Committees

KC Rising’s Committee Members, Task Forces and Volunteers are made up of a collective of local professionals from a diverse range of industries. Together we ensure that our initiatives are met.

Steering Committee

The KC Rising Steering Committee is the governing body for the KC Rising initiative and is composed of business and community volunteers from across the metropolitan area who are committed to regional collaboration. The Steering Committee:

Guides overall direction, ensures integration of strategies, and is accountable for accomplishing the KC Rising goals. Key performance indicators in support of the overarching goals are established by each KC Rising initiative, committee and teams, to be monitored and reviewed by the KC Rising Steering Committee on a regular basis.
Maintains strategic focus on the aggressive pursuit of the KC Rising goals.
Evaluates the strategies and activities of KC Rising committees and teams.
Seeks out best practices in other metropolitan areas and national trends relevant to KC Rising strategies and goals.
Reports progress annually to the KC region.

Leadership

Silas-Dulan.-Director-Diversity-Equity-Inclusion.-Evergy

Neal Sharma (Co-Chair)

President

Dentsu DTC

Carolyn Watley (Co-Chair)

Vice President, Community Engagement

CBIZ

C. Mauli Agrawal

Chancellor

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Dr. Kimberly Beatty

Chancellor

Metropolitan Community College

Michael Boehm

Mayor

City of Lenexa

Jessica Dain

Superintendent

Piper School District

Michael Duffy

Community Development Director

City of Riverside, MO

Steve Edwards

Retired Chairman & CEO

Black & Veatch

Philip Gaskin

Vice President, Entrepreneurship

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Andrea Hendricks, Ph.D

Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer

Tico Productions

Cokethea Hill, Ph.D

CEO

StoneHill Firm

Charlotte Kemper Black

Director, Charitable Trusts & Foundations

Commerce Bank

Elizabeth MacLeod Walls

President

William Jewell College

Maria Meyers

Executive Director

UMKC Innovation Center

Tyler Nottberg

Chairman and Chief Optimist

U.S Engineering

Tracey Osborne Oltjen

President

Overland Park Chamber of Commerce

Bob Regnier

President & CEO

Bank of Blue Valley

Dennis Ridenour

President & CEO

BioNexus KC

Rich Smith

President - Emeritus

Henderson Engineers

Qiana Thomason

President & CEO

Health Forward Foundation

David Von Drehle

Columnist, National Affairs & Politics

The Washington Post

Shalea Walter

Vice President, Marketing Manager

Arvest Bank

Fred Wise

Chief People Officer

Bardavon Health Innovations

Pedro Zamora

Executive Director

Hispanic Economic Development Corporation

Sam Huenergardt

CEO

AdventHealth Mid-America Region

Bill Baird

City of Lee’s Summit

People Driving Committee

The People Driving Committee exists to ensure the Kansas City metro region can develop, attract and retain the diverse talent necessary to grow the region’s economic competitiveness.

Leadership

Molly Weaver (Co-Chair)

