Administration
Mark Walker
Director of Operations
As director of operations, Mark oversees and fine tunes the “under the hood” systems of KBA. Including finance, facilities, culture and talent management.
Mark came to KB as a consultant when the idea was still just a dream. With more than 25 years in ministry leadership Mark is passionate to see Kinetic Bridges Academy open life-giving opportunities for not just it’s students, but also for the families and staff of all who are konnected to this school.
Amanda Nichols
Director of Education
Amanda's greatest desire is for her students and staff to believe in their God-given abilities, work hard to reach personal goals and then celebrate when those goals are realized. She consistently strives to instill the idea that progress not perfection is our goal at KB Academy. Amanda received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from College of the Ozarks and has over 18 years of experience instilling the love of learning in her students. She has served various roles including teacher assistant, and classroom teacher in her church, the Branson School District and Gloria Deo Academy. Amanda finds deep fulfillment when working one-on-one with staff, students and parents to change the landscape of a student's educational journey.
Amy Dascher
School Principal
Mrs. Amy Dascher is our school principal for grades K-12. Amy graduated with a Degree in Elementary Education from St. Mary University in Leavenworth, KS and brings more than 20 years of education and teaching experience in diverse environments. She brings to our program great energy, creativity, and deep desire to help children succeed. Her absolutely favorite part of education is employing creative teaching methods which spark students to progress from disengaged and not understanding to curious observer, then tentative risk taker and eventually, a confident joyful learner! She is a dynamic part of our success in working with both our students and guiding our teachers.
Jennifer Strickland
Licensed Professional Counselor
Mrs. Jennifer Strickland serves as our on-site Mental Health Therapist. She is a compassionate and intuitive mental health professional experienced in a multi-disciplinary theoretic approach including Dialectal Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) modalities. Jennifer achieves positive results utilizing Reality Based Therapy drawing on Cognitive Behavioral and multi-disciplinary interventions to assess, evaluate, plan, educate, inform, and intervene in assisting clients reach personalized goals. Jennifer has been serving families in the Springfield, MO area as a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2005 and enjoys helping children, parents, individuals, and families achieve a better tomorrow.
Kristin Kelly
Bookkeeper
Kristen is our bookkeeper, and holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from Oklahoma State University. She has worked in the field of accounting for 28 years in positions ranging from tax accountant to church bookkeeper and many others in between. She loves the puzzle that comes with doing a company's accounting, but more importantly, she loves working with people! She is excited to share her gift of numbers with KB Academy. She is committed to helping us grow and stay financially stable.
Emily Owen
School Secretary
Mrs. Emily Owen serves us as our school secretary. She plays a pivotal roll in keeping KB organized and running smoothly! Emily has two students who attend KB and has become deeply invested in our mission and vision. Ms. Emily navigates the teachers needs, parents needs, phones and all general office organization with ease and grace. We are blessed beyond words to have her on our team.
Vicki Gibson
Directors Assistant
Ms. Vicki is the assistant to the Executive Director and is an amazing asset to our team. Vicki has a degree in Elementary Education and loves working at KB. She caught the heart behind our mission from day one and we could not be more grateful. Her vast computer knowledge and creative design help keep all things marketing, counseling and admissions in the air and running smoothly.