OUR TEAM

Do you remember your favorite your favorite summer as a kid? What if you could create a dream summer for kids right where you live?

Skylark takes the fun of the traditional camp experience and brings it to you, and we think it will end up being one of your best summers, too. A summer at Skylark means investing in the community where your life happens, while building valuable skills and preparing for your future.

Join Our Team

STAN DOBBS

Stan Dobbs is the founder of Apartment Life, Lionheart, and Skylark. He currently serves as CEO of Lionheart and Skylark. After a career in the computer industry, Stan attended seminary in Fort Worth, Texas and developed a passion for serving apartment communities while on staff at a chuurch. His passion is to birth and develop "businesstry" visions which are spiritually effective, scalable and sustainable via integrated business models. He lives in the Dallas area with his wife Vicky.

JAKE COLLINS

Jake's life was changed during a powerful camp experience as a young man. For the last 20 years, he's followed in the footsteps of the men that invested in him by serving in some form of camp ministry. He received his Masters degree from Southwestern Seminary and is currently pursuing additional graduate work with the goal of completing a doctoral program. When he's not busy leading the Skylark team or studying, you'll probably find Jake on a mountain somewhere. Whether it's hiking, climbing, snowboarding, or potentially being stalked by a grizzly (you should probably ask him about that one), he loves being outdoors. Jake is always up for competition or sports of any kind, which occasionally includes running with the bulls in Spain. Actually, there are probably quite a few stories you should ask him about. Jake and his beautiful wife, Emily, live in Richardson and they love adventuring together, especially when it involves spending time with their nephews.

SARAH CRAFT

Sarah spent the last 10 years in the corporate sector providing operational excellence and driving productivity and project management. After a series of events that only God could orchestrate, she has happily made her home with Skylark where she is helping to scale the behind-the-scenes operations while getting the team ready-set to grow! Sarah holds a B.S. from Texas A&M (WHOOP!) and an M.B.A. and M.S. from Texas Woman’s University.

She grew up going to Pine Cove every summer and was “that camper” who did not want to jump around and yell chants and cheers. Sarah is passionate about building up moms who work outside of the home and ministering to their unique challenges and needs. She is a firm believer in learning how to say “No” in a world that continually demands more. When she’s not at work you can find her in her happiest place - somewhere outside with her husband, two young kids, and dog, most likely needing more caffeine (and even more grace).

KYLE SCOTT

Kyle was born and raised in Alabama (Roll Tide!) but came to Texas to work as a summer staffer at Pine Cove from 2011 to 2014, where he met his wife, Hannah. Absolutely smitten and sensing a call to vocational ministry, he moved to Texas to attend Southwestern Seminary. While at Southwestern, he developed a love for education and non-profit work, and he's spent the last ten years pursuing those two loves personally and professionally. In His great kindness, the Lord opened a door for Kyle to join the Skylark team as the VP of Growth. He's praying the Lord does abundantly more than the Skylark team can ask or think as we partner with local churches in summer camp ministry to give every child a hero who is following Jesus, the true hero. When he's not finding new church partners and supporters for Skylark, you can find Kyle spending time with Hannah and their three sweet children, usually at a park, enjoying a football or baseball game, riding bikes and scooters, or playing Gaga Ball! They live in Richardson and attend Dallas Bible Church.

EMILY GENTILES

After moving a gazillion times, Emily settled finally in Texas, which she now considers the Motherland. She grew up in a Christian home with her 2 sisters and gave her life to the Lord at a young age. After graduating with a degree in Religion from ETBU, she spent the next several years doing camp ministry full-time at Carolina Creek Christian Camp. Then she met this handsome guy named David Gentiles. He was a singer, songwriter and worship leader and she HAD to have him. They’ve been involved in church ministry together for 14 years. While in Houston they began to foster and were able to adopt two wonderful children. David is on worship staff at CityBridge Community Church (The best church in the world) (If she’s allowed to say that).

RYAN DUNLEAVY

While at Dallas Baptist University, Ryan spent his summers crammed in a van with seven other college students traveling across the US to do camp ministry. Three summers later, there was no denying that Ryan fell in love with camp — and more in love with his Creator.

After graduating from DBU, Ryan served at various non-profits, helping spearhead effective communication strategies. He deeply longs for families to behold the truth, beauty, and goodness of Jesus through the Skylark at the local church.

Ryan and his wife, Rylee, call Northway Church home. Whenever you interact with Ryan, the odds are that he will have a cup of coffee close by. (If not, he most likely just finished a cup… or one's on the way!)

BAYLEE BLANKENSHIP

Baylee is from a small town in north Louisiana. She spent most of her life there and even stayed and went to Louisiana Tech University. Throughout her time at LA Tech, she spent her summer as a camp counselor at Pine Cove Timbers sharing the good news to 8th and 9th grade girls. After her college days, she explored different career avenues to find where the Lord was calling her to be. She spent time in ministry at the Austin Stone Community Church, The Bridge Community, and financial institutions. During this time, she also met her incredible husband, Reeves, while he was finishing up his football career at LA Tech. Baylee and her husband, Reeves, live in Dallas with their sweet baby boy, Cameron. Baylee loves serving, developing, and preparing people for life and for the Kingdom!

