Meet our Team
Michelle Rutherford Absalon - Office Manager/Marketing Director
Michelle Rutherford Absalon is the Community Outreach Coordinator and Marketing Director at Cochise Family Advocacy Center Lori's Place. As well as working at Lori's Place, Michelle is the Office Administrator and Marketing Director for the Southeastern Arizona Contractors Association. Previously, she worked as a Registered Nurse for 15 years and has 26 years of experience in the medical field.
She has organized several industry events, including the Lori's Place Annual Golf Classic, the SACA Annual Charity Golf Classic, and monthly Speaker Series Luncheons. She has done interviews on KWCD, Cool FM Online, and KOLD News. She also assists in fundraising events and is on the Board of Directors for Lori's Place.
Michelle is native to Arizona and grew up in Sierra Vista, graduating from Buena High School in 1995. She then moved to Flagstaff to attend NAU for a year and a half before deciding to move to Peoria, AZ, for 12 years. While living in Peoria, she worked in dialysis for multiple years and attended Mesa Community College at their Boswell Campus, where she graduated with her Nursing Degree in 2005. Michelle moved to Las Vegas, NV, for a year for work, where, in 2009, her daughter Ryley was born. She moved back to Sierra Vista in March 2009 and has been between Sierra Vista and Peoria ever since.
In her spare time, Michelle loves riding horses, working in the yard, hiking in the canyons, fishing, and rock hounding. She also helps organize and maintain the yard at Lori's Place and a few properties for her dad.
Joyce Keck - Lead Advocate
Joyce Keck was born in Killeen, TX, and raised between Germany and Arizona, allowing her to experience different traditions and cultures. After graduating high school, Joyce moved to California, where she learned that helping others was her passion. She moved back to Arizona and started her journey in Advocacy. Joyce utilized her natural ability to listen and empathize, then took a course in suicide prevention and ventured into peer support. While working at Cochise Family Advocacy Center Lori's Place, she has continued to take additional training courses to further her knowledge in the field.
In addition to working at Lori's Place, Joyce has an 11-year-old son, Hector, who keeps her busy with baseball and football. Joyce, AKA Hector's mom as she is known on the fields, volunteers as a dugout mom and a board member with the Sierra Vista Little League. She states her mission in life is to raise her son with values, respect, and kindness while being independent and self-sufficient.
Joyce states, "My passion is to help every person who comes to me looking for help and guidance because the victim is our number one priority."
Kim Coleman: Victim Advocate/Volunteer Coordinator/Community Outreach
Kim Coleman was born in Warren, Ohio, and raised in Toledo. As a victim advocate, she started working for Lori's Place in August of 2022. She has a passion for helping others since she was a "warrior" of child sexual abuse herself over 30 years ago. Kim is honored to be the mother of two adult children, ages 26 and 21, and she states, "Yes, they will always be my babies." In her spare time, Kim loves roller skating, reading, movies, baking, dancing, and spending time with her family. Kim's mission is to help victims to be "warriors" as well.
Michaela Miller - Marketing/Peer Support
Michaela Miller is a marketing team member and peer support provider at Lori's Place. She enjoys maintaining the website, creating unique marketing products, networking, fundraising, and engaging with clients for peer support. She is originally from Kansas but lives an adventurous lifestyle due to her husband's career in the Army. Some of her hobbies outside of work include working out at the gym and spending quality time with her husband and their fur babies! Michaela received her Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Early Childhood Development from Pittsburg State University in December 2015. Before leaving Kansas, she was the lead teacher of a 2 ½-year-old classroom. Michaela is now set to graduate with a Master of Social Work from National University in 2025. Michaela states, "I have always felt a strong sense of empathy towards others and continue to hold a special place in my heart for those in need." She initially joined the team at Lori's Place as an intern for her degree; however, it has become so much more than that to her. "It truly feels like family, and our impact on victims is inspiring. Lori's Place is the most rewarding job, and I am honored to be a part of this agency!"