Stories and Articles

Read Stories of Lives That Have Been Forever Changed

Testimonies of hope, transformation, and new beginnings from the women we serve in our community.

Featured Story

Seeing Things Differently – A Story of One of the Strong Women We Serve

Featured Stories

Pregnant. Homeless. Alone.

Read

A Child’s Perspective

Read

A New Dream

Read

A Kitchen of My Own

Read

All Posts

Seeing Things Differently – A Story of One of the Strong Women We Serve

Heroes for Christmas

No Longer Forced to Wait

A Child’s Perspective

In the Smallest Moments

Surprised by Exceptional Care

A New Dream

Graduating With Courage

You hold the key to a brighter future.​

Join a community of compassionate individuals just like you, unlocking a world of possibilities for those in need.

START NOW

Create authentic and life changing impact with Dream Centers today!

Help protect vulnerable women and children in Colorado Springs.

Donate

Join our mailing list and stay up to
date with what’s happening.

Newsletter Sign Up

Get involved and show your
support by helping out.

Volunteer

Mark loves the opportunity to serve in a faith-based organization with an amazing staff who are focused on supporting single-mother-led families exiting homelessness and taking on this transformational journey to build a stable life and career. 

Outside work, Mark enjoys spending time with his wife Kelli, and visiting his children and their families, championing his favorite role of being a grandpa. Mark also enjoys hiking through the great Colorado outdoors with his dog Bonnie and following his favorite sports teams with great, borderline unhealthy, passion!

For Hannah, supporting women on their healing journey is both a joy and a calling. She is inspired by holistic wellness and the beauty and growth that come from God's love working through community. 

Outside of work, Hannah is a proud aunt who loves sunshine and all things outdoors. In her free time, you’ll likely find her on a trail, laughing with friends, or wandering the aisles of Trader Joe’s.

Samara began her journey at Dream Centers as a volunteer, where she quickly found joy in working alongside a passionate team of staff and fellow volunteers. She was inspired by the profound impact the clinic had on women’s lives and deeply values how the Dream Centers programs provide for the underserved with both compassion and purpose. Samara enjoys connecting you and many other volunteers with opportunities at Dream Centers and enabling all those wonderful volunteers to see firsthand Dream Centers' healing and empowering impacts.

Originally from just outside Philadelphia, Samara enjoys the Colorado sunshine and can often be found hiking with her dog, Kyle, exploring new restaurants and cuisines with her husband, and bouldering at a local climbing gym with her husband and parents.

Gunnar Johnson is passionate about generosity, church growth, and equipping ministries for lasting impact. As a former Executive Pastor at Gateway Church, he built a financial stewardship ministry that helped fuel massive growth. He’s also helped launch businesses in Israel and advised churches worldwide through his consulting work.

Now part of the Dream Centers team, Gunnar is focused on serving vulnerable women and children in Colorado Springs. When he’s not working, you’ll find him cruising the mountains on his Harley, skiing with his wife, Missy, or soaking up time with his growing family—especially his granddaughter, Charlie.

Jocelyn's bio

Emmie Ponce de Leon serves in the role of Office Coordinator at Mary’s Home. She loves that her position allows her to play a supportive role in all of the incredible things happening at Mary’s Home. Her deepest desire has always been to serve God and his people in whatever capacity she can and feels the fulfillment of that dream coming into fruition through her work and the opportunity to see lives change in front of her eyes.

Emmie is a Colorado native who loves enjoying the beauty of the state throughout all of the seasons, even though the beach has a special place in her heart! She loves to travel with her husband, Jackson, but they also love to spend time at home playing games with their families and friends. Emmie also loves animals, especially her Himalayan cat named Kinkade, and likes to unwind after a long day by watching a tv show or listening to music.

Driven by a deep-rooted desire to make a difference, Julia finds joy in witnessing lives transformed by Dream Centers' mission. While her work looks different everyday, the one thing that never changes is the incredible team of people at Dream Centers who deeply love the community and tirelessly strive to make Colorado Springs a better place!

Beyond her work, Julia is a true Colorado enthusiast, often spotted hiking the trails with her Dalmatian puppy, Wiley. She cherishes moments spent with loved ones, mostly by sharing a meal or cup of coffee. Energized by quality time, Julia enjoys trying nearly anything new and loves supporting those around her in what they love to do.

Grace loves the mission behind Dream Centers as it allows her to have a purpose beyond herself. She appreciates the way the Dream Centers’ team strives for excellence in their work life as well as their personal life, and has personally experienced support in both of those areas of life since becoming a part of the team. For Grace, Dream Centers feels like home.

Grace was born and raised in Ohio with her parents and two younger sisters. In her free time, she loves to read, paint, and spend time with friends exploring her new home in Colorado Springs. She is very competitive and loves all things sports— specifically swimming, softball, and volleyball.

