Our Board of Directors

Amy founded the organization and named it after her father, Paul Torrez, after their 6 month experience with temporary medial housing while her father was diagnosed and treated for lymphoma.

Courtney has a heart for our mission and a strong desire to lead Paul's Place into a successful future. A big part of her life has been helping to care for her two handicapped sisters. Her family has spent the last 20+ years in and out of hospitals for their care, both in town and out of town.

After experiencing the loss of her sister in 2023, Courtney felt moved to make a career change. When she heard about Paul's Place, she knew she had an opportunity to make an impactful difference.

We are very excited to welcome Courtney as our new Executive Director, as she deeply empathizes with our mission and brings a variety of experiences to her role.

Nick Mesaros is a successor of his family’s independent agency that has provided insurance for Indiana residents for the past 30 years. Family Insurance keeps their clients covered with competitive rates by shopping for them with over a dozen preferred companies. Whether you are refinancing or purchasing a new property or just wanting to compare current insurance rates, the Mesaros family and their staff make customer service a priority. Auto and home insurance are their specialties; however, they also provide commercial and life insurance. Putting customers and partners first has earned them “Agency of the Year” in 2019 and again in 2020.

Cecilia Rolf is a business developer for Hays + Sons Restoration. Hays + Sons is a family-owned company that originated out of Indianapolis. It has expanded over its 40 years of operation and now has 8 offices all over Indiana with one being in Ohio. Ceci is beyond grateful to work with them.

Paul’s Place is very near and dear to Ceci's heart. Her brother passed away in 2008 from cancer when he was just 29 years old. After hearing Amy’s story of why she created this origination she related completely. Ceci and her family traveled to Indianapolis where he was being treated most times throughout his journey. At one point he had to stay there for a few months straight. It was a very stressful time for her family to say the least. Not only were they in pain watching her brother fight for his life but the financial burden of travel and hotel stays was very real.

We are pleased to have Ceci as a board member as she has a deep empathy for our mission and consistently brings in new supporters of the mission. We are pleased to now have her as the Secretary of the board.

James is a local Mortgage Consultant with over seven years of consistent achievements as a top sales professional working to increase revenues and profits through expertise in business development, relationship building and exceptional customer service. He has exhibited positive leadership skills demonstrated by ability to work with multiple bank branch teams to reach goals with a customer-focused approach. James has consistently supported our mission at Paul's Place: Support for Families by participating in our annual fundraising golf tournament. We are eager to have him on our board to maintain and maximize relationships with our donors and clients.

Valerie is the Commercial Treasury Management Officer for the
PNC Financial Services Group in the Northern Indiana market. In
this role, she consults with clients to deliver customized treasury
management solutions and maximize cash flow efficiencies. She
provides working capital management tools that optimize growth,
performance, and liquidity.

Ms. Lloyd has served the financial services industry for over 15
years in various consumer and commercial roles. Most recently,
she worked as a Treasury Management Officer for a major financial
services holding company in Central Indiana. Prior experience
includes design and implementation of a video banking/virtual
terminal concept for a private, family owned Indiana-based
community bank.

Christopher is an Associate Attorney at Podlaski LLP and is dedicated to expanding his litigation expertise. As relatively new member to the area, Christopher is enthusiastic to grow his personal and professional outreach and find new ways to contribute to the community. Through his career and previous internships, Christopher has assisted in representing clients in Contract Law, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Home Improvement Litigation. He also spent over a year reporting individuals' asbestos-related exposure in industrial settings to be used in litigation.

Through his life, Christopher has seen the hardship that medical difficulties can cause to a family, both to the individual and the caregivers. As such, he is enthusiastic and passionate about contributing to an organization that serves such a vital purpose to traveling families in need.

Jim is a Fort Wayne native and local sports fixture. Over the last 25 years, Jim served in a plethora of media outlets across northeast Indiana, most notably as Sports Director for 1190 WOWO Radio from 2009-17. Jim is active in the community, serving as President of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association and performs public address announcer duties for the University of Saint Francis Cougars football team. His 14-year local sports show, Talkin’ Sports continues to air on ESPN 1380am/100.9 fm. Fans at the Coliseum will continue to hear Jim’s voice as the PA announcer for your Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the NCAA Division 3 Men’s Basketball Final Four.

In addition to Jim’s role with the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association, he serves as the Junior Varsity Baseball Coach at Leo High School, he is also active with the World Baseball Academy serving as emcee for multiple annual events and has also emceed Fort Wayne Sports Corp fundraisers, has been an instructor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Summer Camp and has emceed several fundraisers for Paul’s Place.