About

Derek Jackson is the Associate Vice President of Kansas State University for Student Life and has spent 25 plus years working with College students within the health and wellness areas. He oversees Housing and Dining Services, Recreational Services, Center for Child Development, Lafene Health Center and the University Counseling Center. He is also a father of two daughters with having either participated in The Frist Tee or are currently involved with The First Tee. He is also involved with his Church and with the Manhattan Community Garden. Helping children have a place to grow their value systems under the care of passionate people is one reason he is involved with The First Tee.

David Craft is a 1995 Graduate of Kansas State University and a 1999 Graduate of Creighton University School of Dentistry.  Dr. Craft and his family recently moved to Manhattan in 2018 relocating his dental practice to Vanesta Drive in the Colbert Hills area.  He and his wife, Jennifer, have four children, Grace, Katelyn, Luke and Erin.  Katelyn and Luke are past participants in the First Tee Program of Manhattan.  Jennifer works for Remax Realtors and has a passion for club volleyball running the program in Junction City.  She enjoys watching her children compete in various sports and extracurricular events.  Dr. Craft has served as past board chair and board member for Manhattan Area Technical College, Junction City Booster Club, past president of the Northwest Golden Belt Dental Society of the Kansas Dental Association, and is the current board chair for The Friends of Rolling Meadows, a 501c3 Foundation for improvement of RMGC.  Dr. Craft is an instructor in Pharmacology at Manhattan Area Technical School for the Department of Dental Hygiene.  Besides taking care of patients dental health, he has a passion for learning and helping others to learn and better themselves. 

After retiring as Chief Accounting Officer of a publicly-traded hotel ownership
company based in Chicago, Jayson and his wife Libby moved to Manhattan in 2012.
He is a CPA with an accounting degree and a graduate certificate in personal financial
planning from Kansas State University. Jayson is a member of the Manhattan Rotary
Club, currently serving on the club’s board of directors and as co-chair of the youth
committee. He is involved with the College of Business mentor program and is a
KSU Foundation Trustee. In addition, he and Libby enjoy the never-ending
challenge of lowering their golf scores.

Adrian Rodriguez prides himself first on being a good father and husband to his two
beautiful daughters, Alexandria and Ayden, and wife, Christy. He and his wife seldom sit
still—their mantra is work hard, play hard! Either they are busy with the kid’s activities—
soccer, swim, dance, music, tee-ball, and more soccer and swim, or they are traveling to
be with family. They love spending time in San Antonio and Amarillo, and summer
excursions at the family cabin in Colorado.

Adrian Rodriguez is the new Associate Vice President for Student Life for Diversity and
Multicultural Student Affairs at Kansas State University. Previously Adrian served as Vice
President for Student Development Services at Tarrant County College, Trinity River
Campus. There he joined the founding administration of Trinity River in 2009 to open the
Fort Worth downtown campus and convert the newly constructed RadioShack World
Headquarters into a vibrant community college campus. He served in that role for 9 years
before being called back to the State of Kansas to do the work of intercultural learning
and student engagement. This is Adrian’s second stint in Kansas as he previously served
as Dean of Student Life at Butler Community College from 2003-2008.

Adrian has had the great opportunity of moving through his professional career and
education with his arms wide open. He has served as a Vice President, Dean of Students,
Registrar, Director of Student Activities, Director of Residence Life, Director of
Intramurals, and one of his personal favorites — College Fastpitch Softball Coach for 6
years. His educational experience has been equally diverse as he earned his B.S. degree
(1997) in environmental design from the College of Architecture at Texas A&M
University, and then his M.Ed. degree (2004) in educational administration from Texas
A&M University – Kingsville. He is currently working on his Ph.D. degree in Student
Affairs in Higher Education, Counseling and Educational Psychology, from Kansas State
University.