Bio Coming Soon!

Megan loves being able to help support the incredible work of healing and restoring of hope that is done at Dream Centers. While her work looks different everyday, the one thing that never changes is the incredible team of people at Dream Centers who deeply love the community and tirelessly strive to make Colorado Springs a better place!

She loves to read, try new recipes, and walk or hike with her husband, Trent. They have a cat named Harley Quinn who is beloved by Megan and tolerated by everyone else. Megan spends many evenings on the couch watching the latest Superhero/Starwars/Crime TV show. She loves smoothies, Dutch Bros, and can never say no to Mexican food—especially if sharing the meal with family and friends.

Jess loves being apart of a mission that focuses on loving the city well and providing critical services that may not otherwise exist. She takes great pride in the Dream Centers’ culture and values of excellence, generosity, and intentionality. She enjoys building relationships with the partners that support Dream Centers’ programs and make it all possible.

Jess’ free time is spent enjoying quality time with her husband, exploring Colorado’s beautiful outdoors, curling up with a good novel, or traveling somewhere new.

I love so many things about Dream Centers! I love working with our incredible staff who always makes me laugh, draws me closer to Jesus, and is so dedicated to serving the needs of our neighbors. I love that Dream Centers directly contributes to bettering this city that we love, and that we get to show the love of Jesus through our service.

My wife and I have been married since 2009, and have 2 incredible children, River and Michael. All of us are lovers of music, reading, laughter, and the sciences. In my free time I love playing guitar, reading science fiction and fantasy books, following UFC, and spending time with friends over a hot beverage.

In her role as Mary's Home Property Manager, Dora loves helping to set up the apartments for the new families to come in and call home. With the help of our awesome volunteer maintenance team, all of the units are in excellent condition and beautifully furnished for all incoming families.
Dora raised 2 children, one son, 1 daughter as a single parent and for her, walking alongside Mary's Home families gives her so much joy. She still appreciates and loves spending time with her family doing activities and planning dinners. She loves being outside and traveling. Her favorite place to recharge is the beach. The sound of the ocean and the feel of the sand bring such a calm and peaceful energy to her life.

Meleina serves as the Community Outreach Coordinator at Dream Centers. She loves Dream Centers’ mission and passion to create a difference and bring about impactful change in the lives of vulnerable women and children. She is honored to be a part of the daily work of seeing families and individuals find healing and hope through our programs. For Meleina, getting to advance the Kingdom of God by collaborating with supporters who also have a deep love for our community is truly an honor.

In her free time, Meleina loves spending quality time with friends and family over a good cup of coffee, playing pickle ball or going for a fun hike. She enjoys traveling, exploring new cities, and experiencing different cultures.

Bethany loves her role at Mary’s Home working as a Family Advocate. Her favorite part of the job is working in a place that is so deeply committed to holistic care.

Bethany love to be outside enjoying nature. She is passionate about Thai food and loves to spend time with her epically adorable nieces and nephews.

Stacy loves serving others in the community with a staff that is a family. She appreciates the kindness and generosity of Dream Centers’ leadership team. For Stacy, Dream Centers is a place where she feels cared for and restored while getting to care for and witness the transformation of the women who come to the Clinic. Everywhere she turns, she feels surrounded by support and love.

Stacy’s 2 adult daughters and her precious grandson bring incredible joy to her life! She loves Jesus with all of her heart and He has always been her constant companion. Stacy’s hobbies include reading and crocheting. Stacy collects snowmen and has them up all year round!

I love the intentionality behind every idea, word, decision, and action. Dream Centers is the place where I am seen, valued, and loved, not just for what I bring to the table, but for who I am as a person… and that goes a long way.

Family time fills my cup along with making clay earrings, taking time to grocery shop, and doing absolutely anything outdoors. I am always on the lookout for new podcasts, coffee shops, books, and little big moments to spend with Jesus.

As a registered nurse and Medical Office Coordinator at the Dream Centers Women’s Clinic, Whitney’s desire is to serve, encourage, and care for those in need. She loves that at the Dream Centers Women’s Clinic, she can share hope with those who may feel hopeless and love those who feel unloved.

Whitney enjoys going on adventures with her three daughters in the gorgeous Colorado mountains while camping, hiking, biking, and exploring. Spending time with her family, travel, art, and photography are some of her other interests.

Nora loves that she gets to play a role in helping women and families rebuild their lives. She does this through cultivating relationships with Dream Centers’ generous supporters and prospective donors, sharing the stories of impact and change happening every day, and finding inspiring ways to invite others to partner with Dream Centers to bring health and hope to those being served.

God, family, friends, travel and sports are a big deal for Nora. Nothing matters more than her walk with the Lord and honoring Him with her time, talents and treasure. Utilizing her gift of hospitality, along with her husband Jim’s culinary skills, they enjoy hosting gatherings at their home. Travel is a personal passion of Nora’s. She is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan and has been known to wear her jersey and wave her Terrible Towel proudly, even though she lives in Bronco territory.

