Ballard Center sees staff changes and new staff in 2025!

Ballard Center sees staff changes and new staff in 2025!

As the Ballard Center continues to expand our organizational capacity through strategic building addition renovations and program service offering improvements to serve Douglas County, Kansas communities better.

The Ballard Team is happy to share the major strategic changes to our hardworking leadership roles, as our existing Chief Operations Officer (C.O.O) Lori Johns is now Ballard’s Chief Financial Officer (C.F.O). Additionally, Will Averill was recently hired to fulfill Lori’s previous role as Chief Operations Officer (COO), a decision that is already positively benefiting our organizational capacity.

This strategic staffing decision will allow Lori and Will to deliver support to expand Ballard’s operational, educational, and organizational capabilities, allowing the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) Kyle Roggenkamp to focus solely on executing Ballard’s operational strategy and community engagement initiatives.

Lori will remain an organizational asset in her new role as Ballard C.F.O. to continue utilizing her extensive grant writing skills and highly valuable experiences acquired from 10+ years serving in Director-level and above non-profit leadership roles. Lori will remain paramount for telling the Ballard story to civic-minded foundations and private/local funders. At the same time, Will delivers exceptional support and guidance to key departments to ensure positive and continuous organizational improvements.

The Ballard Center is very blessed and thankful to have outstanding existing and new talent serving in vital leadership roles. This talent helps Ballard provide affordable, high-quality early childhood education for children ages 2-5 and wrap-around needs-based services to children, families, and individuals experiencing life difficulties in Kansas communities!

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