Midwest Special Needs Trust Board of Trustees Selects Kathy Birkes as New Executive Director
COLUMBIA, Mo., June 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The MSNT Board of Trustees announces the selection of Dana Katherine (Kathy) Birkes as its new Executive Director effective immediately.
Ms. Birkes has experience in a broad range of public service spanning over 30 years. Most recently she served at Washington University in St. Louis for over 10 years. Prior to that, she served 16 years in Missouri state government, culminating as Director of the Missouri Department of Social Services. Ms. Birkes has also provided consultant services to numerous nonprofits and foundations.
Ms. Birkes has defined her leadership in social service and human service delivery by maximizing financial resources for the most efficient and effective program delivery. "I am excited for this opportunity to take a growing organization devoted to the financial planning for individuals with disabilities through trust planning and other benefit program counseling, and work to make it even more accessible and effective," said Ms. Birkes. "I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees made up of individuals with family members with disabilities and mental illness - people who really know the challenges to address and the opportunities to seize. Additionally, the Board includes members with strong business acumen, legal experience and financial expertise - just the right mix to thoroughly oversee this significant fiduciary responsibility."
Board Trustee Jerry Zafft, who led the original initiative to create the Missouri Family Trust, now known as the Midwest Special Needs Trust, by Missouri statute adopted in 1989, said "The Midwest Special Needs Trust has come a long way since the first trust account was opened in 1991 for the benefit of my son, with an initial deposit of $1,000. As a result of the outstanding leadership by prior Executive Directors, the Trust has opened over 2000 individual trust accounts aggregating over $40,000,000 in assets. We are confident that Kathy Birkes will continue growing the Trust and enable us to serve even more families."
Ms. Birkes took the reins from Lynn Carter, Executive Director since 2010. Board President Tish Thomas said, "Lynn Carter has done an excellent job of setting the stage and setting a solid foundation for new leadership under Kathy Birkes."
For more information, please visit http://www.midwestspecialneedstrust.org.
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SOURCE Midwest Special Needs Trust
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