Since 2010, Jodi Burns has served as the Executive Director of Heart of Hope. Jodi has presented to over 200 churches and organizations since becoming the Executive Director. Jodi serves on the National Christian Housing Conference Board and has led workshops and been the Keynote Speaker at Pro-life organizations and events. Since Jodi has experienced unplanned pregnancy in her own family, she recognizes the blessed opportunity that God has given her to share the healing power of God's love and faithfulness with the young ladies who choose Heart of Hope as their home away from home. Jodi and her husband of 30 years, David, reside in Shreveport, Louisiana and their daughter and son-in-love have given them four grandchildren.

January 1, 1990 is when Rochelle Bledsoe moved to Shreveport, La from Gardena, Ca. With this dramatic change in life, Rochelle had no idea what God had in store for her. She knew this, God was going to use her for His Glory. Her home church is Life United under the teachings of Pastor Sam Carr where she serves in the choir, as a greeter and children's church.

"For me, serving God is an honor and His reward is His promise."

Rochelle brings 25 years of administrative experience to Heart of Hope where she serves as the Adminstrative Assistant. You can hear singing songs down the hall when she needs to rehearse for choir.

Her goal in life is to serve God with all her heart, mind and soul with the Spirit of Excellence. "When I serve and follow God, everything else just falls into place".

Rochelle's favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13 - "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Rochelle applies that to her professional, spiritual and personal life.

Joy Whorton has served at non-profits or on staff with local churches for over 20 years. At the age of 17 she surrendered her life to full-time vocational ministry. As a follower of Jesus Christ, she believes that every person is called to full-time ministry; it just looks different for each one of us. Joy graduated with a degree in Practical Ministry from Brownsville College in Pensacola, Florida.

She has served as a case manager and director at non-profits that advocate for women, and she is passionate about women experiencing the love of Jesus and finding their identity in God. 

One of Joy's favorite verses is "Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him."

Her prayer is that until her last breath, she can share the hope she has found in God with every person she meets. Jesus truly changes EVERYTHING!

Jenny was born and raised in South Louisiana. As a ministry family, her family moved to Shreveport in 1993 where her parents would pastor The Healing Place for the next 15 years. Over the next few years, Jenny’s calling to serve and encourage people began to blossom. She married her first love, Matt Moreno, in 1997 and they spent the next two years serving students and young adults in Kailua, HI.

Upon her return to Shreveport in 1999, she entered the dental field and continued her ministry journey serving babies, kids, students, young adults, and ladies at The Healing Place. She also used her gift of handling finance at her church by serving as the bookkeeper for many years.

Understanding the importance of being a mom, Jenny chose to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool their son, Caleb, until he graduated high school. She entered the dental field once more and recently received her diploma from Penn Foster College for completing a program of study in bookkeeping before God opened a door for her to serve young ladies and children at Heart of Hope.

She has a heart to follow after Jesus, a desire to serve people, and a knack for bringing the peace of God wherever His Holy Spirit leads her.

After graduating Northwestern State College in 1969, I married and moved to Shreveport to start married life and a teaching career. During these early years, I had two children, boy and girl, and I managed to earn a Master’s Degree in counseling. Several years prior to retirement, I started praying. Didn’t know what, didn’t know where…just knew He had a retirement plan for me! I prayed daily going and coming from work, believed in him and waited on His perfect timing. “God call on You to hear me, I know You will answer me in your time; hear my prayer, O God.” He did, of course! Better yet, He didn’t want me to miss His answer! It was displayed on a billboard on Walker Road near Mackey Lane – HEART OF HOPE – HELP FOR YOUNG LADIES DURING UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES. When the first girls arrived in December 2010, I was in and remain in the classroom today. What may not have been important prior to pregnancy and arriving at HofH often changes. School becomes very important to each and a main concern is not going to the next grade. This is God’s plan for keeping me busy during retirement. All my girls are so special to me. They are not just any young lady; they are a part of me and will always be a part of me.

Hannah has a bachelors degree in psychology and a huge passion for event planning and ministry. Ministry is an active part of Hannah’s life not only here at Heart of Hope, but also in the youth ministry at Bethany Baptist Church along with her husband, Sam Haggard, who is the Youth Pastor. Sam and Hannah will have been married two years August 21st. August will be a busy month as they are expecting their first baby! Even with so many new adventures on the horizon, Hannah’s ultimate goal remains the same. She strives to further God’s kingdom by doing His work, by obeying His voice, and by speaking truth and hope into the lives of others.

Carolyn is a retired homemaker and co-founder of Heart of Hope. She lived in the community for 58 years before moving to Reno, NV to be near her children and 5 grand children. She is married to Scott, a retired SFD Captain. Her favorite past times are spending time with her family, writing and digital scrapbooking. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “ While volunteering at the CPC as an adoption specialist, I saw a need for a ministry that would house girls experiencing an unplanned pregnancy who needed a safe place and aftercare. The closest options at the time were all at least 2 hours away and not an option for most of the young ladies in our community. Believing our community could sustain such a ministry I decided to say ‘yes’ to God and make my vision a reality.”

Joey is a civil engineer and owner of French Engineering, Inc. He has lived in the community for 66 years. He is married to Carol and has 2 children and 1 grand child. His favorite past time is riding cow horses. When asked why he serves at Heart of Hope, he said, “To save lives!”

Kevin is the chief accounting officer at Sealy Co. and off and on has lived in the community for 38 years. He is married to Hailey and has 3 children and a dog. His favorite past time is fishing. When asked why he serves at Heart of Hope, he said, “ I believe it is the mission of the church and the community to support the young ladies who live at Heart of Hope.”

Marsha is a retired educator and has lived in the community for 40 years. She is married to Patrick and has 2 boys who are adopted. Her favorite past times are playing tennis and pickle ball. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “ While attending a fundraising banquet for the CPC, the speaker challenged everyone to do more for the pro-life community so I took the challenge and decided to serve at Heart of Hope.”

Shannon is a registered nurse and has experience working in NICU. Presently she is the CFO of Leone Rehab Resources along side her husband Stephen. She has 3 children and 1 grand daughter. She has lived in the community for 51 years and is a co-founder of Heart of Hope. Her favorite past times are spending time with her family and hosting events. She volunteered at the CPC as an ultrasound nurse and met girls experiencing unplanned pregnancies who had no support, no where to go and thought their only choice may be abortion. When asked why she serves at Heart of Hope, she said, “I saw the need for a local residential home where these girls could go. At the same time I was considering adoption, but after asking God for direction I decided my desire to minister was going to be met through establishing a maternity home and building relationships with the girls who came to live there.”