Our Director

Celeste Collins, Executive Director

Celeste began her employment with OnTrack WNC in November 1993 as a part-time counselor / educator. Over the years Celeste has been a credit counselor, housing counselor, educator, grant writer, marketing director, and fundraiser. 

Prior to joining OnTrack WNC she was Vice President, Regional Sales & Marketing Manager for First Union National Bank’s 88-branches in western NC and has experience as a branch manager in consumer /mortgage lending. A passion for helping people manage their money and credit better inspired Celeste to leave her job in banking to work with OnTrack WNC. 

Celeste graduated from UNC- Chapel Hill with a degree in Business Administration and concentration in Accounting. Celeste is married and has two children. Celeste’s community involvement includes: First Baptist Church, Asheville downtown Rotary Club, Asheville Homelessness Initiative, Asheville High Business Alliance, Wildacres Leadership Initiative – Friday Fellows, WNC Nonprofit Pathways, NAACP/WRES board member, and Buncombe County’s Aging Plan Steering Committee.  Celeste received the Asheville Chamber of Commerce Athena Leadership Award in 2010,  and was one of the YWCA’s 2011 TWIN honorees in the Empowerment category. 

Celeste enjoys spending time with her family, playing racquetball, reading, writing poetry, and being an active member of her church community.

Our Administrative Staff

Wade Rogers, Director of Finance & Operations

Wade joined OnTrack WNC in November 2008. He began his career in the Chicago office of Price Waterhouse followed by positions in the US and France with a multinational manufacturing company. Transitioning to the nonprofit sector, Wade worked for the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York before coming to Asheville, where he worked on staff or in a consultant capacity for numerous nonprofit organizations prior to accepting his position at OnTrack WNC. Wade holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He enjoys biking, food and traveling.

Our Counseling Staff

Victor Moore, Director of Counseling

Certified Credit & Housing Counselor

Victor joined OnTrack WNC in November of 1998 after working for 10 years in the finance industry.   He is a Certified Credit & Housing Counselor, an NCHFA Reverse Mortgage Counselor, and a Certified Credit Review Counselor.  Since 1999, Victor has been a great contributor to the Hendersonville community spending 40% of his counseling time at our satellite office.   Victor studied at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, majoring in accounting.

Victor enjoys bike racing, hiking, and eating good food.

Molly Coffey, Financial/Housing Counselor

Molly joined OnTrack WNC in October 2012.  She has a BA in Social Work from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Molly has over ten years of experience working for non-profit agencies including United Action for Youth, Goodwill's Employment Services, and Community Action Opportunities, where she provided advocacy and support to her clients.  She is eager to utilize her extensive counseling expertise at OnTrack WNC! 

Molly enjoys spending time with her family, healthy food, hiking, crafting and listening to music.

Suzanne Ellison, Certified Credit & Housing Counselor

Suzanne joined OnTrack WNC in September 2010.  Originally from Charlotte, she has lived all around North Carolina, but has called Asheville home since 1996.  Suzanne came to OnTrack WNC with the goal of helping people by combining her love of teaching with the knowledge she gained from nine years working in a bankruptcy law office.

When she’s not working, Suzanne likes to spend time with her family, travel, read (especially murder mysteries), and knit.

Hillary Holmes, Certified Credit & Housing Counselor

Hillary joined OnTrack WNC in January of 2011. She first learned about the agency while attending the Homebuyer education class, which gave her the skills and confidence to buy her first home. She has a strong interest in helping her clients with personal budgeting systems, such as how to create ‘set asides’. This approach has helped her immensely in her own financial life and she is pleased when a client’s "light bulb goes on".

Hillary has an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts and over a decade of experience in retail management and service. She moved to Asheville to be closer to family and nature. In her free time, Hillary can be found collecting and creating art, enjoying her dogs and cat, or taking photos for her art blog.

Tom Schunk, Financial Counselor for Seniors, Reverse Mortgage Specialist

Tom is a Minnesota native and an Asheville mountain dweller since 2007.  He earned two BA degrees from St. John’s University and a teaching license from Augsburg College, both in Minnesota.  Before heading south he worked as a high school teacher, manager of a printing company, project manager in educational testing, and a photographer.  He is a long time martial arts player, mainly studying T’ai Chi.

