Our Team

Karen has always had a passion for listening and for helping others. She graduated from The Ohio State University with an education degree and has taught in Ohio and West Virginia public and private schools. She’s served as a volunteer, board member, and staff member with nonprofits since college. She has 40 years of experience working with women and teens in both group and mentoring settings, and is an expert at listening and helping them identify the lies and barriers in their lives. She's passionate about helping women and teens tell their stories to listening ears so they can find their purpose, their voice and their freedom. Along with a handful of other West Virginia women, she developed the Libera model that we use in our Libera groups. Although originally from Ohio, she's lived in West Virginia for over 35 years and has fallen in love with the state. All of her kids are native West Virginians, and she loves spending time with them and going on family travels and adventures. Her other passions are cabin time and hikes with her husband, reading, creativity and Scotland.

Kelsey is a West Virginia transplant from western PA that fell in love with the state after graduating from Waynesburg University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. Kelsey has always been passionate about empowering and championing girls, and decided to turn this passion into a career after 10 years as a corporate business professional. She found the perfect fit at Libera, where she is committed to creating hope and opportunity for girls in WV in new and innovative ways. Kelsey approaches every problem as an opportunity and believes any problem can be solved with the right mix of curiosity, creativity, and a dash of crazy ("The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs). In her free time, you can likely find Kelsey by the water, a campfire, or at the nearest park with her son. Kelsey is an avid lover of sunshine, tacos and ideas and believes we all have the power to make the world a little brighter for someone else.

Beth is the Program Director of Libera Groups and has been involved with Libera for over 6 years. Participating in a Libera group became a pivotal time in her life. Identifying barriers through utilizing the tools and resources provided through Libera led to countless opportunities for growth and connections. "Libera has impacted and enhanced every relationship in my life and culminated in being on staff thereby helping others along their journeys." Originally from southeast Ohio, Beth graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University with a BS in Nuclear Medicine and Psychology minor that provided a 35 year career in health care which then transitioned to another capacity of helping others through Libera. Beth loves spending time with family in every way possible and is an avid outdoor enthusiast always ready for an adventure with her Goldendoodle Boomer, family and friends.

Jessie was born and raised in West Virginia. She received her BFA at WVU in 2012 with concentrations in both painting and photography, and graduated with her Master of Arts in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, in May 2017. She has worked with couples, individuals, teens and children and has led groups with art therapeutic methods as well. She has been a part of Libera since fall of 2017 and is particularly passionate about working with girls in incarceration, which she has been doing since 2020. Jessie hopes to be a safe place for women and teens from all walks of life to walk alongside them in their journey to freedom. In her free times she loves exploring new restaurants, sewing clothing from old textiles, and oil painting.

Sarah grew up in Putnam County WV, and after finishing high school she moved to Chicago for her undergraduate and graduate education. Upon completion of her bachelors, she began her Masters in Social Work at Loyola University. During her educational career, she worked in a wide variety of non-profit organizations that served women and young people. “It’s been such an honor to do so!” She moved back to West Virginia and worked as an outreach librarian in her local library system before joining the team at Libera. For Sarah, “it's an absolute privilege to bear witness to people’s stories and walk alongside them in life.” When she is not working, you can find her spending time in nature, cooking, and spending way too much time with her beloved cat, Roger.

Jess is a West Virginia native who has always been passionate about empowerment and freedom for women. She attended her first Libera group in 2018. She has since proudly served as a volunteer and board member. “Libera provided the path I’d been searching for to put my values and beliefs surrounding women into action. One of the greatest things about the Libera Model is that you grow personally by illuminating your barriers and striving to overcome them, but you also have the opportunity to pay it forward by becoming a Listener and helping light the way for others.” Jess has a background in college admissions and spent 5 years working with students to change their lives through education. An important part of that work is listening to understand a person’s dreams, goals and obstacles, and to ensure they have what they need to be successful. Jess is also a yoga instructor. She’s passionate about helping people learn to settle the mind to deepen their connection with themselves and the world around them. She is excited to bring that knowledge and experience to help West Virginia women and teens build brighter futures through the Mentorship & Success Planning program! Jess has three amazing children who inspire her daily to be the best person she can be - not perfect - just a human striving for their best, to be unselfish and giving, and to see the beauty and the best in others. Jess attributes much of her professional success to her husband Tim’s unwavering support as she pursued higher education, yoga teacher training, taking on new challenges at work, and mentoring young women as Libera’s Program Director of Success Planning! If you’d like to learn more about joining a Libera group, becoming a Libera mentor, or how you can help WV women and teens live out their dreams, please reach out to Jess.

Teresa grew up doing the bookkeeping with her dad in the family’s farm-supply store in southern West Virginia and has a long history of organizing and volunteering in community organizations. She earned her Bachelor in Secondary Math Education at WVU and taught her four children at home. Post homeschooling, Teresa has exercised her brain by working with Libera since the beginning of 2020 as a bookkeeper, executive assistant, and administrator. Besides her husband of over 30 years and their four children, her joys are her friends, reading, e-biking on the rail trails, and her lovable, tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog, Theo.

Born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia, Emily migrated to Morgantown to attend West Virginia University. She graduated in Fall 2021 with a Bachelor's in English: Emphasis in Creative Writing and a Psychology Minor. She went on to pursue two graduate degrees at WVU, Social Work and Public Administration. Emily has found herself in many helping roles from coaching recreational girl’s softball, to student success coaching at WVU, to facilitating life skill building groups for adults. Emily's career is interwoven with her life's purpose. She feels a natural and personal calling to listening to and empowering others, helping them to find calm, awareness, and a path forward. She is passionate about enhancing the presence of wellbeing education and support resources for all people, especially youth, young adults, and helping professionals. Emily takes a holistic approach and often engages with mindfulness techniques, art, writing, and nature in practice. She is also excited to marry her passions for social service and writing to foster human connection and mental health education. Emily loves to transform her experience of being, connecting, self-discovery, and growth into works of poetry. She’s always looking for adventurous ways to spend time outside with trees and sunshine.