Enedina Patch
Enedina Patch was born in Topeka and is proud to call this community her home. Earning a BSN from Emporia State University and an MBA from Baker University, Enedina’s desire to serve others has guided her to roles in the community. As a registered nurse, she has worked in various roles within the health care field for over 13 years. She is currently the Manager of Community Health Engagement at Stormont Vail Health where she collaborates with community agencies to develop and implement strategies to improve the health of our community. As Vice Chair of Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods, she is preparing to be the 2020 Chair of this grassroots community coalition, mobilizing the community to take action on health priorities in Shawnee County.
Enedina was named one of Topeka’s Top 20 under 40 Leaders in 2016, 2016 Person of the Moment at Stormont Vail Health, Daisy award for Extraordinary Nursing Care, and finalist for Nurse of the Year through the March of Dimes. She is a member of the 2018 Leadership Greater Topeka class, lifetime member of LGT and continues to be involved with her LGT classmates through the Leader Feeder program at Scott Dual Language Magnet School. Outside of work and LGT, Enedina volunteers her time as Chair of the 20 under 40 Steering Committee to support the local Jayhawk Area Council of the Boy Scouts and serves in her local church. Enedina is a Certified Revelation Wellness® Fitness Instructor and Health Coach who uses fitness as a tool to spread the gospel in her community. Enedina passionately embraces servant leadership as a model to help bless others both personally and professionally. The role she is most proud of is mother to her two children, Karsyn (age 8) and Easton (age 4).
Luis Estrada
Luis Estrada has been a resident in Topeka since 1994. Born in Mexico and raised briefly in Southern California before moving to Topeka and becoming a Highland Park High graduate. He briefly attended Washburn University where he studied Graphic Design with intentions of pursuing a career in Marketing and Advertising. He held many roles in different industries while trying to find his calling. He worked eight years in one of East Topeka’s original Mexican Restaurants, Rosa’s. He crafted Ophthalmic equipment as a lab tech for various local companies, helping Latinos learn about vision health. He was a Banker at a national financial institution which allowed him to share his understanding of financial literacy with the Hispanic community. Ultimately, he realized his love for helping improve the health and environment of the neighborhoods he grew up in.
As a Community Mobilizer with El Centro of Topeka, he focused on strengthening communities and improving the lives of Latinos and others by providing educational resources, advocating for social justice through the arts and sharing economic opportunities. He also led a campaign to mobilize the Latino vote during the midterms and gubernatorial elections. The enthusiasm for his work came from mentoring and advocating the importance of civic engagement to minority youth. Currently he is a recruitment specialist for a Southeast Kansas Educational Resource Center. He stays active in the capitol city by serving on boards and councils such as The Human Relations Commission for the City of Topeka, the YWCA’s Advocacy Committee, the East Topeka Council, Strengthening Police and Community Relations Council, the Greater Topeka Partnership Included Board and the Entrepreneurial and Minority Business Development Council and Speakers Bureau for Momentum 2022. He received his certificate from The Latino Leadership Collaborative in 2018 and graduated from Leadership Greater Topeka in 2019.
Michelle De La Isla
Born of humble beginnings in New York, Michelle faced many challenges at a young age. Early in life, she fled with her mom and brother to Puerto Rico in order to live with her grandparents. By age 17, she was homeless, and at 19, pregnant. Rather than feel sorry for herself, Michelle made a conscious decision to overcome her circumstances and finish her degree.
She moved to Kansas in 2000 and graduated from Wichita State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, after eight years of trying. That summer, she worked as a teacher for Upward Bound and unfortunately discovered that others faced challenges like hers, igniting a fire for advocacy and service that cannot be extinguished. She relocated to Topeka and became a single mom of three children.
In 2005, Michelle joined MANA National and traveled around the country educating women on financial literacy. She was also one of the founding members of the local Hermanitas chapter for mentorship of Latina girls. As her community involvement developed, she participated in the Capital District Group to advocate and develop the current Downtown Topeka plan.
In 2010, she became Executive Director of Topeka Habitat for Humanity where she established the first office, the ReStore and exponentially increased service delivery. She works alongside Dr. Morse to deliver an annual girls empowerment conference at Washburn University where more than 170 Topeka girls attend. Michelle supports the Rescue Mission as a volunteer and serves on the board of MANA National.
