About
Welcome to The Phoenix Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit in Omaha founded by individuals who have experienced their own fertility battles. Our journeys through the challenges and uncertainty of infertility inspired us to form The Phoenix Foundation to support others facing similar struggles. Our goal is to help ease the financial burden of fertility treatment. We are dedicated to raising funds for the purpose of awarding grants to help assist couples in overcoming infertility. Please join us in this mission.
The Board
Ryan Bailey
PRESIDENT
Ryan was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. He came to Omaha to attend Creighton University. He received his BSBA in Finance and Marketing from Creighton in 1999. He left Omaha for a few years before returning to attend law school at Creighton. He graduated from Creighton Law in 2005.
Ryan and Karen married in 2014 and wanted to start a family. This was more challenging than they anticipated. With the help of the physicians and nurses at Heartland Center for Reproductive Medicine, Ryan and Karen were blessed with two children, Stella and Jack.
Ryan and Karen decided to start The Phoenix Foundation after going through the ups and downs of fertility treatments. The Phoenix Foundation’s mission is to ease the financial burdens on couples who are undergoing fertility treatments so couples can start or grow their families.
Karen Bailey
VICE PRESIDENT
Karen was born and raised in Lexington, Nebraska. She went to college at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and worked several years in insurance before deciding to go to law school. After finishing law school in Lincoln in 2004, she moved to Omaha and began her career in insurance defense litigation. Karen and Ryan got married in their late 30’s and starting a family was important, but was not as easy as hoped. Thanks to the Heartland Center for Reproductive Medicine, Ryan and Karen were blessed with two amazing children, Stella and Jack.
The goal of The Phoenix Foundation is to financially help those going through similar fertility issues, but also to let people know that they are not alone in their struggles. We hope to provide a network of support.
Kate Hunley
SECRETARY
Kate, born and raised in Omaha’s Catholic school system, graduated from Creighton University’s School of Nursing to pursue her dream of being a “baby nurse”. She worked with moms and newborns as well as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. After over a decade of bedside care, she pursued a Master’s Degree in Nursing in Women’s Health. Around this time, Marc and Kate reconnected years after they met at Creighton.
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Marc and Kate always talked about having a family, and a dynamic one. Foster care or adoption would be part of their story. After years of infertility, they decided to pursue Foster Care. They had had two darling kids placed, and sent home, and placed again. Their first biological child was conceived via IVF. The second and third were wonderful surprises. Two daughters, adopted out of foster care, completed their family.
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The Hunleys are passionate about access to family building care.
Marc Hunley
BOARD MEMBER
Marc was raised in Topeka, KS. He chose to come to Omaha to pursue his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Creighton University in Physical Therapy. Marc is a physical therapist at Omaha Physical Therapy Institute.
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Marc and Kate always talked about having a family, and a dynamic one. Foster care or adoption would be part of their story. After years of infertility, they decided to pursue Foster Care. They had had two darling kids placed, and sent home, and placed again. Their first biological child was conceived via IVF. The second and third were wonderful surprises.
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Two daughters, adopted out of foster care, completed their family.
The Hunleys are passionate about access to family building care.
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Kim Jensen
TREASURER
Kimberly “Kim” Jensen (Right) was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She began her banking career in 2006 as a teller while pursuing her degree in Sociology—never imagining that banking would become her long-term career.
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Kim and her wife, Kara (Left), met while working at a bank and were married in 2016. They always hoped to start a family, and with the guidance and support of the welcoming team at Heartland, they were able to make that dream a reality. Today, their family is complete with two children, Iris and Hugo, and they cherish every part of their journey.
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Photographs by MC Daubendiek