Meet The Team
Brenda Vickers
Administrative Assistant - Richmond
Brenda has been the administrative assistant since April 2012. On any given day, Brenda is at the front desk waiting to greet clients and guests—assisting anyone who enters our doors. She loves the fact that she gets to meet new families with their adopted children. Brenda has her certificate in early childhood education and manages the office in its daily operations.
Kelly Grein
Pregnancy Counselor and TVAP Advocate - Richmond
Kelly joined the Bethany team in 2020 as a bilingual pregnancy counselor and advocate for victims of human trafficking. Kelly graduated in 2019 with her Master’s degree in Social Work from Florida Atlantic University. She has over 6 years of experience working in social services with families to achieve housing and financial stability. She advocates for her clients and is passionate about supporting you as you make a choice for the future of your family.
Abby Mento
Wraparound Stabilization Services Therapist - Richmond
Abby joined the team in 2022 after relocating to Virginia from New York. She holds her Master of Social Worker degree from New York University and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Virginia. Abby is passionate about supporting individuals and families who have experienced trauma and has experience providing therapy and clinical case management to survivors of human trafficking, torture, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. She also has a certification in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) and is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) as well as other evidence-based modalities for treating trauma. Abby believes wholeheartedly in the resilience of the human spirit and in each client’s inherent dignity and worth.
Ashley Pleasants
Pregnancy Counselor & Adoption Specialist - Richmond
Ashley joined the Bethany Christian Services team in March 2020 after working as an intensive community-based mental health counselor in the Richmond area. Ashley is currently a resident in counseling and holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in counselor education from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is dedicated to offering supportive and compassionate counsel to expectant mothers and families experiencing unplanned pregnancies. As a pregnancy counselor, she walks alongside expectant parents in the decision-making process and ensures their needs and the needs of the child are being met.
Kristin O'Dell, LMSW
HS/PRS Supervisor and Post Adoption Social Worker - Richmond
Kristin has served with Bethany since 2003. She worked as an international adoption social worker for over 18 years seeing firsthand how children thrive in a loving, safe, and permanent family. Her involvement with the ministry continues today as a supervisor for the Home Study/Post Release Services program and a social worker with post adoption services helping members of the adoption triad connect and develop meaningful relationships with one another. Kristin has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work and is a licensed social worker in Virginia. She is blessed to be Ben’s wife and Norah and Brea’s momma.
Patricia Argueta
Case Manager, Home Study and Post Release Services - Richmond
Patricia joined Bethany in 2021. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from previously working with the Office of Refuge Resettlement where she worked as a case manager to reunite unaccompanied refugee minors with their sponsor in the U.S. Patricia earned a Bachelor's Degree in psychology from the Dr. Jose Matias Delgado University of El Salvador, C.A. Patricia brings great joy and compassion to her work to support the vulnerable children that Bethany serves.
