Kacy Lou Leyba first visited the Alaskan bush on vacation in July 2014. She never intended to return, but Jesus had different plans … Less than nine months later, she accepted a job as a resident mentor at Tanalian Leadership Center (a residential, Biblical gap year program for Alaska Native youth), thinking it was just going to be a one-off year away from her career as a high school English teacher back in Colorado. In that short school year, she fell in love with life in rural Alaska. While she returned to Colorado at the end of the 2015-2016 school year, she found herself returning to Southwest Alaska every six to eight weeks for years. 

In 2020, Kacy packed up her belongings and faithful dog Josephine and moved back to Port Alsworth, Alaska. In the years since, Kacy has established herself within her local school district as their itinerant school counselor, at Lake & Peninsula Airlines as a flight follower and logistics coordinator, in the Alaska foster care system, and within the Port Alsworth first responder team. 

In 2023, she adopted her daughter Zahara, and Jesus surprised her just a few weeks later, in August 2023, by adding her foster son, whom she affectionately calls “Brother Bear”, to their family. She joined the SEND North team in January 2024 and is excited to be able to strengthen SEND’s outreach to families by continuing to serve in her established capacities within Port Alsworth and the surrounding communities. She currently serves as the school counselor for students in ten local communities– flying to see her students in person as frequently as possible but working virtually with them between visits. This position has proven to be a perfect melding of her passion for education, mental health, and aviation. She is supported incredibly well throughout the school year through her other position at Lake & Peninsula Airlines and the SEND North team.

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