KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Keynote Speaker – Yancey Strickler
Yancey Strickler is the co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Yancey will offer us a thought-provoking talk about recalibrating our definition of value and show us how a world of scarcity can blossom into a world of abundance.
BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS
Mark is a history educator who has taught at both the high school and university levels, he has developed history education programs and coordinated National History Day programs and workshops at the state and regional levels for the past 25 years.
Tyrone has an extraordinary history of dance, performing professionally since 1983. He has taught at universities, colleges, elementary and secondary schools, and conservatories in Europe, Asia and the US. He has served on many boards and organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts.
AltCap is a high-performing, impact-driven community development financial institution (CDFI) and SBA Microloan Intermediary. Ruben serves on the Board at Community Capital Fund, Saint Luke’s Health System and Midtown KC Now and has been an adjunct professor at UMKC’s Department of Architecture, Planning and Design, where he teaches a course in urban redevelopment.
Kelly is the new Deputy Director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Jackson County Law Library. Kelly is the author of two books, Advocacy to Zealousness: Learning Lawyering Skills from Classic Films and The Organized Lawyer.
Tahir’s focus is supporting youth by creating, growing and advocating for diverse, equitable and inclusive communities. He is the Director of Donor and Volunteer Engagement for Jackson County CASA, committed to giving voice to youth seeking permanent and healthy homes. Among other organizations, Tahir serves on the community advisory board of the KC Race, Equity and Inclusion Project.
Cherry, Inc. is a national licensed clothing and sporting goods company for a wide variety of sports and athletics, including Major League Baseball, Negro League Baseball and hundreds of collegiate and high school associations. Thalia has significant experience mobilizing key stakeholders to achieve collective goals, serving on nearly a dozen boards and projects.
CCF is a nonprofit that invests in innovative and measurable community development. Since 2012, the fund has deployed over $900,000 to neighborhoods and grassroots organizations in Kansas City’s historically under-resourced communities and for the past seven years, has organized the Community Development Workshop. Megan has also led various community-based arts programs.
Marillac is a child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient hospital. After medical school, Mitchell completed residencies in pediatrics, adult psychiatry and child psychiatry. He is excited to discuss how children and adolescents facing a variety of socioeconomic, mental and physical health challenges can thrive.
The Women’s Foundation promotes equity and opportunity for women and their families. Wendy has worked with the National Kidney Foundation and Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas and served on the boards of Nonprofit Connect and the Civic Opera Theater.
Jason serves many of the world’s greatest companies and introduces Design for Business to thousands of executives and professionals across the world. He is a passionate and lifelong learner who fuses human-centered design, behavioral economics, and competitive strategy to unlock sustainable value for people, business and culture.
Travois is a B-Corporation that raises capital for housing and economic development in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities. These investments help build new health care, education, infrastructure, housing and other community developments.
As VP and Director of KC Rising, which holds a shared vision of regional prosperity for all, Sheri works with businesses, organizations and leaders to promote system alignment, identify gaps, and monitor the region’s outcomes in key economic indicators. Sheri’s career has focused on economic and community development in local, state and international contexts.
Dr. Graham has directed the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. He was previously a member of the history faculty at California State University.
A lifelong resident of the Kansas City area, Sarah spent over a decade at the United Way of Kansas City, most recently as Senior Vice President, Performance and Innovation. She is a passionate mentor, speaker and coach for current and aspiring nonprofit professionals.
In his role at the KC Chamber, Scott oversees the work on many of the Chamber’s community-facing projects, including work on community health, crime and violence, and inclusive prosperity. He is a native Kansas Citian, and his mom has been a member of the Junior League of Kansas City for more than 40 years.
Jason (a.k.a. Rif Raf Giraffe) studied painting and film at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After returning to KC he became one of the main cultivators of the Art Alley, as well as a prominent local muralist. His strong ability to organize others led to the creation of the SpraySeeMO Mural Festival.
Scott has served as a consultant to the Kauffman Foundation, Samuel U. Rodgers, and the Kansas City Royals (for their Urban Youth Academy).
