Board Members
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Thomas R. Kelchner, Ed.D.
Chair Tom Kelchner has served over three decades in urban as well as small public school settings. His professional experience includes elementary, middle and high school principalships as well as central office positions. Kelchner served as a director of special education for the seven years prior to his December 2016 retirement from public education. The teams at all his schools and departments developed programs resulting in significant school improvements as well as enhanced student well-being and achievement. Kelchner was instrumental in developing systems that supported both the academic and mental health of all students. Dr. Kelchner has served on numerous school, district, and community committees working with students, parents, board trustees, superintendents, executive level management and community leaders in very ethnically, culturally and economically diverse communities. He has served as Chairman of the Management Board of the Tri-County East Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (which serves 17 member districts). Community outreach efforts with the City of Baytown resulted in the establishment of Inclusive City Parks Project and Pirates’ Bay Waterpark Special Needs Nights. Kelchner has supported the Baytown YMCA’s Miracle League program. Kelchner continues his community work through his roles as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Bay Area Rehabilitation Center; the Rotary Club of Baytown; and the River Ranch Municipal Utility District. Currently working as an educational consultant, Dr. Kelchner is committed to continued development of cutting edge programs and services for K – 12 students throughout the United States. He is Vice President of Business Development for Yellow Folder, LLC, a company that provides paperless records management for school districts. Dr. Kelchner is also working with Neighbors Health developing telehealth programs for schools. He has formed his own company, Empowered Learning Environments, which offers cutting edge products, programs and services for schools, providers and parents. |
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Eric Harding
Vice Chair Eric retired in 2015 after working 33 years in the petrochemical industry. During his career he filled roles as Mechanical Engineer, Technical Leader and Supervisor locally and in world-wide support positions. Eric grew up in Baytown and lived most of his life here. After graduating with a BSME from Louisiana State University in 1981, he and his wife Aileen married and moved to Baytown and have lived here ever since. They have three grown children, Christopher, Danielle, and David. |
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Charles Hurst
Board Treasurer Charles is the Executive Managing Director of Hands of Healing in Baytown. |
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Blake Cather
Board Secretary Blake was born in Baytown and currently lives in the Baytown area. Blake graduated from Baytown Christian Academy, to later attend and graduate from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Blake Cather is a Financial Advisor with an Edward Jones Investments office located in Baytown. Community Involvements: -Former Board Member of Keep Baytown Beautiful -Board Member of the Kiwanis Club of Baytown -Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Baytown -Past Lt. Governor of Kiwanis Blake hobbies include fishing, hiking, golfing, camping, sports, tennis and running. Blake M. Cather, AAMS® | Edward Jones Investments Financial Advisor 3711 Garth Rd, Suite 120 Baytown, TX 77521 Bus: 281-420-6596 Fax: 855-379-9910 |
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James Bernick, M.D.
Dr. Bernick is a Family Physician/Geriatrician who has been married to his wife, Pamela, since 1978. Dr. Bernick and Pamela are the proud parents of Paige and Alex. Professional: Affiliated with MDVIP (Personal Health Care) Clinical Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine Health Authority, City of Baytown External Medical Auditor, DADS Office: 2717 West Baker Road Baytown, Texas 77521 |
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Virginia Chase
Virginia received her education in central Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana Tech with a BA in Education. After moving to Houston and teaching in HISD for two years she was hired by Pasadena ISD and taught third and fourth grade for twenty-seven more years. During this time she attended the University of Houston - Clear Lake and received her MA in Education Supervision. She was a team leader, mentor for eight student teachers, participated in Successful for All Program sponsor by John Hopkins. She also served as a member of the PISD Committee for Students with Disabilities. This was of special interest since she had survived polio at the age of six months old and would always have a disability and have a personal understanding of people with disabilities. Community service has included and includes past President and Vice-President of the Texas Polio Survivor Association, Co-Chairman of the TPSA Golf Tournament, member of the Bay Area Polio Support Group. Past President of the Pasadena National and Pasadena Teenage Little League, Past President and Vice-President of the La Porte Bayshore Garden Club, Board member of Accessible Space, Inc., Past President of the Bay Area Rehabilitation Center Board of Directors, and volunteer with the La Porte Officers Association. Virginia's family includes one granddaughter, one son and his wife, and two step-sons and their wives. |
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Gary S. Englert
Gary is currently employed as an Executive Vice President / Regional CEO with CommunityBank of Texas and has been in the banking industry for 35 years. He is an active member of St. John's Catholic Church in Baytown and serves on the Church Finance Board. Gary was born in Baytown, Texas in 1961. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1979. After attending high school, Gary attended Lee College and graduated in 1984. After his graduation he attended the University of Houston in Clear Lake, Texas where he graduated in 1989. Gary has been married for 32 years to Diane Englert. They have a 26 year-old son named Taylor. Gary's hobbies include cycling, playing tennis, golfing, and volleyball. Gary's Community Activities Include:
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Lynne Foley
