Cabinet Members & Staff

Don Hineman is a western Kansas farmer/rancher, in partnership with his son Andy.  He has served on numerous livestock boards and remains active in both livestock and grain industry organizations.  A twelve-year veteran of the Kansas House of Representatives, he served a two-year term as House Majority Leader.  His commitment to his local community has included serving on Dighton City Council and Lane County Commission.  He has also served as a Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church and is a member of the board of directors of Lane County Community Foundation.

Don holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Kansas and master’s degrees in business administration and natural resource management from the University of Michigan.  His passion for early childhood education and intervention was ignited by his wife Betsy’s forty-year career in early childhood.  Don and Betsy reside in Dighton and have two grown children and five grandchildren. 

LeEtta Felter was appointed in 2018. She has lived in Olathe since 1994 and is Councilwoman-elect on the Olathe City Council. LeEtta is also the longest serving current member of the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education. She is Vice President of AAG Investments and is pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Administration and Leadership (Ed.D) from Southern Nazarene University.

Terri Rice is Senior Marketing Manager for Cox Business, the facilities-based provider of voice, video, and data solutions for Cox Communications’ commercial customers. In this role, she leads the local Cox Business marketing team in planning, developing, and executing integrated multi-tactical marketing programs, while developing strategies responsible for commercial business growth. Terri is the recipient of numerous education and civic awards, as well as being recognized professionally. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Master of Business Administration. An active volunteer in both professional and community activities, she serves on various committees, boards, and is heavily involved in nonprofit work, giving back to the community whenever possible. Terri lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband and has one adult daughter and two adult step-children.

Tyler K. Smith-Howells, MD, MPH, FAAP is a board-certified general pediatrician.  Her career journey in medicine began by earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology from her “home by the sea,” Hampton University.  Her education continued with earning a medical doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, completing pediatric residency training at the University of Maryland Medical Center, completing fellowship training in general academic pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and earning a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Her professional interests include advocacy, diversity and inclusion, health care disparities, under-served communities and populations, mentorship, and physician wellness.  With a desire to help the under-served, Dr. Smith worked as a general pediatrician at community health centers in the Greater Baltimore area for over six (6) years providing medical care to children while also teaching medical students and pediatric resident trainees.  In her current position, she is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine and fellowship director for the academic general pediatrics training program at Children’s Mercy Kansas City.  Dr. Smith has a passion for advocacy and mentorship with participation in numerous initiatives through academic institutions as well as professional and civic organizations.  She was a 2018 Mentor of the Year for the 40 Under 40 Society at Hampton University.

Dr. Smith is happily married to her husband James and proud stepmother to Anthony and Arianna.  She lives by the Frederick Douglass quote, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

DiAnne Owen Graham is President of Graham Advisors, LLC, a full-service consulting firm specializing in advising and fundraising for political and issue advocacy organizations. DiAnne directs multi-million-dollar national fundraising efforts on behalf of her clients, which have included Governors, U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressmen, Attorneys General, national and state political committees, and numerous issue advocacy and nonprofit entities. She served as a political appointee in President George W. Bush’s administration in various roles with the U.S. Department of State, including in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and the Office of the Chief of Protocol.  DiAnne also served as Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador to the 2005 World’s Fair in Nagoya, Japan. 

DiAnne earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree at The University of Mississippi and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. DiAnne currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), on the Board of Directors for The Foundation for Andover Schools, is President of the Mid-Kansas Rebel Alumni Club, a former Trustee for Historic Wichita Cowtown, Inc., a member of the Belizean Grove’s Executive Committee, and is active in the children’s ministry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. She was selected as one of the Wichita Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awardees in 2017. DiAnne lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband, Chris, and their sons, Owen and Parker, elementary students in the Andover School District. 

Senator Renee Erickson was appointed in 2021 and represents District 30. Her career experience includes working as a teacher, a data and assessment coordinator, a middle school principal, a financial planner, and the director of the USD 259 instructional technology center. She holds undergraduate degrees in both business and education with a master’s degree in public school administration from Baker University, and a master’s degree in family life education and consultation from Kansas State University.

Deliece Hofen is a former elementary school teacher turned Principal. She is also mom to Braden, the name behind the organization she founded in 2010: Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer. The vision of this Kansas City-based organization is to deliver hope to children and families fighting childhood cancers by funding targeted research to shut down the activators of those cancers.

Deliece’s passion for helping children has been a lifetime in the making. As a teacher at O’Loughlin Elementary School in Hays, Kansas, Deliece earned several national awards including the Presidential Award for Teaching Mathematics, the NSTA (National Science and Technology Association) award for excellence in teaching science, the Milliken Family Foundation Award, was a member of the Kansas Exemplary Educator Network (KEEN) pool, and earned her National Board Certification. As a principal, Deliece took what was once the lowest-scoring school in the Blue Valley district and turned it into one of the highest-scoring, even earning the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education. 

Monica Murnan is a licensed teacher and administrator who has had the opportunity to work in public school, non-profit, and education service center settings. Her career has been focused on early childhood systems at the community and regional level. As a founder of the Family Resource Center (The Center) in Pittsburg, Kansas, she has worked with various community groups to align systems to better support all kids and families. As a longtime resident of Pittsburg, she has served on the Library Board, PSU Alumni Association, United Way, and other non-profit boards in addition to serving four years as City Commission with one year as Mayor. Monica currently serves as Director of Student Support Services at Greenbush where she works with early childhood systems and provides professional development in the areas of early childhood, poverty, data-driven community interventions and process alignment. Murnan and her husband Rob live in Pittsburg. They have three grown daughters and two grandchildren.

