“We will be forever grateful for the Yolo Crisis Nursery. My daughter totally came out of her shell. She transformed into a sassy, confident two-year-old. We view the Yolo Crisis Nursery as family. Thank you!”
– Yolo Crisis Nursery Mom
Our Impact
The Yolo Crisis Nursery’s mission is to provide early intervention services in a safe environment to nurture healthy and resilient children, strengthen parents and preserve families.
Key measures of the Yolo Crisis Nursery’s impact in 2022/2023 include:
- 2,962 Safe Stays for at-risk children
- 5,212 Care Packages distributed to the community
- 1,041 Children were served last year by the Nursery
- Growth in every Yolo Crisis Nursery Program
The Yolo Crisis Nursery Leadership Team
Heather Sleuter, Executive Director
Heather lives the mission of the Nursery every day. She has been protecting children and preserving families for over 20 years. Since joining the Yolo Crisis Nursery in 2007, Heather has built numerous programs to save more children from abuse and neglect, to provide additional crisis resolution services for families, and to offer parent education and support. Heather is tireless in her efforts to help families, and she has built several partnerships with other social service organizations in Yolo County.
Heather supervises all three Yolo Crisis Nursery Licenses – Respite Care, Daycare, and Preschool. She leads all Nursery operations including programming, staff management and training, budgeting, and compliance.
Heather is highly credentialed. She is trained in trauma-informed care, holds her Program Director permit, and is a California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in Child Development. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services Management from the University of Phoenix and has a master’s degree in counseling.
Yolo Crisis Nursery Board of Directors
Yolo Crisis Nursery opened in 2001 and became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2014. Our board of directors is an active and involved group of volunteers that provide guidance, governance, and oversight for Yolo Crisis Nursery’s mission, operations, and program effectiveness. The board of directors all come from a variety of backgrounds and represent communities throughout Yolo County.
Meet the Board:
Jennifer Thayer, President
Associate Director, Development & Donor Relations, UC Davis
Steve Willhoff, Treasurer
CPA, Carbahal & Company
Jeremy Higgins, Vice President/Secretary
Realtor, eXp Realty of California
Thomas Barth
Attorney, Barth Daly, LLP
Caroline J. Chantry
Pediatrician, Sutter Davis Hospital/UC Davis Professor Emeritus
Steve Greenfield
Vice-President, Cunningham Engineering
Renee Nolte Newton
Retired, Director of College Opportunities, UC Davis
Will Pro
Owner, Will Pro Constructions Inc.
Carol Rosset
Principal, True Management Services, LLC
Joan Smith-Maclean
Physician, Sutter Medical Group
Pat Stromberg
Retired, Human Resources
Betty Woo
Principal at Betty Woo, AIA Architect
Board Associates:
- Sharon Schauer, Chief Administrative Officer, UC Davis Health, Co-Chair of the Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery
- Nancy Storm, Territory Manager, US Foods, Co-Chair of the Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At Yolo Crisis Nursery, we strive to ensure that all children are free from child abuse and neglect and in a thriving, safe, and nurturing environment. We recognize that child abuse and neglect occur when families are in challenging life circumstances, and we acknowledge that these circumstances impact more profoundly communities of color and those with limited resources. We are committed to improving our services, programs, and resources to ensure greater equity for all we serve, but especially communities of color and communities without resources.
We will intentionally recruit board members that share our commitment to DEAI and that represent the communities we serve. We will include DEAI principles as part of our recruiting, hiring, and onboarding, while annually reviewing and updating our program and service materials. We will engage in intentional conversations with our partners and communities on topics of DEAI while we continue to nurture healthy and resilient children, strengthen parents, and preserve families.