Our Staff

Erika Higgins

Executive director

Erika first joined Pure & Simple as a District Coordinator with the Pure & Simple Lifestyle project in 2006 and rejoined PSHE in 2018 as the Program Director and now serves as the Executive Director. Erika, married for sixteen years and a mother of four, has always had a passion for helping others, especially families, marriages and youth. She believes in the goodness in youth and strives to show them the good, beauty, and truth in themselves and in their relationships in the world around them. ​​​ 

Maury Kerschen

Director of development

A graduate of Kansas State University with dual majors in Political Science and Public Relations, she served as a congressional aide to now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before joining Pure & Simple as the Development Director.  Maury is a co-founder of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita's Project Freedom Retreat program and Diocesan Chastity Task Force.  She has given talks to thousands of teens and parents on the virtue of chastity.  Maury and her husband Brian married in 2006 and have four children.

Tara Thomas

Office assistant

Tara is passionate about helping youth know that they are loved and that they have value.