ELLIOTT DOBBS

Elliott is the how-to guy when it comes to camp! He has been a family camper for 8 years at Pine Cove Bluffs, worked as the college operations staffer on one of Pine Cove's traveling teams, and now has worked in full-time camping ministry for 2 years. He has a passion for getting things done and conquering various challenges which is seen in his love for hiking, rock climbing, woodworking, and volleyball.

Caitlyn Cooper

Caitlyn is originally from Little Elm, Texas. During her high school summers, she attended FUGE Camps, which were invaluable in her spiritual journey. During college, Caitlyn was privileged to join FUGE Camps as a Worship Team Member & Bible Study Leader, where she got her first taste of working in camp ministry. Caitlyn graduated with her Bachelor's in Music Education from Northwestern State University, where she met her husband, Hunter. After graduation, the two moved back to North Texas, where Caitlyn worked in education before joining the Skylark team. When not demonstrating her administrative powers, it's more than likely you could find Caitlyn either reading fantasy books or playing video games with her husband.

JACOB SHELLUM

Jacob grew up in Fort Worth and he attended summer camps all through elementary and middle school. In high school, Jacob started working at Camp Thurman where he served four summers as well as volunteering at Camp Barnabas. After high school, Jacob studied Recreation, Parks & Tourism Sciences with a certificate in youth development at Texas A&M University (WHOOP!) and found his passion for camp ministry and chose to pursue full-time ministry. After serving two summers at Sky Ranch and graduating in December, Jacob moved to Dallas where he served as the CityBridge Program Director for the summer. The Lord opened up the right doors and Jacob was blessed with the opportunity to come on to Skylark full time as the Cottonwood Creek Church Camp Director. Jacob is a two time fantasy football champion and on Sundays you will find him in front of his setup with three TVs cheering on the Cowboys and his fantasy players.

Hannah Garcia

Hannah graduated from the University of North Texas in May of 2021 with a Spanish degree in hopes to pursue a life in Latin missions. In college, God ignited Hannah’s heart for reaching the lost, intentionally loving others, and mentoring those who desire to grow in their relationship with the Lord. In the past year and a half, Hannah served and moved to Boston to help a church plant, but she moved back in 2022, allowing her to serve her first summer as a senior counselor for Skylark, where she was able to utilize her passion of mentoring. Her time at camp has been short, but it’s fitting for how the Lord has equipped her. Hannah is hopeful and expectant for God to move in the next season as a camp director!

JACKSON RODERICK

Jackson is an OG Skylarker as the FIRST-EVER summer staff hire! He grew up in College Station and moved to Dallas to go to DBU. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies in 2022. He is passionate about serving the local church and being involved in the process of discipleship. Jackson loves connecting with others over shared interests, whether that's reading (theology or fiction), the Mavericks, or Star Wars. Being part of Skylark was one of the best things about Jackson's college life and he is pumped to continue by serving as the Camp Director at CityBridge! Jackson is lucky to be married to his beautiful and amazing wife, Kinsley (and he gets extra brownie points for saying so as often as he can).

TANNER LIGON

Tanner is a BIG camp guy! After growing up in San Antonio most of his life Tanner worked at T Bar M Camps for over 7 summers throughout high school and college, even spending a full year there as a part of their Timothy Team program. Tanner has a strong desire for discipleship and loves having intentional conversations while asking fun questions that make you think. Tanner loves Skylark because it uses the fun intentional environment of camp to point people to the local church. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2023 and is so pumped to be here on the team here at Skylark!

JULIE BARKER

Julie has over 25 years of experience in Accounting and Finance both in for-profit and not-for-profit companies. She has been an AVP and Controller for multiple organizations. She is a CPA and holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Angelo State University and an M.B.A. from Texas Tech University. She has served with Lionheart Children’s Academy since its’ inception. She took 3 years (2005-2008) to serve on the mission field in Mexico City as a teacher at Mexico City Christian Academy and taught middle school and high school students in Math, History, Science, and Bible. She enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her two dogs.

Kayla Parker

Kayla has 20+ years in education, where she has worked as an Elementary Teacher, a High School Principal, and an Executive Director of HR. She’s the founder of a nationwide feeding program called "The Backpack Buddy Club” and a published author known for her book "Take the Blindfold Off" and her upcoming release, "The Toad Road." Her achievements have garnered recognition, appearing on the 700 Club and featuring on ABC Nightline News. Outside of her professional life, Kayla is passionate about guiding young girls to discover their identity through Christ. She is a mother to two older sons and a very fluffy fur baby named Winston.