Camp Hope Planning Committee
2023-2024
Chianna Hemken, LCSW
Camp Director
Chianna lives in Larned, KS, with her husband and their four children, Arianna, Breanna, Troy, and Danielle. She is a survivor of childhood leukemia and began attending Camp Hope in 1989 as a camper; she has only missed five years of camp since that time. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2015 with her Master’s of Social Work, and is the Director of Social Services at Larned State Hospital. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time at the lake with her family.
Rick Rein
Assistant Camp Director
Rick lives in Salina Kansas with his wife Jennifer. They have one son, Alex, who will be a freshman at Benedictine College in the Fall of 2019. Rick is a survivor of stage four Hodgkins disease and began attending Camp Hope in 1984 as a camper. Rick will graduate from Kansas Wesleyan University in 2020 with a degree in History and a minor in psychology. He plans to attend Wichita State University to pursue a Masters degree in Social Work.
Dr. Andy Bukaty
Medical Director
Dr. Andy lives in the Kansas City area, as he has for much of his life. He has been a part of the Camp Hope family since 2008. He married his high school sweetheart in 2000 and they have one daughter, born in 2006, and one son, born in 2009, who rule their worlds. He is a family physician and is fortunate to help lead an organization called Docs Who Care that helps staff rural communities. The flexibility it affords him allows him to work in rural ERs, teach residents in training, devote time to Camp Hope Heartland, and spend a great deal of his time being a dad and husband. He also enjoys film analysis/history, cooking, American history, playing the drums, and cheering for the professional KC teams, Jayhawks and Saint Louis U. Billikens, who represent his alma mater. Finally, he enjoys taking advantage of Dr. Bryan’s fear of spiders, especially at Camp Hope.
Alice Boutz, LMSW
Mental Health Director
Alice graduated from Wichita State University with her Master’s in Social Work in 2014. Alice has a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Services. She has experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities and has worked therapeutically with children who have experienced significant trauma. Alice currently works as an Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist. Alice
was born and raised in Kansas City and still has a strong love for KC. Alice loves to explore new places and spend time connecting with family and friends. She has a passion for advocating and empowering. She lives in the Wichita area with her husband Eric, who got her involved in Camp Hope. Eric is a former camper and current volunteer at Camp Hope. Alice has been a volunteer at Camp Hope and loves being a part of such a meaningful place for so many people.
Lorraine Davis, RN
Nursing Director
Lorraine is a pediatric nurse at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She has volunteered at Camp for over 2 decades.
Amanda Bretches
Activities Director
Amanda has been volunteering since 2008. She lives in Topeka and works as a Communications Coordinator at Premier One Data Systems. She loves reading, watching movies and going to concerts. She has been skydiving twice and is planning another jump with her brother. She enjoys planning all of the fun activities for the campers!
Kyle Morris
Assistant Activities Director
Bio Coming Soon
Gina McGowan
Houseparent Director
Gina is from Ellsworth, KS and has volunteered at camp since 2000. She was an Early Childhood Special Ed teacher for 4 years, but now is lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and community volunteer. She is married to Shawn and they have 2 boys, Parker (born in 2003) and Cooper (born in 2008). She enjoys being involved with children’s activities, helping direct and teach at Kids of the Kingdom, volunteering as a room mother, teaching Sunday School, and volunteering for her community VBS. She serves on her local school board and is the Region 7 VP for the Kansas Association of School Boards in Topeka. Her family enjoys traveling and spending time together doing all sorts of fun activities!
Eric Boutz
Houseparent Director
Eric has been connected to Camp Hope since 1995, when he started as a day camper. He attended Camp Hope as a camper until 2008, when he graduated. He has been a volunteer since 2009 and has been a houseparent since 2011. Camp Hope is truly a part of his heart and soul. Eric lives in the Wichita area with his family. He graduated from Wichita State in 2013 and Emporia State in 2018 with his Masters of Special Education Degree. Eric works as a high school Special Education teacher. Eric loves NFL football and is very loyal to the Patriots. Thankfully his wife has encouraged him to become a Royals fan for the baseball season.