Lynne Foley has been the Lee College Director of the Senior Adult and Travel Program for the past 29 years. She also serves on the Board of the Lee College Foundation and is an integral part of the Community Education Department of the College. She and her husband Dan have been Baytown residents for the past 44 years and have a son and family in Pennsylvania and daughter and spouse in Washington DC. Lynne is serving her third term as President of the Board of the Harris County Area Agency on Aging and is a member of the Better Business Bureau Education Foundation Advisory board. Her other ongoing Baytown Community involvement includes:
Lynne has been involved with the Bay Area Rehabilitation Center either on the Board or as volunteer for over 20 years. |
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John McNally
John is originally from Corsicana, Texas and moved to Houston where obtained a B.A. in Liberal Arts (concentration in Accounting) from the University of St. Thomas. Soon after graduating he started his career at Covestro (formerly known as Bayer MasterialScience). He has worked for Covestro for over 30 years in various roles within the Finance Department with his current position being Head of U.S. Production & Technology Controlling & Baytown Site Controller. John and his family have relocated with the company five times with three of the moves coming back to the Baytown Site. He has held assignments in Houston, Baytown, Marinette, WI and Pittsburgh, PA (US HQ). John and his wife Marlene have been married for over 30 years and have five grown children, Michael, Matthew, Timothy, Joseph and Kaitlyn. He enjoys spending time with his family, reading and listening to music. For over 10 years he coached soccer for his children’s schools and travel teams which he thoroughly enjoyed. Almost 8 years ago his oldest son Michael was 21 and was in his senior year of college when a highly intoxicated driver was traveling at a high rate of speed and ran into Michael while he was riding his bicycle near campus. Michael suffered a severe TBI (diffuse axonal injury) and was in a coma for almost 30 days. As a result John & his wife know firsthand the long road to recovery for patients with TBI based on the many days their son stayed in acute hospitals, visits with numerous specialists and in-patient stays at various brain injury rehabilitation facilities in Austin, TX, Pittsburgh, PA and now most recently in Houston. John & Marlene understand the benefits of Physical, Occupational & Speech therapies and the important role they play as their son’s advocate. It was John’s passion for rehabilitation and the benefits it provides that drew him to BARC. It is his hope that he can utilize his experiences gained over the years to help provide input as a member of the board from the caregiver perspective. |
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Bryn Poland
Bryn is a partner at the firm Mayo & Poland. Licensed to practice law in the state of Texas, Bryn is a member of the Texas Bar Association, the Kansas Bar Association, the Houston Bar Association, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Texas Chapter of NAELA), and the Special Needs Alliance. She is a member and past president of the Elder Law Committee of the Houston Bar Association and a member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Houston Bar Association. Born and raised a Kansas girl, Bryn earned her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University. Bryn earned her law degree from Washburn University School of Law. In Topeka, Kansas, where she was a staff member and two time published writer of the Washburn Law Journal. She was inspired to become an elder law attorney when she watched her family struggle with care options for her great grandmother, LuLu Sleeper, who lived to the age of 109. Bryn moved to Texas and joined the firm of Pi-Yi Mayo in 2007, partnering with Pi-Yi in 2018 to form Mayo & Poland, PLLC. Today, she focuses her practice on special needs trust planning and administration, Medicaid planning, and qualified settlement funds. She is a frequent speaker on these topics at continuing education conferences for attorneys and trust officers. In addition to practicing law, Bryn has served on the Houston Midtown Management District Board of Directors and is an active member of the Houston Area Kansas State University Alumni Club. When Bryn isn't helping clients, she loves traveling and taking family adventures with her husband, twin daughters and their younger brother. |
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Sam Springer
Board Secretary Sam received a BS in Marketing from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 1970, he began a career with Humble Oil/Exxon/ExxonMobil. He was a mathematical model builder, financial analyst, and information systems designer. Sam served on the Baytown Opportunity Center Board of Directors in the 1970's and 1980's. He later rejoined that board to assist with the merger into the Bay Area Rehabilitation Center. He has been a Bay Area Rehabilitation Center Board member since 2007. He is also a satisfied client of the physical therapy services. Sam and his wife Joanne live in Baytown as do their three adult children and their families. |
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Doug Walker
Doug and his wife have been married for nearly 5 decades. They have two wonderful children and four grandchildren. Doug graduated from Bucknell University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and then Cornell University where he received a Masters in Chemical Engineering. He then started to work for Exxon Chemical Co. Over a 35-year career, he held several assignments in New Jersey, Texas and Singapore mostly in the manufacture of petrochemicals. His final two assignments were Plant Manager of the Baytown Olefins Plant and Manufacturing Director of the Singapore Chemical Plant. Doug now does volunteer work sitting on the Boards of several non-profit organizations and is an active Rotarian. He is in his sixth term as a Beach City Councilman and has been appointed by the Governor of Texas to be a County Director on the Coastal Water Authority Board in Houston. While he previously participated in several sports in his younger life, he now especially enjoys his four grandchildren in addition to golf, gardening and traveling. |
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Jennifer Ward
Jennifer Ward is originally from Dayton, Ohio and received a B.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. She moved to the Houston area in 2000 to accept a position in ExxonMobil at the Baytown Technology Center. During her career, Jennifer has worked assignments in the Technology Center as well as in various Baytown ExxonMobil manufacturing sites supporting different polymer operations. She is currently the Global Process Technology Manager for the Polypropylene, Vistamaxx and Adhesion platforms. Jennifer and her husband Jeff have two children in high school and can often be found supporting them at baseball and soccer games. |