Experienced, Professional, and Caring

Our Team

KINDNESS People Power

The KINDNESS Team includes:

  • Founder (Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant)
  • Executive Director (8+ years experience in nonprofit and grant management)
  • Services Coordinator (Speech Language Pathologist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant)
  • Multi-lingual Peer Counselors (trained through an accredited Peer Counselor Training Program)
  • Enthusiatic Program Volunteers (who help with events and behind-the-scenes jobs)
  • Multi-talented Volunteer Board Members
  • Expert In-house IT Support

  Heather Preece

Leadership & Service Providers

Founder

Heather Preece

MHSc, RDN, IBCLC

Raised and schooled in Ontario, Canada, Heather’s career in public health nutrition and lactation support has taken her from the Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic to Mali, Malawi, Tanzania, Vancouver, British Columbia, and, finally, to Kodiak Island in 1997. Heather was inspired to establish Kodiak KINDNESS Project when a kind neighbor helped her feed her first baby in 2000. After several years of development, KINDNESS was launched in 2006 and has grown to be a bedrock of infant feeding support for Kodiak families. Heather was recognized by the United States Lactation Consultant Association with the 2023 National Changemaker Award for her work with KINDNESS. After more than 20 years of passionate commitment to helping Kodiak families nourish their infants’ bodies and souls, Heather continues to serve on the KINDNESS board of directors and fills in whereever needed. She is thrilled to watch KINDNESS continue to grow and improve the health and wellbeing of generations of Kodiak Kids.

Executive Director

Stephanie Mason

Stephanie is a transplant from Washington State who moved to Kodiak in 2016 and quickly came to call the island her Home. She studied Community Psychology at the University of Washington and has extensive experience working in the non-profit sector. After arriving in Kodiak, Stephanie found her place in environmental stewardship—caring for our Mother Earth. Stephanie is a founding board member of Kodiak Harvest Food Co-op (KHFC) and believes in building the community you want around you. In 2023, Stephanie began exploring the world of birth work, assisting a local midwife and becoming a DONA-trained Doula. During this journey into such magical and rewarding work, she learned she was expecting a child of her own. In September 2024, she welcomed her little boy, Blue, into the world. She describes becoming a mother as one of the most transformative experiences of her life – one that inspired her decision to dedicate herself fully to birth and postpartum support. Stephanie and Blue are KINDNESS program graduates and so grateful for the support they received. Stephanie is honored to join the KINDNESS family and excited to continue to support KINDNESS families.

 

Services Coordinator

Jennifer Sheridan

M.S., IBCLC, CCC-SLP

Jennifer is an IBCLC, a speech-language pathologist, and the mother of two sprightly girls. Her family moved to Kodiak when their first baby was 3 months old, and she received so much invaluable help from KINDNESS that Jennifer wanted to give back by volunteering behind the scenes from 2014 to 2021. ​In 2021 she took on a more active role as lead Peer Counselor for newborns, and in 2023 began mentoring the Peer Counselor team and overseeing all program services. Jennifer enhances KINDNESS support with her knowledge and experience in oral-motor development. Jennifer loves connecting with and supporting KINDNESS parents now that her own kids are old enough to let her out of their sight!

Lead Peer Counselor

Sara Brubaker 

Sara is lover of her husband Jeff, mother to their sons Jeremiah and Baer, daughters Wren and Hazel, and a transplanted Oregonian. Sara has been a part of the KINDNESS team since 2013.  First moving to Kodiak to coordinate the WIC program, Sara immediately heard of the beloved KINDNESS Project and was excited to be able to join the team shortly after her arrival.  She is passionate about all things to do with food, and loves being able to encourage fellow mommas as they offer first tastes and bites to their own “littles”! Sara teaches our monthly infant nutrition class, manages our inventory and is the lead KINDNESS coach for older babies (6 months +).  If she’s not in the kitchen creating, she is in mountains, in the pool, or on her bike. 

Peer Counselor

Marjourie Solano

Marjourie came to Kodiak from the Philippines in 2005. She first attended Main Elementary in 5th grade, and in 2017 circled back to join the staff at her childhood school as a certified first-grade teacher. Kodiak KINDNESS helped Marjourie with her nursing journey with her daughter Eliza, for which she is forever grateful. Marjourie and her daughter love to be outside in all kinds of weather! KINDNESS is equally grateful to have Marjourie join our team the summer of 2022.  She is fluent in Tagalog, which allows us to provide direct services to our Tagalog-speaking families in their own language.

IT Administrator

Steve Dougherty

Steve Dougherty is IT support for the KINDNESS Project.  Raised in California, he joined the Marine Corps after graduation and took his lifelong love of computers along with him.  After his service, he started a career in the Oilfields of Wyoming/Utah and provided computer support while back at the shop.  Moving his family to Kodiak, he restarted a career in Healthcare Informatics.  He now supports his wife and 6 children in the wondrous beauty of Kodiak Island. Steve’s expertise in data analytics were indispensible when KINDNESS published an article in a peer-reviewed journal in 2019. Starting in late 2020, Steve built the KINDNESS IT system from the ground up and continues to ensure it runs smoothly for our 24/7 operations.