Matthew Ladika, Chief Executive Officer

Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Marquette University. Prior to coming to HomeSafe, he spent five years as a Senior Accountant and Assistant Controller with progressively responsible positions at the YMCA of the USA. Matthew started working at The Children’s Place at Home Safe on January 7, 1998 as Director of Finance. He became Chief Financial Officer in January, 2005. In September of 2006 Matthew was appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer, and on January 1, 2007 received the promotion to CEO of HomeSafe. His management style, vision, energy are all key elements to help lead the agency mission of protecting abused children and breaking the cycle of abuse. Matthew’s strength as a leader for this organization stems from his eleven years of experience with HomeSafe and his pure dedication to the well-being of the children in our care.

Linda Wyckoff, Chief Operating Officer

Linda has a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Pennsylvania State University, and a master’s degree in Education from Western Connecticut State University. She has over 25 years of program and agency management experience, and considerable expertise in long range strategic planning, budgeting, program design and development, QA, and regulatory compliance. Linda joined HomeSafe in July 2002.

Dr. Ricardo Buitrago, Director of Residential Services

Dr. Buitrago earned a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Albizu University, master’s in Clinical Psychology from Miami Institute of Psychology, and bachelor’s in Psychology from Florida International University. He joined HomeSafe in October 2004 with a wealth of professional experience including positions at the Children’s Psychiatric Center, Elaine Gordon Treatment Center, and Goodman Psychological Services Center, all located in South Florida. Dr. Buitrago began his career in New York at Mercy First, where, during his seven- year tenure served the adolescent forensic population as Clinical Coordinator, Program Coordinator and, ultimately, Program Director.

Keith Johnson, Director of Community Based Services

Keith has a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Ball State
University in Muncie, IN, and a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University in West Palm Beach. He possesses over 20 years in child welfare experience vast expertise in crisis counseling, runaways, foster care and therapeutic levels of care. Prior to HomeSafe, Keith was the Single Point of Access for children with mental health issues with Child and Family Connections, the community based provider for DCF District 15. He currently oversees HomeSafe’s SafetyNet Domestic Violence Program and Comprehensive Behavior Assessment program, along with providing education/outreach for HomeSafe’s residential program. Keith is a national training consultant for human service leaders and co-author of “The Essential Handbook for Human Service Leaders”. He joined HomeSafe in March 2009.

Paloma Prata, Director of Prevention Services

As Director of Prevention Services, Paloma manages the Healthy Beginnings program which provides screening and assessment services to newly-delivered moms and children from birth through five years of age. Paloma is also responsible for overseeing the Children’s Services Council and Early Learning Coalition contract requirements. She most recently served as Assistant Director of Prevention Services preceded by Program Supervisor at Home Safe. Prior to joining HomeSafe, Paloma was a Hospital Liaison for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. She earned a master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Florida.

Billy Van Ee, Director of Human Resources

Billy holds a BBA in Human Resources Management from Grand Valley State University and has over 20 years of human resources experience. He is also certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from the HR Certification Institute, an internationally recognized certifying organization for the human resource profession. From 1997 to 2001, Billy worked for HomeSafe as the Director of Human Resources and returned to the position in April 2010. Prior to rejoining HomeSafe, he held the positions of Director of Benefits and Administration and Recruiting Director for two international management consulting firms headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens. He’s a member of the national Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and HRPBC, Palm Beach County’s local SHRM chapter. Billy strongly believes in HomeSafe’s mission, and is the proud father of two young children that he fostered through HomeSafe – and ultimately adopted.