Working at Dream Centers gives me the amazing privilege of overseeing our holistic, high-challenge/high support program for single moms coming out of homelessness, as well as the opportunity to develop leaders and connect with our amazing community partners. Dream Centers is truly motivated by a love for God’s Kingdom and a love for people which makes it a wonderful place to serve.

I am a wife of 17 years and mom to five daughters. Outside of work, you can find me at one of my daughter’s various activities, snuggling with my miniature schnauzer, trying a new craft, or reading something old. Our family also has served as a foster family for El Paso County for the past nine years.

My favorite aspect of working at Dream Centers is that Dream Centers is a place of limitless opportunities. In my role as Mary’s Home Community Advocate, I am passionate about creating an environment for people to gather, laugh, and connect.

In my spare time I like to spend time with my daughter; baking cookies, crafting or going on little adventures in our beautiful state, Colorado.

Natalie Johnson has over 15 years of experience working as a Physician Assistant in Oncology, Family Practice, and Women’s Health. In her role as Clinic Director for the Dream Centers Women’s Clinic, she loves serving the women and helping to meet their physical, spiritual and mental needs.

Natalie enjoys spending time with her boys and husband, working out, traveling, Christian praise music and impressionist art.

In her role as Women’s Clinic Operations Director, Michelle loves serving with a community of awesome people who are dedicated to showing the love of Christ with no judgement.

Michelle loves the outdoors, and a few of her favorite outdoor hobbies are camping and fishing. She has three amazing kids who are doing great things through academics and athletics in college and high school. A local favorite for her is the Fountain Nature Center.

It is Sue’s joy and delight to get to know the amazing people who come to work and volunteer with Dream Centers and to share in making a positive impact in the community. She is so grateful to be a part of a Dream Centers family that loves and serves well.

Sue loves photography! Seeing new places, reading, cooking, and hiking are some of her favorite things. While Sue currently resides in Missouri, her Colorado Springs dining favorites include Leon Gessi’s pizza and Monica’s breakfast burritos!

Samantha serves as the Sonographer for the Dream Centers Women’s Clinic. She has a passion for women’s health and enjoys the opportunity to get to know and serve the women who come through the clinic, each with their own personal journeys.

Samantha is registered with the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) specializing in OB/GYN sonography. She previously worked as a Sonographer for a Los Angeles County outpatient clinic before being called to move to Colorado and joining the Dream Centers Women’s Clinic in 2015. Samantha enjoys watching God’s beautiful sunsets, hiking in the mountains, listening to an eclectic variety of music especially 60s music, going to outdoor concerts, and traveling with her husband and their two boys.

For Kylie, it is such an honor and gift to get to partner in the healing and transformative work that God is doing here in this city. She loves being surrounded daily by the brave, powerful, resilient women at Mary’s Home.

Kylie is always up for an adventure and especially loves being in the mountains, even more so if there’s a body of water to play in or sit by. She also loves traveling, learning from new cultures, sitting in local coffee shops, reading good books, and hanging out with family and friends.

She once bungee jumped in Africa at Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world!

In his role at CEO and Pastor of Dream Centers, Matthew is all about connecting and serving people with excellence. He spent several years in the Air Force, building and managing air and space programs, and teaching at USAFA, before founding Dream Centers in 2011. He geeks out on all things leadership and theology, but gets even more life from adventure in the great outdoors with family and friends and seeing people overcome their challenges.

He enjoys travel, reading, the arts, outdoors, and live music. You might see him trail running the Rockies, enjoying the best coffees that Colorado Springs has to offer, or enjoying his neighborhood with his wife, Amber, his son, Zeke, and his daughter, Halle Joy.

Ashley serves in the role of Admissions Coordinator at Mary’s Home. She loves working in a well-rounded and wholistic environment where staff and residents all care for one another deeply. Whether staff or resident, at Mary’s Home. everyone is part of a family that comes together to support each other to the best of our ability. For Ashley, getting to come in to work every day excited to see her coworkers and motivated to do her job is the biggest blessing in the world.

Ashley is a single mom from Tennessee with one beautiful little girl. She loves to be outdoors because the mountains and trees make all of her problems seem so small compared to what God has created. She and her daughter love to ice skate, play board games, and snuggle up on the couch together at the end of the day. She is passionate about clean eating and is obsessed with Thai and Mexican food!

Stay in the loop

Join our Friends and Fans group to stay up to date with all of the incredible things that our generous supporters make possible.

Stay in the loop

Join our Friends and Fans group to stay up to date with all of the incredible things that our generous supporters make possible.

Stay in the loop

Join our Friends and Fans group to stay up to date with all of the incredible things that our generous supporters make possible.