Woman-led

Just funded: First wave of Alchemy Sandbox grants aim for ‘snowball effect’ in KC

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

A new grant program has selected its first five awardees — with 15 more to come in 2022 — aiming to create rolling momentum for Kansas City’s main street businesses, said Miranda Schultz. The Alchemy Sandbox Program on Friday announced its first quarter grantees with entrepreneurs selected to receive as much as $5,000 for their…

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Neelima Parasker, SnapIT Solutions

SnapIT scores lucrative government contract with $50B ceiling in emerging tech space

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

An Overland Park IT firm’s selection to deliver technology solutions to federal agencies is the latest evolution of the Johnson County business, which has seen rapid growth over the past three years as it expanded its focus. SnapIT Solutions, a high-tech services and tech training firm headquartered in Johnson County, was tapped for the second…

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Paradise EDU at Paradise Garden Club

Just another day in Paradise (EDU): Urban nursery turns soil to nurture STEAM students

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2022

When learners dig into the Paradise Garden Club STEAM program, they unearth non-traditional learning opportunities in a classroom cased in chlorophyll.  “It starts on a very base level — using your hands to work with raw soil,” said Jessica Teliczan, owner and operator of Crossroads-planted Paradise Garden Club, teasing the newly launched effort — formally branded…

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LeAna Flores, H&R Block

It’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2022

Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…

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Whitney Manney in Black History Month photo shoot for WHITNEYMANNEY + Joann

Whitney Manney’s fresh prints: How one KC designer’s life got flipped-turned upside down by a call from ‘Bel Air’

By Tommy Felts / February 11, 2022

When the Kansas City-provoked reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” begins streaming Sunday, its creator won’t be the only recognizable local name to roll in the credits.  “This has been a dream opportunity,” said Whitney Manney, founder of the WHITNEYMANNEY (WM) fashion label, announcing her participation in costuming “Bel-Air” — the dramatic retelling of…

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