Meet our speakers for April 16

Kayla Powell (she/her) is an award-winning foster care and juvenile justice advocate, a proximate leader, and Kniko and Kyro's mom. She serves as the National Youth in Transition Database and youth development coordinator for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. She serves as staff support to the Youth Justice Council (subcommittee of Iowa's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council) project lead for the integration of authentic youth and family engagement within Iowa's Juvenile Court Services, and the Jim Casey Site Lead for Iowa. Outside of this role, Powell is a Jim Casey Fellow with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a subject matter expert with the Capacity Building Center for States, and a member of NACC's National Advisory Council on Children's Legal Representation. She holds a degree in occupational therapy and is certified in healing-centered engagement.She has over nine years of lived child welfare experience and has experienced the impact of having multiple siblings in the youth justice and criminal justice systems.

Sophia Bond is a Kansas City, Kansas native, who has spent most of her life continuously falling in love with the Kansas City metro area. She attended Saint Louis University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and African American studies. She attended law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and took several courses focused on litigation and family law. Currently, she is the FOIA and general law branch chief with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region 7), where she specializes in civil rights, the Freedom of Information Act, contracts, grants, ethics, and employment. Additionally, she is a former attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, and former supervising attorney for the juvenile officer at the Jackson County, Missouri Family Court. She has also practiced social security law, disability law, and criminal defense. Further, she is an assistant adjunct professor at the Johnson County Community College, guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children in Jackson County, Missouri, and, Missouri Rule 17 mediator. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and reading crime dramas. 

Alexandira Ware is an alumna of foster care. She knows firsthand about the good, inadequate, ugly, missed opportunities, mistrust, and distrust of the foster care system. Yet, she was fortunate enough to be mentored and loved by people who helped her find her purpose in life and contributed to her success. As a result, she founded Culture Creations Inc. to assist participants similar to her who have lived and shared foster care experiences. She works diligently to change the narrative of negative statistics to positive outcomes for foster care alums. She aims to support and love her fellow foster care alums in taking control of their lives by helping them with access, opportunities, support, love, and community support. Further, to obtain the resources they need and deserve to reach their highest potential and find their purpose. With Culture Creations Inc., she aims to make a positive difference in the lives of foster care alums, youth, and young adults. By transforming narratives and outcomes, she and the organization seek to empower individuals with the knowledge, support, and opportunities necessary for effective, efficient, and sustainable change. 

Marquan Teetz is a committed youth advocate actively engaged in advancing social justice initiatives, notably spearheading the Justice For Cedric Lofton (J4CJ) campaign. He focuses on juvenile justice, striving to eliminate fines and fees imposed on young individuals and redirecting those resources toward alternative programs. His dedicated involvement with the Annie E. Casey Foundation underscores his commitment to policy reform in Kansas, where he plays a pivotal role in advocating for kinship care. His specific emphasis addresses the challenges faced by aging foster youth transitioning out of the system. His overarching goal is to secure and optimize benefits for these individuals, ensuring a supportive foundation for their successful journey beyond foster care.

Yusef Presley is a dedicated advocate for foster care and criminal justice reform, currently holding the position of legal reform organizer at The ACLU of Kansas. His commitment to this cause is deeply rooted in personal experiences that have profoundly shaped his perspective. From a young age, he faced challenges within a system that failed to provide stability and care, navigating through more than 100 foster homes—an experience showcasing his resilience. His narrative took a more challenging turn when he ended up in juvenile penitentiary for refusing medication. These events fueled his determination to address critical flaws in the criminal legal system. Today, he stands as a fervent advocate, tirelessly working for positive change in foster care and criminal justice. His journey from adversity to advocacy is compelling.

