Ryan has a Ph.D in Psychology and a master’s degree in Christian Leadership and another in Clinical Psychology. Ryan is a residential faculty member at South Mountain Community College and teaches developmental psychology, statistics, and research methods. He has 15 years in key leadership roles in child welfare agencies, social services, and churches. Ryan started Ohana AZ in 2015 out of his passion to serve foster children and the underserved in our community. Ohana provides residential and social services for foster children and adults with disabilities. He is also the founder and a board member of the Anchor House Mission, a South Phoenix non-profit for homeless and at-risk single mothers and their children. Out of Ryan’s passion for creating jobs (especially for aged out foster children) and environments for the community to gather, he also started and owns several other businesses in the Laveen area including Sky Zone Laveen and F45 Laveen. Ryan lives in Laveen with his wife Sara and their 6 children (4 of which were adopted through foster care).

Sara earned her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and was a teacher before starting a family and ministry in Foster care. With four foster to adoptions under her belt, she is now a mother of 6. When her home was overflowing, along with her husband Ryan in 2015 they started Ohana AZ to create additional homes to continue to serve kids in foster care. Sara provides support to the Ohana staff, children and members in various ways including her desire to turn each individual house into a home for everyone they serve. Together with a group of friends and family she helped to start The Anchor House in Phoenix to provide shelter for underserved mothers and their children in the area. Sara also enjoys being involved within the Laveen community, she served on the PTA for two years and continues to be an active member. Although she stays busy managing her own kids, her passion is that every person in Ohana is celebrated and feels a sense of safety and family.

Mark has a well-rounded background of Business Operations for profit and nonprofit organizations. He has successfully managed several multi-million dollar organizations for more than 30 years and brings his vast experience to Ohana. Mark has led successful continuous improvement and quality initiatives resulting in major cost reduction while increasing overall quality of service. He has experience in leading organizational change and is a champion for community outreach. Mark is a native Arizonan and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, kids and 8 grandchildren every chance he gets. Mark has served on several Boards for profit and non-profit companies as well as serving in several leadership roles in Economic Development organizations.

Kevin earned a Master’s of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and has 13 years experience working within churches and nonprofits. Kevin met Ryan and Sara while in seminary and then began working together at Christian Family Care with teens and kids with special needs in foster care. During this time Kevin's love and passion continued to grow for teens in foster care and kids/adults with special needs, which motivated him to come aboard Ohana AZ. As Chief People Officer Kevin enjoys working directly with leadership and staff to see them grow in their passion, profession, and in their personal lives. Kevin also enjoys being an adjunct instructor at Arizona Christian University and Grand Canyon University. Kevin is married to his wife, Priscilla, and together they have 4 boys.

Marissa earned her Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies and comes from a background of over 13 years of church ministry. She transitioned into the social services field over 6 years ago, ranging from working with individuals in the foster care system to those facing homelessness and substance abuse. Marissa has a passion for discipleship and creating and implementing systems that better serve the community. She has played an integral role in church planting and laying the groundwork for organizations and non-profits. Marissa is the Program Director for Ohana and has oversight of several programs. Marissa enjoys spending time with family and investing in youth and young adults.

Isaiah is a graduate from GCU earning his bachelors in Entrepreneurship with a minor in Biblical Studies. His desire is to bring awareness to aged out youth and youth in foster care. With a trauma informed care approach, Isaiah aims to equip others in understanding how to work with these groups of youth. Isaiah has direct oversight of our DCS homes and works closely with the staff and youth to help develop dignified lives for the foster children Ohana serves.

Jordan has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Arizona State University. Jordan began at Ohana as Direct Care in 2018. Throughout Jordan’s success he was given the opportunity to become a house manager, eventually leading him to managing two homes. Jordan’s leadership has created a family-like environment for our members, increasing quality of care in the homes and the progression of our staff as leaders. This has taken Jordan to his current position as Program Manager in which he develops and shepherds house managers as leaders and is the direct quality assurance point of contact for his homes.

Ben grew up understanding the need to encourage and protect vulnerable people, so that they can realize their unique skills and value. Ben’s older brother, who lives with Down syndrome, introduced Ben to Special Olympics where Ben began volunteering at the age of 16. Ben has worked with Ohana since the opening of their first group home for kids with developmental disabilities in 2018. Ben’s most recent job was spent working directly with EMTs at an independent living center for seniors, and revamping their medical response procedures to best serve the nearly 200 residents there. Ben is the current Quality Assurance Manager and Article 9 Instructor for Ohana Homes and has direct oversight of all DDD house quality and State compliance. Ben is married to his wife, Jennifer, who also works to serve vulnerable individuals in Arizona.

Carlye has been involved in educating and fostering youth for over 10 years. These experiences gave her a desire to advocate and support children and adults with developmental disabilities. Carlye is very passionate about volunteering and has served on various non profit boards and is active in recruiting volunteers and helping to serve the homeless youth and adults in Arizona. Having lived in Arizona for over 20 years, Carlye is a wife and mother to three children. When she is not at work or serving the community she is spending time with her family. She is an outdoorsy person that loves to travel and spend time in nature. Carlye has direct oversight of several Ohana homes and works closely with managers, staff, and teams to bring the best quality in the homes and to the individuals Ohana serves.

Yvonne is new to Ohana as the Office/HR Manager. She brings 18 plus years of office experience and over ten years working in the public schools-five of those years working as a high school transition specialist working with special needs students. Working at South Mountain Community College gave Yvonne the opportunity to work closely with students, faculty and staff, continue her education in business and find a new passion working with clay. Yvonne enjoys learning about her incredible co-workers and how to better assist their needs and be part of their team. When she’s not at Ohana she’s kayaking with her husband or ziplining with her adult daughters. Yvonne loves adding to her family with rescue dogs of all ages and watching their silly personalities come to life when they realize they have found their forever home. She believes our paths take us where we are needed to support and care for others.