Who We Are
Erie City Moms supports, uplifts, and champions Mother Figures from all walks of life via 100% free Moms groups, mentoring, advocacy, and basic needs help.
Since 2016, we've grown from a grassroots Moms group to an innovative nonprofit organization speaking life into and helping meet the needs of more than 1,000 diverse Mother Figures and 2,500 children.
In 2016, an unlikely group of Mother figures began to meet on Erie’s Lower East Side. Our goal was to learn and grow with and from one another. We went door-to-door and asked Moms to join us, for free dinner and child care.
We had little in common on the surface. Black, white, married, single, homeless, homeowner, urban, suburban, GED graduate, college graduate, working, stay-at-home—we could list our differences for days, but every one of us was committed to our families and we all believed that the health and well-being of local Mother figures was critical to the health of Erie.
While we have grown nearly beyond measure from those first days, Erie City Moms’ leaders and volunteers were, and still are, real, honest and vulnerable, which is a refreshing alternative to the media’s “perfect” parent and the urban core’s hard exterior.
They have navigated many hardships—addiction, violence, mental illness, racism, homelessness, and loss, to name a few. Yet, they are light in dark places and continue to transform themselves even as they inspire growth in others.
MEET THE TEAM!
Board of Directors
Chair Ashley Westgate
Treasurer Janet Peters, Mercyhurst Prep
Secretary, Open as of May 2025
Diane Kuvshinikov, Erie Insurance
New Yorka Morrow, American Income Life
Staff
Amanda Burlingham, Founder and Executive Director
Jessy Burkell, Growth and Engagement Coordinator
Darlene Cohen, Program Coordinator
Spring Stephens, Child Care Associate
Operations Volunteer Team
Tracy Hokanson, Access Coordinator
Beth Terp, Grant writing
Mentor Volunteer Team
Claire Anthony, IU5
Melissa Hall, RN
Tracy Hokanson
Jane Johnson, Community Health Net
Diane Kuvshinikov
Ashley Westgate, Emma’s Footprints
Moms Night Out Volunteer Team
Hannah Boaks, chemist, school teacher
Ashley Duran, Country Fair
Jeff Hokanson, manufacturer
Karrie Lewis, Marquette Savings Bank
Cypriana Milsap, Milsap Family Daycare
Tara Prishak, The Plastek Group
Mary Santiago, Community Shelter Services
Marci Stitt, retired Erie’s Public Schools teacher
Advisors and Partners
Joe Bizzarro, Interstate Nissan
Scott Bonnell, Bonnell’s Auto Group
Alan Hilling, Hilling-Pfeffer Insurance
Shayla Jones, University of Pittsburgh
Tim NeCastro, Erie Insurance
Housing Volunteer Team
Jerry Cafardi, Erie First Assembly of God
Darlene Cohen
Lee Dennett, Erie VA Medical Center
Catherine Fox, Coldwell Banker Select Realtors
Keith Hardin, Grace Church
Jackie Italiani, Erie Bank
Jim Schriefer, retired school teacher and licensed contractor