Leadership Team

Currently serving as Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at General Theological Seminary in New York City, The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle brings years of scholarship and insight about nonviolence and racial reconciliation to Saint Francis. A former chaplain to Archbishop Tutu, Congressman John Lewis, the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops, and the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops, Fr. Michael has also served as vice president of the Institute for Nonviolence formed by Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson. He has published nine books, including several on Ubuntu theology and the Anglican spiritual tradition. In his consulting role, Fr. Michael helps guide Saint Francis in crafting and supporting a culture that embraces diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation.

Tom has spent most of his career in hospital and health systems management. Prior to joining Saint Francis Ministries, he was system vice president for human resources at St. Mary’s Good Samaritan, a health care system that included 1,900 health care workers and two acute-care hospitals, serving 300,000 people in a nine-county area of Illinois. He joined Saint Francis in 2015 to serve as chief human resources officer and was named to his current position two years later. As COO, Tom provides strategic direction for residential programs and child and family service programs, which include adoption, reintegration, foster care, and family preservation. He also oversees human resources, training, systems improvement, international ministries, marketing, and communications.

Trish’s entire professional career has been spent in the service of children and families. She joined Saint Francis more than three decades ago, and over the years has occupied multiple leadership positions within the ministry. Her current responsibilities include oversight of Saint Francis residential programs, including our Salina West Residential Treatment Facility, Clover House, two Youth Residential Centers (Willow House and Cottonwood House), Secure Care, Bridgeway Apartments and Cheshire Homes, and Saint Francis at The Mount. Trish’s leadership and strategic planning have been integral to Saint Francis’ expansion of residential treatment and trauma services to the children, families, and adults we serve.

Most of Kevin’s legal career has been dedicated to children in need of care and juvenile offender work, most recently as Vice President of Legal Services. Initially joining Saint Francis as a staff attorney in 1998, Kevin now provides support to the Office of the President/CEO and partners with the President/CEO to educate and engage the Board of Directors in areas of corporate strategy and business operations, as well as legal and compliance issues.

A tireless advocate for children and families, Diane spent 20 years working with the Kansas Department for Children and Families before joining Saint Francis Ministries to serve as vice president for the Wichita Region. A graduate of both the Executive Development Program at the University of Kansas and the Kansas Leadership Center, Diane was named “Outstanding Person of the Year” in 2007 by the Kansas Conference on Social Welfare. In her current role as vice president of foster care reintegration, she oversees foster care, reintegration, and adoption programs for Saint Francis. Having spent more than three decades of her life in social services, Diane considers it her life’s mission to advocate for children in need of protection, prevention, reintegration, or permanency services.

Having retired a colonel after 30 years in the U.S. Army, Bill brings a wealth of organizational leadership to Saint Francis where he serves as Chief of Staff. During his military tenure, he commanded troops overseas in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and Bosnia, as well as in the United States as Garrison Commander at Fort Riley, Kansas. Most recently, he served as president of St. John’s Military School in Salina. At Saint Francis, he acts as a resource and support to the chief operating officer by guiding and supporting staff to complete strategic initiatives and goals set by the leadership team. As Chief of Staff, Bill leads support programs that include human resources, quality control, information technology, communications, marketing, facilities, transportation, and safety and security.

A lifelong human resources professional, Tracy has always applied her skills to the service of children, starting with the Kansas Children’s Service League more than 20 years ago. Joining Saint Francis in 2007, she has served as director of human resources for our offices in Wichita and throughout western Kansas, as well as Mississippi, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Tracy currently provides leadership over critical support functions within the Saint Francis ministry that include human resources, training and development, compensation and benefits, organizational excellence, and strategic planning.

As chief development officer for Saint Francis Ministries and president of The Saint Francis Foundation, Fr. David serves in dual leadership roles, both of which help ensure Saint Francis has the resources to sustain our ministry to children and families. An Alabama native, Fr. David left a career in law enforcement several years ago to become a priest. Prior to joining Saint Francis, he served as vice president for external affairs at Holy Family Cristo Rey High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Before that, he served as rector of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church and of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, both in North Carolina. In addition to his Saint Francis responsibilities, Fr. David also serves as the 18th dean of Christ Cathedral in Salina, Kansas.

An experienced Information Technology professional, John has a history of success formulating IT business strategy and building professional technical teams within the budget-limited environments of non-profits. With over 13 years of experience as an Information Technology Consultant and Network Administrator, John comes to Saint Francis most recently from St. John’s Military School where he served as the IT Director/Chief Information Officer. John is responsible for building high performing IT departments and designing and overseeing IT infrastructure improvements across all states and countries Saint Francis serves.

Cheryl joined Saint Francis four decades ago as a social worker and therapist. A licensed specialist in clinical social work, she has served as an individual and family therapist, supervising all social work and clinical services provided through Saint Francis’ outpatient and residential facilities. She has also co-authored several professional papers on treatment for children and youth. As Saint Francis’ chief clinical officer, Cheryl provides strategic direction on all of Saint Francis’ clinical care initiatives - both nationally and internationally - and oversees accreditation standards, operating procedures, performance improvement, and professional ethics for all clinical services.

For more than a decade, Angela has been working to advance peace and human dignity internationally, addressing issues of poverty and violence in the U.S. and Central America. She co-founded and directed TELA Women, a non-profit focused on women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship in El Salvador before joining Saint Francis Ministries in 2013, where she has led creation and ongoing development of programs serving immigrants, refugees, and survivors of sexual exploitation. Today, she leads U.S.-based programs including Refugee Resettlement, Immigrant Child and Family Services, and the China Fellows program as well as our growing work in Central America which focuses on education, opportunity creation, and strengthening the field of social work to benefit children and families.

The Very Reverend Robert Nelson Smith works in collaboration with the Board of Directors to provide leadership and direction to the Saint Francis mission. Fr. Bobby became the sixth president of Saint Francis in 2014, following a successful 20-year career in health care administration in Wisconsin and Illinois. Prior to that, he worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant for a member of the House of Representatives, focusing on environmental, transportation, and infrastructure issues related to rural communities. An Episcopal priest, he has also served parishes within the Diocese of Chicago. As a result, Fr. Bobby brings to Saint Francis extensive executive experience, nuanced understanding of policy issues, and a pastor’s temperament with which to serve the children and families in our care.

Matt began his career as a social worker with the State of Kansas, then later served as administrator of Neuvant House, an adult care facility in Lawrence, Kansas. He joined Saint Francis in 2016 as Director of the Innovation Center, where he helped guide and support process improvement and performance excellence initiatives. In his current position, Matt coordinates Saint Francis’ Kansas Quality Award efforts, while providing oversight to our performance improvement and quality assurance programs.

A licensed clinical psychologist, child welfare policy expert, and community advocate, Page brings a wealth of expertise in child welfare practice to Saint Francis Ministries. As a minister and former member of the legislative and executive branches of government in Alabama and Tennessee, Page understands how child welfare practices and systems directly affect families. As Saint Francis’ president/chief public policy officer, he leads our advocacy efforts, crafting consensus and building partnerships across the country. At the local, state, and federal levels, he meets with leaders to learn what they need to best provide for the children and families they serve. Mostly, Page helps strengthen human communities by sharing resources and supporting Saint Francis partners as we work together to heal and sustain at-risk families.