Meet Our Team

LEGAL ADVISOR

Rae Nicholson practices as a child welfare attorney in the Kansas City area.  Through this work, she's connected with numerous families with medically complex children and learned of the gaps within the system.  She is excited to explore supports for this community and apply her experience in this field to assist RESTkc's mission.

TREASURER

Shauna, a CPA with over 13 years of accounting experience, serves as the Treasurer of RESTkc. With a decade of nonprofit involvement, she is passionate about supporting families in the medically complex community and brings strong financial stewardship to the role. In her free time, Shauna enjoys sand volleyball, game nights with friends, and group fitness classes.

DIRECTOR OF CAREGIVER WELLBEING

Dana Bakula, PhD is a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Mercy. She has been working with children with disabilities and their families for more than a decade. She specializes in supporting caregivers in managing the stress, fear, sadness, and grief that can happen along the caregiving journey and is a national expert in research on caregiver wellbeing. At RESTkc, she directs all programming that is geared towards caregivers and helps us keep the wellbeing of caregivers central to all new initiatives.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

As someone with a family member with disabilities, I am grateful to be part of RESTkc’s important beginning. I am excited to bring my expertise in fundraising, donor engagement and relationship building to RESTkc and to help shape the future of this important work. By providing assistance through the power of REST, I am honored to also impact the lives of our community. It is a privilege to be on the RESTkc Board and I look forward to connecting with you to see how we can support and care for those around us. 

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT

As a special needs mom, I've experienced firsthand the unique challenges families face, especially the impact of limited respite resources in Kansas City. My personal journey and the desire to create positive change drew me to this work, and I'm grateful to be part of RESTkc's mission to bring hope and support to families like mine in our city.

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Mark has a passion for connecting art with science. He prides himself in figuring out how advancements in technology can be used to drive results for business.  He’s done it on both the agency and client side for national accounts like Cerner, MetLife, Sprint, Payless ShoeSource and others. When collaborating with clients or agency colleagues, Mark is the guy who asks “what if?” and then inspires and leads his team to flawlessly execute the next “ah-ah” idea.  Outside the agency, he loves to barbeque, play basketball and occasionally—have another knee surgery.

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS & SERVICES

Chandra Gordon, LMSW, has over 25 years of experience in the social services, behavioral health and medical fields. Her background includes youth development, care coordination, program development/management/evaluation, grant writing, personnel management, facilitation and training, quality improvement, community advocacy, and qualitative research/analysis.  She is currently serving as an Academic Social Worker at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences. 

DIRECTOR OF GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS

I am an Assistant Professor and pediatric feeding occupational therapist who was recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 autism researchers by Spectrum News. My research focuses on addressing the concerns families have about their child’s development and feeding challenges, and using technology to increase access to intervention services for young children. I am committed to science that makes a difference in the lives of families and children, which is why I am honored to be part of the incredible RESTkc team and its mission to support families. 

DIRECTOR OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES

I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and proudly serve as the Program Coordinator and Provider for the Girls Night Out (GNO) Program, a community-based initiative supporting autistic, neurodiverse, and neurotypical teenage girls and young women in the Kansas City metro area. GNO focuses on fostering social connections and enhancing social-emotional well-being. Guided by the belief that “we ALL have things to work on,” I am dedicated to empowering individuals of all abilities to feel supported, successful, and safe within their communities, while encouraging them to embrace their authentic selves. I am honored to contribute to RESTkc’s mission and to help strengthen connections for families throughout the community.

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

As a savvy communications professional with a strong background in strategic storytelling and community engagement, Lauren brings passion and purpose to amplifying the voices of families navigating the challenges of medical complexities and disabilities. Outside of Restkc, Lauren is the Sr. Director of Communications for a global animal health company bringing pharmaceutical solutions to companion and equine animals. She has 15+ years of experience in corporate communications and a proven track record in enhancing, defending and growing international brands. She has an MPA from UMKC and a BA in Communications from Seton Hill University.

MEMBER AT LARGE

Special needs parent and mom to Hudsyn, her daughter who has complex medical needs, Kacy is a Wealth Management Advisor in Kansas City. After six years in the financial services industry, she opened her practice with Northwestern Mutual in 2013 because she had difficulty finding good, sound advice from a variety of financial advisors who could help her develop a solid plan for her daughter. Her purpose in life is to awaken understanding and help others become empathetically aware of people with disabilities. She focuses on helping special needs families who have a -term dependent with proper financial planning throughout their lifetimes. Her book, “It Just Depends on How You Handle Things,” features the story of their journey with Hudsyn and is available on Amazon.Her husband, Dan, is a stay-at-home dad who cares for their two children and has a YouTube channel documenting the daily life of a special needs dad, called “See The Seitz.”