EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jen is a leader with a gift for building connections and relationships that foster healing and growth. As Executive Director of Prairie Sky Counseling Center, she guides the organization’s mission to provide culturally humble, spiritually integrated, trauma-informed care, ensuring the center remains a welcoming home for resilience and renewal.

With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, teaching, and pastoral care, Jen blends practical wisdom with deep empathy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Oberlin College and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she earned awards in preaching and for connecting philosophy, theology, and ethics to contemporary social problems through her work with people experiencing chronic homelessness and severe mental illness. Early in her career, Jen taught at a Catholic girls’ high school, served as a campus minister, and provided pastoral care to patients and health care workers as an assistant chaplain at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. These experiences continue to shape her belief in the healing power of presence, compassion, and community.

Jen’s leadership is rooted in both organizational expertise and deep formation. She has led system-wide culture change initiatives, developed sustainable funding strategies, and built teams that deliver meaningful impact. At Prairie Sky, she integrates this strategic experience with her grounding in theology and spirituality, ensuring the center thrives as a place where body, mind, and spirit are welcomed in the journey toward healing.

CLINICAL COORDINATOR

Tanya Hessong, LSCSW, LCSW, serves as the Clinical Coordinator for Prairie Sky Counseling Center, overseeing the clinical program and supervising its team of clinicians. She is a licensed Clinical Social Worker in Kansas and Missouri, earning her undergraduate degree from Pittsburg State University and her Master’s in Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX. 

 With over 16 years in community mental health and a decade in private practice, she brings deep expertise in crisis intervention, program management, and clinician development. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of mental health professionals, 

Tanya fosters a supportive environment for growth and learning. She has trained professionals and community members in suicide prevention, crisis response, and resiliency, ensuring Prairie Sky’s commitment to compassionate, holistic, trauma-informed care for all clients.