Leadership & Staff

2010 - 2011 Board of Trustees


David Ferdman, President

  • Raymond P. Albrecht
  • Graig J. Alvarez
  • Diane Bailey, Ph.D.
  • I. A. “Yanni” Charalambous
  • Betty Cox, Ph.D.
  • Mimi Dinh
  • Larry Ellis
  • Marjorie Evans
  • Sharon Birkman Fink
  • Gerald Franklin
  • Ronnie Hagerty
  • J. Boyd Heath III
  • Joan Schnitzer Levy
  • Kerry Mazoch
  • Jake Messinger
  • Joel Mohrman
  • Kim Padgett
  • Pamela J. Penny
  • Dennis Price
  • John D. Schiller
  • W. Marc Schwartz
  • Scott Talley


Lidya K. Osadchey, Chief Executive Officer

Lidya K. Osadchey has been a resident of Houston for more than 30 years. She has earned BA from Rice University and MA from the University of Houston.   Lidya is the Founding Executive Director of the Holocaust Museum Houston. In May 2000, she was appointed CEO of the ESCAPE Family Resource Center.

Families are being transformed by ESCAPE’s people and classes.

“If our classroom walls could talk, they’d pour out the anguish expressed as men and women begin to share their stories, and then the confidence and empowerment adults gain as they learn skills for constructive parenting and relationship building. They’d also share about our children, who week to week talk about the extraordinary changes they’re experiencing at home.”
— Lidya K. Osadchey


Professional Staff

  • Paul Sahlman, Chief Operations Officer
  • Sandi Mercado, Executive Assistant/Volunteer Coordinator
  • Melinda Garcia, Director of Programs
  • Luz Escobar, Bilingual Program Specialist
  • Hortencia Morales, Parent Aide Coordinator/Educator
  • Curtis Henry, Program Support Coordinator
  • Agnes Ho, Program Specialist
  • Saralyn McMorris, Educator
  • Rosalva Torres, Bilingual Educator
  • Nelly Gonzalez, Bilingual Educator
  • Catherine Arevalo, Senior Program Assistant
  • Cecilia Herrera, Bilingual Program Assistant
  • Kimberly Martinez, Bilingual Program Assistant
  • Jennifer Lancaster, English Program Assistant