Meet Our Team

Jaxon King is a student heading into a science and healing arts degree who loves acting, music, cosplaying, color guard, D&D, nature, and animals. He serves as vice president of Gracie’s House, part of our camp committee, and is a fantastic dancer.

Dr. April Hershey is a lifelong resident of Lancaster county PA. She has been committed to education and serving students and families for over 30 years. A music educator first and later school superintendent, Dr. Hershey has been a champion for the arts, for student mental health, and for equity. As one of Gracie's, Jax's, and Amy’s biggest fans, April is extremely honored to serve on the board at Gracie’s house. 

Amy King is an author, a professor, a researcher, a peer group facilitator, a literacy teacher, a public speaker, a fierce advocate for young people, and a champion of honest discussions about mental health, bigotry, and how to make the world better. She serves as vice president and interim director for these first years of Gracie’s House.

Harriette (Hatsy) Droke is an accountant and educator. She is an active member of Grandma's for Love in Lititz, PA and is an advocate for schools and communities where all children are valued and loved. Hatsy serves as the treasurer on Gracie's House board.

Rebecca Branle is a community builder with roots in economic development and marketing. Together with her husband, Mark, she owns Earth to Lititz and Lititz Bikeworks. Rebecca believes in the power of storytelling to transform communities. She will serve as director of development for Gracie's House. 

Todd Dickinson is co-owner of Aaron's Books, a fiercely independent bookstore in Lititz, PA. Since founding the store almost 20 years ago, he has served on numerous nonprofit boards, working as a leader in the local business community & the national bookselling community. Before relocating with his family to Lititz, Todd worked for many years in Washington, DC, both in the US Senate and as a lobbyist for universities and nonprofit organizations. He has a BA and MA in political science from American University.

Lisa Krok, MLIS, MEd, is a public library manager and a former teacher in the Cleveland, Ohio area. She is the author of Novels in Verse for Teens: A Guidebook with Activities for Teachers and Librarians (Bloomsbury LU). Lisa also serves on the NEORLS DEIA Advisory Board Committee, YALSA Awards Oversight Committee, and is a reviewer and moderator for School Library Journal. Her passion is reaching marginalized teens and reluctant readers through young adult literature, and helping them feel safe, seen, and welcome.

Jack and Sam (aka Bee) Myers are found family members of the Kings and knew and loved Gracie deeply. Jack has a BS in Business from E-Town College, and Sam has worked for several non-profits and has a compassionate heart for people. Jack and Sam have a strong desire for people to be Seen, Heard, and Loved, no matter who or what they are. They make up half of our camp committee.

Beth Zimmerman has been working in local government for over 35 years.  She has an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University.  Beth has been on the board of two other 503(c) Non-Profits.  The first one, for 5 years, assisting in getting its accreditation.  The second being a swimming pool association where she met Amy and they ran it together for 3 years.  Passionate advocate for all marginalized groups.  Mother of 2 humans and a varying number of cats.

Marianne holds an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a B.F.A. in Animation from the University of the Arts. She has taught writing and art workshops for over a decade and currently develops stories, classroom resources, videos, and games for educational software. Her experience includes work with literacy and social justice organizations, as well as projects for Sesame Workshop and Highlights for Children. Based in Pennsylvania, Marianne also serves on the Tredyffrin library board.

Our board goals for 2025 have been met but we are always looking for individuals with camp, fundraising, marketing, non-profit, and artistic experience, and a little bit of time to dedicate to LGBTQ+ youth. Contact us and introduce yourself!