Founder

Sunflower Talent Strategies

Brandi Riggs

Vice President, Human Resources

McCownGordon

Angie Grant

Principal

Henderson Engineering

Maria Gibbs

Director, Recruiting

Cerner

Suzanne Goochis

Vice Chancellor, Instruction

Metropolitan Community College

Mickey McCloud

Chief Academic Officer

Johnson County Community College

Jeremy Hegle

Senior Community Development Advisor

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Laurel Hogue

Director, Vice Provost, Extended Studies

University of Central Missouri

Kelly O'Connor

STEM, Diversity and Recruitment Specialist

Garmin

Lindsey Lanzisero

Vice President of Total Rewards

H&R Block

Alise Martiny

Secretary, Business Manager

Greater Kansas City Buildings and Construction Trade Councils

Megan Remley

Senior Vice President, Unit Leader

Lockton

Clyde McQueen

Chief Executive Officer

Full Employment Council

Greg Mosier

President

Kansas City Kansas Community College

Amanda Todd

Senior Director Strategy & Planning, Advanced & Emerging Technologies

T-Mobile

Toree Pederson

President

Aligned

Keely Schneider

Executive Director

Workforce Partnerhips

Angelique "Angie" Williams

Director, Community Investment and Impact

Health Forward Foundation

Danica Rome

Vice President, Programs and Partnership Operations

Kansas Manufacturing Solutions

Sharmelle D. Winsett

Director of Workforce and Alumni Engagement

KC Scholars

Brenda Thomas

Academic Advisor

Donnelly College

Bridget Loveless

Manager, Talent Development

Evergy

Krissy Young

Chief People Officer

C2FO

Daniel Folk

Director of Impact

BioKansas

Tim Shroba

Recruitment Manager for Construction/Transmission & Distribution

Burns & McDonnell

Traded Sectors Driving Committee

The Traded Sectors Driving Committee was created in 2020 to review industry data to determine the region’s industry strengths. The committee will monitor economic disruptions and select an industry where the region has existing strength that is sooner to recover due to KC being uniquely positioned. The committee will help determine a now and next sector, as well as help in the selection strategy for said sectors.

Leadership

Sonia Hall (Co- Chair)

President & CEO
BioKansas

Tiffany Stovall (Co- Chair)

CEO
Kansas Manufacturing Solutions

Rebecca Baumgartner

Vice President, Human Resources
Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

Hubert Benitez

American International College
President

Jeff Bloemker

Market Administrator
HCA Physician Services Group

Katherine Carttar

Director, Economic Development
Urban Land Institute

Alan Cobb

President & CEO
Kansas Chamber

Cathleen Flournoy

Vice President, Business Recruitment
Missouri Partnership

David Frankland

Principal
Novation iQ

Nathaniel Hagedon

CEO
Northpointe

Nathan Hermiston

Senior Vice President, Convention Sales & Services
Visit KC

Jolie Justus

Associate General Counsel
University Health

Dan Moye

Executive Director, Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority
EDCKC

Neelima Parasker

President & CEO
SnapIT Solutions

Megan Remley

Senior Vice President, Unit Leader
Lockton

Dennis Ridenour

President & CEO
BioNexus KC

Melissa Roberts

Senior Program Officer, Entrepreneurship
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Allison Schmitt

President
DI Build

Megan Segura

Director of Special Projects
KCADC

Nick Suarez

Senior Managing Director
Newark Grubb Zimmer

Joshua Taimoor Nana

CEO / Founder
MTAR

Biologics Taskforce

Sonia Hall (Co-Chair)

President & CEO
BioKansas

Trent Armbrust

Chief Strategy Officer

Kansas Department of Commerce

C. Mauli Agrawal

Chancellor

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Daphne Bascom

Vice President, Population Health

Saint Luke's Hospital

Karl Binns

Future Talent Program Specialist

Merck

Alf Botchway

Chief Executive Officer

Attentive Science

Robert Conklin

Vice President, Research Operations

MRI Global

Tom Curran

Senior Vice President, Executive Director, Chief Scientific Officer

Children's Mercy

Kenneth Durgans

Associate Provost, Diversity & Inclusion

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences

Eric Danielson

Senior Director, Business Development, Midwest Region

CRB

Pam Harris

Manager, Regional Engagement Division

Missouri Department of Economic Development

Andrea Hendricks Ph.D.

