We have a new name!
The Chris Center is now Kindling Minds!
Read about out new name here.
We have a new name! The Chris Center is now Kindling Minds! Read about out new name here.
We Do Adolescent Mental Wellness Services Differently—
with nature, animals, and heart.
Our Research-Informed Programs Partner With Schools, Communities, and Parents to Proactively Strengthen Youth Mental Wellness.
Kindling Minds, originally called The Chris Center, began in 2021 when Nancy Elbert, our founder, experienced the frustration of navigating mental wellness support for loved ones.
She wasn’t alone.
Families everywhere were struggling to find timely, accessible care as the youth mental wellness crisis deepened, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing sense of isolation.
In response, Nancy brought together a team of parents and highly qualified professionals with experience in mental wellness, pediatrics & child development, animal-assisted intervention, and nonprofit leadership. Together, they worked towards a single purpose: to create accessible, meaningful programs that foster connection, resilience, and wellbeing.
In a world where too many youth feel disconnected, Kindling Minds exists to reignite a sense of belonging, inner strength, and resilience. We imagine a future where every teen and pre-teen in central Indiana has the resilience, sense of belonging, and skills they need to thrive—mentally, emotionally, and socially.
Our Name Encapsulates Our Essence
The organization was initially named in honor of Nancy’s brother, Chris, whose life was deeply shaped by the peace he found in animals and nature. He continues to inspire our work today by reminding us that every person can benefit from connecting with the natural world and that every person can make a difference.
Kindling alone won’t create a big fire: we need community to help
We’re Sparking Change When it Comes to Youth Mental Wellness By…
helping teens and pre-teens in central Indiana build resilience and improve mental wellness through research-informed programs rooted in connection—with animals, nature, and art.
Meet the
Kindling Minds Team
Sandra Moreira MD, MBA
Executive Director
Dr. Sandra Moreira is a board-certified pediatrician, innovative nonprofit leader, and passionate child advocate. Throughout her career as a pediatrician and her journey as a parent, she has committed herself to advocating for the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of children. After 18 years of clinical practice in pediatric urgent and emergent care, Sandra became one of the founding team members of Kindling Minds and currently serves as the Executive Director.
Jessica Kensinger
Operations Manager
Jessica is a dedicated operations leader, supporting the organization’s mission to enhance youth wellbeing through nature-based activities and human-animal interaction. With a background in operations and program management across diverse industries, Jessica brings expertise in strategic planning, team collaboration, and process improvement, focusing on driving efficiency and delivering meaningful outcomes.
Board of Directors
President
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AnneMarie Suarez-Davis is a licensed social worker, mental health and wellness advocate, and LGBTQ+ ally. She received her MSW in May 2025 and is a therapist at Catalyst Counseling & Consulting. She is also a seasoned marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in the consumer products industry. Her career includes 19 years at the Kellogg Company, where she held executive roles in both U.S. and global marketing.
AnneMarie brings a unique blend of strategic leadership and compassionate advocacy to her work, rooted in a deep commitment to social justice, mental health equity, LGBTQ+ allyship, and youth empowerment. She believes in leading with purpose and has a long-standing passion for mentoring emerging leaders, having been repeatedly selected to coach high-performing talent throughout her corporate career.
AnneMarie lives in Indianapolis with her husband, two sons, and their dog. She has experienced the power of the human-animal connection firsthand through her volunteer work with Kindling Minds, alongside her dog, Woodson.
AnneMarie holds a BS in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University, an MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and an MSW from the University of Michigan. She is a Co-Founder of the Koa Fund, which equips youth to be valiant by providing grants to nonprofit agencies and programs in areas inspired by the life and being of Koa Voight Suarez.
Treasurer
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Steve Warner runs Katz, Sapper & Miller's Healthcare Resources Group and helps healthcare customers with fair market value assessments and hospital/physician contract integration. He advises healthcare providers on organic and acquisition growth.
