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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Jenny has over 30 years of public accounting experience at the federal and local levels. She holds a B.S. in Public Administration from Indiana University and a M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from Butler University. She spent 18 years working at school districts in the Denver area as an IT Manager supporting the financial and state reporting systems. She is also a certified Project Manager.

Her interest in children with special needs began 15 years ago when a family member was diagnosed with autism, along with sons of two close friends.

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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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