Leadership

Leadership

Auberle is led by a passionate and hardworking group of people, divided into our executive staff leadership and three Boards.

Executive Leadership

Darla joined Auberle in 1989. She has served in various capacities; Family Preservation Manager, Director of Planning and CQI, Director of Community Services, Chief Operating Officer and currently Chief Executive Officer. Darla earned a BSW and MSW from the University of Pittsburgh.

Darla represented Auberle on the Mon Valley Providers Council Steering Committee and the Human Services Center Corporation Board of Directors for over 30 years. She received the “Women of Achievement Award” in 2007 and the Pittsburgh Business Times “Women of Influence Award” in 2019. She was also selected as the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient.
  
Darla resides in White Oak with her husband, Joe Brescia.  They own and operate a small food business, Sunrise Specialties.  Outside of work, Darla’s passion is rescuing senior dogs. She co-founded Gray Paws Sanctuary with Joe. She received the “KDKA Hometown Hero Award” in 2016 for her work saving senior dogs. She received a Humane Action Pennsylvania Award in March 2026 for her advocacy work with animals.

John served on the Auberle Boards for over 20 years until becoming CEO on Jan1, 2004. He served as CEO until June 30, 2025.

John served on many regional and government collaborative groups. He was Chair of the Greater Pittsburgh Non-Profit Partnership, an association of 450 regional non-profits, and GPNP Chair of Public Policy, and on the Steering Committee of the Campaign for What Works.

John has frequently presented to national and regional groups. He received the 2023 and 2014 Diamond Award as a top CEO from the Pgh Business Times; 2018 national Aramark Building Community Organizational Leadership Award; 2019 Community Service Award Western PA Trial Lawyers Assn; 2018 Catholic Charities Caritas Leadership Award; 2016 Pgh Business Times Most Admired CEO’s; 2015 St. Thomas More Society Award. He has spoken at over 30 seminars and authored over 20 published articles.

Prior to CEO, John was a nationally certified civil trial lawyer for 24 years and a frequent teacher of attorneys for regional, state and national legal groups. While CEO, he taught civil trial practice at the Pitt School of Law for 15 years.

John lives in Bethel Park with his wife Paula and enjoys hiking and biking. They have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
 

Aimee joined the agency in 2016 when she became the director of the 412 Youth Zone.  She now oversees Auberle's transition age youth programs including Crawford County Independent Living and the Ward Supervised Independent Living (SIL) programs.  Aimee has a passion for working with transition age youth to support them on their journey to becoming adults and discovering who they are going to be.  Aimee is a member of the AC Older Youth Work Group chaired by Judge Jennifer McCrady.

Prior to working at Auberle, Aimee worked in child welfare for fifteen years; first as a CYS caseworker at Crawford County and then as a supervisor and administrator for the Erie County Office of Children and Youth.

Aimee resides in Baldwin Township. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family, especially her nephews Clark and Oliver.
 

Chief Administrative Officer at Auberle, Monica Fletcher provides strategic and operational leadership across the organization, overseeing human resources, information technology, strategic planning, and strategic initiatives. Working in close partnership with the CEO and COO, Monica plays a central role in ensuring the systems, people, and processes are in place to advance Auberle's mission.

Monica brings more than 25 years of experience to her work, with a career spanning for-profit and nonprofit leadership, strategy, operations, and consulting. She started her career in market and operations research before launching her own boutique research consultancy, offering business assessment tools to small and mid-sized international management consultancies. Prior to her promotion to CAO, Monica served as Auberle's Director of Strategic Initiatives, working closely with the CEO and COO across the agency's core service areas. Before joining Auberle, she was the Director of Strategy and Operations for UPCEA Consulting and Director of Business Operations for Howard Hanna Franchising.

Monica received her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University. She holds certifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute, a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) from the Society for Human Resource Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB) from the American Society for Quality.

Monica was the co-founder and co-race director of The Swissvale Mile, a community fundraiser supporting youth sports and local borough initiatives. In her personal time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and volunteering. Monica lives in Swissvale with her husband, Michael, and their two cats, Rio and Ollie.

Jennifer brings over 25 years of sales, marketing, and operations leadership experience to the position of Chief Development Officer, joining Auberle in April 2025. Prior to joining Auberle, Jennifer spent 17 years with Eaton Corporation, building teams, businesses, and long-term client relationships in the control and automation space. She most recently held executive positions at Busch Vacuum Solutions and Matthews International, in the role of VP, Global Sales & Marketing, traveling the world supporting teams and customers.

Jennifer started her journey with Auberle ~20 years ago when she added Auberle to Eaton’s Pittsburgh Day of Caring program, leading to annual volunteering and substantial grants each year from Eaton’s Community Involvement Team which continues to this day. She also served on the Pauline Auberle Foundation board from 2019-2022.

Jennifer holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from The University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business (Pitt). Her passion for helping others started at a young age, starting her volunteering journey in middle school through today. She has served on the board of Pittsburgh Cares, Salvation Army, and currently serves as a mentor at PA Women Work and is a long-standing member of The United Way’s Women United group.

Jennifer resides in Canonsburg with her husband David and has two adult children, Dax and Emmy, both getting involved in Auberle’s NEXT program.
 

Bio forthcoming.

Shania Darby
Director of Behavioral Health Operations

Devon Goetze
Director of Housing Services

Kortney Hartman
Director of Young Adult Services

Rodney Prystash
Director of Facilities and Operations

Susan Rosati
Director of Foster Care

Shayla Russell
Executive Office Manager

Tamika Simpson
Director of Ward Home

Abby Wolensky
Director of the Employment Institute
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