Our Team | United Way Success By 6

Board of Directors

Without them, we wouldn’t be able to serve Douglas County

Chavis Lickvar-Armstrong (she, her, hers) is a doctoral student at the University of Kansas specializing in early childhood unified education. As a practicing early childhood educator, she worked in a variety of settings, including Montessori classrooms, Head Start classrooms, and even the Kansas City Zoo. While earning her master’s degree in early childhood special education, she worked closely with related service providers at the Britain Development Center to learn strategies for adapting preschool environments to be inclusive of each and every child. This work shaped her philosophy and mission for making sure all children can engage in joyful learning with their peers in any environment, and she particularly enjoys mentoring college students preparing to be early childhood educators themselves.

Anna Foote (she, her) is a Youth Services and Continuing Education Consultant for Northeast Kansas Library System, an agency that provides support to public, school and college/university libraries in 14 counties in the northeast corner of the state. A professional librarian with more than ten years’ experience, she has worked in various roles in the field of youth and family development since 1994. Anna is passionate about serving families’ educational, social and economic needs through libraries. She was instrumental to the development and dissemination of 6 by 6: Ready to Read, an early literacy program provided by libraries across Kansas. Anna has served on the SB6 Board of Directors since 2018.

Emily Gullickson (she, her, hers) During her six years in Lawrence, Emily has served in a variety of roles connected to social justice facilitation and training, programming. Throughout her time in higher education, she has served in numerous roles that specifically focus on social justice, equity, educational policy, instruction, and curriculum. She holds Master’s degrees in Spanish and Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Emily enjoys spending time with her creative toddler, partner, and dog, as well as reading, playing board games, traveling and riding her bike. She currently serves as a Program Outreach Coordinator for AnitaB.org, a non-profit organization that helps women and non-binary technologists grow, learn, and develop their highest potential.

Christina Gentry (she /her /they) is a community health advocate, mother of five and committed to advancing social justice, and restorative practices in community.

Professionally, she holds a firm 10 year as teacher in pre-kinder elementary education: developing dynamic & creative Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) curriculum for early learners. Her work at Lawrence Douglas County Public Health intentionally committed to systems change while working to strengthen community networks to positively improved community health.

They look to build social connection, while advocating for programs and policies that promote positive, genetic, and environmental influences on our futures.

Jessica O’Flannagan (she/her) is an LMSW specializing in school-based therapeutic interventions currently at the middle school level. While she is a special education school social worker in Ottawa, she and her husband were both raised in Lawrence and have laid roots here for their own young family. Her love for children and holistic family success started when she began volunteering at her local Head Start in high school and carried through her years as a paraprofessional, preschool teacher, and into her personal life with her own children. She is working towards clinical licensure and a postgraduate play therapy certificate to better serve her general and special education students and families. Jessica has a deep passion for proactive work with a focus on equity and working towards systematic change for overall success of all members of a family unit both in and out of a school building. She currently serves on county homeless and substance abuse prevention coalitions and as a district facilitator of nonviolent crisis de-escalation to further assist in addressing real world problems that our families face which deeply impact a student’s ability to learn in the classroom. She believes in actions over talk and looks forward to engaging through collaborative practice with the other Board and community members to continue to move Lawrence forward. She and her husband met at K-State, her favorite color is purple, she received her graduate degree from KU, and the O’Flannagan family have two cats and two dogs. In their down time the family likes to spend time outside, be out on the lake during the summer, read, swim, play games, build block towers, imaginative play, and eat snacks.

Kristin Schneller (she, her) has been a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist since 2006. Previously, she worked in a private pediatric clinic in Murrieta, CA, providing services for children ages one year to 18 years. Kristin has been working for tiny-k Early Intervention since January 2007. She enjoys collaborating with other community resources and agencies in Douglas County to support tiny-k families. She has been part of the leadership team for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for Douglas County since 2018. Kristin lives with her husband and three young sons in Lawrence. They enjoy traveling, eating out, riding bikes, running, and watching KU and Chiefs.

Denise Ballard (she/her) I was born and raised in Philadelphia Pa, until I decided to enlist into the United States military. I served ten years in the United States Air Force where I worked as a Medical Laboratory Technician. I was honorably discharged and completed my undergraduate degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science at Christopher Newport University. I worked as a Medical Technologist for over fifteen years. I transitioned to Laboratory Information Technology where I worked for Cerner and McKesson. I lived in Atlanta for about seven years and then my husband, two sons and I moved here to Lawrence where I have lived for the last two decades. I completed my master’s degree in information systems from University of Phoenix at which time I transitioned to testing software for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas. I recently retired from the Bureau of Fiscal Service part of the Department of Treasury.