Senior Executive Director, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer

Cerner

Beth Heslowitz

Director, Workforce Development

MARC

Ben Isaacs

Head of Pharm Sciences

Argenta Global

Lisa Lorenzen

Assistant Vice Chancellor

University of Missouri

Martha McCabe

Executive Director

KC STEM Alliance

Jason Neat

Executive Director

PRA Bioanalytical Labortory

Dr. Akinlolu Ojo

Professor, Medicine and Population Health

University of Kansas School of Medicine

Kelly Ranallo

Executive Area Business Manager

Rare KC

Karthik Ramachandran

Chief Operating Officer & Founder

Likarda

Dennis Ridenour

President & Chief Executive Office

BioNexus KC

Melissa Roberts

Senior Program Officer, Entrepreneurship

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Miles Sandler

Director, Engagement, Public Affairs

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Jake Sittenauer

Manager, Drug Development Services

CritiTech

Clay Stafford

Regional Sales Manager

Ellab

Tammie Wahaus

Chief Executive Officer

ELIAS Animal Health

Jim West

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Clara Biotech

Doug Wright

Vice Chair, Research, Department of Anesthesiology

The University of Kansas

IDEAS Driving Committee

The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Driving Committee exists to build innovation capacity in the Kansas City metro region to increase the region’s prosperity. Capacity is built through building bridges between early-stage companies and corporations, fully develop a capital continuum, recruiting talent, moving ideas to market, and telling the story of entrepreneurship in Kansas City.

Leadership

Maria Meyers (Co-Chair)

Executive Director
UMKC Innovation Center

Jason Banks (Co- Chair)

Procurement Director
JE Dunn Construction

Adam Arredondo

CEO
STARTLAND

T.J. Berry

Deputy District Director
KC Region SBA

Robert Conklin

Vice President, Technical Operations
MRI Global

Simone Curls

Executive Director
Prospect Business Association

Dell Gines

Senior Community Development Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Jim Erickson

Vice President & General Manager - Missouri West

Spire

Stephen Mills

Vice President & General Manager - Missouri West

Spire

Tina Peterson

Founder & Manager
T-Mobile Accelerator

John Rochelle

Program Director, Innovation
University of Kansas Health System

Tim Saracini

Chief Financial Officer
Community America

Sherry Turner

Executive Director,
Women's Business Center, Enterprise Center of Johnson County

Theodis Watson

Assistant Vice President
Central Bank Midwest

Shakia Webb

Small Business Capital Access Program Officer - Entrepreneurship
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Capital Access Taskforce

Alan Lowden (Co-Chair)

Chief Information Officer
H&R Block

Maria Meyers (Co-Chair)

Executive Director
UMKC Innovation Center

Klassie Alcine

President
KC Common Good

Ruben Alonso

President
Alt-Cap

T.J. Berry

Deputy District Director
KC Region SBA

Chris Bornheimer

Chief Financial Officer
Lead Bank

Rob Bratcher

President
Commerce Bank - Kansas City

Brandon Calloway

Executive Director
Generating Income For Tomorrow

Katherine Carttar

Director, Economic Development
Unified Government of Wyandotte County / Kansas City, KS

Jean-Paul Chaurand

Executive Vice President
H&R Block Foundation

Isaac Collins

Owner
Yogurtini

Simone Curls

Executive Director
Prospect Business Association

Bill Dana

President/CEO
Central Bank KC

Jason Dehaemers

Chief Financial Officer
Trust Neighborhoods

Daniel Edwards

Managing Principal
Digital Builders

Dell Gines

Senior Community Development Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Rebecca Gubbels

Business & Program Development Consultant
Missouri Small Business Development Center

Donald Hawkins

Founder
Tenth

Geoff Jolley

Executive Director
LISC

Mark Larrabee

President & CEO
Arvest Bank

Ajia Morris

CEO & Co-Founder
Greenline Initiative

Denise St. Omer

Vice President Grantmaking and Inclusion Initiatives
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation

Stacy Purvis

Community Development Banker
PNC

Melissa Roberts

Senior Program Officer
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Joshua Rowland

CEO & Vice Chairman
Lead Bank

Tim Saracini

Chief Financial Officer
Community America

Bryan Shannon

Managing Partner
MSTS

Amy Slattery

Founder
Odimo

Matt Tapp

Griffin Riley Property Group

Sherry Turner

Executive Director,
Women's Business Center, Enterprise Center of Johnson County

Kerrie Tyndall

Assistant City Manager
City of KCMO

Theodis Watson

Assistant Vice President
Central Bank Midwest

Shakia Webb

Small Business Capital Access Program Officer - Entrepreneurship
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

