Our Team
Small but mighty! We love what we do and we do it with passion. Our tiny team leverages the spirit and dedication of our many partners, sponsors and our wonderful volunteer family to accomplish amazing results. Our goal is to make the world a little safer every day!
Jill Braselton
Executive Director
Jill has been a member of the ThinkFirst Board of Directors since 2014. She served as the ThinkFirst Illinois State Chapter Director for the last fourteen years based at Northwestern Medicine in a suburb of Chicago. In addition, Jill has worked as a nurse and an injury prevention advocate for over 30 years and has been instrumental in the development of many of the current ThinkFirst programs.
Nicole Allen
Development Manager
Nicole Allen works as a Development Manager and primarily focuses on promoting the Drive Safe Pledge and managing social media for the ThinkFirst National Office. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nicole lives near the national office with her four children and her dog.
Mary Kunz
Program and Grant Manager
Mary Kunz recently joined the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation staff as the Program and Grant manager. She started with ThinkFirst in 1994 as a VIP Speaker after sustaining a SCI at the age of 18. Through the years, Mary has grown within the organization locally. She has served as a VIP speaker, educator, peer mentor and Chapter Director, educating over 30,000 children. Motivated by her own personal experiences, she has been passionate about preventing traumatic injuries for years. She is living proof injuries can happen to anyone and can be easily prevented through awareness, education, and prevention.
In her free time, she is the vice-president of Michigan Sports Unlimited, an adaptive sports organization, and is the director of the Thunder in the Valley Games, a national paralympic event held in Michigan.
Michelle Larsen
Project Manager
Michelle Larsen joined ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation as a Project manager and loves to remind people to ThinkFirst in everything they do! By way of background, Michelle is Illinois State Certified to train teens on the rules of the road and how to drive, is a National Safety Council member teaching Alive@25 and trains throughout the United States both teens and parents advanced driving maneuvers with Doug Herbert’s Advanced Driving School B.R.A.K.E.S. – Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe. Michelle knows from personal experience how tremendously important it is to teach Safety in all aspects of life, especially when it comes to teens behind a steering wheel. She loves spending time with her family in the beautiful outdoors, going on adventures and riding her big grey horse Casper!
Mackenzie Larsen
Project Coordinator
Mackenzie Larsen serves in the role of Project Coordinator for the Parents of Teen Driver's program and oversees ThinkFirst's military involvement. Her educational philosophy for injury prevention is fueled by passion for helping others through knowledge. Mackenzie graduated with distinction from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with her BS in Integrative Biology and BA in Russian Language and Culture in 2023. She was commissioned following graduation and is currently an Executive Officer in the Air Force, stationed at the 911th Air Lift Wing in Pittsburgh. In her free time, she is serving her 5th year in the National Society of Pershing Rifles on staff and as a Board Director. She also volunteers teaching English to Ukrainian refugees and doctors both in the US and abroad. She hopes to continue her education within the medical field.