How to Become a Foster Parent in Texas: A Guide to Making a Difference

Director of Family Development 

Katie Machuca is the Director of Family Development. She oversees the Family Development department, including the recruitment, training, and verification process of foster, adoptive, and kinship homes for all of Pathways. Katie has a master’s degree in Social Work and has over 23 years of experience working in the foster care and social services fields.

Katie began her career in Boston, Massachusetts as a case manager for a child-placing agency, and quickly moved into a supervisor role. She moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2008 where she took on the role as Program Director until 2016. Throughout her years in San Antonio, Katie has also contracted with child-placing agencies as a homestudy writer, trainer, quality analyst, and policy writer. Additionally, in 2015 Katie and her family became a licensed foster family, expanding her passion of working with children in need, to living and caring for the children in her home. Her years of experience and knowledge working in foster care, coupled with her personal experience as a foster parent, has allowed her to bring a unique perspective to her current work with Pathways.

Katie now oversees the Department of Family Development throughout the five Pathways locations in Texas. With a dedication to quality, compliance, and safety for all homes that are developed within Pathways, she is also focused on helping Pathways build capacity throughout the state, expand the company’s community engagement, and develop training curriculum for employees and foster families.

Katie is married with four children. She enjoys supporting and encouraging her children in the variety of sporting events they participate in. You can typically find Katie on a field, at a pool, or in a gymnasium, cheering on her kids almost any night or weekend. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and gardening. 

IS/IT Director

Board of Directors

Mrs. Gabriela Smith from Houston is new to Pathways’ Board of Directors since July 2021. Mrs. Smith is the President and CEO of Big State Construction in Houston, Texas with a B.A. in Communications and Public Relations, and an MBA in Organizational Leadership. She is also an accomplished and committed community advocate and volunteer. She and her husband started Big State Construction in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in order to help the city of Houston and its residents rebuild after the devastating storm in 2017. In Mrs. Smith’s words, “serving my community has always been a passion, and Pathways’ mission directly impacts families and community.” Mrs. Smith has board experience with Ascend Houston and Friday Harbour. Her professional experience also includes leadership positions, sales, management, and customer service. As the CEO of Big State Construction, she calls daily on her organizational and multi-tasking skills to successfully operate her business and is proud of the large Houston area network of non-profit and corporate leaders, local governments, and community advocates she has built over the years.

Board of Directors

Mrs. Catherine Earley from Wichita Falls, Texas is new to the Pathways’ Board of Directors since July 2021. Mrs. Earley is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. She has a Master’s of Science in Social Work, and is a doctoral candidate at Texas Tech University. Prior to becoming an Assistant Professor of Social Work at MSU, Catherine spent many years as a social worker serving the child welfare community as a licensed child placing administrator, director of community relations, and a senior consultant for two large child welfare provider organizations. She has experience teaching Ethical Decision Making in Social Work, Child Welfare Policy and Practice, Family Systems and Substance Abuse, and Communication, Interviewing and Intervention Skills. Mrs. Earley is an accomplished and experienced public speaker, child welfare advocate, writer, and community volunteer, having received numerous awards and public recognition for her work in her community. Her interests and expertise are in Pathways’ mission, board development and governance, policy development and strategic planning, knowledge of the services provided, and in particular, behavioral health services.

Board of Directors

Mr. Brent Campbell from Round Rock, Texas, has served on the Pathways’ Board of Directors since March 2010. Mr. Campbell was himself adopted soon after birth and he and his wife have adopted four boys from the foster care system. Mr. Campbell is passionate about Pathways’ 3H Youth Ranch and is a commercial real-estate agent with Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Austin, Texas, specializing in sales and leasing. He is a recognized leader in the commercial real estate sector. He is a past president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association, the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, and the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee. Mr. Campbell is an Austin native and enjoys hiking, fishing, mountain biking, snow skiing, and water skiing.

