Sharilyn Ray

Dr. Sharilyn Ray is a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (LSCSW) and the founder and CEO of Restoration Family Services, a Christ-centered child-placing agency with wraparound support in Wichita, Kansas. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work from Wichita State University and a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) from the University of Kansas. She previously worked as a leader of a foster care program, a supervisor in child welfare, and an adoption case manager. A survivor of childhood abuse, poverty, homelessness, and domestic violence, she worked full time while raising four children as a single mother and earning her degrees, later marrying and fostering and adopting additional children. She ran for governor of Kansas in 2026 as an independent write-in candidate on a platform centered on clean water, Medicaid expansion and rural healthcare, protecting family farms, property tax relief, education, small business, and government transparency.