Brightli, Centerstone announce new regional COO

Keylee Tesar

Brightli Inc. and Centerstone announced today that Southwest Region Executive Vice President of Community Operations Keylee Tesar will transition into a new leadership role on Nov. 1, as the previously announced merger of Brightli and Tennessee-based Centerstone is expected to close.

Tesar will serve as Southwest regional chief operating officer with Centerstone, according to a news release. Her duties will include oversight of daily operations for 1,110 employees in the region. Tesar replaces Elizabeth Cole, who was promoted to chief clinical transformation officer of the Centerstone Institute.

In the news release, Tesar said the soon-to-merge organizations’ Southwest Region “is already on a strong path.”

She added, “My vision is to build on that progress, to keep strengthening our culture, expanding access to care and ensuring that no matter where someone enters our system, they experience the same high standard of quality and compassion.”

Clay Goddard, Southwest Region president, praised Tesar in the news release: "Keylee has a track record of setting her team members up to succeed, and that in turn helps them offer life-changing help to our clients in the communities we serve," he said. “From her role in securing grant funding to build programming for foster families in Oklahoma to championing a region-wide leadership development academy, Keylee puts all her heart in influencing culture and creating lasting impact across the Southwest Region. I’m excited to see what she will do as COO.”

Tesar has two decades of experience in community mental health, working as a licensed professional counselor and as a licensure supervisor and in leadership roles. She has a master’s degree in community counseling from Oklahoma State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“What first drew me to this work is knowing on a personal level what it feels like to need help and how life-changing it can be when that help is there,” Tesar said in the release.

An Oklahoma native and Cherokee Nation citizen, Tesar relocated to the Springfield area last year.