About Us

Our Staff

Melinda Kizer Executive Director & Founder

Melinda received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Baylor University and a Master of Education from Sam Houston State University. Professionally, she has varied public education experience in general and special education roles, with her last 6 years in transition education. After completing 32 years in public education, she began JCK Resources.

Peggy Clemons Director
Peggy Clemons received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education from the University of Alabama. She taught in 3 Texas School Districts for a total of 33 years in public education. During her tenure, she served as a Mentor Teacher, Parent/In Home trainer, Special Olympic coach, and the Assistant Head of Delegation in Wylie. She joined JCK Resources shortly after being introduced to Melinda Kizer.

Lonnie Payne Job Coach
Lonnie graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Special Education and then with a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership with diagnostician and administration certifications. She taught special education for 18 years, diagnostician for 13 years, and special education coordinator for 9 years. She retired after almost 40 years in education before joining JCK Resources.

Johnny Hickman Peer Mentor & Coach
Johnny attended the PATHS (Post-Secondary Access and Training in Human Services) program at Texas A&M in 2014-2015, where he learned how to work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and earned his direct support certificate. He worked at a day hab for nearly 3 years in the Bryan/College Station area before moving back to Dallas and finding his way to becoming a coach for JCK.

Our Story

JCK resources operates in loving memory of J.C. Kizer (1/24/1991 to 11/19/2010). J.C. was born with Chromosome 18 Q- Syndrome, a rare birth defect that left with him with learning differences and a need for special education services.

J.C. had a love of all things related to sports, both playing and watching. His favorite sport was basketball. J.C. was a fan of the local teams, his high school, the Allen Eagles, Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas Cowboys. He was an avid participant in Allen Special Olympics playing a sport each season.

As a long-time public educator, Melinda learned to look at life through a different lens to help J.C. It was a difficult balance at times to give J.C. the support he needed, while allowing him to be as independent as possible. She understood that allowing him to make mistakes early on while he had close family support would allow him to know how to handle more difficult situations independently later in life.

J.C. Kizer

JCK Resources represents an alliance of personal and professional worlds. In January of 2019, Job and Career Konnections was founded, later becoming JCK Resources, a 501c3 in July 2020. The COVID-19 shutdown provided time to stop and reflect. Experience is often the best teacher, and this break allowed us to analyze what we were doing and how we wanted to improve going forward. We wanted to maintain our community-based approach, meaning we do not want a designated building or van for transportation. We decided to focus on employment skills, community access opportunities, and social skills.

We believe individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities can increase their level of independence through targeted instruction and hands-on opportunities. It may look like we are just having fun (and truly we are), but the activities we provide are the building blocks to develop independent learning and thinking.

For example, at age 12, one of J.C.’s jobs at home was to empty the dishwasher. We were a family of 6, so this was almost a daily job. J.C. emptied the dishwasher each day religiously and faithfully. He knew it was his responsibility and followed through without reminders. On one rare occasion when the dishwasher hadn’t been run, he still emptied it. I had to re-wash all of the dishes and silverware. but I was still proud that he had expectations for himself and did his part to help his family.

ABOUT US

Contact

Let's Connect!

Our Sponsors