Board Members

Robert Hughes, CCR board Vice-chair

As the founder and President of Overland Resource Group (ORG), Robert brings over 30 years of conflict resolution experience. ORG partners with companies and government agencies, teaching them how to dramatically improve their performance by resolving and preventing conflicts and working more collaboratively with their employees, vendors and organized labor groups. The discovery that many of the inherent principles that guide ORG’s practice also form the crux of CCR’s work is what led Robert to offer his support for CCR. Robert and his wife Becky served as Co-Chairs for CCR’s annual fund-raising events for several years. Now, as Vice-Chair of the CCR Board of Directors, Robert asserts that, “Kansas City is unbelievably fortunate to be home to an effective organization whose practice is centered on enabling people of every race, age group and background to find potent and peaceful ways to resolve and prevent conflicts.”

Jacque Kelly, CCR Board Treasurer

Jacque is currently President and CFO of Crestwood Painting, LLC here in Kansas City, MO. Additionally, she has over 30 years of experience in small business and non–profit financial management consulting. As a volunteer, she helps nonprofits achieve their financial goals. In her free time, Jacque hangs out with the Benedictine Sisters in Atchison, KS as an oblate in training, with the Jesuits at the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City, and with the yogis at Sat Tirath Ashram in midtown KC. Jacque has a MBA from UMKC and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison - business school.

Maria North Morgan, CCR BOARD SECRETARY

Maria has spent most of her career reviewing, developing, and implementing programming and policy focused on equity and inclusion through her work in health care and education. She previously practiced law in Kansas City, where she focused on matters involving employment discrimination, harassment, and civil rights issues while serving as a labor and employment and education lawyer in law firms and corporations. Her employers leveraged her experience as a plaintiff’s attorney, defense attorney, and her work in civil rights compliance. She has significant experience training organizational leadership teams on equity and inclusion as well as employment issues. Maria worked as Staff Counsel for Health Midwest where she was responsible for all aspects of employment law for the 13-hospital system. While at Health Midwest, Maria led a team charged with developing a cultural competency program to improve health equity outcomes for marginalized patient populations. Maria holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and an undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Brad Poos, CCR BOARD member-at-large

Dr. Brad Poos is currently the Associate Director in the Institute for Urban Education (IUE) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Brad has experience in both k-12 and higher education. Having started his career in education as a middle and high school social studies teacher, Brad then moved into school counseling as a middle school counselor before working as a tenure-track faculty member. Brad’s research focuses on issues related to the historical and social context of schooling. In particular, Brad is interested in the history of urban education, urban teacher preparation, social justice education, diversity and educational equity, and restorative practices in schools. Brad has long been committed to work around equity and justice in education and the community at large. Over the past decade, Brad has participated in many CCR training opportunities.

Dan Jeffers

Dan has worked since 1991 as an attorney in general practice, primarily transactional, in Independence and, since 1998, with the firm Newhouse, Byers & Swaney & Jeffers, PC. He graduated from Graceland College with a major in social studies and obtained his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan. Dan lives with his family in the Harvest Hills intentional community in eastern Independence, and also volunteers with the Oak Hill Congregation of Community of Christ, the Affordable Home Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of Independence.

pam seator

Dr. Seator completed her residency training in psychiatry at University of Wisconsin-Madison and began practicing psychiatry in 1988. She later completed didactic and clinical training to become a psychoanalyst at the Greater Kansas City Psychoanalytic Institute. Her work history includes doing psychiatric evaluations and treating patients with medication, individual and group psychotherapy and supervising and consulting with other practitioners. She has consulted with other organizations including Vocational Rehabilitation and the Episcopal church doing evaluations. From 1990 to 2000 she was medical Director of a Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital inpatient unit treating patients with psychiatric symptoms resulting from emotional and physical trauma. Most recently she has done outpatient psychiatry in private practice. Since organizing college students to volunteer in underserved urban areas while she was an undergraduate and spending 2 years in the Peace Corps in Central America in the 70’s she has believed strongly in the importance of social justice. She sees CCR’s work in restorative justice as bringing vitally needed training to the community, justice system and schools and wants to support that work.

Sabin Yañez

Mr. Yañez serves as the Senior Vice President for the civil engineering firm Cook, Flatt & Strobel Engineers. As one of the principals of the firm, he oversees all corporate activities for two offices in the Kansas City metropolitan area, and offices in Springfield and Jefferson City.  Mr. Yañez has been integral in leading long-range planning and project development efforts with many communities in the metropolitan area. He has led the growth of our Municipal Services Group, which focuses on delivery of public works projects for multiple public agencies. Mr. Yanez has frequently been retained by local public agencies to identify innovative funding solutions and coordinate projects with multiple entities, such as state DOTs, TDDs, CIDs, etc., and is a regional leader in finding collaborative, successful infrastructure solutions. Prior to his time at CFS, Sabin worked 19 years for the Missouri Department of Transportation. During his last 4 years at MoDOT, Mr. Yañez, served in Senior leadership as the District Engineer for the Kansas City area.

Sabin was born and raised in Kansas City, is a graduate of St. Pius X High School and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He and his wife Angel have raised four children and currently have six grandchildren. They live north of the river in Kansas City, MO.

angela Yañez

Angela (Angel) Yanez is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Avila University. She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Duquesne University. She completed her Master’s degree at Central Missouri State University and her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing with a dual degree from Rockhurst University/Research College of Nursing. Throughout her nursing career, she has worked in local hospitals and in Home Health and Hospice Care. Angel has spent many years teaching, and working with patients in the community and providing community education. She provided home health and hospice care throughout the Missouri and Kansas region. She taught community and healthcare provider- based classes at local and regional conferences on topics related to pain management, end-of-life care, and hospice regulatory and quality care issues. Angel has also worked as a hospice consultant and geriatric case manager. She and her husband live in the Northland and enjoy spending time with their children and their growing number of grandchildren.