About Us
Board of Directors
Katherine Kersenbrock-Ostmeyer
Katherine Kersenbrock-Ostmeyer (aka Kathy KO), is the Director of Special Education and tiny-k Coordinator for the Northwest Kansas Education Service Center. Kathy began work with NKESC in January of 1981 as an early childhood "home-trainer/parent educator." Since that time she has served as a special education teacher in a self contained emotional disturbed classroom, provided itinerate consultation services in learning disabled and emotionally disturbed programs, spent a year coordinating drug free prevention programs, coordinated staff development activities and in 1990 moved into special education administration.
Kathy received a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State University and a Master's of Science degree from Fort Hays State University. She hold several licenses through the Kansas State Department of Education including both general and special education as well as district administrative endorsements.
Over the past 28 years Kathy has served on many local, state and national committees and boards including appointments to the Kansas Special Education Advisory Council, participation on the tiny-k advocacy committee, participation the Kansas Department of Heath and Education oral health focus group initiative, and many Kansas Sate Department of Education special education work groups and committees focusing on issues related to lass size and case loads, teacher shortages, alternative assessment, and program monitoring to name a few. Kathy has also held local, state and national positions with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) including serving on the Council's Board of Directors and Yes I Can! Foundation Board. Kathy also serves on several community and civic boards and committees.
Kathy is excited to be on the tiny-k Foundation Board of Directors and looks forward to the opportunity to spread the word as to the benefits of early intervention for children and their families as well as helping others understand the cost saving benefits of early childhood programs over the life span.
Kathy lives with her husband (Mark), a teenage son Mark Aaron, and teenage daughter Christina, in Colby, Kansas.
Cathy Estes
Cathy Estes is the Coordinator for Sunflower Diversified Services’ Early Education Center (EEC) and a board member of the tiny-k Foundation. She is also a member of Kansas Division for Early Childhood (KDEC) and Kansas Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (KAIMH). Prior to her work at EEC, Cathy resided in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she worked with dually diagnosed children and adults as an Associate Behavioral Analyst, providing intervention with social/emotional and behavioral skills. She has a Masters Degree from the University of Oklahoma in Human Relations, Counseling.
Cathy has a diverse background that includes traveling and living in various areas of the world. She graduated from High School in New Delhi, India. She has been married 40 years and has two children and two grandsons.
Currently, Cathy and the staff at EEC (15 total) provide Early Intervention services for five counties in central Kansas, including Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Stafford and Rush. Cathy, along with Susan Keeler, Speech Language Pathologist, and Ruth Johnson, Occupational Therapist Assistant, has just completed certification in the Early Intervention Specialist Program through the University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.
Goals at EEC include starting a new resourceful preschool for 2 ½ to 4 year old children, with scholarship slots for 3 years olds at risk that do not qualify for other services. This is greatly needed in the area EEC serves.
Social and emotional skill development, along with creative play will be targeted for enhanced relational interaction and cognitive skills.
As a member of KAIMH (Kansas Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health), Cathy will be in the first group in Kansas to become endorsed as a Mental Health Mentor this fall. This qualification will serve to strengthen the expertise in social emotional development for children and families served in early intervention at EEC. This too is a much needed service for early intervention in the counties EEC serves. Cathy looks forward to meeting the challenges of providing resources through the Early Education Center for the families in Early Intervention services.
Along with the many challenges and learning experiences, Cathy says she loves her job and she relishes the accomplishments the EEC team makes in the families they serve! Her first term as a Board member ends April 2011.
Karl Hockenbarger
Karl Hockenbarger is Vice- President of the Foundation and the “member at large” of the tiny-k Foundation Board of Directors. He has been involved in disability issues since 1985 when he took a position with Social and Rehabilitation Services reporting for the HCBC waiver programs and writing Kansas HCBS waivers. Currently he is the Manger of Federal Financial Reporting and Resource Development. Before going to SRS, he spent ten years managing Criminal Justice Grants as a Criminal Justice Trainer and as an Executive Director of the Inmate Assistance Organization. Karl is also a partner in Compliance Data Systems, a company dedicated to remote medication management, to prevent medication errors instead of just treating them.
He facilitated the advocate and consumer work group and authored the grant which developed the first Real Choice System Change grant for Kansas. The purpose of Real Choice is to make community based services available as nursing home care. Karl has also been heavily involved in the development of the Working Healthy program, which allows individuals with disabilities to maintain Medicaid eligibility and be competitively employed in the community.
