Howard S. Klerk Jr. (President)
Howard's niece Lisa was murdered by her husband on Christmas Eve in 1987.
He became associated with the Long Island, N.Y. Chapter of POMC in the spring of 1988. Howard was a member of a Blue Ribbon Panel and Transition Team for the then newly elected Suffolk County District Attorney James Catterson. Through Howard efforts as part of that team Suffolk County formed a Victim's Advocate Bureau where none existed before then.
Howard has served on the Board of Directors and was co-leader of a POMC Chapter. Howard helped organize and spoke at two Day of Remembrance ceremonies at the State House in Augusta Maine. Howard and his wife Ann wrote and published their chapter's newsletter. Together they are very active in POMC and attend many trials and sentencings. Howard was nominated and elected to the POMC National Board of Trustees in November 2007.
Howard leads the fight to keep Lisa's murderer in prison. He and his family members have been successful in blocking his parole four times and use the POMC Parole Block Petitions as part of their presentation. Howard has appeared on numerous local and national T.V. shows and has given radio interviews. He has also given and will present again a National POMC Conference workshop on "How to Prepare for a Parole Hearing".
Terrie Jacoby (Vice-President)
Terrie has worked as a victim advocate for the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office since March 1997. She was promoted to Supervisor of Victim Services 11 years ago.
As part of her job with victim services, Terrie attended hundreds of court proceedings, many murder trials, and met hundreds of victims and many survivors of homicide.
While working in victim services, Terrie was frequently contacted by homicide survivors. The survivors were looking for a group to attend in order to share their experiences and to help one another through the grieving process.
After doing a bit of research, Terrie found information about the National Organization of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. She attended her first POMC National Conference in Peoria; and, when she returned home, she contacted a survivor and told her that Dupage County needed a local chapter of POMC. They worked together to open the Dupage County and Beyond Chapter of POMC, which continues to grow stronger every year. The survivors really support each other and Terrie feels privileged to be part of this chapter.
Terrie came to the National Board with the knowledge and first hand experience of getting a chapter started from the ground up. She believes this experience is essential in understanding chapter development and will assist her with her duties as a Trustee. Terrie is honored to be a member of POMC's National Board of Trustees.
Carole DiAddezio (Treasurer)
Carole's mother Helen, was murdered on February 25, 1994. The case remains unsolved. Carole has served as the Pennsylvania State Coordinator for the past several years. She joined the National Board of Trustees in 2002. Carole serves on the Policy and Program Committee. She has been trained by NOVA for crisis response, and is also certified for POMC's Murder Response Team. Carole has two children, Christina and David and she and her husband Michael reside in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Harry Bonnell (Secretary)
Harry Bonnell is a board-certified Forensic Pathologist with more than 25 years of experience having personally performed more than 7,000 autopsies. Formally, Chief Deputy Medical Examiner of San Diego County, CA, he is now a Private Forensic Pathology Consultant.
He has served on the POMC National Board of Trustees since 1990 and volunteers his expertise to the national headquarters as well as individual members. He is a member of the Second Opinion Services and has recruited other professionals to serve as board advisors. He relaxes by umpiring little league baseball and judging synchronized swimming.
Marvin M. Bryant
Marvin's youngest son, Marcus "Patrick" Bryant, 21 was murdered on April 12, 2001. After Patrick's murder, Marvin and his wife Algie searched for organizations that provide support and services to parents and family members of murdered children. Since there is no self-help groups in the area specifically designed for homicide victims, Marvin & Algie Bryant and Elaine Billie founded the SC Chapter of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. on September 22, 2001. Marvin has served as Chapter Leader since its formation and was elected to the National Organization of Parents Of Murdered Children, INC., Board of Trustees in November 2005.
Debbi Melaragno
Debbi's 40-year-old brother, Charles, was murdered in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1995. Just a few months after his murder, Debbi attended what was to be the first of many meetings of Parents Of Murdered Children (POMC).
