Keri Kahle

About Keri Kahle

Bio

Keri was born and raised in Hoxie, a small western Kansas town. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in health and physical education, with both elementary and secondary teaching certificates, from Fort Hays State University. She received her Master’s in Organizational Development from Friends University in Wichita. She was an avid promoter of women’s sports even before Title IX and has continued her support of equality for women’s sports . She was thrilled when Hoxie’s High School women’s basketball team recently won 107 consecutive games, a state record. Keri has worked in the private sector for 42 years, helping people with disabilities thrive in their communities. Throughout those years, she has been a tireless advocate for these individuals and their families. Some of her greatest achievements have been her leading a team in the closure of a State Hospital and assisting 24 people from there in relocating to community homes; being selected to be a consultant in the Teaching Family Model system (developed originally for Boy’s Town) for implementation with the IDD population in Kansas; and assisting one of those Family Teaching couples to win the National NAFTA Couple of the Year award. For 6 years, she worked as a behavioral consultant. For the past 21 years, Keri has worked with communityworks inc and then mindsmatter llc, first as a case manager and then as a Regional Rehab Director. She survived the transition to managed care, always trying to assist consumers in getting the services they want and need, in spite of barriers.

Fun Facts

In lighter moments, Keri likes walking or playing with her two rescue dogs; She has a special place in her heart for herding dogs. She also likes to run (she has completed 2 marathons), to grill out, to read, to spend time with family and friends, to watch mysteries on TV, and to listen to music. She does not like to do yard work, but she does it very well anyway. Her favorite sports to watch are marathons, ultra-marathons, Chiefs football, college basketball and her all-time favorite, Olympic curling. She enjoys getting to know neighbors and helping them as needed. Recently she has become involved in a neighborhood effort to save a piece of land (which includes 3 endangered trees and a lot of wildlife) to develop into a park rather than having the zoning changed so a liquor store can move into the neighborhood. She enjoys traveling, including weekend excursions, especially to cabins in the woods. One of her favorite places is Santa Fe New Mexico. Most of the mileage on her 5 Toyotas, however has come from concentric circles around and through the metro area and her region north of the river to the Nebraska state line for communityworks/mindsmatter!

• Master’s in Organizational Development from Friends University
• Degree in health and physical education, with both elementary and secondary teaching certificates, from Fort Hays State University
• Worked 6 years as a behavioral consultant