JFS Leadership Team
Kelly Davydov
Executive Director & CEO
|Kelly joined JFS in 2023 from her most recent position as Executive Director for Child Care Aware of Kansas, where she led Kansas’ Child Care Resource and Referral network in addressing access to high-quality child care for young children and their families. She also served on Governor Laura Kelly’s Early Childhood Transition Task Force in addition to other state and local initiatives focused on early care and education. Prior to joining Child Care Aware of Kansas, Kelly led Iowa’s TANF 2-Generation anti-poverty initiative and served as project director for Early Childhood Iowa, the state’s early childhood systems-building effort. Kelly’s professional experience broadly includes leadership in the areas of domestic violence, food insecurity, child maltreatment prevention, and family economic mobility and wellbeing. She holds a BA from Drake University, an MPA from Drake University and a Certification in Family Development from the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice at the University of Iowa.
Shirley Harlin
Director of People and Culture
|Shirley joined JFS in 2024 from her most recent position as Director of Administration for a Kansas City law firm. Shirley is a strategic and experienced Human Resource professional with a passion for leading high-performing teams and directing organizational initiatives that promote innovation, process improvement and partnership across organizations. Shirley is accomplished in acclimating quickly to an organization’s needs and experienced in sourcing, hiring and onboarding employees, as well as managing and motivating teams of administrative professionals.
Dayton Isbell
Technology Director
|Dayton started with JFS in a contracting position during the height of the pandemic and a major transitional period for the Organization. As a contractor, he spearheaded a major file systems upgrade to bring JFS’ outdated infrastructure to a fully cloud-based entity that better supported not only the staff, but the communities we serve. Shortly after the project’s completion, Dayton was hired full time as the Director of Technology in early 2021. Since starting full time with JFS, Dayton has played a pivotal role in the Organization’s strategy and implementation surrounding technology, security, and advancement of JFS.
Debbie Bass
Chief Development Officer
|Debbie Bass is responsible for spearheading all fundraising initiatives at JFS. During her thirty-year fundraising career, she has been responsible for raising $68 million. For eight years, Debbie served as Vice President of Development of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, where she led the $25 million Call to Duty Centennial fundraising campaign and initiated the $50 million Second Century campaign. Previous roles have been Associate Director/Director of Major Gifts of both the Foundation for the Shawnee Mission Medical Center and the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation. Debbie has been involved with JFS in various ways since elementary school. She and her family especially enjoy their involvement in the JFS Hanukkah project.
Cindy Ross
Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer
|Cindy’s unique blend of strategic business skills, innovation, and solid CPA foundation supports the Executive Director and the Board of Directors in achieving JFS’s strategic goals. Cindy is responsible for oversight and leadership of all financial matters, day-to-day business operations and new agency opportunities. She has experience in innovation and business management leadership from Hallmark Cards and American Century Investments.
Maggie Haghirian
Chief Program Officer
|Maggie Haghirian came to JFS in 2018 from Safehome, Inc., where she was the Shelter Director. In her role of Chief Program Officer, Maggie oversees the agency’s core program areas, including KesherKC, Older Adult Services, Mental Health, and Volunteer Engagement. Before taking on this role, she served as Director of KesherKC, where she used her experience with client-centered care to launch our integrated approach to connecting clients to food, housing, employment, and financial resources they need for a more secure future. Maggie holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Missouri Western State College.