In 1997, Debbi was elected as the Chapter Leader of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of POMC. Since 1998, Debbi has worked as a volunteer for the National Office of POMC attending most of POMC's Effective Leadership Training sessions and helping out where she is needed. In 2000, Debbi was honored to receive the Becky Reed Memorial Award, recognizing her outstanding efforts on behalf of the Murder Is Not Entertainment (MINE) program. In 2003, Debbi was elected to the National Board of Trustees; and, in 2012, she was elected as the Vice President of the National Board. Debbi is also currently serving as the chairman of the National Board's Policies and Procedures committee. In addition to her POMC responsibilities, Debbi completed her training for the MADD Victim Advocacy program. Debbi resides with her husband in Mentor, Ohio. They are the proud parents of two daughters, and the even prouder grandparents of one grandson.
Evelyn McGann
Evelyn's 21-year-old son, Richard, was murdered by a stranger on May 7, 1984, in the Tahoe National Forest near Truckee, California. Richard's murderer had been released from a Southern California prison just two weeks prior to going on a killing spree. He murdered Richard and another person, and attempted the murder of a third person before he was caught. He was arrested, convicted and sentenced to life without parole.
In 1987, the Contra Costa County/East Bay Chapter of POMC was started in Pleasant Hill, California, east of San Francisco. Evelyn was one of five members who attended the very first meeting. After spending 3 years in private counseling and still struggling with her devastating grief, Evelyn had finally found people who understood.
In 1990, Evelyn was elected to the Contra Costa Chapter's Board of Directors. In 1995, Evelyn was elected as Chapter Leader of the Contra Costa Chapter (a position she still holds today), and she attended the first Effective Leadership Training Class presented by National POMC in Cincinnati. In 1997, Evelyn accepted the Dorothy Lobes award for the Contra Costa Chapter. In the fall of 2007, Evelyn was elected to the National Board of Trustees of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc.
According to Evelyn, "POMC has been my strength and courage for twenty-one years; I could not have survived without my POMC family. I am honored to serve on the National Board of Trustees."
Evelyn is the proud mother of three surviving children (two daughters and one son) and a doting grandmother to her grandson and her "adopted" granddaughter. Her husband, Dick McGann, died in November 2002.
Tim Woods
Tim Woods has been with the National Sheriffs' Association for 14 years. He is the Director of the Research, Development & Grants Division, overseeing all Federal grants to NSA.
Martha Lasher-Warner
My daughter, Liza Ellen Warner, at the age of 29 years was murdered by her husband on October 1, 2004 at her home in Princetown, Schenectady County, New York. He then took his own life. When they married, he took our last name instead of Liza taking his last name. He claimed it was because he did not know his father well when in reality, we have since learned that he had a history of domestic violence in Texas and had served 7 ½ years in Arkansas for the attempted murder of a police officer while running a roadblock after committing an armed robbery..
At the time of her murder, Liza was in the process of ending their five year marriage. They met when she was just 17 years old and he was 29. Our family was not aware that control is a red flag for domestic abuse even though we never saw any signs of physical abuse until the last month of her life. .
Since my daughter’s murder, I have become a strong advocate in local domestic violence circles. I am passionate about helping women in abusive relationships and also feel that education is a necessary tool in the prevention of domestic abuse. I have founded a not for profit corporation in memory of Liza “Family and Friends of Liza Ellen Warner Association, Inc.” which will provide education and awareness to students at the middle and high school levels and financial support to local domestic violence agencies. My goal is to reach as many students at the middle and high school level by telling Liza’s story in detail. I am hoping that as many students as possible will hear her story and are impacted enough by her untimely death to recognize the signs and red flags of domestic abuse.
I attended my first POMC meeting about 6 weeks after my daughter’s murder. I remember that the group there understood and really knew how I felt and there were no words such as “The pain will pass”, “You will get better” and “It takes time”. I could see that there would be a light at the end of this tunnel and that one day I would be able to smile and laugh again without guilt. I am now serving as the Albany, New York Parents of Murdered Children Chapter’s Co-Leader.
Gabrielle Birkner
Gabrielle linked up with POMC after her father and stepmother Larry and Ruth Birkner, were murdered during a home invasion 2004. She joined the national board in November 2012. Gabrielle is an award-winning journalist and digital media strategist, and her work has been published widely. She lives with her family in New York City.
Carroll Ann Ellis
Carroll has a long record of service to crime victims. She now is the manager of Training Delivery in the office Of Victims Of Crime (OVC) TTAC. She was the director of the Fairfix County (Virginia) Police Department, she served four police jurisdictions and managed services to victims from all crime categories. She also created the first police-based homicide support group.
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