Illona Roman, Executive Director

Illona Roman has been a licensed social worker since 2002. Her passion has always been adoption, foster care, and serving vulnerable children and families. She has spent the past 20 years working with children and families, while raising her daughter Hope. Illona has called the Eastern Panhandle her home for over 15 hears and is involved in many aspects of this community, including being a member of Fellowship Bible Church in Shenandoah Junction. Illona has volunteered with several local programs, including the Boys and Girls Club of Berkeley County, the Martinsburg Rescue Mission, as well as being a foster parent. It is her desire to see families supported, healed, maintained, renewed through relationship with other families, and sharing the love of Christ as the source of all Hope.

Rebecca Hall, Family Coach Manager

Becky Hall has been living in West Virginia for 37 years, after coming to Shepherd University from South Salem, NY to study social work. After graduating she worked for the state of West Virginia DHHR in Foster Care and Juvenile Probation. Shortly into her career she met her husband Carey Hall through youth ministry and were married in 1994. After their first daughter was born in 1995, she thought she had hung up her social work license, and the family was called to homeschool their children. After the next 15 years: five girls, and one son later, she picked her social work license back up, and began working with WV Birth to Three as a licensed social worker. The family have been active members of Fellowship Bible Church for 13 years. For much of that time Becky and Carey served as youth leaders, encouraging the teens in the church and their lives have always been forefront in their lives. Becky enjoys utilizing skills such as networking, problem solving, prioritizing and assisting others through the challenges of life. She chooses to seek God’s guidance and sustenance for living and strives to share that encouragement she receives with others to help strengthen them.

Terry Smathers, Chairman of the Board

Terry Smathers is retired from over 30 years of government service from the Executive cadre at the Internal Revenue Service in Information Technology and management. In his retirement he and his Proverbs 31 wife, Peggy, are feeding their passion for hurting children and vulnerable families by serving on the Family Renewal Initiative board and spending 3 months each year in Bolivia building Christ-based relationships in a local orphanage. Terry is a long-time elder at Independent Bible Church, where he draws great encouragement, both from the teaching and his church family. He has borrowed his life motto from Appalachian Bible College which exists “because life is for service”.

Pastor Jonathan Beall, Board Member

Jonathan Beall has been a pastor since 2010 and has been at New Hope Church in Bunker Hill, WV since 2014. He has been married for 18 years, a parent for 13 years and has served as a foster parent in Berkeley county in recent years. He and his wife Jamie enjoy doing premarital and marriage counseling together and teaching young parents how to disciple their children to follow Jesus.

Brian DeOms, Board Member

Bryan DeOms has been involved in Christian education for over ten years teaching at Faith Christian Academy in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Bryan is a member of Independent Bible Church where he serves as an Elder and volunteers in children’s and youth ministries. He is married to Kendra and they have three children. Bryan has also served children through volunteer mission work at orphanages in Haiti and Thailand. As Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 – “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Bryan is honored to be a part of FRI as we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus in West Virginia.

David Marsh, Board Member

David Marsh is a CPA who spent 27 years with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a senior accountant. Prior to that, Dave spent 17 years in public and private companies, serving in various mid and senior level accounting positions. Dave is married with four grown children and four grandchildren. His family has dealt with various mental health issues, including depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Dave knows the devastative effect these can have on family dynamics. He can appreciate the great need for medical, emotional and spiritual resources to come along side families. Dave primarily assists FRI with accounting and financial matters and he also hopes to use his experience to help families in need.

Latonia Page, Board Member

Latonia Page has called the Eastern Panhandle home for 15 years. With a Master of Science in Social Work, Latonia is a passionate advocate, personally and professionally, for providing children safe and secure homes where they can thrive. Latonia has supported local organizations focused on pregnancy resources, young and single parent support, mentoring foster and adoptive parents, and with her husband Brent, growing their own family through adoption. Latonia, Brent, and their children are committed to the local community and Fellowship Bible Church, where they serve in various ministries.