Danielle Hall served as executive director for the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program from December 2019. In addition to managing daily operations, she provides direct assistance to law students and lawyers who may be struggling with a mental health, substance use disorder, or law practice management related issue. Prior to her appointment as KALAP executive director, she served as a deputy disciplinary administrator for the State of Kansas, where she investigated and prosecuted disciplinary cases before the Kansas Supreme Court, assisted with client protection fund investigations, and served as a coordinator for the attorney diversion program. As part of coordinating the attorney diversion program, her primary focus was providing lawyers with assistance and training in the area of law practice management and she worked directly with lawyers who were struggling with time management, stress, and burnout issues related to the practice of law. She has also previously worked for the Kansas Bar Association, serving as the organization’s law practice services director where she managed the continuing legal education and publications departments and developed the organization’s Law Office Management Assistance Program. She regularly teaches continuing legal education on many topics including lawyer well-being, ethics, law practice management, and technology use in the law practice. She currently serves as the vice president of policy for the Institute for Well-Being in Law and is a member of the executive committee for the Kansas Lawyer Well-Being Task Force. She also serves on the Kansas Bar Association Board of Governors and is president-elect of the Kansas Woman Attorneys Association. She currently chairs the KBA LPM Committee and the Topeka Bar Association Technology Committee. She is a past co-chair of the Minority Women in the Profession Committee for the Kansas Women Attorneys Association. She is also a regular contributor to the Kansas Bar Association Law Practice Management and Technology Blog, and currently authors the Product Watch Column for the American Bar Association LP Division Magazine. She is an active member of the ABA LP Division, having served on several committees. 

Katie Wolf is a seasoned real estate agent with over two decades of experience and holds a degree in education from Kansas State University. Despite her successful career, her true calling emerged when she obtained her foster license in 2012. Over the years, she has had the privilege of welcoming 70 children into her life, including one through adoption from the foster care system. In recent years, she expanded her involvement with vulnerable youth by taking on the role of an on-call juvenile intake assessment officer with the 21st Judicial District. With a commitment to reforming the child welfare system, she channels her energy into advocacy and change. Beyond her professional and advocacy work, she is a mother to three grown children and a "gam-maw" to one grandson. In her free time, she enjoys attending local sporting events and traveling the world when she gets the chance. 

Sarah Doll Heeke graduated from Washington University School of Law in St Louis in 2010. Prior to attending Washington University, she received a BA in Social Work from Kansas State University. It was her time as a foster care social worker that really pushed her to pursue a career in law. Since starting her firm, she has focused a large part of her practice on GAL appointments, representing the interests of children in hundreds of CINC cases in southwest Kansas.  Outside of her time at Doll Law Firm, she spends her time managing (...or trying to manage) the busy schedules of her husband and three children.  

Judge Douglas P. Jones was born in Topeka, Kansas on June 11, 1974. He graduated from Emporia State University in 1997 and from Washburn University School of Law in 2002, with Dean’s Honors, where he was also a member of the Moot Court team. He practiced law for seven years in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas with Rayl & Jones, LLC. His practice areas included criminal, civil, probate, and family law.  He was appointed District Magistrate Judge for the Fifth Judicial District in January 2009. He presides over criminal, limited civil, juvenile, and probate cases. He is a member of Lyon-Chase County Bar Association and the Kansas Bar Association.  

Sheamekah Williams is president and CEO of Evolution Foundation, which provides resources, support, and technical assistance to families, community coalitions, and children behavioral health service providers in the state of Oklahoma. This includes community coalition building and technical assistance; coalition training; trauma training; training curriculum development; strategic planning; and liaison services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and other child serving agencies. She works with the Technical Assistance Collaborative located in Boston, which helps organizations implement policies and procedures that empower people to live healthy, independent lives in the communities they choose. Currently, she is working with the State of Alabama as part of the EPSDT lawsuit, providing consultation around the development of medically necessary, intensive home-based services for youth with serious emotional disturbance, specifically, intensive care coordination and the implementation of practice within a community mental health setting.   

Andy Brown is deputy secretary for programs and leads the overall program services function of three commissions for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services: home and community-based services, behavioral health services, and aging services. He has more than 25 years' experience in human services program management and public service. He came to KDADS in 2017 to serve as prevention program manager, and previously served as the Commissioner for Behavioral Health Services. He reports to Secretary Laura Howard and serves on the KDADS leadership team. Prior to joining KDADS, he worked at Headquarters, Inc. in Lawrence, Kansas, where he served as executive director. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Human Services degree and graduate certificate in non-profit management from Washburn University in 2010 and a Master of Social Work with a concentration in administration, advocacy and policy, from the University of Kansas in 2012. He is a 2016 Washburn University Alumni Fellow and a 2015 Leadership Lawrence Alumni. He has recently received several awards for his leadership in behavioral health including the 2022 Wes Cole Public Servant of the Year Award, Pelathe District Award of Merit 2022, and the 2023 Hope Humanitarian Award. 

