Heartstrings Staff

Bunny Higgins

Executive Director
bhiggins@heartstringscf.org

Whos Who
Claire Headshot

Claire Crowley

Director of Human Services
ccrowley@heartstringscf.org

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Rebecca Hayes

Director of Operations
rhayes@heartstringscf.org

Deb McQuay

Director of Event Management
dmcquay@heartstringscf.org

Heather Loeffler

Director of Fundraising and Development
hloeffler@heartstringscf.org

Dionne

Dionne Benedick

Office Manager
dbenedick@heartstringscf.org

Tony Stark

Tony Stark

Coordinator of Transportation
rstark@heartstringscf.org

Tisha Patterson

Tisha Anderson

Sacks on Santa Fe Manager / Team Leader
tanderson@heartstringscf.org

Amanda Henning

Amanda Henning

Heartfully Made Coordinator / Team Leader
ahenning@heartstringscf.org

Cheryl

Cheryl Buck

Team Leader
cbuck@heartstringscf.org

Bonnie L.

Bonnie LaFoe

Team Leader
blafoe@heartstringscf.org

Tammy Duncan

Tammy Duncan
Team Leader
tduncan@heartstringscf.org

Arika Garcia

Arika Rios Ceballos
Team Leader
ariosceballos@heartstringscf.org

Daiy

Daisy “Dee” McCubbin
Team Leader
dmccubbin@heartstringscf.org

Dawn

Dawn Knight
Team Leader
dknight@heartstringscf.org

Brittany R.

Brittany Rhynerson
Goody Delivery Manager
brhynerson@heartstringscf.org

Diana Dundas

Diana Dundas
Team Leader
ddundas@heartstringscf.org

Jozie Needham

Josie Schultz
Team Leader
jschultz@heartstringscf.org

           Ashlyn Slater
           Team Leader
         aslater@heartstringscf.org

Cassandra Faulkner
Team Leader
cfaulkner@heartstringscf.org

Dawn LaMaster
Team Leader
dlamaster@heartstringscf.org

Pamela Wittman
Team Leader
pwittman@heartstringscf.org

Katy Palmieri

Katy Palmieri
Billing Agent
kpalmieri@heartstringscf.org

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Rosanne Thiry
Quality Assurance Consultant
rosannethiry@heartstringscf.org

Bunny Higgins

Bunny Higgins graduated from Emporia State University with a B.S. in Rehabilitation Services and Education and a M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling.

Bunny has over 35 years of experience working in the human service field. She has served in a variety of positions, providing direct care as a nursing assistant, medication aid, restorative therapy, job development, job placement, and job coaching. Bunny continued her career at the administration level developing programs along with grant writing, financial and supervisory responsibilities.  She also traveled for 5 years with CARF (Commission of Accreditation Rehabilitation Facilities) as a surveyor. Her primary objective as a surveyor was quality and results.

Bunny started with Heartstrings Community Foundation as a consultant in September 2001. In January 2002 she was hired as the Program Developer and was promoted to Executive Director in 2004.

Heartstring Community Foundation has been a dream come true for Bunny. She has been instrumental in developing a service for adults with intellectual developmental disabilities like none other in the country. 

Bunny enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, reading inspirational books, traveling, horseback riding, and fly fishing.

Bunny’s passion is assisting in making a lasting change in peoples’ lives.

Claire Crowley

Claire Crowley graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences, along with a Multicultural Certificate.

 

Claire has over 5 years of experience as a Direct Support Professional in the human services field. During her time at the University of Missouri, she volunteered for a variety of organizations, including The Ronald McDonald House, Boys and Girls Club, Special Olympics, and local food pantries.

 

Claire started with Heartstrings as an intern in January of 2017, while completing her Bachelor’s Degree. In May of 2017, she filled an open position as a full time Team Leader. In December of the same year she became the Assistant Goody Delivery Manager. In February of 2019, Claire was promoted to Goody Delivery Manager. In December of 2020, she was promoted to the Director of Human Services. She is also serving on Johnson County’s Quality Assurance Committee.

