Jake Pelfrey | Thoughts on Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Child Welfare

Fighting for Kentucky's Kids

Jake’s advocacy work in Kentucky is rooted in a deep conviction that every child deserves a safe, loving, and permanent home. After nearly two decades of work within the child welfare system, he has seen both the gaps that fail children and the extraordinary resilience that emerges when families and communities are properly supported.

His work focuses on the public facing side of change. Jake brings together grassroots community engagement and policy level advocacy, believing meaningful reform requires alignment between people, institutions, and systems. He works closely with churches, nonprofits, and government partners to build trust, close gaps, and develop collaborative solutions that put children and families first.

Whether speaking at conferences, advising organizations, or writing about leadership and faith, Jake’s mission remains clear. He is committed to seeing more children achieve permanency, more families equipped to care well, and more communities mobilized to support vulnerable children throughout Kentucky.

Leadership That Begins at Home

Jake’s professional formation has been shaped by hands on service across the country, including homeless outreach in Chicago and behavioral counseling programs for underprivileged youth in Phoenix. These experiences inform his current work in Kentucky, where he is focused on reimagining how the child welfare system supports families and improves long term outcomes for children.

Jake holds two graduate degrees, a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Religious Studies from Liberty University, and is a credentialed Christian nonprofit leader. His leadership is grounded in theology, informed by systems thinking, and driven by a commitment to practical, sustainable solutions.

Outside of his professional work, Jake’s greatest investment is his family. He and his wife, Erin, are raising four young children, and family life shapes how he understands leadership, responsibility, and care. For Jake, strengthening families is not an abstract goal. It is the lens through which he leads, serves, and works toward a healthier future for children across Kentucky.