Training Personnel.
He is a recipient of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Education, Arts and Humanities Service Award and the National Partnership for Juvenile Services’ James Gould Award for Leadership and Vision.
He received his B.A. in Psychology from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and his M.A. in Criminal Justice Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.