Our Team
At Addendum 185, our board members are compassionate and caring. Each of them are passionate about adoption, and many of them have experienced it in one capacity or another. They are all committed to serving families during their journey through adoption.
Yesseika Acosta
Yesseika is a native Floridian born to Dominican parents. She grew up in South Florida. She has been married for 11 years to the love of her life and together with her husband they are raising their four children.
She is the eldest of four siblings and has a love for people. She grew up going to church with her family but around the age of 15 she became incredibly interested in learning more about living for God. Her interest quickly grew to passion, and soon after to commitment and dedication.
Yesseika began serving in her church in the dance ministry, praise and worship ministry, youth ministry, and serving on missions locally and abroad.
In her early 20s her parents planted a church and she was given the opportunity to develop her leadership further. Together with her family they created the vision of the church and she was able to serve there for many years in various ministries.
In 2010 she married her sweetheart and the same year she and Harold were ordained and youth pastors of their church.
Yesseika and Harold served at that church for many years and in 2017 after much prayer and direction from God they uprooted their family and moved to central Florida where they started a new chapter in Winter Garden, FL.
In 2018 Yesseika and Harold stepped into adoption and started a beautiful journey of expanding their family. In 2020 they brought their daughter home from South America. At the moment they reside in Winter Garden, FL where they are actively growing in their church, growing in their community, and pouring life into their children through the Holy Spirit. Yesseika and her husband firmly believe that they didn’t choose adoption, adoption chose them. Since bringing their daughter home they have become advocates for adoption in their local community and truly enjoy supporting families who have started their journey towards adoption.
In her spare time Yesseika enjoys singing, traveling with her family, spending a day at Disney with her children, playing with her dogs, and serving her clients in her real estate business. Yesseika has a compassionate heart for people and it shows in everything she does.
Sarah Marsicek
Sarah Marsicek lives with her husband and their two sons in Windermere. Sarah is a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
She was raised in Kansas and earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her doctorate of medicine from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She did her pediatric residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sarah is actively involved in several medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
She loves spending time with her family and friends, running, and trips to Disney.
Adoption has been an integral part of Sarah’s life. After struggling with infertility and spending over two years as foster parents, Sarah and her husband started their private adoption journey in May 2020. After months of the emotional roller coaster that comes with adoption and two failed matches. They were finally matched with their son, who was born in May 2021. They underwent the adoption process again and brought home their daughter, Sutton, in December 2022.
Through her experience, Sarah has learned so much regarding adoption and the adoption process, and she is happy to be able to share with others. Sarah is excited to be a founding member of the board of directors for Addendum 185-an organization that can help others realize their dreams of expanding their family through adoption.
Denise Pellegrino
Denise has lived in Oakland, FL since 2004 as she is originally from Long Island NY. She & her husband, Mark, are currently empty nesters as both of their children are in college! Both Denise and Mark have always been very involved in their kids’ sports & education. Denise volunteered on the PTO board for many years in all positions as well as volunteering for both kids’ sports teams as the team mom. She also helped plan community events to teach their children the value of giving back. You can find Denise traveling & boating with friends during downtime and on weekends. The Pellegrino family is very close-knit so they make time together a priority.
Denise became a Realtor in 2018 after being an Aesthetician for 15 years. Her passion has always been to get involved in the Real Estate industry however she chose to wait until the time was right for her and her family. Denise loves being a Real Estate Agent. The best part is helping her clients with their needs & making the process as smooth as possible! She loves being a part of a team that wants to give back to the community in a multitude of ways.
Although she personally doesn’t have an adoption story to share she has found herself becoming passionate about the process due to seeing team members journey through adoption. She is honored to be a founding board member for Addendum 185 & looks forward to helping many families!
MaryJo Beasley
Mary Jo Beasley currently resides in Winter Garden, Florida with her husband of over 20 years, Doug, and their teenaged son Chase and their dog, Coco Channel. They are very close as a family, and spend most of their time at the ballfield supporting and watching their son do what he loves. They love spending time with family and friends, going to the beach, traveling, playing golf, and seeing the latest movies.
Hailing from an Irish Catholic background and being the second of 5 children and the second oldest of 31 grandchildren, her strong sense of family was instilled in her at an early age. She was raised in the church, attended Catholic Schools, and has continued to carry on that tradition with her own family. Mary Jo, a licensed realtor since 2003, currently works with The Erica Diaz Team and enjoys bringing a strong foundation of knowledge and insight to every client and situation.
Mary Jo and Doug had always planned on having a family and were devastated with the news that they could not have children of their own. They decided to seek out other options, and adoption was at the top of the list. Their adoption process had its complications along the way, like so many others, but in the end the outcome made it all worthwhile. They were called to the hospital at 4:00 am to welcome their newborn son and as she sat there holding her son, looking at his sweet face, she knew this had been God’s plan along. Their prayers of becoming parents were answered as she will always be reminded of this with a bible verse from Samuel 1:27, “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him”.
Giving back was something that Mary Jo was raised to do and consistently participates in fundraising activities, especially those focused on children. When presented with the opportunity to follow this passion by joining Addendum 185, Mary Jo did not hesitate. Being a part of an organization that will assist those wishing to adopt makes her heart feel full, especially since she followed the same journey. She is reminded everyday how lucky she is when she looks at her. son. He is a true blessing.