Pinnacle Community Services
Staff Highlights
Pinnacle Community Services is made of truly special team members who devote their careers in service of our mission. It is our pleasure to showcase of a few of our valued employees by highlighting their work each month.
Caleigh Ames
Caleigh Ames first started with Pinnacle Community Services back in 2019 as the Community Advocacy Project (CAP) Coordinator with Passage Domestic Violence Services. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University at Buffalo and has always had a strong passion for working with individuals experiencing abuse. Through the CAP Coordinator role, Caleigh not only worked alongside survivors of domestic violence to help them obtain necessary resources like housing and Order of Protections but she also helped raise awareness through community outreach and education. One of Caleigh’s favorite parts of her role as CAP Coordinator was providing the presentation, “In Her Shoes”, a simulation meant to bring the participants through the steps a survivor takes when leaving an abusive relationship. The conversations that spark after the simulation are extremely meaningful and eye-opening to participants and showed Caleigh why it is so important to continue advocating for survivors.
After leaving the agency in 2021, Caleigh is honored to be returning to Pinnacle as the Director of Domestic Violence Services. To Caleigh, taking on this new role means being a leader at Pinnacle. Not only is she dedicated to the domestic violence program but she is determined to see the entire agency thrive. Pinnacle’s mission is not just a statement to Caleigh, but is an essential part of how Pinnacle delivers services to clients. Every individual walking through the door of Pinnacle should feel as though they are no longer alone and they have someone to lean on in every step of their journey. Caleigh is a proud member of the Pinnacle Community Services family and is so excited to continue watching the agency flourish and expand in the coming years
Regina Howard
Over the course of her 29-year career with Pinnacle Community Services, Regina Howard has continued to believe in the mission of the agency; to walk side by side, step by step with those in the community we serve. She has been a witness to tremendous growth of Pinnacle over her time as she has performed a variety of duties for the organization. Regina began as a Console Operator and over time grew her professional duties and responsibilities, serving as Billing Specialist, Senior Finance Assistant and now Finance Supervisor. She has even worked as a residential worker at Passage Shelter. Regina also served on the committee that changed the agency’s name from Family and Children’s Service of Niagara to Pinnacle Community Services.
Regina has played an integral leadership role in shaping relationships between the CSEA Union and agency management. Serving as Vice President, President, and Treasurer of the employees’ union for over 13 years, she worked closely with management to create effective communication to negotiate fair contracts.
She loves working with people who are passionate about their jobs and believe in what they do. She often tells both her daughters that she wants them to be happy with their career choice because not only has she been happy, but she considers her coworkers her second family.
Regina is currently a member of 2022 Leadership Niagara class and a member of the Eastern Star. She looks forward to becoming a first-time grandmother in a couple of months and enjoying spending time with her granddaughter and the family.
Regina is looking forward too many more years to come with Pinnacle Community Services.