He is a HUD certified Reverse Mortgage Counselor.  He is developing OnTrackWNC’s new senior services initiative.  He does numerous speaking engagements on reverse mortgage, Identity theft prevention, and credit.  He also provides reverse mortgage and financial counseling in Asheville and six of our satellite locations.

Linda Youngblood, Certified Credit & Housing Counselor

Linda joined OnTrack WNC in March 2009 as a Financial and Housing Counselor. She has over 14 years experience working in Credit and Collections and 2 years as an office manager and legal assistant for a law firm that specialized in employment and environmental law.

She graduated with her Associates Degree from Tidewater Community College and has always been active as a volunteer in her community. 

Linda enjoys hiking and exploring Western North Carolina area with her boys.

Our Foreclosure Prevention Loan Program Staff

Tom Luzon, Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Loan Program

Certified Credit & Housing Counselor

Tom has been with OnTrack WNC since December 2006.   His first venture in consumer counseling was with the CCCS of Fayetteville where he worked for two years, first as a counselor in Wilmington and then as the Counseling Manager in Fayetteville.   Prior to entering the non-profit sector, Tom spent 20 years in banking, starting as a Mortgage Loan Officer and rounding off his career as the Senior Vice President for the Residential & New Construction Lending Departments.

Tom received his BS in Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a minor in Military Science.   He is a Certified Credit, Housing, & Loss/Mitigation Counselor. He enjoys reading, drawing, painting, cooking, birding, and golf.

Chanel Young, Foreclosure Prevention Loan Program Counselor

Chanel joined OnTrack WNC in December 2010. She holds an Bachelor's Degree in Human Services Management and is working towards a Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. Chanel has worked with Buncombe County DSS and United Way's 2-1-1 helping connect community members with resources such as child care, economic assistance, and transportation. Chanel has also worked with job seekers to obtain new, marketable skills.

Chanel enjoys spending time with her son, significant other, and the family dog. Originally from Spartanburg, SC, Chanel also enjoys traveling and visiting family.

Our Education & Integrated Programs Staff

Sarah Brown, Director of Education /Collaborative Programs & Client Services
Sarah Brown joined OnTrack WNC in 2007 as the Director of Development & Marketing. Soon after joining the team, she added the management of OnTrack WNC’ Client Services Department to her responsibilities.  In 2011 her management responsibilities expanded again to include Education & Collaborative Program staff. Prior to working with OnTrack WNC, Sarah was the Marketing Manager at Neighborhood Housing Services where she implemented the Doors of Asheville event.

Sarah received her Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Emerson College and her BA in English from Le Moyne College.  She enjoys slowing cultivating her yard into a garden, telling (and hearing) funny stories, and daydreaming about retiring in 25 years as a tour guide in Alaska.

Melissa Clack, Women's Financial Empowerment Center & Tax Program Coordinator

Melissa joined OnTrack WNC in November of 2009 .  Melissa received a B.A. in Communications from Michigan State University and is fluent in Spanish.  She has 6 years of teaching experience and has more than 15 years of experience as a Human Resources professional.  Before joining OnTrack WNC, she served as a Loaned Executive with United Way of Asheville Buncombe County.

Melissa enjoys international travel, hiking with her dog, spending time with family and friends, and the excellent local food scene. Melissa values the strong network of human services organizations that support our community.

Grace Hines, Women's Financial Empowerment Center Certified Credit Counselor/ Community Financial Educator

Grace joined OnTrack WNC in March 2006 as our first Spanish-speaking bilingual financial counselor.   Prior to joining OnTrack WNC, Grace was employed at Mission Hospital as the first bilingual Patient Account Representative.   She worked as an advocate for Latino patients, collaborating intensively with Medicaid Representatives, Social Workers, Insurance Companies, and the State of North Carolina. Grace has a wealth of experience in consumer lending and one-on-one counseling.

