Omni Family of Services Celebrates Women’s History Month

As an organization with a long history of women in leadership, The Omni Family of Services is proud to celebrate Women’s History Month.

The women working at Omni — now 83.11% of our employee population! — are at the forefront, driving our mission to advance the hope and healing that can improve lives, empower people, and strengthen communities. 

Here are just a few of the many women who have shaped our organization through the years:

Eileen Harris, Omni Visions Co-founder (retired/deceased)  

With her co-founders Dick Call and Charles McLeroy, Eileen Harris set out to change the way foster care services were delivered. They were frustrated with the fragmented nature of the child welfare system and worked to create a new model designed to meet the needs of individuals — no matter how many services were required. Together, they formed Omni Visions and accepted their first seven foster care referrals in April 1991. Those fortunate to work with Eileen (previously director for the Michael Dunn Center in Roane County, Tennessee), knew firsthand her passion and commitment to the families Omni served. Her dedication and vision transformed the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the state.

Mildred Mitchell, Omni Visions’ West Tennessee Regional Director (retired/deceased)

It’s been said that “Some leaders give orders, but Mrs. Mitchell gave direction.” A fixture with Omni since its inception, Mildred Mitchell was West Tennessee Regional Director for the children’s division until her retirement in 2008. She continued her commitment to Omni as a Visions board member after that. Known early on as one of “Eileen’s Eagles,” she led with a tough yet loving approach. Her staff — and especially the children they served — understood the high expectations she had for them. And that they were all on the same team. For many of the children, this was the first time in their lives that someone not only encouraged them to try harder, but to expect more themselves. Mrs. Mitchell’s legacy in the Memphis region endures through the strong relationships she developed with staff and children alike.

Jennifer Dunigan, Omni Visions’ West Tennessee Regional Director

Her personal mantra is “Pray more. Fear less. Live better.” Jennifer Dunigan — Omni Visions’ longest tenured employee at 30 years — is an inspiration to not only her region but the entire organization. Now Regional Director for foster care services in the Memphis area, she was originally drawn to Omni because of its unique position in the social services world: lower caseload levels which enabled staff to be creative and give each child the individualized, quality treatment they needed. Jennifer’s leadership, along with her encouragement for staff to “laugh often and celebrate small successes” has created more cohesiveness and stronger relationships among the team. And that translates to better outcomes for the children and families we serve.

Michelle Brewer, Omni Visions’ Executive Director, North Carolina

Making a positive difference in the lives of children has motivated Michelle Brewer her entire career. Michelle joined Omni as a Resource Coordinator for the Coastal North Carolina region. In 2003, she took a Team Leader position and served in that capacity before her promotion to Regional Director for Omni’s Goldsboro, Morehead City and Fayetteville offices in 2010. Michelle’s dedication to the Omni Family of Services mission brought another promotion in 2019 — to Executive Director for North Carolina. An instrumental part of North Carolina’s operations for nearly three decades, Michelle has instilled a sense of high standards, energy, and enthusiasm in her teams statewide. 

Kathy Joyner, Foster Care Program Director (retired)

Kathy Joyner was instrumental in shifting Omni program services from its original, singular focus on foster care to a full array of treatment based on sound clinical principles. She drove our emphasis on quality and relationships and launched Omni’s accreditation process through the Council on Accreditation. Kathy was a 24-year Omni veteran, joining the organization in 1991 and serving in a number of roles — Middle Tennessee Regional Director, Quality Assurance Director and finally, Foster Care Program Director — before retiring in 2015. She helped to grow Omni’s expertise and reputation by serving as a national president of the Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA) and as President of Tennessee Association for Child Care (TACC). 

Trisha Galbreath, Vice President & CFO  

The accounting team considered her their “rock” during her nine-year tenure as Controller for Omni company 3LS, Inc. Now Vice President and CFO, Trisha Galbreath is responsible for human resources, payroll, operations and legal functions for the Omni Family of Services, as well as the finance and accounting functions for 3LS, Inc. The 29-year company veteran began her Omni career as an accounting department temp and served as Director of Finance and Accounting from 2018 to 2019. Her steady guidance, leadership and disciplined oversight have been critical to our overall financial results.

Nichole Young, President and CEO, Omni Visions, Inc. 

Nichole Young brings an incredible amount of institutional and industry knowledge, passion, and dedication to her role as Omni Visions President and CEO. She joined the Knoxville region in the fall of 1995 as Resource Coordinator and subsequently served as Team Leader, Regional Director, State Director and Executive Director before her promotion to Chief Operations Officer in July 2019. Throughout her 27-year Omni tenure, Nichole has been laser focused on fulfilling our mission and has played a critical role in organizational growth, establishing Omni Visions as a leader in human services, and maintaining our people-first culture. Her energy and enthusiasm lift up the entire Omni Visions team.

Treshia Meneese, Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance

“Living and learning” has always been the motto of Treshia Meneese, who joined the Omni Family in 2006 as a middle Tennessee Team Leader. By 2010 she had moved to the home office team as Quality Assurance Coordinator, was promoted to Quality Assurance Manager in 2017, and then Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance in 2019. Treshia became Chief of Compliance and Quality Assurance in April 2021. From case and program management to quality oversight, Treshia’s substantial experience in a variety of human services sectors prior to joining Omni — related to intellectual and development disabilities, domestic violence and the empowerment of women and families — has served as a touchstone for the invaluable level of leadership she brings to our mission

Pam Brillhart, Chief Operations Officer, Omni Community Health

A behavioral health industry veteran, Pam Brillhart joined the Omni Community Health team in May 2018.  With three decades years of experience in varied behavioral health environments, Pam brought deep operational knowledge and a strong focus on quality and innovation to her role at OCH.  In her short tenure as COO, Pam has led our efforts around standardizing operational practices, implementing a team approach to service delivery, overseeing financial performance, ensuring quality care for clients, and supporting the organization-wide launch of our trauma-informed care model. 

Dr. Cynthia Rector, Chief Medical Officer, Omni Community Health

A proven leader in the mental health field, Dr. Cynthia Rector has focused her career on caring for the mental health needs of vulnerable adults and children.  Dr. Rector joined the Omni team in January 2020 as Director of Medical Services and was promoted to Chief Operations Officer in September 2021.  In her brief time with Omni, Dr. Rector has provided a steady hand during the pandemic and demonstrated the leadership skills we need to grow our primary care and psychiatric services over the coming years.  

Jane Wintz, President and CEO, Omni Family of Services

Jane Wintz chose to be a social worker to honor the many women in her family who taught her she could do and be whatever she wanted. She’s been building on that honor for more than 25 years. Jane has worked in fifteen states where she has implemented Treatment Foster Care, Family Preservation, Residential and Congregate Care, Behavioral Health, and Education service delivery models. While serving as an executive with Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY), a nonprofit child welfare agency located in eight states, she was also responsible for growing the agency’s footprint, successfully expanding into four new states. Jane initially brought this wealth of experience and passion for quality and growth to her position as President and CEO of Omni Visions. Promoted in August 2021, she now leads the charge to establish a unified tone, culture, voice and strategic plan between Omni Visions, Omni Community Health and Omni Family of Services to grow and evolve our organization. One of her top priorities in her new role is to extend her management philosophy which centers on lifting up employees, creating opportunities for them to grow and thrive, and preparing them for advancement within the organization.

Omni Celebrates the Contributions of All Our Employees

If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of others, we are interested in you becoming a part of The Omni Family of Services. Whatever your career goals or aspirations — full time or part-time, direct care, case management, or administrative — we have a variety of opportunities available.