Who We Are  >  Staff

R1:99 Staff

Candace Wheeler  | Michelle Woody  |  Christina C. Pinnell  | Megan Caputo | Jordan Snellenberger  | Heather Halverson  | Roger Larson

Meet Our Team!

Candace Wheeler, MA, LPC, CDBT, NCC  |  Founder, Executive Director & Therapist
Candace founded Restoration Ministries in 2003, but has been involved in social justice issues in the United States since 1988. She is a Board Certified National Counselor (NCC), and holds a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Spirituality and Trauma from the School of Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care at Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland. Her impact on the African-American community in the DC Metro Area, and her academic excellence resulted in her winning the Azusa Street full scholarship at Regent during her final year.
 
Candace specializes in treating complex trauma in the tri-phasic model- Phase I: Safety & Stabilization, Phase 2: Processing of trauma memories, and Phase 3: Post-traumatic growth.  She is certified in dialectical behavior therapy (CDBT) and combines it with various expressive therapies that include the visual arts, music, movement, drama, and writing. Many clients are not able to retain their positive coping skills when they are only taught them verbally. The creative expressions create a metaphor therefore, making them more concrete and lasting. She is also trained in EMDR, level 1.

​Candace has worked in the arenas of anti-pornography, right to life, and ministering to homeless pregnant teens. She has served pastorally in Amsterdam’s red light district, in the slums of India, and has worked with anti-trafficking leaders in Vietnam and Haiti.

​Please read my letter to everyone about R1:99, Inc.

Michelle Woody | Ed.D., LPC
Dr. Michelle Woody is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has years of experience working with at-risk adolescents, and sexually exploited women empowering them to overcome backgrounds of abuse, addiction, limited education, and poverty.  She holds an Education Doctorate degree in Education Psychology from the University of Southern California, a Master’s in Counseling from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Atlanta University. She was the Executive Director of a residential treatment facility for adolescent boys who had substance abuse and legal challenges. It was there that she developed a passion for teens and developed a series of life skills interventions, and academic programs for use in group and individual sessions. 

Her post doctorate interests shifted to a multi-systemic framework that includes exploring issues within a client’s family, peers, work, and community relationships to better understand the importance of how they influence their lives. As a Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, she teaches counseling classes at the Master’s level and has done clinical work in a mental health hospital and with women in Kenya.  

Fay LeSane, LCSW  |  Psychotherapist
Fay holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Howard University, Washington, DC and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia. In her more than 25 year tenure as a clinical social worker, she has held multiple positions, including that of a college professor, the director of a crisis intervention program, a clinical field instructor for social work students at various colleges and universities, and a clinical supervisor for clinicians who are working towards licensure in the state of Virginia.

In 2010, Restoration One Ninety-Nine (R1:99) awarded Fay the Hope Award for her work with sex trafficking survivors. During her employment at a local residential treatment facility, she started to encounter adolescents who had been trafficked and created The Girls on a Journey Program to address their complex needs. A much sought-after speaker, Ms. Le Sane provides training and workshops to local and national organizations on the subject of domestic human trafficking.

Ms. Le Sane is a member of the Woodbridge Chapter of Soroptomist International and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

JoLeah Stiles Gorman, MSW  |  Expressive Teaching Artist
​​JoLeah has a Master's of Social Work at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.  She has a Bachelor of Communication from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

She has completed training in trauma-focused individual and group therapies including Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Adapted Family Connections, Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model, Male Focused Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model, and Trauma-Focused Mental Health First Aid.  Over her counseling career, JoLeah has worked with child and adult survivors of sex trafficking, domestic violence, substance addiction, and sexual abuse. 

JoLeah has a strong interest in healing therapies for survivors of trauma and is immensely excited about using gardening, art, nature, cooking, and community to encourage healing in clients.  Finding healing in her own life through these modalities, JoLeah and her husband run an urban farm, contemplative retreat, and hospitality house out of their home in the DC area. 

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​Megan Caputo, CSTI | Movement Teaching Artist
Megan Caputo received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from George Mason University (GMU), Fairfax, Virginia and has continued to dance professionally with Company Danzante in Arlington, Virginia. She has taught Mindful Christian Stretching at International Justice Mission and various dance classes to all ages. 

She first learned about human trafficking at GMU and has continued to feel a deep compassion for human trafficking survivors since then. She has taken initiative to learn about the issue in the DC Metro area and was recently trained in the HEART Model at Divine Mercy University.

Megan’s goal for survivors of sexual abuse/exploitation is to learn, express, and be transformed. Inspired by Martha Graham’s quote “The body never lies” — through movement we learn from our posture, heart rate, breath, etc., we physically express our needs, fears, desires, and hopes, and therefore, transform our views of the body and it’s purposes. 

Jordan Snellenberger  |  Board Certified Music Therapist
Jordan Snellenberger is a certified music therapist who holds a bachelor’s degree in music therapy from Western Michigan University. With expertise in piano, voice, guitar, recorded music, and percussion instruments, Jordan creates music therapy experiences centered on relaxation techniques and healthy emotional processing through song writing and lyric analysis. She also helps clients use music to develop personal insights and progress toward treatment goals. After completing her music therapy internship working alongside Communities in Schools, Jordan has helped to start three separate music therapy practices working with at-risk youth, children with special needs, and adults.  

Jordan recently moved to northern Virginia from the Richmond, Virginia area, where she worked as a full-time music therapist at a psychiatric facility. At this center, she focused treatment on adolescents and adults struggling with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress, sexual abuse, depression, severe aggression, oppositional defiant disorder, and substance abuse and addiction. Jordan also worked with the hospital’s outpatient military program, helping those on active duty, veterans, and military family members to develop coping skills to better overcome depression, aggression, stress, and trauma.  
Jordan developed a heart for helping sexually abused women and adolescents after spending time overseas in Thailand providing alternative income options for women who were actively immersed in human trafficking and prostitution.  

Heather Halverson  |  Church Engagement Program Leader
In 2012, Heather was attending Liberty University Online when she became aware of the issues of domestic sex trafficking through a research assignment. The journey from awareness to action was a short hop, fueled by a strong desire to help put an end to this form of modern day slavery. While partnering with her church’s women’s ministry leader to help educate the congregation about this issue, they were eventually led to Restoration One Ninety-Nine (R1:99) in Washington, DC. Having completed R1:99’s Ambassadors of Restoration Program (ARP), Heather is continuing her involvement by leading the Church Engagement Program. She is a member of Capital Baptist Church, and her God-given passion is to promote the human rights of women and children.

In her professional life, Heather is a Certified Business Continuity Planner and a member of Fairfax County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Heather resides in Annandale with her husband and two daughters, and their Morkie pup, “Pebbles.”

​Roger Larson, MGA/HCA  |  Director of Development
Roger joined One Ninety-Nine (R1:99) in April, 2014 as Director of Development. For a number of years, he felt God calling him to assist in the eradication of human sex trafficking of teenage girls, and R1:99 has provided that opportunity. 

A native Iowan, Roger grew up on a family farm near a small town. He graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology, with interest in social justice and fairness. Within two years he was directing a small South Dakota state institutional Title XIX grant program serving people with developmental disabilities. He received his Master’s in General Administration/Healthcare Administration from the University of Maryland University College. Roger has lived and worked in Maryland & Pennsylvania since 1986, primarily serving people with mental health and substance abuse issues. He started consulting in the 1990s while a Nursing Home Administrator. He is a self-taught graphic and website designer, produces video advertisements with an interest in photography. Roger attends Providence Church in Spring Grove, PA near his Hanover home.

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