Leadership Team
Just like it takes a village to raise kids, it takes a crew to run My Friend Linkin. We were designated a non-profit 2018 and are ran by Dolores, Naudia's mom and Kelly, Linkin's mom. Their countless hours have made us who we are. Supported by a dedicated board and team, My Friend Linkin thrives on those who help us.
Kelly, aka Linkin’s mom and chaos coordinator. She is caffeine dependent and passionate about having fun. Kelly believes sometimes you never realize the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. This is why she is so obsessed with the mission of My Friend Linkin. Kelly very proud of each and every one of our friends in telling another child’s cancer story. Kelly enjoys hiking with her son Travis, playing games with her son Linkin, and watching movies with her husband Tim. Kelly has held various volunteer positions for other local non-profits. Email her: kelly@myfriendlinkin.org
Dolores, aka Naudia's mom, is an Instructor of English at Carroll University and has her doctorate in Literacy. She's also the secretary of the New Berlin Library Board and is active in her Croatian culture. She loves to help families and loves the personalization My Friend Linkin gives each child. She is excited to watch kids learn about the writing process and then see results from that process. She loves to swim with her kids, watch movies with her family and take family bike rides (and sometimes the dogs as well). Email her: dolores@myfriendlinkin.org
Board
Laura Henderson is a technology executive who created an award-winning high-performance culture as CEO. After nearly two decades of successfully leveraging technological advancements for the betterment of businesses across a variety of industries, Laura set out to close the K12 education gap with the creation of a personalized learning software application. She raised 1.2m in capital funding and in 2014 launched Epiphany Learning. She is thrilled to serve on the board of a nonprofit, My Friend Linkin. In 2012, she was awarded Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Women of Influence Award. Laura has six children and devotes her time to them and loves to camp.
Meg McKenzie is a Milwaukee hero. You may have heard her as one half of “Murphy & Meg in the Morning” on 95.7 BIG or you may have seen her hosting “Fox Focus” segments on Fox 6 TV or filling in on “Real Milwaukee.” She served as Game Host for the Milwaukee Admirals for ten years and has emceed countless charity events for non-profit organizations such as the ALS Association of Wisconsin and Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. She also owns “Meg McKenzie Photography,” specializing in wedding, family and newborn photography. She is an active realtor at Shorewest Realty. She and her husband have four children and are proud to call New Berlin home.
Brian Greenawalt, Naudia’s dad, spent eight years in the United States Navy and was stationed in San Diego, Sicily, and Guam. He has been on deployments that have have taken him around the world including Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He currently works at Northwestern Mutual in cybersecurity and is humbled and happy to help his fellow veterans. His hobbies include camping with the family, taking his kids to their sporting events, and cooking.
Laureen Anderson-Stepanek is originally from the Chicago suburbs. She's an immigration attorney who assists businesses and individuals with their immigration needs. In her spare time she also figure skates on a competitive synchronized skating team. She is thrilled to be supporting My Friend Linkin as her family has been impacted by cancer and she loves the positive message the organization brings by empowering children dealing with this disease.
Timothy Eger, Linkin's dad, is the Operations Manager for Credit and Customer Service at Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. His role focuses on helping Kohl's achieve high performance through profitable growth, accelerated innovation, organizational agility, and operational excellence.
Timothy is a big supporter of Make-A-Wish WI, loves to work outside and is active with his church, The Ridge Community Church, located in Greenfield, WI.
Events Team
Kelsey Hau joined the My Friend Linkin family in 2020, first as a co-author of The Last Kiss and now the event manager. She is both a loss mama to Asher Robert and now a foster mom. She is passionate about raising awareness for kids with terminal illness and infant loss. As a mom who cared for a sick child, My Friend Linkin’s mission is near and dear to her heart. She is currently the Development Manager for Seton Catholic Schools. In her free time she loves cooking, spending time with her family or getting lost in a good book. You can email her at events@myfriendlinkin.org.
Social Media
Jason Darling joined the team in 2019 as road captain for our annual Linkin's Leisure Ride. By day he's a union carpenter, and when he's not at work he's behind the scenes with our social media posts and stories. His childhood cancer support began in 2013 when a close friend of his alerted him that their son, Liam, was diagnosed with RMS at age one. He's been supporting and volunteering for kids/teens ever since.