In 2013, Michelle was elected to City Council and served as Deputy Mayor in 2016. She is the Diversity and Inclusion Representative at Westar Energy and the Mayor of Topeka. Michelle’s greatest honor is being called Erick, Cristina and Lorraine’s mom.
Herman T. Jones
Herman has been married to his wife, Carlene, since 1982. They have two adult sons (Philip and Daniel) and are now grandparents. He actively serves in various capacities within his church and regularly advocates for positive community youth activities.
Since 1977, Herman has had the honor of serving the public through state and local agencies, most recently at the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.
Educational and Professional Accomplishments:
Emporia State University BS degree in Psychology (1991)
Graduate of the FBI National Academy, Session 248
Graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute, 101st Academy
Graduate of the Kansas Highway Patrol Academy, Class 18
Graduate of the Kansas Law Enforcement Basic, 54th Academy
Graduate of Leadership Greater Topeka, 2015
Graduate of Leadership Kansas, 2018
Professional and Community Involvement:
Serve as a Commissioner for the Kansas Commission on Police Officers’ Standards and Training
Member of Kansas Peace Officer Association (Life member)
Kansas and National Sheriff’s Association
Kansas and International Association of Chiefs of Police
FBI National Academy Associates
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Board of Trustee Capper Foundation
Advisory Board for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Shawnee County (CASA)
Board member for Shawnee County Department of Correction’s Public Relations
Recognition and Honors:
2012 Topeka Downtown Optimist as Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
2013 Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Distinguished Alumni
2014 Kansas Sheriff’s Association Sheriff of the Year
2016 Emporia State University Distinguished Alumni
Lance Royer
Captain Lance Royer‘s entire career has been dedicated to law enforcement and public safety communications. Capt. Royer began his career with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office in 1988, when he was 25 years old. He was promoted to Corporal in August of 1997, Sergeant just over a year later, Lieutenant in 2001, and Captain in 2005. In September of 2008, Capt. Royer was named Director of Communications where he was responsible for three shifts of Communications Specialists.
Among the goals he set as Director was to standardize the Communication Center’s procedures, to further encourage professionalism and he set service to the community as the priority.
From 2010 to 2015, Capt. Royer was the project manager for the development and implementation of a new, $12M dollar radio system, now in use by every public safety agency in Shawnee County.
Capt. Royer has an extensive history of membership and participation in professional organizations and has served on several boards. He was the agency’s NCIC Terminal Agency Coordinator and NCIC Law Enforcement Security Officer for 17 years, served as the SNSO Negotiating Team Coordinator, and represented the Kansas Sheriff’s Association on the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System (KCJIS) Advisory Board where he also served as treasurer. Capt. Royer was the Kansas Sheriff’s Association representative on the Kansas Homeland Security Council and served on the technology committee for the Byrne and JAG grants for the State of Kansas.
In 2001, Capt. Royer was awarded Officer of the Year by Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall for his commitment to crime victims, and AG Stovall again recognized him in 2002 for his work in the area of violence against women and children and in 2013, Capt. Royer received the KCJIS Director’s Award for Excellence.
Capt. Royer has continually advanced his professional knowledge and personal education throughout his career. He is a 2006 graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, 2013 Homeland Security Communications Leader Course graduate, 2014 Project Management Methodology course, certified as a Kansas IT Project Manager, graduate of Leadership Greater Topeka 2014, 2015 Certified Investigator for the FBI Digital Forensics Conference and this year completed a 17-hour course in Business Analysis Fundamentals, sponsored by Shawnee County Information Technology.
In retirement Capt. Hoyer has become a Realtor with Keller Williams One Legacy Partners, LLC and is serving as the Treasurer of Grace Cathedral. Capt. Royer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Washburn University and a PhD from Southern Cal University.
Capitol Federal
For more than 125 years, Capitol Federal® has remained steadfast in its corporate philosophy of Safety in Savings, Sound Lending Policies, Quality Customer Service, and Commitment to Community.
Capitol Federal is a leader in residential lending in Kansas and Missouri and boasts more than $9 billion in assets. In addition to single-family residential lending, the Bank offers commercial loans, Small Business Loans and business banking services. Capitol Federal offers a variety of retail deposit accounts, including checking, savings, money market, IRA and certificates of deposit, as well as trust services. With 44 traditional branches and 10 in-store locations, the Bank has a network that extends across the state of Kansas and into Missouri.
