TOPEKA (KSNT) — Kristin Stock is June’s Everything Woman and she is sharing a little about her past with volunteering and leadership in the community.
Kristin Stock was born in Topeka, then raised in the southeast part of town. She and her sister were only a year apart and their parents kept them very busy with dance, softball, girl scouts and more. Kristin learned leadership skills from those activities and says caring has always been in her DNA.
“I always wanted to be a scientist when I was a kid. I loved biology and then as I got a little older, I loved psychology more so just anything to care for people. I really wanted to be a doctor at one point.”
While attending Highland Park High School, her principal asked that she enter a contest for a trip to the nation’s capitol.
“I wrote the essay and won, and I went to Washington, D.C. and got to do leadership stuff the whole time there.”
Kristin wasn’t sure what she wanted after graduation, and says she wasn’t focused when starting college.
“I ended up leaving college and getting married, and then went back to college when my kids were little. When they were two and four I went back to school. I decided to do the hard way I guess!”
She later enrolled at Washburn University and joined the Bonner Leader Program under AmeriCorps, which led to 900 hours of community service.
“That kind of started me on a path of volunteerism, and still enjoy doing community service and volunteering today. It’s been huge for me.”
With a degree in psychology, she began applying for every job available and landed at Valeo Behavioral Health. What started as a six-month offer with a program called ‘Welfare to Work’ became a supervisory role with the support employment program.
“For a long time, I got to see people as they were getting well and moving back into society and becoming more independent and it was very empowering to help people on that path.”
After going back to Washburn for a masters degree, she was elevated to the Case Management Program. She then moved to public policy project development.
“It was about five or six different programs underneath the case management umbrella, so it was a lot bigger then public policy, and then going to some legislative meetings, and association meetings, and meeting legislators.”
After 23 years with the company, Kristin is still climbing the ladder. She currently serves as director for the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic.
“I guess it’s a different way of doing what we do a little bit, and more a broader sense of what we do because we are more focused now on the holistic care of people and just that continuum of care.
A big part of what she does deals with partnerships and fostering relationships.
“My responsibilities deal with community committees and meetings, and I do chair our mental health collaborative for the county community health assessment.”
Kristin also mentors women in prison who are at high risk for traficking when they come out.
“I mentor for the jail, and that’s partly through work because we have the Intersection to Care Program at Valeo. I always think it’s great to empower women anyway we can and give that push to shoot for the stars and go for what you want.”
Last summer, Kristin was able to go back to Washington for Hill Day, helping push some of the agenda for mental health services and expansion.
“It was super exciting, and I don’t know that I saw the power of it when I was in a senior in high school, but going back meant so much and I was very emotional.”
Valeo will go through a merger with Family Service and Guidance Center on January 1st. Kristin is excited to learn the new name, see what the combined agency will look like and experience working with a new group of colleagues.
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