AnnMarie Wills

CEO & Founder
Leverage Lab

Pedro Zamora

Executive Director
Hispanic Economic Development Corporation

Supplier Diversity Taskforce

Alan Lowden (Co-Chair)

Chief Information Officer

H&R Block

Maria Meyers (Co-Chair)

Executive Director

UMKC Innovation Center

Adam Arredondo

CEO

STARTLAND

Maria Antonia Pérez-Andújar

President & CEO

Index Lingua

Sharon Auck

Owner

Fresh Approach Cleaning Professionals LLC

Nakisha Bausby

Diversity Manager

JE Dunn

Joyce Christanio

Senior Manager, Supplier Diversity

Sprint

Robert Conklin

VP of Technical Operations

MRI Global

Joe Davis

CEO

Custom Engineering

Martina Derra

Owner & President

DiverseID LLC

Alexandra Donnelly

Senior Vice President, Global Operations

C2FO

Gena Fitzgerald

Vice President, Supply Chain

Children's Mercy

Todd Fitzpatrick

Vice President, Commercial Lending

First Business

Debashis Haldar

CEO

Kong Telecom LLC

Chris Kelly

Program Coordinator, Supplier Diversity

Metropolitan Community College

Marvin Lyman

Corporate Relations and Business Development Manager

Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council

Sandra Olivas

Commercial Lending Business Development Officer

Bank of Labor

Jordan Warzecha

Co-Founder & CEO

Backstitch

Jennifer Pozzuolu

HR Manager

Garmin

Kim Randolph

CEO/President

Heartland Black Chamber

Sharon Reed

Procurement Officer

Unified Government of Wyandotte County

Nia Richardson

Assistant, Director for Small Business + Entrepreneurship

KC Bizcare Office -City of Kansas City

Martha Salinas

Chief Customer Officer

MSTS

Mary Shannon

Founder

Connectus Worldwide

Timberlyn Smith

Environmental Consultant

Mustardseed Cultural and Environment Services, LLC

Oliver Trejo

Supply Chain Manager

Cerner

Sherry Turner

Founder

Women's Business Center, Enterprise Center of Johnson County

Betsy Villarreal

President

BVA LLC

Valerie Coyazo

Lead Supplier Diversity Manager

Evergy

Data & Analysis Resource Team

The Data & Analysis Resource Team exists to support KC Rising in creating and maintaining a metrics framework to measure progress toward goals, enable community action and provide data for decision-making. Regular reports will be provided to the steering committee and annually to the community at large regarding Horizon Goals, system and strategy metrics. In addition, the DART will support driving and enabling committees in finding data to inform activities and provide data analysis and visualization to tell the story of committee work.

Leadership

Ahmed Abdelmoity (Co-Chair)

Director, Division of Neurology

Children's Mercy

Trent Armbrust

Director, Strategy, Bioscience and Technology

Kansas Department of Commerce

Kaitlin Bast

Director, Public Policy

KC Chamber of Commerce

Kate Bender

Deputy Performance Officer

City of Kansas City, Missouri

Jared Benesh

Director, Customer Experience Capabilities

H&R Block

Josh Boehm

Senior Data Analyst

WSP

Karin Chang

Executive Director

University of Kansas City - Missouri, Urban Education Research Center

Doug Davidson

President

County Economic Research Institute, Inc. (CERI)