John Wilson joined Kansas Action for Children in September 2017 and serves as the President and CEO. He spent the previous 10 years working at the intersection of design, public health, and policymaking. John helped build the Alliance for a Healthier Generation into the nation’s leading nonprofit organization focused on children’s health.

As a Kansas State Representative, John worked to redefine the culture of the Legislature to make it more open and collaborative. He is a 2006 graduate of the University of Kansas, where he studied visual communication.

Dyogga Adegbore joined the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund in 2004. Dyogga tracks financial activities on grants, contracts, interagency agreements and office funds, also coordinates meeting and travel arrangements. She has worked with agency heads in state government and private industry over 35 years. Most recently, Dyogga worked with the CEOs of the Kansas Board of Regents, Kansas State Fire Marshal, and Kansas State Bank Commissioner offices. She graduated with her Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree from Washburn University of Topeka and AAS degree, Platt College. 

Amy Meek joined the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund in May 2015.  Before joining the Cabinet, she spent six years at Community Action, Inc. in Topeka, first as the Early Childhood Education Coordinator and finally as the Director of Head Start and Early Head Start. She fostered collaborative partnerships with school districts and community entities in order to provide high-quality integrated services to at-risk children and families in Shawnee County.  She has experience in program management, grant writing, policy development, and compliance with local, state and federal regulation.  She also participated in local and state early childhood leadership groups promoting comprehensive services for children 0-5.

Prior to joining Community Action, Inc., Meek worked as an administrator for a hospital child care center and also worked in the pediatric and orthodontic dental field.  She holds a BA in Human Development and Family Life with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from the University of Kansas and a Master of Business Administration from Baker University.

Melissa Rooker was named Executive Director of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund in February of 2019. Before joining the Cabinet, Melissa served three terms in the Kansas House of Representatives, representing House District 25 between 2012 and 2018. Her work in the legislature focused on children’s issues and public education. Melissa recognized that high quality early childhood interventions led to student success and made funding those programs her priority. She played a lead role in drafting a new school finance formula for K-12 public education that includes an expansion of the preschool at-risk program and full funding for all-day kindergarten.

Prior to running for office, Melissa spent 15 years as a development executive at Clint Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions. She retired in 2001 to raise her kids. Over the years, Melissa served in a variety of leadership positions with local, regional and state PTA in Kansas, and as a legislator served on the Johnson County Education Research Triangle Authority Board, Shawnee Indian Mission Advisory Board and the Kansas Forestry Service Advisory Council.

In 1986, Melissa graduated from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Art History. She and her husband Tom make their home in Fairway. They have two adult children, and one grandson.

Megan Brohaugh joined the Children’s Cabinet in January 2022. Prior to joining the Cabinet, Megan worked with the Kansas Attorney Generals office for 6 years working with Concealed Carry licensing, Private Detective licensing, and Bail Enforcement licensing. Megan has worked with the state government over 8 years. She attended Washburn university to study business law.

When she isn’t running to practice or a tournament she enjoys spending time outside with her two boys, Kaden and Jaxon and her husband, Alex.

Christie Wyckoff joined the Children’s Cabinet in May 2023. She graduated from Kansas State in 2008 with a BS in Management and Marketing. Before working in School Finance at KSDE for almost 5 years, she worked in the custom apparel industry through college and 10 years after.

Christie likes to volunteer and was a big sister through Big Brother Big Sisters for 6 years until she aged out of the program (but nothing has changed since then as they still talk all the time!) Her family, friends (and their families) are Christie’s motivation for her professional and community work.

She has been a K-State Football & Basketball season ticket holder for 20+ years and will travel almost anywhere to watch them. Christie also loves to garden and work on projects for her historic home. Summers on the lake, travelling, and live music are also big passions.

Lucas Neece joined the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust fund in February 2023 as the Grant Officer for the Childcare Accelerator. Before joining the Cabinet, he served as the Assistant City Administrator in Lindsborg, Kansas. In that role, in order to support regional economic growth and to ensure that young working age adults could help build a prosperous future in Central Kansas, he served as the project manager for a high-quality, purpose-built non-profit childcare facility, the Lindsborg Child Development Center.

Informing the work he is doing for the Cabinet on capital projects, Lucas has a BA in Architectural Studies and a Master of Public Administration, both from the University of Kansas.

Hannah White joined the Children’s Cabinet in August 2020. Prior to joining the Cabinet, Hannah worked on the behavioral health team as the Re-Entry Coordinator at the Shawnee County Department of Corrections from 2018-2020. She worked closely with public shareholders as well as advocacy groups to establish a system of re-entry in the Shawnee County Community. Behavioral Health and working for the equity of all people have always been themes in Hannah’s professional and educational life. Before her time at the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, Hannah worked as a Police Dispatcher from 2012-2018 at the Riley County Police Department. She contributed to policy conversations, initiatives regarding recruitment and retention, and developed her passion for curriculum development and adult learning. Hannah brings systems building experience and passion for people to the Cabinet Team.

Hannah spends her time away from work corralling her two boys, Luca and Lincoln. They keep her on her toes with their inquisitive minds, creative ideas, and penchant for anarchy. As a family, Hannah and her  boys enjoying playing with their two cats, Zooey and Archie, as well as doing anything outside like biking, playing sports, and catching frogs.

Hannah is a graduate of Allen Community College and Fort Hays State University. She holds a Associate in Arts, BS in Psychology, and MPS in School Psychology.