Board of Directors

Mrs. Helen Bryan from San Antonio, Texas, has been serving on the Pathways’ Board of Directors since March 2017. Mrs. Bryan started her career with MCI in Houston, later serving as the Director of Corporate Services for Zachary Industrial, Inc. in San Antonio, and currently is the President of the Bryan Group, LLC, which provides corporate travel liaison services. Mrs. Bryan served for many years on the THRU Project Board of Directors, which focuses on bridging the gap between foster care and adulthood for youth who age out of the foster care system. She is an avid volunteer and board member for numerous non-profit organizations including Susan G. Komen and Habitat for Humanity in the San Antonio and surrounding communities. Mrs. Bryan enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and enjoying the outdoors.

Risk and Compliance Director 

Kelly Lowry is the Director of Risk and Compliance for Pathways and oversees risk management and compliance and utilization management activities for all Pathways programs.  She holds both a Bachelor and Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) 

Kelly moved to Texas from Michigan in 2019 where she held a variety of roles. She started her career working at Children’s Protective Services and in the foster care system. She then began working in the Community Mental Health system and has held roles as a Recipient Rights Officer completing investigations for client rights and other violations. She later moved to Clinical Supervisor and eventually became the Clinical Director. 

Kelly began at Pathways as the Quality Assurance/Utilization Review Manager then became the Risk and Compliance Director in early 2021. She oversees a team that is responsible for activities such as internal audits, investigations, data analysis, and utilization review functions, among others, to ensure compliance with all regulatory standards, reduce risk to the organization, and ensure quality services are provided.

Kelly has led teams that successfully applied for national grants to implement pilot programs that have included CIT (emergency co-response team comprised of mental health clinicians and law enforcement), a mental health team in the county jail, and was selected as one of Michigan’s pilot/demonstration sites for the federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) initiative.  

While focusing on child welfare in her early years, Kelly quickly recognized the importance of solid organizational infrastructure to ensure quality services are provided to the people and communities served. She realized quickly she offered a unique skill to the profession and focused her master’s studies on management of human services and minored in policy and program development and evaluation. 

Kelly relocated in 2019 to the San Antonio area from Michigan with her husband Randy and three dogs Odin, Phoebe, and Paulie. She enjoys attending live sporting events and is an avid Michigan sports fan. Locally, she has become a San Antonio Missions and Flying Chanculas (Texas Collegiate League) fan. She and her husband enjoy live music and have grown to love the San Antonio area.

Chief Financial Officer

Tammy Walser joined Pathways Youth and Family Services in January 2015 and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Tammy brings more than 25 years experience of financial, business, and operations management experience in the private and nonprofit sectors to the Pathways team.

Tammy spent nearly 20 years as a key team member of two successful privately held, start-up medical device companies. When Tammy married and moved from San Antonio to the Texas Hill Country with her two children, she had an opportunity to work closer to home. After meeting Dan Johnson, the Founder and CEO of Pathways, she was inspired by his passion and energy for Pathways as well as his down-to-earth demeanor. 

Currently, Tammy serves as the CFO and oversees the finance, payroll, human resources, IT, and business administration departments and staff. Her primary responsibilities include financial reporting, cash and debt management, annual state cost reporting, annual budgeting and financial forecasting, federal tax returns, annual financial audits, employee health and benefit plans, contracts, legal and corporate insurance, and risk management.

With over two decades of experience, Tammy has served past companies and continues to serve Pathways today as a dedicated team member and leader facing all the risks and challenges that an organization endures during the various stages of growth and development. 

Tammy’s commitment to Pathways is largely due to the dedicated staff she has the privilege to work with. While her role does not involve regular interaction with the clients, Tammy knows that her work each day contributes in some way to transforming the lives of many children, youth, and families.

Family time is very important to Tammy. Her family enjoys spending their time in the beautiful Texas Hill Country as well as enjoying the relaxing Texas Gulf Coast. Walser’s family spends their time outdoors, whether it’s playing pickleball, swimming, riding bikes, or doing yard work but also have fun indoors playing family board games, watching movies, and cooking.