Carley Martin
Kitchen Director
Carley Martin RD, LD graduated in 2020 from Kansas State University with her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. She is originally a southwestern Kansas girl but currently lives in Minnesota with her husband, Randall, and their two cats Cleo and Toast. She is excited to be a part of Camp Hope!
Mike Aylward
Logistics Director
Mike started at Camp Hope as a kitchen volunteer but now leads our facilities team at camp. Mike is retired with over 44 years of public service with the U.S.Postal service and U. S. Navy. He has two sons with 6 grandkids and loves following all of his grandkids in all their many school,church,and sporting events. He enjoys outdoor activities from the mountains of Colorado to the white Sands of Florida. His feels passionately that we do it FOR THE KIDS!
Carol Losew
Arts and Crafts Director
Carol grew up in Chicago and but has lived in Wichita since 1975, when she and her husband Don moved there for his first job as a city planner. They have been married since 1969. She is a retired librarian, having worked at the Westlink Branch library for 21 years. She has volunteered at Camp Hope since 1998. Their son, David, was a camper from 1984-1994. His love of camp is why she volunteers, and she hopes to help bring similar great memories to all of the current campers. Their son Steve was born in 1971 and David in 1975. Steve lives in Hutchinson along with his wife Ellen and their 4 wonderful grandchildren: Jace, Jack, Joscelyn and Jessa. They enjoy snow skiing with them, attending their soccer, basketball and softball games. Carol and Don ice skate every week, enjoy golf and walks with their dog, Otto. She also has been taking silversmithing classes at City Arts for quite some time and enjoys creating jewelry. She loves almost all crafts, and that helps her come up with new ideas each year since she is in charge of that area at Camp Hope.
Barb Keltner
Media Director
Barb has been a volunteer since 1992 and lives in Eudora where, as a retired school librarian, she and her husband are near their two sons and three granddaughters. She enjoys reading, volunteering in the local school libraries and hospital, and playing pickleball.
Dianne Lux
Parent Advisory Member
Dianne lives in Olathe with her husband, Larry, and their three children. She currently works part-time as a resource para educator. She has an undergraduate and master’s degrees from Wichita State University in Health Care Administration. She enjoys family vacations, outdoor activities from running, hiking, golf and antique shopping. Her oldest son, Nathan, was diagnosed with two brain tumors in August 2009 at age 11. He went to Camp Hope the following summer while undergoing treatment and he returned happily for five years. He graduated from high school in 2016 and looks forward to being a Camp Hope volunteer. Camp Hope gave so much joy and happiest to Nathan in a time of so many unknowns. Nathan has fond memories and many friends as a result of Camp Hope. Dianne would do anything to support Camp Hope and its mission to continue to provide this experience for these campers.
Judy Wagner
Photography and Yearbook Director
Judy has been attending camp since 1991. She serves as the Vice President Mission Integration for St. Joseph Health, St. Mary. She currently lives in Victorville, CA; located ½ way between Las Vegas and Los Angeles along with her three cats. Judy is an avid Kansas State University Wildcat fan and bleeds PURPLE!!
Gail Moeder
KyMel Liaison
Gail lives in Great Bend, Kansas. She has volunteered for Camp Hope since 1998 as a house parent and has been on the committee since 2003. She is pretty much the “local connection” to Great Bend/Barton County. Gail is married to Alan and is an Aflac agent.
Dr. Bryan Wohlwend
Committee Chairperson
Dr. Bryan is a pediatrician at Priority Care Pediatrics in Kansas City, Missouri. He started volunteering at Camp Hope in 2000 when he was a medical student and has been every year since. He went to KU for medical school and completed his pediatric training at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He loves to travel and enjoys cheering on the Chiefs, Royals, SportingKC, KC Current and Jayhawks.