Karl was the manager for the Medicaid school-based services program, which included Part C, Medicaid reimbursement in the late 1990s when family service coordination and other new Medicaid reimbursements were approved. Ann Koci was the Medicaid Director and took the approach that SRS should be paying for any Medicaid reimbursable service delivered to any Medicaid eligible child. This position lead him to look at new ways to reimburse for services, including reimbursing for family service coordination and certified-match services.
Karl has a BA from Washburn University with a double major in Corrections and Criminal Justice as well as a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas.
This active board member’s involvement with the Foundation began shortly after its incorporation. He identified grant opportunities and wrote grants for the Foundation even before being elected to the Board of Directors. He has continued to be actively involved in design, preparation, and submission of grants as well as daily operation of the Foundation. His first term as a Board member ends April 2009.
Nancy Duffy
Nancy Duffy is the Director of Service Coordination, Children and Youth Services for Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas (DSNWK). She began working for DSNWK in August of 1988. This was during a time when the State of Kansas was expanding the community services and integrations for individuals with developmental disabilities through the closing of several State hospitals. What an exciting time for Kansas! Nancy and her husband were hired to operate residential group homes for adults with developmental disabilities for 6 years. At the same time, she completed her Master's in Special Education at Fort Hays State University and was a Manager of Residential services until 2005. In 2005, she was hired to lead the Service Coordination Dept. where she supervise Individual Service Coordinators (Case Managers), a Social Worker and the Kid-Link Part C Program.
Prior to working in the developmental disability field, she worked in the mental health field in eastern Kansas. She completed my Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State University in Psychology.
She lives in Hays where her youngest daughter attends middle school. Her oldest daughter attends Kansas State University and is majoring in Biology so her ties to eastern Kansas continue strong. Her husband also works for DSNWK in the residential services department. Their lives are intertwined with many wonderful people in services and providing services for individuals.
Nancy says, "I look forward to being a part of the tiny-k foundation and serving on the Board of Directors for an amazing program."
Debbie Mai
Debbie Mai is an active advocate for children with special needs and their families in the state. A 27 year employee at Rainbows United, Inc. in Wichita, Kansas, Debbie has been involved in changing the lives of many. She began serving children with special needs as a speech-language pathologist and currently works tirelessly as Vice President of Programs and Services.
Debbie got her bachelor's degree form Baylor University and her SLP Master's through Oklahoma State University. She is liaison for many partnerships across the state and has served on many early childhood committees including: Sedgwick County Interagency Coordinating Council, Butler County Child and Family Task Force, State Interagency Coordinating Council, Kansas Head Start Association Board, Head Start Region VII Board, Visioneering Wichita Birth-K Alliance, MSA Council, Kansas Division of Early Childhood.
Debbie's leadership is key as she lends her vast knowledge and dedication to improving the lives of children with disabilities and their families. The opportunity to serve with the tiny-k Foundation Board of Directors is one she takes on with passion and insight. She is also serving as the Foundation's Secretary/Treasurer. "I have seen the tiny-k program grow from the beginning to changing the lives of thousands of infants, toddlers, and their families across the state. It's an honor to have this small part of helping it happen."
Debbie enjoys life daily with the love of her life, husband Mike.
Nancy Juhlin
Nancy Juhlin grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Nancy left Boston to attend Southwestern College because a neighbor (in Boston) became the Southwestern College Dean of Students in Winfield, Kansas.Following her junior year at Southwestern, Nancy married David Juhlin. They left two weeks after being married for a two year Peace Corps term in Chile. Nancy was young, spoke no Spanish and married less than a month when she landed in Chile. Oh, and she also had “dropped out of college” much to the horror of her family. Despite that grim picture, joining the Peace Corps was one of the best and life altering decisions of her life.
After completing two years in Chile, Nancy and her husband returned to Winfield so that she could complete her undergraduate degree.
The next move was back to New England to live in Maine. Nancy’s first teaching position was as a Resource Room teacher in an elementary school. Winters were longer in Maine than Kansas. So again Nancy and her husband headed back to Winfield. Nancy taught for Cowley County Special Services Cooperative for 16 years.
In the 1990’s, Nancy obtained her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Wichita State University. From 1995-2006, Nancy was the Assistant Director of Cowley County Special Services Cooperative. One of her most enjoyable responsibilities was to supervise the special education preschools. During this time, Nancy worked closely with the REACH tiny-k Infant Toddler program and Phil Rust, the long time Coordinator for REACH. Nancy served many years as a member of the LICC representing the Coop.