Mike retired from National Crop Insurance Services as a Senior Vice President in
2016. He had previously worked for the Kansas Farm Bureau Crop Insurance
Department in various positions for over twenty-five years. Mike and his wife Cheryl
and his boys and daughter in laws all graduated from Kansas State University. Mike
has been involved in various volunteer organizations in Manhattan over the years
and welcomes the opportunity to work with The First Tee program.

Barb is a Registered Nurse who, prior to motherhood, worked in the Neonatal
Intensive Care at Stormont Vail in Topeka for several years. She is now a busy
mother of 3 who enjoys being an active member of the Manhattan community.
She dedicates her time to Manhattan Catholic School as the Parent Teacher
Organization Treasurer, the Booster Club Treasurer and is the head of several
community outreach activities. She is also involved at Seven Dolors Catholic
Church. She looks forward to being an active member of the Advisory Board and
helping to continue the growth of The First Tee throughout the Manhattan
Community.

Tonya, a native of Manhattan, is a Purchasing Agent with SPS Companies, Inc. With
over 25 years of experience in the golf industry, including retail, management, and
junior golf programming, she also has an extensive background serving on the
board for her children’s elementary, middle, and high schools. She dedicates her
time as a mentor for Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters and has a passion for
developing youth in the community through the game of golf. Tonya and her
husband, Denny, have three children of which all were very active growing up
playing competitive golf.

Joel works for Edward Jones as a Financial Advisor in Manhattan.  Joel has many years of business and community service experience. He also sits on the Board of Directors for Emporia Humanitarian Center.  Joel brings his enthusiasm for golf and the success of children to the Advisory Board.

After retiring as a utility executive in 2012 and being avid K-Staters, Charley and his wife Nancy decided to make their retirement home in the Little Apple. Being active in various community activities in the several cities in which he worked, and an avid but very average golfer, Charley gladly accepted the opportunity to join The First Tee of Manhattan Advisory Board. Also, with his children and grandchildren relocating to Manhattan, it was the perfect opportunity to be involved in a youth program that he could be directly engaged with. Charley is the Business Operations Committee Chairperson and Board President Elect.

Connie is the Executive Vice President of Operations at CivicPlus in Manhattan, KS.  Prior to working for CivicPlus, she worked as the Executive Vice President for Steel and Pipe Supply for 21 years.  Connie has a true passion for the youth in the Manhattan community.  In addition to serving on The First Tee of Manhattan Advisory Board, Connie is involved with Youth Impacting Community, Manhattan High School Booster Club, First United Methodist Church of Manhattan, Manhattan Greater Community Foundation, and Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan.

Bernie is the Executive Director of the Kansas State University Golf Course Management and Research Foundation at Colbert Hills GC in Manhattan, KS.  He oversees all the non-profit partnerships, including The First Tee of Manhattan, and the leading fundraiser for the organization.  Bernie is a 1997 Kansas State University Graduate with a B.S. in Electronic Journalism and a 2004 Master’s Degree in Sports Administration at Wichita State University.  Kristin and Bernie have two children, Charlie and Chloe, and both of them participate in The First Tee of Manhattan program.  He enjoys bowling, playing golf, attend K-State sporting events, and is the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network statistician.

Eric Higgins serves as the von Waaden Chair of Investment Management and Associate Dean within the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University.  Eric is active in the Manhattan community currently serving on the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Investment Committee, the Meadowlark Hills Foundation Board, Manhattan Municipal Audit Committee, and The First Tee of Manhattan Advisory Board.

Mike is a native of Manhattan as well as graduate of Kansas State University who enjoys a variety of involvements throughout the community. Mike is the regional manager for Old Chicago, and enjoys spending his down time on the golf course or in the company of family and friends. As a proud father of three Mike is excited to be part of an organization that incorporates his love of golf and passion for the development of successful young people.

Mark is an orthodontist and owner of Tindall Orthodontics in the Manhattan area since 2004.  Dr. Tindall’s practice is known as a fun, energetic and family oriented office.  His practice is passionate to “Let Your Smile Change the World”!  He brings that same passion to our youth organizations and is proud to support The First Tee of Manhattan.