Staff

Jake graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English at Austin College in 2020. Throughout his college career, he worked as a student teacher and as a camp counselor and assistant camp director.

In June of 2021, Jake joined Caring Pathways as a Client Specialist. Here is where he found his passion for working with adults with disabilities. In March of 2023, he was promoted to the newly added role of Director.

In his free time, Jake enjoys being in nature, whether hiking, rock climbing, or tending to his garden.

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Board of Directors

Jan spent 30 years in public education as a Teacher, Educational Diagnostician, Lead Diagnostician, and a Special Education Coordinator. She retired in 2015 and has dedicated herself full-time to this organization. Janet holds a B.S. in Education from California State University, Chico and a M.S. in Special Education from Texas Woman’s University. She holds two additional certifications.

Although she was already working with severely disabled children, Janet’s interest in working with the disabled intensified and became her passion when her own son was diagnosed with developmental disabilities at an early age. He is now an adult and loves attending Caring Pathways. She has dedicated the last 32 years to researching and developing techniques to support his development and functioning.

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Kathy began her 37 year career in special education as the Director of the Woodruff County Educational Center in Augusta, Arkansas before moving to Dallas, Texas. She has worked as a special education teacher, educational diagnostician, and lead educational diagnostician before retirement in 2016.

Karen holds a B.A. in Education from Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas and a Master of Education plus additional educational certifications from East Texas State University and North Texas State University. Her interest in children with disabilities began at the age of 15 at the Temple Memorial Treatment Center in Texarkana, Texas, where she volunteered as a summer arts and crafts and swimming instructor for students with Muscular Dystrophy.

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Stacy has over 30 years of experience in large corporations within both the telecommunications and beverages industries. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from The University of Texas at Dallas. Stacy has held multiple roles over her career, with the majority tied to employee communications and engagement, customer and brand marketing, project management, supply chain, and procurement. Today, she serves as Director, Food Sourcing at the North Texas Food Bank.

Stacy and her husband, Mark, are parents of a special needs adult and were referred to Caring Pathways by a friend. After touring and meeting Jan Kelsay, President, they were confident it would be the perfect environment for their daughter. She enjoys attending and it offers the opportunity for continuing development and socialization.

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Tracy received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and her Master of Education with Special Certification in Autism Intervention from the University of North Texas. She worked for over 12 years as an In Home Trainer and Parent Trainer for Plano ISD before her son aged out of school, forcing her to resign to stay home and take care of him. 

Tracy’s son Walker has autism and an intellectual disability. He began at Caring Pathways of Carrollton in January of 2020 after a less than successful attempt at another day program. She became active with the fundraising committee in 2022. 

 Tracy has been married to Rafe for over 34 years. In addition to 30 year old Walker, they have a daughter named Hope who is currently in college.

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Cicely has over 25 years of experience in the accounting industry and holds a B.A. in accounting from Seattle University.  Over the course of her career, she has held senior level positions at a national public accounting firm as well as Controllership and Director level positions in privately held companies and in the nonprofit sector.  Her experience has allowed her to provide technical accounting guidance and an open mindset for building processes that improve efficiency and mitigate risks.

 Cicely has always had a passion for using her skills to help others.  She has volunteered for numerous organizations as a way of investing in the community in which she lives.

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Susan has worked in Special Education in the state of Texas for 50 years. She served as a Special Education Administrator for twenty years. Susan has also worked as a special education teacher and as an educational diagnostician with students 3-21 years of age. She has experience with team evaluations specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Susan has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education and received her M.S in Education along with various educational certifications from Texas Woman’s University. 

She found her passion when she started working with individuals with disabilities as a volunteer in day and residential summer camps at the age of twelve.

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