Bethany Cale
President
Bethany serves as a Senior Program Director and Director of Grant Operations for the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Bethany joined the Foundation in 2018 as an Associate Program Director. In her time at the Foundation, Bethany has worked as the Program Director for the Philanthropy Lab and coordinated our research efforts in Electronic Data & Mental Health and Child Apraxia of Speech. As Senior Program Director, Bethany oversees all programming and grant activity.
Bethany graduated magna cum laude from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Fellows and Public Relations. During undergrad, Bethany took the Philanthropy Lab Class at Baylor in Fall 2014.
Kathy Thomas, M.S. CCC-SLP
Senior Program Director – Child Apraxia Treatment
Kathy serves as a Senior Program Director for Child Apraxia Treatment at the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Kathy joined the Foundation in 2015. Kathy is a certified speech-language pathologist with over 30 years of experience treating adults and children with complex communication needs. In her role at the Foundation, Kathy oversees all Child Apraxia Treatment programming.
Kathy holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech Language Hearing Association and is licensed to practice speech-language pathology in Texas. Kathy graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor’s in Education and a minor in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She holds a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology with a minor in Aging Studies from the University of North Texas.
Carter Plaster
Program Director
Carter serves as a Program Director of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Carter joined the Foundation in February 2021 as an Intern and joined the team full time in June 2022. Carter’s areas of focus at the Foundation are The Philanthropy Lab and its GrantWriting Board, alumni programming for The Philanthropy Lab, and other community engagement endeavors.
Carter graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and minors in Spanish and Geography. During undergrad, Carter took the Philanthropy Lab Class at TCU in Spring 2021.
Kate Jordan
Program Director
Kate serves as Program Director for The Philanthropy Lab at the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Kate joined the Foundation in 2023, bringing over 20 years’ experience in nonprofit and higher education administration.
Kate holds a BS in Communications and minors in Spanish and English from the University of Oklahoma and a MA in Business Management and Leadership from Liberty University.
Lauryn Lents
Associate Program Director
Lauryn serves as an Associate Program Director of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Lauryn joined the Foundation in June 2024. Lauryn’s areas of focus at the Foundation is the Raynor Cerebellum Project and Childhood Apraxia of Speech grants.
Lauryn graduated cum laude from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education.
Lexi Peterson
Associate Program Director
Lexi serves as an Associate Program Director of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Lexi joined the Foundation in August 2024. Lexi’s areas of focus at the Foundation are The Philanthropy Lab and Electronic Data & Mental Health Research grants.
Lexi graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minors in History and Child Development. Lexi took the Philanthropy Lab Class at TCU in Spring 2014.
Brytni West
In-Kind Administrator
Brytni serves as an Administrative Associate for the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Brytni joined the Foundation in December 2022. Brytni contributes to its mission by spearheading the In-Kind program and providing essential administrative support to all Foundation Programming.
Brytni earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a MA of Public Health from Mississippi University for Women.
Whitney Fournier
Events Associate
Whitney serves as an Events Administrator of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Whitney joined the Foundation in March 2023. In her current role she works to coordinate and support all Foundation Event Programming.
Whitney graduated from Trinity University with a BA in History in 2015 and from Tufts University with an MA in Museum Education in 2017.
Once Upon a Time…
is a Nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.
EIN 75-2765224