Military Veterans

Against

Child Abuse

About Us - Board Members

President - Jennifer Baker

Jennifer Baker has dedicated her career to helping others in the field of Social Services for more than 30 years. She has a passion for assisting people in crisis and is an expert in providing victim-centered, trauma-informed care to those in crisis.

She began her career in the Counseling and Testing Department at the University of Houston- Downtown while she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences with concentrations in Psychology and Sociology. She spent several years with the Texas Department of Human Services helping disadvantaged individuals secure medical and financial assistance, before advancing to a position as Crisis Counselor within the Houston Police Department. Jennifer advocates for victims of violent crime and helps them overcome the psychological, physical, and financial trauma that they face. She offers Women’s Safety presentations to local civic groups, churches, and nonprofit organizations providing information and awareness primarily on sexual assault and domestic violence. She has operated a volunteer victim services project where she recruited, trained, and supervised local citizens who provided on-scene crisis intervention services to victims.

She has been a member of several victim service organizations including the Texas Council on Family Violence, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the Texas Victim Services Association, and the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

She is the owner of Balanced Life Tools which specializes in day planners, journals, and other inspirational products that enhance productivity and organization. Her most popular products are the Diva Days Planner which beautifully prompts the user to plan their day with style and a little sass, and the Balanced Life Planner, a comprehensive life and time management tool, which helps the user balance every area of their lives.

Nathan Keselring - Treasurer

Nathan Keselring brings over 19 years of experience in the sports industry as the Director of Sports Medicine and a Managing Partner of The Tri-City All-Stars men's professional ABA basketball team. He is also a Founding Board Member of the All-Stars Cares Organization.

Nathan attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln Nebraska, where he ran track and field and was a member of 6 Conference Championships, and 2 top 10 finishes in NCAA Track and Field National Championships. While attending NWU, Nathan enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served as a Mineman.

His service career includes tours aboard the USS Robin (MHC 54), USS Devastator (MCM 6), along with assignments ashore at NAS Corpus Christi, Naval Station Ingleside, and Naval Reserve Base Lincoln Nebraska. Nathan also worked on Ft. Sam Houston as an Exercise Physiologist for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine in conjunction with the U.S. Army, Baylor University, and the University of Southern Florida assisting in research.

Most recently, Nathan is the Director of a 100+ bed rehabilitation facility, Co-Founder and Board of Directors member for The Stars Over Texas Organization, and is Co-Owner of OneHealth Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. During his time working in the sports and health industry, Nathan has worked with professional athletes, professional referees, Olympic hopefuls, and athletes from Division I, II, and III, including NAIA, AAU, high school, and elementary.

Anthony W. Ellis - Secretary

Anthony (Tony) was born in Temple, Texas, where he graduated from Temple High School in 1977 and attended Temple College before joining the United States Air Force. He retired from the United States Air Force after serving his country for twenty years. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University.

After Tony retired from the Air Force, he worked for the State of Texas as a Social Worker for eight years. He then went on to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs for eleven years. He has since retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sharon M. Blacknall - Executive Director/Founder

Sharon M. Blacknall is a U.S. Air Force Veteran, children's book author, and motivational speaker. Sharon founded Military Veterans Against Child Abuse after working many years in corporate management and owning other businesses. She has been a passionate Child Safety Advocate for many years working with various organizations and teaching the community about missing child prevention, child abuse prevention, and child safety. Sharon has dedicated her life to keeping kids safe and enjoys mentoring young children about making smart life choices.

She has more than 30 years of experience hiring, managing, and training employees, mentoring entrepreneurs, handling multi-million dollar budgets from initial bidding to the award and procurement phase, and advocating against child abuse of any kind. She also has previous experience as a Certified Residential and FHA appraiser, handling ABA player and staff contracts, company sponsorship agreements, coordinating community relations activity, and is the liaison between staff and public relations.

Sharon is the author of Growing Up Safe and Unafraid - Child Safety Tips For Parents and Grandparents as well as two preschool safety books, which were awarded the Family Review Center’s Best of 2014 Award. These books teach young children about personal safety in a fun, non-scary way. The books are currently in use in many child development centers and Head Start classrooms. She also developed two innovative safety and anti-bullying programs for three to ten-year-olds and a child abuse prevention program, Safe and Unafraid – Child Abuse Prevention Training and Certification, that is distributed through the nonprofit Military Veterans Against child abuse.