 

When Claire started at Heartstrings, she quickly found that working with adults in the I/DD community was a passion of hers. She knew that working at Heartstrings would not only fill her new passion, but give her the opportunity to learn from a very talented and experienced team. Claire now shares a vision of growth for Heartstrings and continues to use her knowledge and skills to assist in that journey.

 

Claire enjoys spending time with her family and friends as much as possible. She also enjoys watching movies, listening to podcasts, and going on long walks with her husband, son, and dog.

Rebecca Hayes

Rebecca has over 7 years of experience as a CNA and Home Health provider. She joined Heartstrings in 2017 as a Direct Support Professional, then was the Transportation Coordinator for 2 years. After two years as an in-home health Branch Manager, she returned to Heartstrings as the Director of Operations.

Rebecca is excited to take on this new leadership role and use her supervisory experience to help Heartstrings grow and continue to serve adults with I/DD in the best way possible.

Rebecca enjoys spending time with her husband and 6 children. Her hobbies include reading and collecting giraffe items.

 

Anne Hull

Anne Hull graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Special Education and Elementary Education.

Anne taught in the public school system for seven years. When two of her three sons were born with Fragile X Syndrome, she retired to work full time with them. During their school years Anne worked closely with the Blue Valley school district in an advisory capacity, helping to build new programs. As the children neared graduation Anne searched for options and found little that offered interaction in the community. Heartstrings Community Foundation was founded in 1999 as a way to offer unique interactive employment opportunities for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Anne is the founder of Heartstrings Community Foundation / Past President.  In 2001 Anne became the first (volunteer) Executive Director, followed by Director of Development.  She currently volunteers as Director of Strategic Partnerships, and previously served on the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns.

Anne enjoys spending time with her husband Mack and their sons, participating in a Music Ministry at Ascension Catholic Church, talking to people about Heartstrings, meeting new friends, reading, cooking and of course, seeing the successes of the wonderful people who work at Heartstrings Community Foundation!

Anne’s passion is to connect adults with I/DD to their community and having FUN!

Deb McQuay

Deb McQuay is a proud graduate of Osawatomie High School and brings over 25 years of experience in the human services field. Her career has included a variety of roles—from providing direct care as a nurse’s aide to serving as a residential and day service provider, and later as an employment specialist for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), where she offered job development, placement, and coaching services.

Deb joined Heartstrings Community Foundation in May 2010 as a Job Coach and Office Support staff member. In 2012, she was promoted to Store Manager while continuing to support office operations and provide job coaching. Her leadership and organizational skills led to her promotion to Office Manager in 2015, where she further expanded her responsibilities to include managing the Heartstrings database, overseeing the OneCause fundraising platform, and supporting the Development Department with fundraising and financial goals.

In 2024, Deb stepped into the role of Director of Event Management, where she now leads the planning and execution of Heartstrings’ successful events. Her dedication and passion have made her a cornerstone of the organization, and she has been instrumental in helping adults with I/DD achieve meaningful employment and personal growth.

Deb finds great fulfillment in the diverse work offered by Heartstrings and takes pride in making a difference in the lives of others.

Outside of work, Deb enjoys spending time with her husband, Brian, and their grandchildren. She loves fishing, boating, gardening, and cheering on the Royals, Chiefs, and NASCAR. Most of all, she treasures attending her grandchildren’s sporting and school events.

Deb’s passion lies in knowing that her work helps make people’s lives better—one success story at a time.

Heather Loeffler

Heather is the Director of Fundraising and Development for Heartstrings Community Foundation since April 2024. 

Heather is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma but landed in Emporia, Kansas in 1983 where she attended high school and a year at Emporia State University.  

She moved to Kansas City in 1994 and has been here since. She has two adult daughters. One lives locally in Olathe and one  lives in Emporia, Kansas.  

Heather has been self employed most of her adult life. She owned an in home daycare for ten years and then a cleaning company for 12 years. She worked in the medical field in between.  

Heather is a motivational speaker, podcast host and two-time author who loves to connect with people in her time off.  She loves her family and friends, her church and reading educational books.  

Heather is new to the non-profit world, and very excited to help make connections for a better world for us all! 

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