ATHENA honorees: Lifting up the next generation elevates us all; give them a reason to dream

When women lead, communities rise, Dana Foote said, lifting up two ATHENA award winners whose work in Kansas City has created outcomes more meaningful than mere professional success: “the ripple effect of leadership.”

“And I see that in the room tonight,” continued Foote, national managing partner of audit operations for KPMG, sponsor of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Awards Tuesday at Union Station. “I see how one woman’s vision and determination can create opportunities and inspire change for so many others.”

The 2025 honors recognized two high-profile women: Christine Kemper, founder of Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy (recipient the 2025 ATHENA Leadership Award); and DePrice Taylor, community relations executive director for the Kansas City Current (winner of the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award).

Christine Kemper, founder of Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, center, accepts the 2025 ATHENA Leadership Award from 2024 winner Quiana Thomason, president and CEO of the Health Forward Foundation, and Dana Foote, with award sponsor KPMG, at the KC Chamber’s 2025 ATHENA Awards at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

The awards are named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, and intelligence, explained Joe Reardon, president and CEO of the KC Chamber, noting they celebrate leaders who share those qualities.

“Honorees are chosen for three things: exemplary, professional excellence, dedication of time and energy to strengthening their community, and a commitment to helping women realize their full leadership potential,” Reardon added.

Community work for Kemper — who has more than 20 years of experience in government, politics, entertainment, and strategic communications, plus dozens of leadership roles for regional nonprofits — has largely focused on women and students, said Quiana Thomason, president and CEO of the Health Forward Foundation and the 2024 recipient  of the ATHENA Leadership Award. 

Kemper founded Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy — Missouri’s only all-girls, college-bound public charter school — in 2019 in a traditionally disinvested community with the mission of preparing young women to use their voices, to succeed academically, and to lead productive, meaningful lives.

Honorees and their families listen to remarks during the KC Chamber’s 2025 ATHENA Awards at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“Kemper’s intense focus on this school is inspired by her belief that empowering young women lifts families, communities, and ultimately, the world,” Thomason added.

When Kemper landed in Kansas City, she saw with clarity that inequitable access to quality schools remains one of our greatest challenges, leading up to dramatic consequences for the community, the award winner said.

“When girls are educated, everything changes,” she continued. “Their futures expand, their families thrive, and entire communities grow stronger. That belief is why this school has become my life’s passion.”

Kemper was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, but she grew up in Kansas City, she noted.

“This city has given me many opportunities to grow personally and professionally, and above all, it has given me the profound gift of being part of a community that steps forward when called again and again,” she explained. “For me, the ATHENA Award is not a culmination of a journey. It is a call, a reminder to keep lifting girls, lifting women, and lifting each other, because when we do, we elevate us all.”

DePrice Taylor, community relations executive director for the Kansas City Current accepts the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award during the KC Chamber’s 2025 ATHENA Awards at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Taylor also actively empowers young people through her deep dedication to mentorship, said Kamera Meaney, the 2024 recipient of the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award and chief health policy and government relations officer for University Health.

From the archives: DePrice Taylor plays with an open hand, sports-infused empathy

ATHENA award winners Christine Kemper and DePrice Taylor share a hug in the Grand Hall at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Taylor spearheads the KC Current’s community engagement strategy, builds and sustains meaningful relationships with corporate and nonprofit stakeholders, oversees impactful programming and player civic engagement efforts, and drives youth development strategic initiatives and community partnerships.

“She in so many ways is what we should all hope to be: compassionate, hard working, determined, resilient, and committed to making everything around her better,” Meaney added.

Taylor offered parting words for those in attendance — the same advice she would share with her 14-year-old self, sitting on her bed on the east side of Detroit and daydreaming about how she would make it out, she said.

“Keep growing when the weight feels heavy and the world tells you no,” Taylor continued. “Keep going when that dream feels too hard and too far to touch. Keep going because faith will steady you, love will surround you, the community will lift you. And don’t just keep going, keep dreaming, because your dreams will be used for good and inspire a whole generation — many of those that are in this room tonight — to chase theirs.”