Scott and Kim Woods, Founders

 
The death of a child radically alters the course of your life and shatters you to your core. We discovered this for ourselves on December 12, 2011 when our son, Caleb Calvin Woods, was stillborn the day before he was to have been born. We had previously lost three other babies due to early term miscarriage and the loss of Caleb felt like a cruel joke after all we had been though.  The hopes and dreams we had for our life with our beautiful son came crashing down around us. We were overwhelmed with decisions and arrangements that needed to be made and felt completely alone despite being surrounded by family and friends who rallied around us to help. Throughout our grief journey we continued to discover that the information needed to make the choices that were right for our family and for Caleb was not readily available and required us to expend energy we didn’t have on researching all of the available options for each decision required. It was overwhelming , exhausting and the last thing we wanted to do while being crushed with grief. It was at that time that the idea for The Beautiful Scar Project was born. The Beautiful Scar Project is our passion project; our way of helping fellow grief warriors navigate the life altering path that they now find themselves on after the death of their much loved baby. We are humbled by all of the support we have received from our families, friends, the infant loss community and even strangers as we have learned to navigate our new normal and are passionate about doing the same for other grieving parents. We are the proud parents of Caleb Calvin Woods who has inspired us to dedicate our lives to making an impact in the infant loss community. Scott serves as the President and Kim serves as the Vice President and Chairperson of the Board.

Jessica Kohl, Chief Financial Officer

I am honored to be a part of The Beautiful Scar Project and its many programs.  As a financial analyst in the multifamily lending industry, I hope to help the foundation continue and improve the momentum it has created thus far.  My connection to the infant loss community is through my cousin and his wife.  They suffered the loss of their son, Westley Thomas Griffin, at just 18 days of age due to a heart problem.  Just two short months later my friend Kim Woods was scheduled for a C-section to deliver Caleb Calvin Woods.  I had helped her organize the nursery and attended her baby shower.  I still vividly remember the morning of her last ultrasound to verify that Caleb was ready to be born I texted Kim to see how it went and the words that came back on the reply still bring tears to my eyes even all these years later “Caleb Died”.  I knew that Westley had a heart defect before he was born and his family was so fortunate to have those 18 precious days with him.  Kim & Scott would not get that chance.  Before Caleb died I honestly had no idea that still birth was such a familiar event in this world.

Kaitee Weiman, Chief Administrative Officer

 

Pat Guittar, Director of Programs

Having experienced infant loss on a personal level as Caleb’s grandmother, and feeling helpless to take away the pain from my own daughter and son-in-law, I am honored to be asked to serve on the board of The Beautiful Scar Project. This precious little boy, who never took a breath, will be speaking volumes in the support and guidance others will receive in their darkest hour. With 20 years of business experience and 39 years of working with children as a choral director, I wish to bring my expertise and life experiences to this vision.

Jen Houseman, Director of Events

Being part of a team such as The Beautiful Scar Project is an incredible honor. While working as an Event Manager for the past 15 years, I have gained experience that is vital to my position on the board. I look forward to utilizing my vast knowledge in event planning and passion for this non-profit to bring awareness of the courageous people that have suffered this type of significant loss. Through fundraisers, golf tournaments, special events and promotions, it is my hope to raise funds for this amazing cause.

Daniel Wolff, Director of Communications

I’m honored to be a part of an organization that has a sole purpose to help those dealing with the loss of a child. Everyone struggles with loss in a different, and painful way. Knowing the Beautiful Scar Project is there to be a resource for that grief is amazing. Until I joined Beautiful Scar, I had no idea that my own mother lost a child due to miscarriage. This brings a personal touch to my service on this Board of Directors, and makes me wish someone would have been there to support her thru her loss. No one should need to go thru this alone, and that’s why I’m here. I look forward to helping this organization grow by expanding fundraising efforts, expanding awareness, and offering help wherever it’s needed.