Board of Directors
Melanie Speechly Murdock, Chair
Melanie has recently retired from the CASA Program with the State of Utah. She served as the Statewide Program Administrator for 9 years. Prior to her work at the state level, she spent five years heading a local CASA program in Davis and Weber Counties. Melanie has a B.S. from Weber State University in Public Health and has been a small business owner. Melanie is passionate about the well-being of our most vulnerable children and loves working in a program that is part of the solution. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with others to strengthen and grow Utah's CASA Program. A mother of five, she enjoys traveling with her husband and time spent with her children and grandchildren.
Susie Hovey
Susie Hovey currently serves as the Statewide CASA Program Administrator as well as the CASA Program Coordinator for Weber and Morgan counties. Her lifelong passion for helping children has guided her career path. Susie Holds a psychology degree and an SSW license, and worked as a caseworker for the Division of Child and Family Services. During her time as a caseworker, Susie found great fulfillment in working with children and witnessing their progress, though she often felt limited in how much she could do. This desire to make a deeper impact is what drew her to CASA. She truly values the role of a CASA and has seen the meaningful difference these advocates make in the lives of children.
Natasha Weston
Natasha is the Program Coordinator for Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties. She started her work with the Office of Guardian ad Litem during her undergraduate internship for Social Work at Utah State University in 2008. After graduating in 2009, she was hired as a Guardian ad Litem Investigator-the first in the state! She helped pave the way for that position to become a full time position in many offices helping to assist the Guardian ad Litem attorneys with cases that require extra investigation. During that time she earned her SSW license. Natasha took over the CASA program in 2015 and is continually humbled and grateful for the wonderful community members who give so much of themselves to help underserved children.
Heather Allen
Heather Allen works full-time as the Assistant Director of the Utah County Children's Justice Center. Prior to that, she worked for the CASA Program. She ran the largest program in the state for almost four years. I love being a spokesperson for CASA, it's a terrific program. Heather says, "I believe in the power of relationships. Relationships come in many different forms and intensities but even the most fleeting of relationships can alter the course of a person's life. This is why I have chosen a career path that has allowed me to interact with and build relationships with others. " She is married to Rhett Allen and is the mother to three children.
Steve Van Otten
Steve Van Otten is the President, CEO and Owner of a National Transportation Company. He enjoys working with kids in the CASA program as a volunteer. He became a volunteer in 2017, and joined the Utah’s Friends of CASA board in 2022. Steve lives in Farmington with his wife Rachel, and their 2 children. He enjoys traveling, driving, hiking, and the outdoors.
Astrid Bailey
Astrid Bailey has been an IT program manager for over a decade. Astrid currently leads several key security programs at Adobe that focus on operations, communication, and collaboration around the globe. Outside of work, Astrid is a mother to three stellar boys and proud volunteer in several causes impacting her local community. Some of Astrid's passions include serving as a CASA alongside her husband, fostering animals, and previous board service for the Utah Cybersecurity Society which aims to bring cybersecurity education and job training to Utah high school and college students.
