Welcome Amy Newell

May 15, 2026

Center for Transforming Lives welcomes Amy Newell to Board of Directors & Development Committee

Fort Worth, Texas -- Center for Transforming Lives is pleased to welcome Amy Newell to its Board of Directors. In this leadership role, she will also serve as Chair of the Development Committee, further advancing the organization’s mission to partner with single mothers and their children so they can thrive.

Newell is an entrepreneur and community leader with extensive experience in nonprofit development and fundraising. As the Founder and CEO of Membership Toolkit, she built and led a mission-driven technology platform that supported more than 3,000 nonprofits in raising more than $150 million annually while managing millions of volunteers and communications.

With more than two decades of hands-on volunteer leadership, Newell has served in key roles such as president and volunteer coordinator, where she strengthened donor engagement, organized fundraising efforts and aligned community initiatives with organizational goals. Her expertise includes fundraising strategy, volunteer coordination and nonprofit operations.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University and is passionate about empowering organizations to grow their impact through effective community engagement and development practices.

“Amy has been an engaged, thoughtful supporter of Center for Transforming Lives for many years,” said Carol Klocek, President and CEO. “We are excited about the passion and expertise she brings to the board. She is joining a group of high-caliber, committed individuals who work together to ensure that Center for Transforming Lives has the greatest impact possible in our community, creating cycles of financial and emotional well-being for mothers and their children.”

Amy and her husband, Jeff Newell, began supporting Center for Transforming Lives in 2017 and have since served in volunteer leadership roles on multiple committees. Together, they were key ambassadors for the organization’s capital campaign for the new Riverside Campus, which opened in 2025.

Newell joins an esteemed list of board members including:

Board Officers: Catherine Oliveros, DRPH, Board President (Texas Health Resources); Megan Terrell, Treasurer and Finance Chair (Armanino); Aimee Stone, Secretary and Governance Chair (Bank of America Private Bank); Dr. Whitnee Boyd, Programs Chair (North Texas Community Foundation); and Winifred King, Communications Chair (Cook Children’s Medical Center).

Board Members: Dr. Rachael Capua, Tarleton State University; Rachel Matthias, Forvis Mazars; Melissa Harris, Edward Jones; Trina Pecina, Hotworx; Shanna Saldana, Building Pathways; Dr. Joann Sanders, Cook Children’s Health Care System; and Katherine Thompson, Freedom Church DFW.

About Center for Transforming Lives

Center for Transforming Lives partners with single mothers and their children so they can thrive. Founded in 1907, the non-profit is one of Tarrant County’s biggest family safety nets, working to disrupt cycles of poverty and homelessness among the most vulnerable in our community. Center for Transforming Lives meets the needs of 3,000 women and children annually, through a comprehensive and evidence-based, two-generation and trauma-informed model. Thanks to housing support, early childhood education, economic mobility services and counseling services that work across generations, parents and children establish security and well-being as a family. Led by President and CEO Carol Klocek since 2009, the $24 million officially opened its new Riverside Campus headquarters in 2025.

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