News

KC nonprofit wants to change the face of tech (without leaving its students in debt)

By Tommy Felts / September 19, 2023

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by Resiliency at Work 2.0 Career and Technical Education, a Kansas City-based organization focused on creating and increasing equitable opportunities through education and training for careers in the technically skilled workforce. Dr. Joy Vann-Hamilton set out to close the diversity gap in the tech workforce; her work through…

Proof is in the spending: CEO-to-CEO Challenge yields results in diversifying supply chains

By Tommy Felts / September 19, 2023

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  When she started researching the institutional knowledge at MMC Corp. about working with diverse suppliers, national purchasing director Kelli Fraas found the process was…

Her new role is reenvisioning one of KC’s most iconic events for entrepreneurs; how Callie England is shaking up GEW

By Tommy Felts / September 15, 2023

Callie England misses the life of an entrepreneur, she shared, but her new role with the UMKC Innovation Center — and GEWKC — allows her to stay in the game without being on the field. As of January, the veteran Kansas City startup founder is responsible for managing the branding and marketing initiatives of the…

Sand volleyball tourney for early-career professions works to ‘Spike the Stigma’ on mental health

By Tommy Felts / September 15, 2023

Joining the workforce is no walk on the beach, said Mark Potts, but give him and his teammates a few hours in the sun and sand on a Saturday afternoon and it could be.  “Nobody is on their journey alone,” said Potts, president of the Go Further Foundation, explaining the organization’s purpose and its goal…

Sailes closes $5.1M investment round led by STL firm, with KCRise Fund, Wichita VC

By Tommy Felts / September 14, 2023

The foundation for Sailes has always been solving difficult problems for sales teams, said Nick Smith; the success of a Series A funding round for the startup will power new tools toward that goal.  “Everyone is on this AI hype train, and we’ve been for AI for a while. But it’s not just about using…