Jericho leadership team
In September 2021, Jericho transitioned to a team leadership model, with two senior staff members serving together to lead the team dedicated to our mission to serve the academic, physical, social, and spiritual needs of Danbury’s at-risk youth.
Mark D. Lounsbury and Lisa Siedlecki are Co-Executive Directors.
Mark D. lounsbury, Co-Executive Director
Mark, who’s spent more than 20 years serving the at-risk population of Greater Danbury and was appointed Co-Executive Director in 2022, was named Director of Youth Ministries in June 2019, after having served for more than 18 months as Stewardship Coordinator. Before that, he was Director of Programs for REACH-Newtown, a youth-services organization. Before his time at REACH, Mark served as Ministry Director for Pathways Danbury, a Jericho Ministry Partner focused on mentoring at-risk boys, now integrated into Jericho Partnership.
In addition to his work at Jericho, Mark also serves as an Associate Pastor at Lighthouse Ministries, serving alongside his mother and father in the city of Danbury.
It is his strongly held belief that healthy relationships are the key to a successful life. Mark consistently works to create environments where interpersonal connections and genuine community can flourish.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology from Western Connecticut State University (Magna Cum Laude), and a Master of Divinity from The King’s University, Los Angeles (Summa Cum Laude), where he was a Dr. Scott G. Bauer Memorial Award Finalist for academic excellence.
Mark lives in Southbury with his wife, Sandra, and their four children. He enjoys reading, writing, coaching youth sports, playing ultimate frisbee, and vigorously cheering on his kids at their myriad athletic events.
Reach Mark at mark@jerichopartnership.org
Lisa Siedlecki, Co-Executive Director
Lisa joined the Jericho team July 2016 as Director of Communications. She was named Director of Marketing & Communications in January 2018, Director of Community Engagement in September 2020 and Co-Executive Director in 2022, reflecting her responsibilities and oversight of Jericho’s development, marketing & communications, event planning, volunteer coordination, as well as oversight of our food pantry.
Prior to a two-year stint as Director of Corporate Communications at Origami Owl in Chandler, AZ, Lisa was served as Communications Director at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel for most of her 13 years there. A graduate of Western Connecticut State University in 1985, (B.A. in English: Writing) she worked for nearly two decades at The News-Times in Danbury as a reporter and columnist before her time at Walnut Hill. A food and wine enthusiastic, she loves to cook for friends and family. She plays the drums and serves on the worship team at Community Chapel in Oxford, CT. She and her husband, Mike, have six grown children, three grandchildren, and two very spoiled fur babies. They live in Southbury, CT, and attend Community Chapel.
Reach Lisa at lisa@jerichopartnership.org
Clara Perkins, director of Mentoring
To say Clara has spent her life serving youth isn’t a stretch. She’s been with Jericho Partnership since the very beginning, and today directs its cornerstone mentoring programs, Pathways Danbury Boys Mentoring, and Naomi Girls Mentoring. Before that, she was responsible for our after-school tutoring program, SAY Yes!, serving as a mother, a mentor and friend to all. (But don’t walk astray; one “look” from Miss Perkins will get you back on track!)
She’s been a member of New Hope Baptist Church for more than 45 years and has served as Superintendent of Sunday School, Youth Director, Scholarship Committee Chair, and is a founding member of the annual HBCU college tour which has operated for more than 20 years and continues to expand. On that annual tour, 40 students - many of them Jericho students - travel the Northeast, Southeast or Mid-West region touring up to 10 majority, specialized, and historically black colleges and universities during the Danbury public school spring break.
Clara served on the Head Start Advisory Board before becoming employed at David & Geck, where she worked for 25 years as a Quality Control Clerk, Manufacturing Coordinator, and Production Planner. She was a member of the Ebony Club of Danbury, which focused on raising funds for scholarships to help students continue their education. She also served with the NAACP youth membership committee.
From the beginning, Clara’s home has been open to family, friends, children and even a few perfect strangers. She counts it a blessing to be part of so many lives.
Dotsy torres, director of education
Dotsy joined our staff full-time in 2018, having been hired to serve as CityServe Coordinator after working for five years as Director of the Summer Learning Camp at our Spring Street Neighborhood Center. She was promoted to Manager on our youth team in 2019 and was named Director of Education in September 2020, reflecting Jericho’s growing commitment to help students recover from COVID learning loss.
Before coming to Jericho, Dotsy was a teacher at Christian Life Academy for 12 years. She received a BS in Child Studies from Charter Oak State College. An active member of First Assembly of God in Brookfield (where she's led various programs for children and girls), she has volunteered in the area of childcare with YoungLives for the last six years. She's married to Benny Torres; they have four children and are currently fostering a child.
Her favorite bible passage is Isaiah 61:1-4 - "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair… They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."
Reach Dotsy at Dotsy@jerichopartnership.org
Dr. Donald sampson, clincal director, samaritan health center
Dr. Don is board certified in pediatrics and adult internal medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Colorado, then moved to the Waterbury, CT area to be part of a family medical practice for eight years before he came to Samaritan Health Center 10+ years ago.
In the late 2000s, he was chief of pediatrics at a teaching hospital in Nigeria, where he had moved with his family in 2007 as a medical missionary with SIM in response to a call to serve the poorest of the poor. During that three-year period, he trained Nigerian doctors; cared for hospitalized children, orphans and children with HIV; and went into outlying villages to provide medical care.
He became Samaritan Health Center’s pediatrician and clinic director in 2010. He and his wife, Kim, have four children, including a set of twins.
Benny Torres, Facilities Director
Benny joined our team in late 2022, with a solid knowledge of our facilities, thanks to his friendship with our former Director of Facilities, Harry Pugner. It wasn’t unusual to see Benny helping Harry on a volunteer basis, so he was the natural choice for the role following Harry’s retirement.
Benny is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our facilities at 22 Maple Ave., and 44 Spring St.
Sue Heller, RN, Nurse Manager
Sue has been with Samaritan Health Center since its inception, initially as the Assistant Director of Nursing and now Nurse Manager.
She is certified in advanced cardiac life support, pediatrics advanced life support, and trauma nurse core course. Sue has been a staff nurse at the Danbury Hospital emergency department since 1982.
Of all the jobs that Sue has had, taking care of children is her passion. She and her husband, Mark, have three grown children, one grandson and one granddaughter. She and Mark spend their free time taking historical trips throughout Connecticut.
Helen Azcona, Food Services Coordinator
On board since August 2022, Helen is responsible for Jericho’s growing food services to those we serve in the city, including our food pantry, our weekender bag program, and our after-school meal program.
Helen excels at loving on our volunteer team, and can often be found singing along to music while she works; her enthusiasm is contagious.
Michelle Wright, Operations Manager
Michelle joined the Jericho team part-time in 2021 after several months volunteering as a translator at Samaritan Health Center. She transitioned to full-time in September 2022.
Born in the US and raised in Brazil, Michelle is tri-lingual, an invaluable credential for our multi-cultural client family.
She is responsible for most of Jericho’s admin/operations and vendor relations, and also is the first point of contact for our volunteers.