About Terri

Terri English-Yancy, BA, MA, MA
Founder and CEO

Essential Families reflects its founder and CEO Terri English-Yancy, who from an early age combined the take-charge attitude of the oldest sibling with an innate love for children.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Terri’s family moved around a lot with her father’s job as regional territory manager with John Deere.

The family ultimately returned to the Kansas City area, where Terri graduated from Olathe North High School.

Nine years older than her sister, and six years older than her brother, Terri was the one who handled pickup from sports and other duties while her parents were working. Terri was also the go-to babysitter in the neighborhood.

Maybe she was a little bossy. But in hindsight, Terri does not see it that way.

“I was just a leader in the making…because I always wanted to take care of everyone.”

Before founding Essential Families, Terri spent 24 rewarding years with the Family Conservancy, a respected nonprofit that has served young children and families from its base in Kansas City, Kansas, for nearly 150 years.

At the Family Conservancy, Terri served as the Program Manager of the Head Start Home-Based program. She oversaw a 12-person staff.

While being Program Manager at the Family Conservancy, one mom in particular, helped propel Terri to start Essential Families. This mom was a single, working parent with a 3-year-old at home being watched by grandma.

The childcare arrangement was problematic since Head Start required a natural parent to fill that role. But the bigger problem was that the mom made just slightly over the income eligibility guidelines for Head Start.

This single working young mother touched me in such a way, that she motivated me to start Essential Families. Because this mom was desperate for Family Conservancy services… “She wanted her son in the program” but was denied.

Terri holds an undergraduate degree in child and family development from Southwest Missouri State University (now known as Missouri State University).

Terri also holds two (2) master’s degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (in curriculum and instruction) and from Webster University (in management and leadership).

Terri English-Yancy

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Essential Families

Executive Leadership Team

Jeremy Sanders, Chief Financial Officer, BA Accounting, MBA Finance
12 years of international CFO experience, ranging from startups to multinational turnarounds, and oversight of budgets up to $130 million. Jeremy has provided advisory and finance training, and support to businesses in more than 24 industries. Jeremy’s advanced skills includes: corporate finance leadership, strategy development, ERP and systems implementations, transformational leadership, innovation commercialization, fundraising, audit management, residential, commercial, and historic preservation real development projects.