President and CEO
Began: July 1, 2015
Click for larger image; right click larger image to download.Dr. Blake Flanders serves as President and CEO for the Kansas Board of Regents.
Before serving in his current position, Dr. Flanders served as the Vice President for Workforce Development for the Kansas Board of Regents and provided executive leadership for the Kansas Postsecondary Technical Education Authority. In this role, he was the state leader for issues involving the state's postsecondary education and training system, including targeted expansion of engineering and nursing programs. Dr. Flanders also led the state-level evaluation of research proposals within the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
Born in Edson, Kansas, Dr. Flanders is a graduate of Colby Community College and Kansas State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, Masters of Science in Animal Science, and Doctorate of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction. Before serving as Vice President, Dr. Flanders served as the liaison between the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Department of Commerce (2004-2007), Vice President of Instructional Services at Manhattan Area Technical College (1998-2004), and as a member of the faculty at Butler Community College (1988-1998).
City: Wichita
Term Ends: June 2027
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Jon Rolph is President and CEO of Thrive Restaurant Group, which owns and operates 172 restaurants including Applebee’s, Carlos O’Kelly’s, HomeGrown, Modern Market and BakeSale. Thrive is the nation’s second-largest Applebee’s franchisee with restaurants in 15 states across the Midwest, Carolinas and Appalachia. In July 2024, Thrive signed a deal with Qdoba to open 30 new restaurants in North and South Carolina over the next few years.
Jon was a two-time Student Body President at Baylor University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2001. After graduation, Jon worked with college student leaders as an intern for the National Student Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. He returned to Kansas in 2002 to work in the family-owned businesses started by his father, David, and his uncle, Darrel Rolph.
Jon has held several key positions in the company, including restaurant-level operations, V.P. of Administration and Marketing, and COO of Carlos O’Kelly’s, eventually succeeding his father as President of Sasnak Management, which was rebranded in early 2019 to Thrive Restaurant Group.
Jon has served on the boards of several local and national organizations, including the Wichita Children’s Home, United Way of the Plains, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, Visioneering Wichita (as Chairman), Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, the Center for Combating Human Trafficking, and the Wichita Metro YMCA boards. His current board memberships and affiliations include Vice-Chairman of the Greater Wichita Partnership, Board of Directors of INTRUST Bank, Chairman of Centralized Supply Chain Services (CSCS), Chairman of the Applebee’s Franchise Business Council, and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents.
Jon and his wife, Lauren, are both 5th-generation Kansans. They have been married for over 18 years and have six children, ages four to fifteen.
City: Lawrence
Term Ends: June 2025
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Wint Winter is a fifth-generation Kansan. He is currently a Partner at Stevens & Brand, L.L.P., and previously was CEO and Co-Chairman of Peoples Bank & Peoples, Inc. Winter served in the Kansas Senate from 1982-1992, and received a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Kansas.
Winter was appointed to the Kansas Board of Regents by Governor Laura Kelly in June 2021.
City: Dodge City
Term Ends: June 2026
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Ms. Diana Mendoza is the Director of ESOL & Diversity at Dodge City Public Schools – USD 443. Ms. Mendoza attended Kansas State University where she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Educational Leadership. She has continued her education at Kansas State University where she is currently seeking an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction.
Ms. Mendoza began her career with USD 443 over twenty years ago, first as an ESOL Data Specialist, then as a classroom teacher, ESOL instructional coach, and now as director. In her role she works with teachers to develop best practices for working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students, leads efforts in support of migratory youth, and is as an advocate for the diverse population of students and families in her community as well as across the State of Kansas.
She has served on key educational state committees such as the KSDE ESOL Educator’s Professional Learning Cohort, English Learner Assessment Writers Committee, Migrant Education Comprehensive Needs Assessment Committee, and the Migrant Education State Delivery Plan Committee. Additionally, she is the Kansas Member-at-Large for MIDTESOL.
City: Edna
Term Ends: June 2027
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Alysia Johnston was appointed to the Kansas Board of Regents by Governor Laura Kelly in 2023.
Regent Johnston has 37 years of experience in community college education. She most recently served as the President for Fort Scott Community College, where she worked closely with the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Technical Education Authority. She served as Vice President for Academic Services for Coffeyville Community College from 2005 to 2015, where she was Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.
Regent Johnston earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in Biology from Pittsburg State University.