Nancy became the Coordinator for REACH in 2006 and added to her responsibilities in 2008 by becoming the Coordinator for Southeast Kansas Birth to 3 based in Parsons.
Nancy still lives in Winfield with her husband. They have one daughter, Molly. Molly currently lives and works in Boston after having graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine.
Her ideal retirement plan is to relocate back to New England despite the long winters.
Nancy’s interest in serving on the tiny-k BOD is to increase her own knowledge regarding tiny-k so that she may better advocate for early childhood issues. She sees tiny-k as another professional venue to promote early intervention services and the fact that there is overwhelming evidence that supports the value of early intervention services to children and families.
Deanna Berry
Deanna Berry is a native of Northwest Kansas, growing up in Winona, graduating from High School in Brewster, and earning an Associate's degree in Music from Colby Community College. She then graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and taught 5th grade in Brewster for ten years. Deanna returned to school full-time as a long-distance commuter in the early 90's, graduating from Fort Hays State University with Master's and Education Specialists degrees in School psychology. She later earned licensure in Elementary and Secondary Building Leadership (Principal), District Leadership (Superintendent), Special Education Supervisor/Coordinator, and Special Education Director.
Deanna and her family moved to Leoti in 1993 where she served as a School Psychologist for the High Plains Educational Cooperative for six years and as Special Education Supervisor/Coordinator for two more years.
Deanna was hired as the Early Intervention Coordinator at Russell Child Development Center in 2001 and later assumed the position of Executive Director in March of 2006. Deanna and her husband, Milan, a self-employed farmer, live in Garden City. Her youngest son, 21, lives in Garden City with her older son, 26, his wife, and Deanna's new granddaughter, Sadie, live in Vallejo, California.
This will be Deanna's second term on the tiny-k Foundation Board.
KaAnn Graham
KaAnn Graham is new to the board of directors this year and welcomes the opportunity to work with dedicated individuals throughout the state to support the growth of the tiny-K Foundation.
KaAnn has been the director of the Early Education Center in Hutchinson since 1995. The program provides Part B and Part C services to children in six school districts in Reno County. Prior to becoming director of the program, she worked two years as the assistant director and six years as a speech/language pathologist in the infant/toddler program.
KaAnn received her Master’s degree from Wichita State University in communication disorders and sciences and worked for 10 years in Garden City, KS as an SLP in the public schools and later at Russell Child Development Center. After her family moved to central Kansas In 1986 KaAnn worked at Rainbows United in Wichita and took classes at Wichita State and KU in educational administration, receiving her administrative credentials in 1990.
KaAnn has seen the Early Education Center’s programs grow substantially over the last ten to fifteen years as a result of collaborative efforts on a community wide basis to provide more early childhood opportunities and to expand service delivery options for children with special needs. This growth in community capacity has allowed children transitioning from Part C to Part B programs to enroll in programs in their home communities and in many cases attend preschool where they will later enroll for Kindergarten.
KaAnn has enjoyed being involved in the planning and implementation of initiatives that have provided these opportunities for children, including Smart Start of Reno and Rice County, the Reno County Universal Pre-K Program , Reno County Head Start Administrative Council , the USD 308 Kindergarten Readiness Committee and the Early Childhood Council.
KaAnn says, “The support for early childhood programs in both the public and private sectors of Reno County and the willingness of individual programs and community members to work together to continue to improve our early childhood system is very exciting.”
Chelie Nelson
Chelie Nelson is the Assistant Director of Special Education
and the tiny-k coordinator for the Harvey County Special Education Cooperative.
Chelie began her career as a speech-language pathologist in the preschool
programs of the Institute of Logopedics. Since that time she has worked as a
school-based speech-language pathologist and early childhood special education
teacher, a technical assistance specialist with the Kansas Inservice Training
System (KITS), and assistant professor of early childhood at Southwestern
College. It was her experience in an inclusive elementary program at White
Elementary in Wichita that prompted her to pursue a doctoral degree in early
childhood special education.
Chelie received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at the Wichita State University. She was endorsed as an early childhood special education teacher through Emporia State University. Chelie received her Ph.D. in Special Education and her administrative endorsement from the University of Kansas. Her dissertation focused on the literacy experiences of young children with disabilities in preschool settings. Chelie's particular interests are emergent literacy, childhood language, collaboration, adapting early childhood curriculum, and inclusive services.
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