Board of Directors

Rose Morris, Co-Founder, Chairwoman

Rose graduated from Eastern New Mexico University with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. She is a military brat and a seasoned traveler. After marrying her husband in 2003, she moved again to Pittsburgh, PA. Married to her love, Jeff Morris, together they have 3 children, the middle son is on the autism spectrum. After seeing a need to keep her own son safe at night, Rose started her own company in 2009, Abram's Bed - maker of The Safety Sleeper. At the same time she co-founded a non-profit, Fund It Forward, to help families of special needs children obtain equipment not covered by insurance. She currently sits on the board as the Chairperson.
In 2010, Rose was named one of Pittsburgh's 40 under 40 which honors men and women for their business accomplishments and initiatives. She was chosen for Pittsburgh Magazine's Women in Business issue and spoke at the event in 2013 and was recognized by the Women's Small Business Association with their Community Service Award. In November 2014, Pittsburgh City Council honored Fund It Forward and Rose with a proclamation declaring November 3, 2014 "Fund It Forward Day."
Rose has a passion to encourage and connect special needs families to better assist, educate and advocate for their concerns. As owner of Abram's Bed, Rose is committed to giving back to the community through a variety of philanthropic endeavors, employing special needs individuals, and serves her church on the hospitality team at North Way Christian Community.

              www.thesafetysleeper.com

Vicki Ferrence Ray

Vicki Ferrence Ray is Sr. Director of National Programs for Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). She oversees HOBY affiliates and programs for fourteen sites in 8 states, and supervises the Program Department Staff of HOBY International. Vicki is a 1989 HOBY alumnus from Penns Valley High school in Spring Mills, PA. She was a HOBY volunteer for 15 years before becoming a staff person at HOBY International in 2004. Prior to working for HOBY she served as an Assistant Deputy Mayor for Management and Productivity for the City of Philadelphia in then-Mayor Edward G. Rendell's second administration from 1998 to 2000. She then left the public sector to work in the private sector as Director of Planning and Development for Refinery, Inc., a strategic web design and technology company, from 2000 to 2003. Vicki served as a government consultant in Harrisburg, PA on Governor Rendell's Strategic Sourcing Initiative in 2004. Vicki has a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Penn State University (PSU) and a Master of Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania (PENN). She is married to Dr. Adam Ray, an emergency medicine physician, and has two small children, Liam and C.J.

Rob Rodgers

Rob Rodgers is a Certified Financial Planner^TM with Hefren-Tillotson where he helps clients achieve their goals in the areas of investments, retirement, tax and estate planning. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Allegheny College, earning a degree in Managerial Economics. Rob is a lifelong native of Pittsburgh who currently resides in Sewickley. In his free time he enjoys being active and spending time with his family and friends. He has always had a passion for charitable and non-profit work through his church. His background in economics and finance adds to the diverse skill set of the FUND IT FORWARD Board of Directors.

Jeff Kovacs

My name is Jeff Kovacs. The most important thing about me is my family. My wife Jamee is a stay-at-home mom to our three energetic children after giving up her past life as a teacher in the Pgh Public School District (5yrs). We have been married for 10 years, are both born and raised in Pittsburgh (Jeff - Greensburg, Jamee - Penn Twp) and currently live in Monroeville. Our children, Caleb (5), Myla (3) and Madelyn (4mos.) keep us super-busy, but in my spare time I manage to hold down a job. For the past 5 years I have worked in the biomedical research field as a Research Sales Specialist for a company called Sigma-Aldrich based out of St. Louis, MO. My role involves consultative sales of laboratory supplies/reagents to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University. Previous to this, I completed my PhD at Duquesne University studying drug delivery systems and a post-doc at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Immunology. Though these research areas are my background, my heart lies in research I have not completed, but that others are currently completing in developing a cure for Angelman Syndrome (AS).
Our son Caleb was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome through genetic confirmation at the age of 2. The adventure of raising a child with AS is exhausting and challenging. It has also caused us to maintain focus on caring for and providing a safe, loving environment for Caleb, to the point that we rarely are able to focus on helping/serving others. Previous to having children, this was a big part of our lives as we served in leadership roles at a local church. To our surprise, we were able to find this again, when we applied for a Safety Sleeper for Caleb and held a fundraiser through Fund It Forward. Though we still plan to focus many of our efforts on raising awareness and funding for Angelman Syndrome Research, the opportunity to increase our outward focus at Fund It Forward is exciting for our family.

Brad Johnson

Brad Johnson is a graduate from The University of Charleston where he earned a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Sports Administration, where he was also a member of the baseball team. Brad is currently a District Sales Coordinator for Aflac, where he started his career as an agent right out of college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After one year as an agent, Brad was promoted to a District Sales Coordinator position, where he currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. He has always strived to give back, as he has been involved in mission work with his church since his freshman year in high school. Brad sees Fund it Forward is a way to continue this passion of giving back.

Doug Stone

Doug Stone is a Global Account Executive with CSC. In this role, he has global P&L, service delivery, client relationship, and portfolio growth responsibilities for operations $50+ million per year. His clients have included Fortune 500 organizations, many operating in over 70 countries. His global teams included a presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, China, Australia, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Hong Kong. He is experienced with rebuilding relationships and enhancing financial performance for complex and large engagements. His efforts include successful turnarounds. Earlier in his career at CSC, Doug focused on deal structure and acquisition analysis. He also worked several years in the organization's Internal Audit function. Doug has a BS, Accounting degree from Virginia Tech and earned an Executive Leadership certificate from Cornell University. He currently serves on the Information Technology Advisory Council of Duquesne University. He stays active in the local community serving on the boards of non-profit organizations. He previously served as Treasurer on the board of Stepping Stones Children's Center.

Barbara Logue

Barbara Logue is a graduate of West Liberty University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. Ms. Logue went on to earn a Master's Degree in Elementary Education and a second Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from West Virginia University. She also graduated from the West Virginia Department of Education Principals' Leadership Academy and she received training from The Johns Hopkins School of Education Strategic Reading Program.
Ms. Logue has over forty-five years of experience as an educator. She taught Third and Fourth Grade, Sixth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies, Seventh and Eighth Grade Health and Physical Education and Study Skills and Ninth Grade Remedial Reading.
Ms. Logue served as the Principal of Oak Glen High School after having served as the Assistant Principal of Allison Elementary School and the Assistant Principal of Oak Glen High School, which is located in Hancock County, West Virginia. Under her leadership as Principal, Oak Glen High School received the recognition of an Exemplary High School from the West Virginia Department of Education. Ms. Logue was also the Honorable Mention recipient of the Wayne F. White Outstanding Educator of the Year Award. Ms. Logue also served on the West Virginia Regional Educational Service Agency Board (Region Six).
Ms. Logue was selected as Miss West Virginia World in 1969 and was a semi-finalist in the 1969 Miss USA World Pageant. She is the proud mother of two sons, Matthew and Sean Logue, who are both practicing attorneys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.