Secretary
Past President
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Leslie brings years of local and national board leadership and volunteer service experience to The Chris Center. As an Advanced Practice RN, Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for over 40 years, Leslie has spent her career improving the mental health of individuals, families and groups. She also has worked with systems and corporations to increase communication among management and employees to improve the work environment. For many years Leslie had a solo practice of psychotherapy with specific interest in trauma survivors. Leslie has done consultation/liaison psychiatric nursing in hospital settings, case management and medication management with individuals and families, and psychotherapy in university and community facilities. Prior to being Kindling Minds Board President, Leslie was President of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, celebrating the over 15,000 psychiatric nurses of APNA who prevent suicide and support wellness daily. A graduate of Indiana University School of Nursing, Leslie has a master’s degree in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing and post-Master’s certificates. Leslie has previously been active in the community on the boards of the Christamore House Guild, on the ISO North Group Board, the Actor’s Theater Guild and the IU Schwarz Cancer Center Psychiatric Mental Health Advisory Board. She is excited to bring her expertise on wellness to the teens and pre-teens of Central Indiana through Kindling Minds!
Board Member
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Lacey Armstrong is a strategic Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience specializing in talent strategy and HR business partnership. She is passionate about aligning people initiatives with business goals to drive organizational performance and employee growth. Lacey brings deep expertise across the full employee lifecycle, with a focus on talent planning, workforce development, executive coaching, and change leadership. Her work includes leading large-scale initiatives such as competency framework design, career pathing, mentoring programs, and the implementation of performance and learning platforms. Lacey currently serves as Talent Strategy Director, VP at Old National Bank, where she partners with senior leaders to shape talent strategies that support enterprise priorities.
Lacey lives in Noblesville, IN with her two beloved dogs and deeply values the therapeutic impact animals can have on mental well-being. Having faced self-confidence challenges as a teenager, she found solace and strength through her connection with animals and the connection she forged with horses—an experience that continues to inspire her personal and professional approach to well-being and resilience.
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Mafu is a results-oriented social services professional with extensive experience and a proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with communities, local officials, NGOs, and international-level organizations. She holds a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Indiana University, Honors in Social Development from the University of Cape Town, and a BSc in Psychology and Sociology from Africa University. She is dedicated to providing strong leadership, mentorship, and excellent customer service to enhance community resilience. Mafu has the ability to develop and implement departmental goals and objectives, as well as initiate systemic change.
Self-care is very important to Mafu, and she believes that in order to help others, we need to help, take care of, and nurture ourselves—so she spends a lot of time connecting with nature through hiking, walking, and traveling to scenic destinations. Her personal motto is “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” a Zulu proverb that translates to “a person is a person through other people”—a belief that reinforces the value of connection and humanity.
Board Member
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Stevie Cromer (she/her/hers) is the Leadership Development Program Manager at MISO, where she channels her deep commitment to mental health, well-being, and human potential into every aspect of her work. Passionate about empowering people to lead lives rooted in joy, purpose, and stability, Stevie is driven to create environments—both personal and professional—where individuals and teams can truly thrive.
With over a decade of experience as an executive coach, facilitator, and ally, Stevie is known for her ability to build authentic connections and cultivate strong, inclusive cultures. She partners with leaders and organizations to develop high-performing teams, foster psychological safety, and drive meaningful, people-centered growth. Her core areas of expertise include leadership development, talent management, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Stevie is certified in Applied Positive Psychology and is a credentialed Everything DiSC facilitator. She also holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business. Beyond her professional work, Stevie also serves on the Board of Directors for the Indianapolis chapter of Conscious Capitalism, advocating for business as a force for good.
Board Member
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Nate Richter started his career writing code. Over sixteen years he moved from software engineer to cybersecurity lead to program manager, building his technical foundation one layer at a time before stepping into organizational leadership. Today he serves as VP and founding PMO Lead at Community First Bank of Indiana, where he built the institution's first formal project management function from scratch, chairs an executive governance committee alongside the CEO, CFO, and COO, and drives technology-driven process improvement across the organization. He is the kind of leader who understands the work deeply enough to build it himself, and experienced enough to know when to step back and lead.
Nate brings a rare combination of technical depth and operational leadership. He is equally at home in a codebase and a boardroom, a foundation that allows him to not only shape technology strategy but to understand and own the work behind it. It is that same hands-on instinct that led him to build the PAWS Dashboard entirely on a volunteer basis. Designed to help the Kindling Minds team manage and scale their flagship wellness program, it was his first contribution to the organization and the one that made his commitment to its mission concrete.
