Meet Our Team

Arline Gause, CEO and Founder

A retired federal civil servant with a career spanning over 32 years, Arline has held key executive, financial, and administrative positions with federal agencies such as NASA, DEA, TRICARE, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice. Throughout her career, she received numerous awards and recognition for her exceptional leadership abilities, analytical and financial skills.

Arline is the wife of a retired U.S. Army First Sergeant. She and her family spent 22+ years serving alongside her husband, an U.S. Army Combat Engineer, while relocating the family over 13 times. She is a member of Victorious Believers Community Church, Fredericksburg, Virginia where she oversaw the Outreach Ministry for 3 years and continues to serve on multiple ministries, committees, and teams.

She holds a B.S. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL and an A.G.S. from Central Texas College. Arline is a graduate of the Joseph Business School, Living Word Christian Center, Forest Park, Illinois.

As the Chief Executive Officer of GAD Youth Center, Arline’s vision is to see youth live a purpose driven life:

“For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord,” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

A native of Helena, Arkansas, Arline resides in Fredericksburg, VA, with her husband Ronald. Their two adult children and families continue the family’s legacy of service (both country and community) with a son (active duty) and daughter (retired) serving in the U.S. Army, son, a former military contractor, and daughter, an educator in the Virginia Beach City Public School District. Arline is the proud “MomMom” of 2 grandsons, a grand-dog and 2 grand-cats.

Senetra Williams-Pace, Board Member

Senetra Williams-Pace currently serves as a School Counselor with the Jacksonville – North Pulaski School District, Jacksonville, Arkansas. As a Counselor, Senetra strives to deliver an effective, comprehensive counseling program that inspires students to become lifelong learners, creative thinkers, and caring and responsible citizens.

She holds a M.S., in School Counseling from University of Central Arkansas, Graduate School, Leadership Studies and a B.S.E. in Early Childhood Education (P-4) from University of Central Arkansas.

Before serving in her current position, Senetra functioned for over ten (10) years as an Elementary Teacher for 2nd through 4 grades students in public and charter schools.

She is skilled in:

developing and executing classroom sessions for individual and small groups
crisis counseling
conflict resolution
career exploration
orientation programs

Her professional affiliations include the American School Counselor Association, Arkansas School Counselor Association and the Association of American Educators.

Senetra is happily married to Eric Pace, and together they have a beautiful blended family with their five children. Senetra is a lover of cooking (and eating), dance/working out, travel, shopping, community service activities, and quality time with family and friends.

Olivia Hudson-Gause, Board Member

Olivia is a resourceful, goal-oriented educator with a unique background in college/career access advising, secondary education, and higher education. She possesses a strong track record for seeking and implementing creative strategies for supporting effective 21st century programs, undergraduate classrooms and support programs, and secondary classrooms with emphasis on catering to students of varying needs and abilities. An energetic educational leader, she remains dedicated to promoting positive, meaningful relationships among students, colleagues, and community stakeholders.

Olivia earned her bachelor’s degree in African American Studies and English Language & Literature from the University of Virginia. She was admitted to Old Dominion University’s Teacher Immersion Residency program and graduated with her Masters of Science in Education. After completing her year-long teaching residency at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, VA, Olivia stayed on as a full-time English instructor with Norfolk Public Schools. It was in this position where she was named Lake Taylor High School’s 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year.

She currently serves as Site Coordinator & Instructor for Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) with Green Run Collegiate (GRC) of Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Before serving in her current position, Mrs. Gause functioned as a

Program Coordinator, TRiO Student Support Services-Teacher PREP, Norfolk State University
College Adviser, Virginia College Advising Corps (AmeriCorps), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Instructor, TRiO-Upward Bound, Norfolk State University (NSU), Norfolk, VA and University of Virginia (UVA), Charlottesville, VA

Olivia credits her love of learning to her parents and her first teacher Mrs. Julia McCaa. She credits her passion for teaching to her AP English Language Arts teacher Mrs. Nickea Stalter, AP US History teacher Mr. Cullen Nolan, and Dr. Lisa Woolfork at UVA. Olivia’s goal is to pass down everything these phenomenal educators instilled in her to the next generation of world-changers. Her philosophy is that love of the child must come before love of the content; she is committed to making sure her students have everything they need to conquer the world beyond the four walls of a classroom.

She currently resides in Virginia Beach, VA with her loving husband Adam and their beloved rescue dog and cats.