Silas Dulan

Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Evergy

Alex Francisco

Senior Population Health Scientist

Kansas City Health Department

Lauren Frazell

Director, Data Services

Kansas City Life Insurance Company

Melissa Hazley

Director, Community Research, Training and Evaluation

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Todd Jordan

Chief Community Engagement Officer

United Way of Greater Kansas City

Laura Lester

KC Area Research Liaison

MO Department of Higher Education

Jessica Mindnich

Senior Director Evaluation, Learning & Impact Stories

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Teesha Miller

Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Megan Mooers

Program Analyst

Hispanic Economic Development Corporation

Drew Stiehl

Senior Data Analyst

mySideWalk

Jeff Pinkerton

Director, Economic Research

MO Department of Economic Development

Robin Smith

Senior Director

DeBruce Foundation

Kaitlyn Thomas

Finance Analyst

MO Department of Economic Development

Kristin Johnson - Waggoner

Director, Communications and Public Affairs

Mid - America Regional Council

Communication & Engagement Resource Team

The Communication & Engagement Resource Team exists to support KC Rising in creating and maintaining a comprehensive communication strategy to engage corporate businesses, stakeholders in education, elected leaders, nonprofits and disconnected communities, and to promote community action toward the KC Rising shared vision pillars of prosperity. The CERT will provide strategic guidance to staff in oversight of the contracted public relations and marketing firm, support an interactive online presence through social media, help plan events, coordinate an ongoing communications strategy, and create regular marketing collateral to tell the KC Rising story.

Leadership

Laura McCarthy (Co-Chair)

Executive Director, Marketing and Communication

University of Kansas Health System

Eric Morgenstern (Co-Chair)

CEO

Morningstar Communications

Ashlie Hand

Director of Communications

Diocese of Kansas City-St.Joseph

Kristin Johnson Waggoner

Director, Communications & Public Affairs

Mid - America Regional Council

Melanie Mattes

Senior Vice President, Marketing

Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

Tim McCoy

President + Creative Director

Yoodle

Jessica Palm

Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations

KCADC

Miles Sandler

Director, Policy & Engagement

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Nicholas Segura

Founder & Creative Lead

Segura Marketing & Media Solutions

Neal Sharma

President

Dentsu DTC

Angee Simmons

Program Leader, Communications & Engagement

Kauffman Foundation

Kiona Sinks

Community Engagement Manager

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Shalea Walter

Vice President, Marketing Manager

Arvest Bank

Susan Wally

President & Chief Executive Officer

PREP - KC

Carolyn Watley

Vice President, Community Engagement

CBIZ

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Advisory Committee

Our region continues to experience significant economic disparities by ethnicity and race. Initiated in 2018, the KC Rising Steering Committee created a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Advisory Committee to ensure that KC Rising is inclusive of diverse backgrounds and community stakeholders, in both its volunteer participation and public outreach and strategies.

Leadership

Tahir Atwater (Co-Chair)

Director of Donor and Volunteer Engagement

Jackson County CASA

Teresa Ascencio (Co-Chair)

Chief People Officer

Academy Bank

Abdulmajeed Baba Ahmed

Project Engineer

Zahner

Steven Lewis

Director, Head Start Program

Mid - America Regional Council

Nicole Jacobs Silvey

President & Co-Founder

Connection Coach KC

Denise St. Omer

Vice President of Grantmaking and Inclusion Initiatives

Greater Kansas City Community Foundation

Keely Schneider

Executive Director

Workforce Partnership - Kansas

Nicholas Segura

Founder & Creative Lead

Segura Marketing & Media Solutions

Rodney Smith

Vice President, Access and Engagement

William Jewell College

Greg Valdovino

Director of Diversity & Inclusion

Greater KC Chamber of Commerce

Sherman Whites

Director, Education

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Nicole Collier White

Director

KCPS Education Foundation

Susan Wilson

Senior Advisory Consultant

University Health

Lauren Conaway

Founder & CEO

InnovateHER KC

Place Advisory Committee

The Place Advisory Committee (PLAC) exists to advance the shared vision of regional prosperity in relation to the Connectivity and Neighborhoods Pillars. The PLAC will focus on attainable housing and effective, accessible transportation and internet options to allow people to build better futures and open doors to economic mobility.