Our Team, Board & Advisory Council
Adelaide Schaeffer
President and CEO
Adelaide Schaeffer is the founder and executive director of Champions for Kids, an organization working to mobilize MILLIONS of people to improve the lives of children in their communities.
Schaeffer founded Champions for Kids in 2004 in response to an alarming awareness of millions of children in America and the world who suffer silently and in many cases, die, due to a variety of issues: hunger, abuse, violence, neglect, and abandonment. Many do not have safe or adequate shelter, access to health care and struggle or drop out of school because they do not have the resources and support they need to become healthy adults and productive members of society.
Cathy Cooper
Chief Operations Officer
Cathy Cooper is the Chief Operations Officer of Champions for Kids, an organization working to mobilize MILLIONS of people to improve the lives of children in their communities.
Cathy leads the strategic planning for CFK, including leading the organization’s efforts to cultivate and build a national network of partners and advocates to leverage their resources and influence.
Prior to joining CFK, Cooper served a twenty year tenure, working in various management and leadership positions with Tyson Foods, the world’s largest poultry company. Cathy’s corporate experience in business processes, management and training, as well as years of experience serving in numerous capacities on nonprofit boards and executive committees are invaluable to CFK.
Chris Magness
Director of Marketing and Communications
Magness is responsible for marketing and communications for Champions for Kids, an organization working to mobilize MILLIONS of people to improve the lives of children in their communities. She coordinates Champions for Kids corporate partnerships and cause-marketing programs. Magness advises CFK nonprofit partners on how to make their cause and organization a valuable asset to corporations.
Magness brings experience as well as a creative, strategic, and personable style to this pivotal role. Previously, she was the creative services account executive for Compassion International, a nonprofit organization that serves children in need. Prior to that, she worked for six years at Give Kids The World, a resort for terminally ill children as the creative director. There, she participated in marketing partnerships with corporate sponsors such as American Airlines, Kmart, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Procter & Gamble, Tide, NASCAR and Walmart.
Michelle Reed
Managing Director, Finance
Michelle Reed is the Managing Director of Finance for Champions for Kids, an organization working to mobilize MILLIONS of people to improve the lives of children in their communities.
Michelle oversees accounting, information technology and human resources functions. She works with Champions for Kids’ staff to ensure that the organization’s resources are put to their best use and that we are careful stewards of the donations entrusted to us.
Born in California, Reed grew up in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, where she graduated from high school. She spent a year at the University of Arkansas then earned an accounting diploma from Draughon Business College in Springfield, Missouri.
Jennifer Watts
Director of Corporate Partnerships
Jennifer is a native Arkansan and a graduate of the University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences Journalism Department. She has over 17 years of experience in professional recruitment, retail operations, business development, sales, customer service and communications. Jennifer is also experienced in leading strategic planning and execution of operational and administrative initiatives to drive overall organizational success.
Champions for Kids benefits from Jennifer’s comprehensive background in numerous areas of business. Jennifer has served as the Director of Marketing and Recruitment for Goddard Recruiting Systems, Director of Development and Fundraising for United Cerebral Palsy’s Children Center and Conductive Education of NWA, a national recruiter for Medicus Resource Group, the sole sales associate in Northwest Arkansas for MedRep Express, director of operations for Romance Diamond Company, and Assistant Medicare Coordinator for Reliance Healthcare Management.
Jennifer has always felt it her duty to be involved in her community. She is a former chair and volunteer for the American Heart Association’s Paint the Town Red Event, Sweetheart Program and Heart Guild, a sustaining member of the Jr. League of Northwest Arkansas, a member of the U of A Alumni Association and a former Alumni Advisory Board Member for Chi Omega Fraternity. She and her family attend Central United Methodist church in Fayetteville. Jennifer is married to her husband of 12 years and Fayetteville native Shawn Watts. Shawn is an Account Executive with Acopia Capital Group out of Nashville, TN. Jennifer and Shawn have 2 children, John Tyler who is 8 years old and Julia who is 6 years old. Both children attend Holcomb Elementary School where Jennifer is active in the Parent Teacher’s Association.
Dr. Blake Brandes
Chief Program Officer
As a Marshall Scholar and PhD recipient, Dr. Blake Brandes has dedicated his life to exploring the intersection of music, academics, and youth achievement. After completing a double major in English (Honors) and French Language and Literature at Wake Forest University as a Graylyn Scholar, Blake was one of 43 Americans to be awarded a Marshall Scholarship, one of the most prestigious awards an undergraduate can receive, to undertake postgraduate study in England. While at the University of Kent in Canterbury, Blake received a first class distinction (the highest award possible) for his Masters degree in Postcolonial Studies. Blake went on to pursue a PhD in Text, Practice as Research at the University of Kent, and he successfully passed his PhD defense in September 2011.
In addition to his educational credentials, Blake has been actively involved in music production and management over the past five years. As President of Decrypt Productions LLC, Blake has produced Top 40 radio singles and MTV-featured songs, developed sponsorships and licensing partnerships, and organized international concerts and tours, in addition to being an active musician and performer of piano, rap, and beatbox (vocal percussion).
Merging his passion for music and academics, Blake has performed numerous hip-hop workshops in the US, UK, France, Morocco, and Egypt. During these workshops, he teaches students and young people how to beatbox and helps them create connections between their passion and their academic studies. Blake also organized the international Conference on Global Youth Cultures at the University of Kent in October 2009, which brought academics and artists from around the world together to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and build relationships that transcend scholar/practitioner divides.
Known for delivering improvisational raps in up to five languages at a time, Blake is dedicated to mediating the perceived gap between the Academy and the streets. From motivating one child in a classroom to motivating millions of people to become Champions for Kids, Blake believes in the power of committed, active citizens to make a difference in their communities and the world.
Champions for Kids BoardConnect with us.
To stay up-to-date enter your Email address
make a donation
find us on facebook
follow us on twitter
watch us on youtube
