KATHLEEN ENDER

Social Advocate 7+ years, Christ-follower, wife, adventure seeker, public speaker, volunteer-aholic, lion-hearted, enneagram 8w7, tripping forward through life.
Likes: Jesus, authentic friendships, travel, hiking, sunshine, books, podcasts, wine, essential oils, fresh flowers, serendipitous moments.​ 
Dislikes: Parallel parking, flat tires, traffic, pumping gas, and getting lost while driving.
Kathleen has been around since the beginning, she joined Susan and the Austin Angels as their first intern in 2015 while attending Texas State University where she studied Communications and Leadership Studies. Kathleen came on staff in 2016 as the first case manager while she finished college, graduating from school in Fall 2017. She helped build, develop and scale the Love Box and Dare to Dream programs and believes in the support, empowerment, and hope that it provides to the foster care community. She was able to experience the program firsthand when she became a single foster mom at 22 years old. She understands the hardship and joys of caring for children from hard places and the need for community support. She served as the Programs Trainer from 2019-2020 equipping new chapters and onboarding case management staff across the nation with the tools and guidance to help their programs become successful. Now, she serves as the Chief Programs Officer for National Angels, managing overall program operations, research, and implementation. Her dream is helping redefine the way people social work, rethink the way people volunteer, and change the way children, youth, and families experience foster care. She believes that authentic trust-based connections is key in changing the foster care system, and most importantly, changing the individual lives of children who have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse. Kathleen became a TBRI® Practitioner in May 2021 through the Karyn Purvis Institute for Child Development. Trust-Based Relational Intervention is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children.
​Kathleen is a citizen of the world, traveling far and wide as she seeks to learn more about other people and cultures. She is passionate about and devoted to cultivating deep and meaningful connections through her work and in her personal life. Kathleen is independent and not afraid to try new things, whether it's joining the team of a startup nonprofit, sailing around the Greek isles, or jumping out of planes. She lives in the Texas Hill Country with her beloved husband Eli Jacob and they can be found hiking, hosting game nights, spending time with friends over good food and wine, and building community.