She was born in Quito, Ecuador and moved to the states at age two. She settled in Asheville because the mountains and people reminded her of Ecuador.   Grace  enjoys spending  her time with her family and friends. She  enriches her life by cooking, traveling, participating in community activities. Edited this part from the old Bio

Tamara Lee, Community Financial Educator

Tamara joined OnTrack WNC in October 2011. Originally from Waverly, Iowa, she graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA in Art & Design and a minor in Spanish. Prior to joining OnTrack WNC, Tamara owned her own consulting business specializing in administration, events, and design.

Tamara relocated to Asheville from Austin, TX in January 2010 so she could spend more time outdoors enjoying the four seasons. In her free time, Tamara can be found doing her art, hiking with her dog Kleo, being a professional sushi taster, and relaxing with good friends.

Jonathan Stansell, Homeownership Programs Manager

Jonathan joined OnTrack WNC in 2006 to coordinate the Volunteer Tax Project. He moved on to become a Financial Educator, Housing Counselor, and then coordinator of a program that served those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Jonathan now oversees the programs supporting prospective homebuyers. Originally from Greenville, SC, he graduated from Samford University with a BA in sociology. 

In his free time, Jonathan likes to read about boring things like history and politics as long as it's interesting.  He enjoys potlucks but often gets stuck washing the dishes since he's not a very good cook.  He likes traveling in faraway places and is always surprised that it is only when he returns home that he gets culture shock.

Regi Blackburn, Volunteer

Regi began volunteering with OnTrack WNC 2006, working closely with Becky Brown and the Home buyer Education Program.   For over seven years, Regi has donated his time and expertise in the Asheville community, focusing most of his energy with Home buyer Education programs. We are so fortunate that Regi has chosen to be involved with our work! He and his wife Katherine settled in Asheville in January of 1997, relocating from Greensboro, NC.  

Regi enjoys hiking and volunteering in his local community.

Charlotte Caplan, Volunteer

Charlotte began volunteering at OnTrack WNC in 2008 preparing taxes for clients through our free tax project. Charlotte was born in Great Britain and worked for many years for the British Civil Service in tax policy and government efficiency. She moved to the US after marrying an American and worked in Community Development for the Cities of Savannah, GA and Asheville, NC until she retired in 2008.

Charlotte loves doing taxes! She appreciates the BIG impact she has on clients' lives when she is able to work through their unique tax situations. Her clients are extremely thankful for the help she provides them!

Charlotte enjoys volunteering at OnTrack WNC, hunting wild mushrooms, and training her dog Scarlett for agility competitions.

Our Client Services Staff

Ellen Szedon, Client Services Supervisor

Ellen was very happy to join OnTrack WNC in January 2010 after finishing her Masters in Geography and Planning through Appalachian State, where her focus was on affordable housing. Before pursuing her graduate degree, Ellen was an ESL instructor in Asheville and for a time in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Ellen enjoys playing very non-competitive tennis, reading books for her fantastic book club, and hiking on mountain trails with friends.

Bonnie Livernois, Client Service Representative

In 2007, Bonnie began her employment with OnTrack WNC after many years as a stay at home mom and then several years as an administrative assistant. One of the things Bonnie enjoys most at OnTrack WNC is speaking with new clients on the phone and the resulting positive impact our services have in their lives.

Bonnie’s life away from OnTrack WNC includes three grown children, nine grandchildren, and one large dog, Eta. Other bits of life include writing, books on tape, long-distant family phone calls,  rides on the Parkway, and coffee with her youngest daughter, Kalyn, at Filo.

Mindy Smith, Client Service Representative

Mindy started at OnTrack WNC in July of 2012.  Prior to this, Mindy worked for a real estate and contract attorney in Asheville.  She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree at Appalachian State University and focused her work on non-profit public relations and community development.  While pursuing her Master’s Degree in Public Affairs at Western Carolina University, Mindy worked for the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina, focusing her studies primarily on legal issues and migrant housing .

Mindy enjoys running (training for a marathon!), conducting research, walking her dogs, hiking, finding cool waterfalls, camping, and staying involved in the local community.