During my time here in Lawrence I have volunteered to serve the community in different ways over time. I served at Jubilee Café when I first moved here. I served on the board at the Boys and Girls club. I have also helped to prepare and serve meals at the homeless shelter. I am currently helping to serve at L.I.N.K and Just Foods, while serving as treasurer for the Amber Sellers’ campaign. I have a passion to help in any capacity I can when I see a need to help families. I am currently looking to use my free time to help move the needle in a positive direction in our community. Part of moving the needle of change requires looking at what is working, what is not and how can I make a positive difference. I would like to help others find their own way to growth, where they feel encouraged and inspired. I believe being part of this group is an excellent starting place to help families connect the dots so that they can ultimately find their own success navigating their own journey.

This is Deanna’s Kessler-Miley’s (she, her) third year on the Success by 6 Board. Deanna is the Coordinator for the Baldwin USD #348 STAR/Parents as Teachers program, which provides parent education services to families in the Baldwin school district with children under the age of five. Prior to her current position, she spent 25 years teaching in early childhood special education classrooms, working with young children of varying abilities. Most of her teaching was completed with the East Central Kansas Cooperative in Education and within Baldwin schools. Deanna has a Master of Science in Education from the University of Kansas. She and her husband have 3 daughters and currently live in Baldwin. Deanna can be contacted at dkessler-miley@usd348.com.

Danielle Davey (she/her) is an attorney at Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe, where she has been practicing for 14 years. Her practice includes litigation in the areas of real
estate, personal injury and employment law and regularly consults with HOAs, libraries, electrical cooperatives, and other entities regarding a variety of matters. She is also a member of
the Douglas County Child in Need of Care (CINC) panel, alternating between working as a Guardian ad Litem and as a parent attorney case-by-case.
Danielle is a two-time graduate of the University of Kansas and remains an avid Jayhawk fan. She continues to live in Lawrence with her husband, stepdaughter, dog, and cat. In the
community, Danielle has been active with organizations serving children and families, serving in various roles with the Lawrence St. Patrick’s Day Parade, on the Board of Directors for tiny-k, as Board President for TDC Learning Centers in Topeka, and is on the CLC for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County.

Dr. Pegah Naemi Jimenez (she/her) is a Research Associate at the KU School of Social Welfare on two of the School’s projects: Kansas Strong for Children and Families and the Fatherhood FIRE program. Dr. Naemi Jimenez holds a PhD in social psychology from KU and a master’s degree in psychology from California State University at Sacramento. Her most recent position was at the Center for Public Policy and Research where she designed and directed mixed method research and evaluation of social programs, including serving as Principal Investigator on two home visiting initiatives in Kansas and Missouri. In addition to possessing excellent research skills, Dr. Naemi Jimenez holds a very strong commitment to racial equity and social justice and has worked collaboratively with colleagues to develop and facilitate multiple DEI workshops and events. Dr. Naemi Jimenez brings a wealth of research experiences and expertise as well as a marked alignment with the School’s anti-racism/anti-oppression work.

I am Janice Blair (she, her). I am both excited and honored to be part of Success-By-Six; early intervention is a strong passion of mine. Before retiring in 2016, I was an educator in the fields of early childhood and early childhood special education for 39 years, 25 with Lawrence Public Schools. My husband and I have 2 grown children and three grandsons.

Sam McFin (She, Her) is an empowered parenting educator and coach with a bachelors degree in psychology, and 14 years experience in early childhood education, as a teacher and director. She is passionate about supporting families and educators in their process of stepping into personal sovereignty around their healing and growth.
Sam did a learning practicum while receiving her undergraduate that focused specifically on
incorporating mindfulness based practices and positive psychology into the Montessoriclassroom. A few years later, inspired by a vision to cultivate a space where each and every unique child would be honored in their natural light, she opened her own Montessori program. The school was also birthed out of a desire to provide a diverse environment with more accessibility for families of all socio-economic backgrounds.Shortly after having her son, Sam decided she wanted to stay home with him. She then went on to complete her certification through the Jai Institute for Parenting and now leads courses supporting caregivers in a deep exploration andapplication of current research in child development, attachment theory, nervous system science, brain science, non-violent communication, emotional intelligence and much more. She offers parents the opportunity to dive into Connection with themselves so that they can deeply connect with their child, their greater community, and the earth.
Sam is very passionate about advocating for future generations of children and creating more expansive opportunities for equity in her immediate community.