Nate lives in Westfield, Indiana, and is drawn to Kindling Minds because he believes the work of building resilience and connection in young people is among the most important work a community can do. He is eager to bring his skills in technology leadership, systems thinking, and operational governance to the board, and to play a real role in building the foundation that allows Kindling Minds to reach more Indiana youth.
Board Counsel
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Kay is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in the areas of energy and utilities law. As a partner at Taft, Kay advises and represents utility companies before state and federal regulatory agencies in a variety of cases. She has served as both an in-house lawyer (for Cinergy, PSI Energy, and Alliant Energy) and an outside lawyer, including serving as General Counsel for Cinergy's Regulated Businesses, and serving as Deputy General Counsel for Alliant Energy.
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Cynthia Heinbaugh has worked in the Retirement Services industry for over 25 years. She is currently a Retirement Plan Relationship Manager for The Capital Group holding a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a QKA designation from ASPPA. Cindy graduated from the Leadership United program in 2023 which paved the way for her interest and involvement in the non-profit sector.
She is an avid tennis player, dog lover and fan of all Indiana Sports. Cindy also loves to travel, hike and spend time with her daughter in Colorado.
Melissa Panter
Volunteer Recruitment & Onboarding Lead
Melissa brings over 12 years of experience in talent acquisition, staffing program management, and leading recruiting teams across both corporate and entrepreneurial environments. At Kindling Minds, she volunteers her time to guide and welcome volunteers from their first interest through onboarding, empowering them to feel confident and prepared to spark change in youth mental wellness. Outside of her professional work, she is an artist, proud wife, and devoted mother of three. She is dedicated to nurturing and supporting children, passionate about wellness, and enjoys spending time in nature.
Board Member
Board Member
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Sara is the Controller for Hendricks Regional Health, a nonprofit, nationally-recognized, community-based health system. She has spent most of her career in the nonprofit industry, choosing to work for organizations with deep, personal meaning to her and her family.
Board Member
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With 20+ years in the wine and spirits industry, Margarita is a seasoned leader with deep experience in sales, marketing, and financial strategy. Since October 2023, she has also volunteered as a Kindling Minds Handler alongside her 6‑year‑old English Bulldog, Kingsley. A dedicated runner and triathlete, she channels her love of sports and mentorship into her role as an Assistant Coach for the Girls Track & Field and Cross Country teams at Warren Central High School, helping young athletes build confidence, discipline, and joy in the sport.
Founder & Ex-Officio Board Member
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Nancy is an entrepreneurial professional with over 30 years in corporate and nonprofit recruiting, investment properties and marketing development. Nancy set out to make a difference in the teenage mental health crisis when she walked the journey with family members a few years ago. Understanding the complexities of the mental health industry, she was committed to forming an organization with integrity, compassion, and professionalism, surrounding herself with experts in the medical, mental health, and animal therapy fields.
We’re Pioneering a Values-Led, Proactive Approach
Community
We partner with communities, schools, parents, donors, and volunteers to positively impact youth mental wellness. Together, we can make a positive change by using the power of nature, animals, and art to create connections and empower young people to manage their emotions.
Long-Term Impact
Our programs are like a short-term spark of hope, but they have long-lasting results. By empowering Indiana’s youth with tools to pursue mental wellness, these young people develop a resilience that stays with them and an empathy that allows them to see life from a different perspective.
Research-Informed Benefits
All our programs are research-informed and have therapeutic benefits for mental wellness. We believe that non-clinical, proactive intervention is a valuable tool for supporting teens and pre-teens, allowing them to build skills, embrace empathy, and be rooted in resilience.
Empathy
We’re compassionate and kind in everything we do. We’re focused on creating a safe place where people are free to be themselves and to share openly.
“Kindling Minds has enhanced our school’s mental health & wellness initiative and truly it started with this organization. Coming in being able to see the positive effect it has on our students who have participated in wellness support dog visits, alpaca farm programs, and mindful arts programs. We’ve only had positive feedback from our students, their parents, and our staff. It has been wonderful.”
- Amy, Social Emotional School Counselor, Options Westfield