Our Team

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.

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.

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.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Bianca is a proud first-generation college graduate. After high school, she moved to Tampa, Florida, to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, with minors in Psychology and Communication. Following graduation, she worked as a residential victim advocate for a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the lives of girls rescued from human trafficking. This experience opened her eyes to the many systemic barriers young girls face, and how crucial support systems are in both preventing and overcoming them. As a victim advocate, Bianca witnessed the power of communication, relationships, and community in a person’s journey toward growth and resilience. Seeking a deeper understanding, she moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, to pursue a Master’s in Communication Theory and Research at WVU. Her graduate work focused on trauma-informed research, nonviolent communication, and sensitive disclosures. Having had the unwavering emotional support of her family, Bianca is driven to create that same space of possibility and empowerment for others in her role as Regional Coordinator for Libera. Outside of work, Bianca is always cooking traditional Puerto Rican meals passed down from her family, caring for her many houseplants, practicing Muay Thai, and spending time with her community of friends and loved ones in Morgantown.

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.