For as long as she can remember, Kathy has wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. Convinced that she could make an impact through social work and family counseling, she graduated from Mount Union College with a degree in this area and a great deal of experience in Early Childhood Development and teaching. The next 15 years brought her opportunities to do exactly that. She raised four boys, coached basketball, had an in-home daycare, worked at a daycare, served in the children’s ministry, volunteered for a Christian church camp and also served at the Cleveland City Mission. 

In 2005, when she was knee-deep in urban ministries, Polaris offered her the opportunity to start a Christian preschool for the Brunswick community that the church could help support. Now 10 years later, Rise and Shine is serving over 100 families and offers a Kindergarten. 

She's pretty busy as the Rise and Shine Director and also the Director of Ministry Development, but still manages to make time for what she loves to do: taking long runs in the woods, going out to dinner with her husband, watching a good book or movie, doing bible studies with her sisters in Christ, camping with her family, and being silly with her preschool friends. One thing she's learned so far in her life is that when a person is willing to follow God’s calling, they're guaranteed to have quite an adventure!