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Karen is president and co-founder of RJ Children’s Haven. She began her career as a licensed practical nurse in 1971. Working as a nurse and a mother, Karen returned to school and became a registered nurse in 1995. Karen started in Bone Marrow Transplantation with Heart of American Bone Marrow Donor Registry in January 1989, where she was responsible for coordinating with marrow donors from all over the U.S. While working under the auspices of the National Bone Marrow Donor Program (now called - Be the Match), she set up the Unrelated Bone Marrow Harvesting Center at Research Hospital in Kansas City. A few responsibilities included finding and bringing unrelated donors to Kansas City, preparation and calculation of marrow, and couriering the marrow to a waiting recipient in the US and abroad.

Karen has a true love and passion for children and in 1998 she accepted an offer to work with Children’ Mercy Hospital as the Stem Cell Transplant nurse coordinator for a new and growing segment of the hospital’s practice. She was responsible for matching children with potential donors; setting up stem cell harvesting procedures; and managing the process of a child’s transplantation through admission and infusion of stem cells. While Karen’s contributions to the program were significant, she became more aware of the challenges that the children and families of the children she transplanted faced after discharged.

Karen retired after a 16-year period in the fall of 2014 to focus her efforts on addressing these challenges. "It became evident while watching these children undergoing therapy, and those getting lost in the process, that there was much more that we could do to help enhance their recovery. Along with parents and several medical persons, we started RJ Children’s Haven.”

Executive Director, Business Manager, Board Secretary 
jhadley@rjchildrenshaven.org

Julia is a career supply chain professional including eighteen years of service with Sysco Corporation and eleven years of service with Saint Luke’s Health System. Her skills include process design and improvement, performance management, leadership development and strategic planning. Julia has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Park University and is a Certified Materials and Resource Professional (CMRP) since 2013.

Dr. Radhi is a pediatric hematologist/ oncologist in Kansas City, and is affiliated with Children's Mercy Kansas City. Board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/ oncology, he has been practicing for 30 years. He graduated from the University of Al-Mustansiriyah, College of Medicine. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Central Iowa Health System and his fellowship in pediatric hematology/ oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. He is a published author in the areas of childhood cancer, pediatric acute myeloid leukemia, stem cell transplants, and umbilical cord blood transplants. 

Megan is a clinical social worker and innovative community engagement professional with over 12 years working in healthcare and non-profit systems. She currently serves as the Director of Recruitment and Communication for KVC Health Systems, working to recruit foster parents in Kansas and ensure all children have the opportunity to live in a supportive environment. Previous roles include Community Engagement and Family Services Coordinator for Midwest Transplant Network. 

Megan has an extensive background working with children and spent six years at Children's Mercy Kansas City as a Social Work Department manager, founder of the Youth Peer Violence Program and as co-founder and manager of Adolescent and Young Adult Program. 

Megan is very familiar with the needs of the children and families who will benefit from RJ Children's Haven. For three years at Children's Mercy, she served as a social worker for the Hematology/Oncology Department and provided crisis counseling and ongoing psycho-social intervention to patients and families with complex medical needs. She was also involved in community outreach and advocacy for under-served populations to facilitate greater access to resources for families experiencing an oncology diagnosis.

Megan has a master's in social work with a medical concentration and a bachelor's in psychology. Additionally, she has pursued professional training in non-profit management and in 2017, Megan received the UMKC Bloch School of Business Aaron L. Levitt Social Entrepreneurship Challenge Changemaker Award.