Board of Directors

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Kirk has been married to his wonderful wife Darrah for 13 years and they have one daughter. Darrah also volunteers at The Sparrow’s Nest. Kirk is the Vice President of Corporate Tax at CSI Leasing and is a member of the St. Charles Jaycees. They attend McKnight Crossings Church of Christ in Rock Hill.

I serve because I believe in the mission of The Sparrow’s Nest to house and educate young women that would otherwise fall through the cracks of the system. Matthew 25 implores us to protect the vulnerable and the Nest is there to provide services to some of the most vulnerable in our society: pregnant young women that do not necessarily have many other good choices.


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Mark has been married for 10 years to his amazing wife, Melissa. Mark has two daughters – Katie and Maggie – and one beautiful grandson – Blake. Mark attends Faith Chapel Church in O’Fallon and is a member of the Advisory Board of Directors.

I believe that if we “believe” in something, we have to stand behind that belief with our actions. The Sparrow’s Nest does exactly that and aligns with my Pro-Life beliefs – we have to provide the resources necessary to help these young women!


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Sonya has 3 wonderful young men (an educator and twin boys attending Southeast Missouri State University and Northwestern University). Sonya holds a Bachelor’s in Child and Family Development from Missouri State University and a Master’s in Public Health with a focus in Community Health from Saint Louis University.  Sonya has worked in Early Intervention/Early Education for 22 years including working directly with teen parents for 10 plus of those years. Sonya lives in St. Charles.  She attends Harvester Christian.

I serve because I, first hand, witnessed the need for teen moms to have a home to go to with love and guidance to nurture parents as they grow and develop on their own parenting journey. I see the Sparrow’s Nest addressing the needs of young teen parents, in the community, and their family and engaging their babies in the best start in life with a strong foundation.


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As the founder of The Sparrow’s Nest in O’Fallon, Missouri, Carissa is particularly sensitive to supporting fragile young families. Her mission is to build up young mothers and help them find success through education but more importantly their faith development. Specifically, Carissa is passionate about empowering parents to be the parents God intended them to be.

Carissa believes in serving her community through strong leadership and loves learning from others. She serves on the Vision Leadership board and is actively involved with Athena Leadership. She is a community advocate for children. Carissa is married to her #twuwuv for 26 years and her “reasons” are Emma age 19, Samuel age 16, and Alexander age 11. She is freakishly blessed to let her inner 12 year old out each week as she serves as a middle school life group leader at Harvester Christian Church.


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Jessica has been married nearly twenty years and has three children by birth. She has been mom to fourteen more through foster care. Jessica and her family are active members of the Crossings Church in Wentzville. She is a certified nurse-midwife and serves families through the Birth and Wellness Center in O’Fallon.

I believe people at all stages of development and in all life circumstances deserve respect, compassion, and the opportunity to live life to their greatest potential. At some point, most of us will need help from a loving friend or mentor to accomplish that. The Nest provides the love and sanctuary that young women and their babies need at a critical time in their lives, so they won’t merely survive a hard time, but will blossom into all that God has planned for them.


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Janssen is a financial advisor and founder of investment firm Mission Financial. Mission Financial supports a number of community charities, including The Sparrow’s Nest, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Strong Tower Ranch, Covenant House and Set Free Ministries. Janssen is active in the First Step Back Home Ministry, and has been a member and president of the St. Charles Optimist Club. Originally from Chicago, Janssen lives in St. Charles. He has seven children: Josiah, Michál, Chloe, Eli, Phoebe, Priscilla and Anna. Josiah, Janssen’s oldest, works at Mission Financial as well. Janssen attends Grace Community Chapel in St. Peters on Mexico Rd. with five of his children.

“I was saved at a young age by praying to receive Jesus with my father. My dad was my model and example who led me to Christ, taught me to love, helped me understand and relate to my loving Father in heaven. Later in life, in my mid 20s, I was re-baptized only because I wanted to relate baptism more personally to my calling/purpose/vision to serve the Lord.” 


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Lance is a business owner who is service driven and community focused with 30+ years of experience in sales management, operations, human resources, recruiting, talent acquisition. and project management with a demonstrated history of delivering results. He is skilled in implementing and executing business strategies to achieve company sales and profit objectives. He’s had a high degree of success and ability in recruiting, training, coaching, and developing to build and grow teams.  Lance has lived in St. Charles county for over 21 years. He served on the University of Missouri Advisory Boards at the College of Human Environmental Sciences and the Trulaske College of Business. Lance currently serves on the O’Fallon Family YMCA Advisory Board. He is a member of the O’Fallon and the Western St. Charles County Chambers of Commerce and is a Vision Leadership St. Charles County 2020 graduate & alumni. He’s been married to his wife, Lisa, for 30 years and has three children. He and Lisa are members of Harvester Christian Church where they help serve.