CPPR Launches KFF Fifth Cohort, Deepening Statewide Futures Work
CPPR is pleased to announce the fifth cohort of the Kansas Future Fellows program. Since 2021, the nine-month fellowship has brought together leaders from across sectors who are ready to think beyond immediate challenges and design long-term solutions grounded in collaboration and systems change.
Now entering its fifth year, Kansas Future Fellows continues to evolve in response to growing uncertainty and complexity within early childhood systems. The 2026 cohort includes leaders from public agencies and community-based organizations across Kansas who are working together to shape a stronger future for children and families.
“This work invites leaders to see themselves as agents of the future,” said Sara Gardner, CPPR Assistant Director, who leads the cohort. “By combining futures thinking with practical system design, we’re equipping fellows to make decisions today that will echo positively across Kansas for decades.”
The cohort officially launched in February with its first Innovation Lab, where fellows were introduced to futures and long-term thinking as essential leadership tools. In partnership with Watershed Advisors and longtime collaborator Jake Dunagan of the Institute for the Future, participants engaged in experiential exercises to explore positive, plausible futures for Kansas and examine leverage points within the early childhood ecosystem. Early childhood systems expert Lizzie Cosse of Watershed Advisors helped fellows explore how policy, funding, and cross-sector collaboration can act as powerful levers for change.
Over the course of the fellowship, fellows will co-design future scenarios, chart new solution pathways, and strengthen cross-sector relationships statewide. Acting as “social inventors,” they will generate bold ideas and collaborative strategies to build a more resilient and responsive early childhood system.
“I’m looking forward to strengthening a true growth mindset and embracing a paradigm shift in how we approach systems work within Kansas’s early childhood ecosystem,” said Sarah Behrens, 2026 Kansas Future Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Kansas Medical Center. “This fellowship creates space to step back, challenge our assumptions, and collaborate across sectors in ways that feel both timely and energizing. I’m excited to think differently and help build stronger, more connected systems that truly support children and families across Kansas.”
2026 Future Fellows Cohort
Craig Barnes
Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund
Sarah Behrens
University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Pediatrics
Tammie Benham
Southeast Kansas Library System
Katie Bieker
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Jenny Brandt
Futures First
Ali Braun
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Tristen Cope
K-State Extension
Taryn Daniels
Rice County Economic Development
Sarah Elsen
Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas
Sherron Field
Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities
Holly Frye
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Michelle Groopman
Salina Area United Way
Kimberly Kennedy
Kansas Department for Children and Families
Hilary Koehn
Kansas Parents as Teachers Association
Sue Murnane
Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas
Haley Pavlovich
Christ’s Kids Childcare
Ryan Russell
Stafford County Economic Development, Inc.
Beth Toland
Allen Community College
AbdulRasak Yahaya
Open Minds Child Development Center
The Kansas Future Fellows experience will culminate in Fall 2026, when the cohort will co-design how they share their collective vision and strategies. With each new class, the statewide network of Future Fellows grows stronger—expanding Kansas’ capacity to lead with imagination, courage, and a long-term commitment to children and families.
The Kansas Future Fellows program was created by CPPR to support and inspire community leaders across Kansas to work towards shaping a better future together. To learn more about Kansas Future Fellows and how CPPR will provide the tools and opportunities to develop and promote community-specific solutions, visit the program’s webpage and read more below:
- Future-Ready: AAI and CPPR’s Commitment to Strategic Foresight
- Civic Foresight Group Reflects on Shaping the Gateway to a Futurist Mindset
- CPPR Hosts Futures Thinking Workshop For Middle School Students
- How AAI’s Center for Public Partnerships & Research Draws On “Futures Thinking” in Their Work
- CPPR’s Unique Program Provides for Statewide Change Around Issues Affecting Children and Their Families