Native Digital is a marketing firm modernizing how brands go to market. Audiences at Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, NPR and Disney have gained from the expertise, insights and enthusiasm Jake has shared at national conferences. Through it all the common thread remains the same: compelling storytelling.
Dana has dedicated her career to the arts, design and education. She has served as Director of Programs for the Mid-America Arts Alliance and worked for twenty years at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Serving as its Director of Planning, she led the construction of the Bloch Building.
Stacey established the Child Life and Music Therapy programs at Children’s Mercy Hospital, growing them to be nationally recognized. She also pioneered the development of hiring patients and parents to ensure that within CMH, there is a culture of information sharing, participation and collaboration and that all families are treated with dignity and respect.
Emily is responsible for the overall management of Equity2, including the development and execution of its investment strategy and achievement of its impact investment goals. She has been exploring the intersection of community impact and capital access for the past decade. She also served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines.
Turning Point is a nonprofit that provides vital support to people dealing with serious medical challenges. She has extensive experience designing and implementing stress management, resilience, support and training programs for hospitals, nonprofits and companies. She is a sought-after lecturer on stress management, resilience and improving human functioning and performance.
Deanna founded the Latino Arts Foundation to bring forth the fiercely authentic voice of underrepresented artists through their diverse stories, cultures and beliefs. The foundation is an artist-based space OF their community FOR their community, where your race, your genre or how accomplished you are does not matter: all are welcome.
David has a board consulting practice and invests significant time in our community, serving on the boards of AlignED, William Jewell College, DeLaSalle School, MRIGlobal, the UMKC Trustees, Teach for America-KC, the Spencer Art Museum, the Francis Family Foundation and more.
The KC Area Development Council drives communication strategies to attract corporate investment, jobs and talent. A national thought leader on talent attraction, Jessica is one of Techweek KC’s top 100 tech influencers, a NextGen Leader by KC Business Journal, and one of the Most Influential Women in Business by KC Magazine.
Sandy is a member of the Evergy Board of Directors and retired from Sprint, where she was Senior VP of Human Resources. She has significant experience and expertise in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, organization restructuring and culture transformation, as well as leadership and executive development. She is an engaged community leader, serving on multiple boards
Jeannine retired from Sprint Corporation at the end of 2005, where she was the Chief Integration Officer managing the successful transformation of Sprint from a product-centric to a customer-centric operating model. Today she is on the Boards of Euronet Worldwide, MGP Ingredients, JE Dunn, Ewing Kauffman Foundation, Truman Library Institute and the KU Medical Center Advancement.
Ann collaborates to achieve the firm’s goals when it comes to hiring, retaining and advancing diverse attorneys and staff, and supporting clients’ D&I efforts. She is the author of The Happy Law Practice: Expert Strategies to Build Business and Maintain Peace of Mind.
Jennifer oversees clinical staff and programming and carries a small caseload of therapy clients. She is an expert consultant to the Department of Justice, sits on the Coalition Against Human Trafficking and provides trainings nationwide on staff resilience for those working in human trauma.
Danielle is responsible for the development and execution of clients’ investment objectives, including strategic asset allocation, tactical asset allocation, manager selection and portfolio construction. She focuses on the needs of endowments, foundations, charitable trusts and pensions and specializes in sustainable and mission-aligned investing. She regularly educates nonprofit investment committees and boards.
Native Digital is a brand and marketing consultancy modernizing how brands go to market. The firm helps clients distill their brand strategy, create compelling messaging and jumpstart marketing initiatives. Justin and his colleagues serve a variety of clients including POLITICO, Crossroads Hotel, Airshare, C2FO, USAFacts, Populous, Black Girls Code and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Carolyn is Vice President, Community Engagement at CBIZ Employee Benefits, Kansas City’s largest employee benefits consulting firm. She gives her time extensively in the community and is the new Board Chair of the GKC Chamber of Commerce. She also serves with KC Rising, the Metropolitan Community College Foundation, KU Advancement Board and other organizations.
Katie Werner is the current President of the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri, and has served on the Board of Directors for the past five years. In addition to her community work with the Junior League, she is a professional engineer with a 20-year career at Black & Veatch.