Mosaic State Director for Behavioral Health Services

Stacey Lofstad serves as the State Director of Behavioral Health Services and oversees Pathways Behavioral Health Team. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has demonstrated commitment to foster care programs for over 20 years.

Stacey initially began her foster care career working directly with foster families and children as a case manager. Over the years, she transitioned to providing additional program oversight including that of the Pathways Foster Care Program in the Houston region. Her knowledge and experience in foster care, along with her counseling background, proved an excellent marriage for the expansion and further development of the Pathways Behavioral Health Program.

Stacey now oversees the statewide Pathways Behavioral Health program, which includes services such as therapy, targeted case management, skills, and psychiatry. The large team includes therapists, qualified mental health professionals, clinical supervisors, as well as clinical directors and psychiatrists. The main focus of the team is to steady children and families who are impacted by foster care and are victims of crime, however, we are also shifting towards family preservation in a strong effort to help families stabilize and prevent entry into foster care whenever possible.

Stacey has spent years cultivating trauma-informed teams who recognize the depth of needs our children have and also understand the true impact of their role and responsibility. 

Stacey recognizes that children deserve to be with families who are healthy, stable, and thriving, regardless of if they are biologically related. For this reason, she strives to develop a team that gives parents and children all tools they need not only to be successful but most importantly to be resilient. In fulfilling this mission, she sees fewer children entering and re-entering into foster care, but sees that those who do will have the best experience possible.

Stacey is a mother to two busy children who finds herself operating as a swim taxi more days than not! Beyond taxi responsibilities, family time often includes cooking, blanket forts, games, movies, and outdoor adventures. When she has a rare spare moment to herself, she spends her coveted time gardening, reading, enjoying her pets, and creating the occasional painting.

Director of Quality Management 

Jacque Marks is Pathways’ Director of Quality Management, responsible for oversight of quality, risk, and compliance activities to achieve Pathways’ mission and strategic goals, performance and outcome targets, positive client outcomes, and client satisfaction.

Jacque holds a Master’s of Science in Clinical and Community Mental Health from Western Illinois University, specializing in children, youth, and families. She is a licensed professional counselor in Texas and Illinois and worked as a therapist prior to transitioning into a leadership role.

In this role, Jacque guides performance and continuous quality improvement; program review, monitoring, and evaluation; quality assurance; utilization review; and risk prevention and management.

With more than 20 years of experience as a leader, in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, she is skilled in team development, strategic thinking and action, and inspiring and supporting change.

Jacque is passionate about serving and empowering others, as well as having a lasting impact on individuals, organizations, and communities.

Jacque is from Cooksville, a small town in Central Illinois, and the perfect place to develop her love of the outdoors, running, reading, and art. She is fortunate to have had many people in her life to encourage, support, and mentor her and she wants everyone to feel valued as a person and empowered to pursue their passions by using their God-given talents.

Chief Program Officer

Brad Brush is the Chief Program Officer for Pathways and has been with Pathways since 2005 and has almost 30 years of experience in the social services field.

Prior to his work with Pathways, Brad spent several years as the Regional Director for another Child Placing Agency in the DFW area. Brad has been working in the Child Welfare field since 1992. He has worked as an Administrator, Clinical Director, and direct care staff in Residential Treatment Centers and as a Therapist, Case Manager, and Administrator of Child Placing Agencies. 

As Chief Program Officer, Brad works with all residential and behavioral health programs and currently serves as the Administrator for the Pathways Child Placing Agency. He works with the Executive Leadership Team to guide and position the organization for the future.

Brad is an experienced and innovative leader in the child welfare arena. He has served in a variety of roles in numerous programs and brings his unique perspective and experience to build solutions for children and families in need.

Brad was originally drawn to Pathways to help children reach permanency through adoption. A former adoptee himself, Brad is deeply committed to helping children find forever homes in safe, stable, loving home environments. As a clinician, Brad understands the trauma children in the foster care system experience, and he works to integrate mental health services into treatment.

When he is not working, Brad enjoys bicycling, golf, travel, and spending time with his family.