KennedyStrong Leadership Team

Kathi Wilson

Family Support Program Lead, TEAM Parent Program
Kathleen (Kathi) Wilson, MA, MEd. is a retired K-12 educator who despite her ADHD has helped thousands of children, parents and educators overcome disabilities by embracing gifts and potential.
 
A former teacher, counselor administrator at both the building and district level she has worked with passionate teams in schools in multiple states. 
 
Since retiring from formal education she is a private advocate for children whose needs, for whatever reason, are not being met in the educational environment. Kathi is a believer that after the individual our greatest resource is a robust public education system. To paraphrase an often used quote – all children can learn when we learn and support all children.

Marian Tillman

Finance and Accounting Lead

Marian joined KSF in January 2023 after meeting Betsy and Kennedy at a church event. She is a CPA licensed in North Carolina and Mississippi with over 10 years of accounting experience. She is an audit Senior Manager at KPMG. Marian obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Accountancy from the University of Mississippi. She has a passion for inclusion and believes that there are no limits to what one can achieve. She is not only an advocate for others who cannot always advocate for themselves, but she also helps them learn how to advocate for themselves. She is also a mentor to many who want to break barriers and forge their own path to reach their goals. 

Helen Mason

Administration Support Lead

Helen began volunteering with KSF in July of 2021.  She and Betsy have been friends for many years.  The two of them were discussing KSF over lunch one day.  Helen was looking for a new opportunity to be of service to others and KSF was the perfect fit.  She has been in the IT industry for over 35 years and has served on various Business Resource Groups along the way.  She is inspired by building inclusive culture in personal and professional lives through strong partnerships. She lives in Huntersville.

Sarah Haines, M.Ed.

Programming Advisor

Sarah is an Exceptional Children’s preschool teacher, primarily working with Austistc students or those with other developmental disabilities. Her undergraduate degree was in Child and Family Development, which included her Birth-Kindergarten teaching license. She continued on to her Masters in Special Education and Child Development, both at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Sarah’s professional and personal interests (inclusion, parent education, amplifying disabled voices, social media communities, etc.) allow her to help KennedyStrong in a variety of ways. She works with team members on social media posts/planning, as well as supports our Camp Director in logistics, data collection, and a variety of other activities during the summer time.

Melissa Buczek

Programming Advisor

Melissa joined KSF in March of 2020 with a driving passion to increase inclusive employment opportunities here in the Greater Charlotte area and beyond. She joins the team with a BA in Teaching English as a Second Language. She has years of experience both as a teacher and in the nonprofit sector as the Site Manager for GiGi’s Playhouse Charlotte. While Melissa has always been an advocate at heart, her work to support individuals with disabilities began 5 years ago with the birth of her son, William. Melissa is eager to see our adult participants thrive both personally and professionally in our community.

Amanda Barrett

Programming Advisor

Amanda Barrett is a wife, mother of four, and educator with the youngest scholars in the Kannapolis City School district.  Amanda has been working in early childhood special education for the last 13 years in Cabarrus County and Kannapolis City school districts.  She obtained a B.A. in Sociology from Augustana College, her Birth-Kindergarten licensure for the state of NC and a M.A. in Child and Family Development from UNCC. Prior to entering the education field, Amanda worked in a variety of social service arenas that gave her valuable experience working with children from 0-18 with disabilities in therapeutic and residential settings. Amanda also worked with adults with disabilities supporting their independence in their community. Her work with Cabarrus County schools as an EC Early Childhood Educator led her into a partnership with KSF as their Director of Inclusive Programming.

Stephanie Wray

Programming Advisor
Stephanie has been engaged with the KennedyStrong Foundation since the fall of 2017.  Originally, Stephanie lead the LoveBundle program.  Her passion is to support opportunities to help others and after talking with Betsy, she can see where her skillset fits nicely at KennedyStrong Foundation.  She is now sharing her knowledge and expertise in all things financial as our Business Implementation Lead.  In this role, she supports all the KSF programs from a strategy and budget perspective.  Her background with financial analysis and program management allows her to support the programs in meeting their goals.  She is a key asset to our future growth.
 
Stephanie graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Finance. She works at Wells Fargo and lives with her two wonderful kiddos in Huntersville. 

Vision Statement

The KennedyStrong Foundation sees an inclusive world where individuals with Down syndrome and intellectual/developmental disabilities are contributing members within their communities and living out their dreams of independence.