Meet the 2026-2027 Board
Please click on the board member's position to email them directly.
Tara Habhab
Senior Advisor
With 27 years as an Army spouse, Tara is a dedicated advocate for military families. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tarleton State University and has spent 13 years working in schools and with the Military Child Education Coalition. In these roles, she focused on empowering military parents to be their child's best advocate and providing support during educational transitions. Currently, she works for the Kansas State University Graduate School and is serving her second term on the CSF board, where she continues to enjoy giving back to the community.
Marcy Webb
Marcy is a dedicated community leader, business professional, and proud Army spouse of 19 years. She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of North Dakota and brings a strong commitment to service, leadership, and community engagement.
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Originally from Minnesota, Marcy enjoys traveling, cooking, and giving back to the communities her family is planted in. She is honored to be in her fifth year of service on the CSF Board and is passionate about supporting military dependents and helping expand educational opportunities.
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Advice to scholarship recipients: “Life is short—make it count. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and remember to laugh along the way.”
Penny Ezell
Penny Ezell is an Army spouse of 30 years and holds a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Arkansas. She has dedicated nearly three decades to education, serving as a teacher, literacy coach, and currently as a literacy specialist, where she trains educators in the Science of Reading. Passionate about service, Penny enjoys volunteering and giving back to the communities the Army has allowed her family to call home.
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Penny's advice to scholarship applicants is to “Find your path—explore different interests to discover what you’re passionate about and where your strengths lie. One of my favorite quotes is from Steve Jobs: ‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do.’ That’s why I believe it is so important to focus on your passions and align your education and career goals with them.”
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This is Penny’s second year serving on the CSF Board, and she is excited to help make this year’s impact memorable for both sponsors and recipients.
Meagen Laman
Meagen is an Army spouse of 14 years and grew up all over the US as an Air Force brat with dual military parents. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with minors in English and Philosophy from Texas A&M University (W11OOP) and currently works as a remote Team Leader and essay rater for Measurement Incorporated. Previously she was fortunate enough to serve as both a High School and Middle School ELA teacher, as well as a substitute teacher for various grade levels, all over the United States.
After being in the education career field for almost a decade, Meagen's advice to scholarship applicants is to stay true to their story and always look forward to the next chapter.
This is Meagen's fourth year serving on the CSF board.
Megan York
Megan York is an Army spouse of 16 years; prior to her life as an Army spouse, she grew up all over the United States and England as an Air Force brat.
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She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Maryland University College, with a particular interest in 19th century English literature and history.
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Megan and her husband were previously stationed at Fort Riley from 2019-2022, during which time she served on the boards of the Fort Riley Spouses Club and the Historical and Archeological Society of Fort Riley. Having moved back to Fort Riley in 2026, Megan is excited to join CSF in their mission to support the higher education goals of the Fort Riley community.
Paul Bednar
Paul is an Army spouse of 15 years and a retired Soldier who served 23 years in the United States Army. He and his wife are proud parents of two wonderful boys
and an awesome dog, Janie.
Paul holds a Master’s degree in Management with an Army Operations & National Security specialization from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies/Science from the United States Military Academy. A lifelong military brat, he considers Alexandria, Virginia his hometown.
He enjoys volunteer coaching, is active in Scouting, and loves traveling with his family. He lives by a simple guiding principle: Be better tomorrow than you are today, and make positive impacts on those around you.
This is Paul’s first year serving on the CSF Board.
Liz Smith
Liz Smith has been an Army spouse for more than 10 years and is originally from the Fort Drum area in Northern New York. She and her husband have a 6-year-old daughter, and their family is excited to return to Fort Riley for a second time and serve the Big Red One community.
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As a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP), Liz enjoys the intersection of her professional work and her commitment to supporting the military community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dean College in Franklin, MA, and has worked in nonprofit development for more than seven years with organizations of varying sizes and missions, including military-focused nonprofits. Passionate about the power of philanthropy to create meaningful social change and strengthen communities, Liz currently serves as Development Manager for Clubhouse International, a global mental health nonprofit.
She looks forward to serving the community
and being part of CSF this year.
Cyndi DePaul
Cyndi is an Army spouse of 9 years. She attended community college for 2 years before transferring to San Diego State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Cyndi then completed her Masters degree in School Counseling from Marymount University. Before starting a family, she was a school counselor for 8 years, at the high school and elementary school levels. She was also the school counselor at a K-12 International School in Saudi Arabia. The toughest job that she ever loved was being a Deaf Education volunteer in Kenya with the U.S. Peace Corps.
Cyndi is a first-generation college graduate. Her advice to scholarship applicants is “you have to be willing to put in the hard work to reach your goals, but once you do, the reward is priceless”.
This is Cyndi’s first year serving the CSF board.
Kaitlynn Steen
Kaitlynn Steen grew up as an army brat, and was an artillery officer before starting her 12 year journey as a military spouse. Currently Kaitlynn is a small business owner, and a mother
of two active boys. Kaitlynn has a bachelor’s degree in
political science from Creighton University.
Kaitlynn enjoys traveling with her family, being active, and building connections in the community.
Open Position
Come join our team!
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The Advertising Chair is responsible for keeping our website and social media channels up to date with all the best information. This position is integral in making sure that CSF is able to spread the word about scholarship accessibility to our military dependent community.
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CSF is a team and we collaborate together, please reach out if you are interested in joining!
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you are new to the Fort Riley area and interested in volunteering with the Combined Scholarship Fund please reach out to our chair, Marcy, at:
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scholarship@combinedscholarshipfund.org
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General Board Volunteers are always appreciated! Our General Board Volunteers are there to help represent CSF at Community Information Exchange Meetings, help assemble application binders for our judges, set up for the Scholarship Ceremony, and more as they are able!
Join us!
If you are interested in joining the board or volunteering in any capacity, please let us know!