Justice Melissa Standridge was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court in 2020 after serving 12 years on the Kansas Court of Appeals. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and her law degree from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. She served as editor-in-chief of the UMKC Law Review, and received the Clerk Boardman Callaghan Award, Exemplary Third-Year Student. After graduating law school, Standridge was chambers counsel for U.S. District Judge Elmo Hunter, U.S. District Court of Western Missouri. She then joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon as an associate attorney. Before being appointed to the Court of Appeals, she served as chambers counsel for U.S. District Magistrate Judge David Waxse, U.S. District Court of Kansas. She has received service awards from the Kansas Bar Association, UMKC School of Law, and the American Inns of Court, as well as the Carol Foreman Medal of Civility from the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, Diversity Award from the Kansas Bar Association, Angel in Adoption for the 3rd Congressional District from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Kansas City Legal Leaders of the Year Award from The Daily Record and the Tierra Farrow Community Leadership Award from the UMKC Women Law Student Association. She has served on charitable and civic group boards and been an active community volunteer, including delivering Meals on Wheels. Standridge is the Supreme Court liaison to the Board of Law Examiners, Admission Review Board, attorney registration, and all education, training, and testing for appellate judges, district judges, district magistrate judges, municipal judges, and lawyers.

Chief Judge Berens serves in the 15th Judicial District and presides over all types of cases. He also serves on various Kansas Supreme Court committees and ad hoc committees, including the Access to Justice Committee.  

Grant A. Brazill (Wichita) is a partner at Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy Chartered. He received his bachlor's degree in secondary education magna cum laude from Wichita State University in 2011 and a law degree in 2015 from the University of Kansas School of Law.  At KU, he served both as a staff writer and as a Note and Comment Editor for the Kansas Law Review, competed in the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition and worked as a student intern for the Paul. E Wilson Project for Innocence. He currently practices in child welfare cases as a parent’s attorney and as a guardian ad litem. 

Julia Hart is a Deputy Disciplinary Administrator who graduated from Washburn Law School. She has been with the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator since 2021. She began her law career at the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, assisting with Kansas-licensed healthcare professionals' licensure and disciplinary matters. She moved to Wichita in 2011 and was an assistant district attorney, prosecuting a wide array of criminal cases, including financial crimes and major felonies until she moved over to the disciplinary administrator’s office. She is happily married to Jason, who is also an attorney. They have two sons and three bonus-boys aged 6 to 13 years old.

Morgan Hall grew up in southwest Kansas and moved eastward with each new degree. She obtained an Associate of Arts from Butler County Community College in 2003, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Kansas State University in 2005 and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in 2008. While in law school, she interned for a guardian ad litem in Shawnee County, and upon graduating and passing the bar, she took over the guardian ad litem contract, serving in that roll while in private practice until fall 2013 when she went to work for a DCF contractor, establishing and enforcing paternity and support orders. She is now a Senior Deputy District  Attorney at the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, where she has been since December 2017, handling child in need of care cases and appeals, juvenile offender, and care and treatment cases.

District Judge Penny Moylan was appointed to the Shawnee County District Court in 2019. Prior to her appointment, she spent 17 years in the private practice of law; worked as a senior research attorney for Kansas Supreme Court Justice Lee Johnson; and served as a deputy disciplinary administrator with the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, where she served as the diversion coordinator for lawyers suffering from mental health or addiction issues. In 2022, Moylan requested the CINC assignment and has subsequently found her home. She serves on the Judicial Education Advisory Committee, the Child Welfare Summit Planning Committee, and the executive committee for the Kansas Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. Her community activities include serving on the Board of Directors for the Topeka Rescue Mission and volunteering with Running Free at the Topeka Correctional Facility.  She is married and has three children.