From Our President & CEO: Join Our Efforts to Create Lasting Change in Missouri & Beyond

This month our mission to advance women’s economic and civic leadership took a huge leap with the first of several Economic Development Task Force Town Hall meetings. 

As I discussed last month, we launched a first-of-its-kind statewide effort to better understand and address the issues affecting Missouri women’s participation in the workforce. At United WE, a key piece of our work is the belief that research + solutions = results. With these town hall meetings between July and October, we will gather the critical qualitative and quantitative data needed to generate solutions that will allow women to reach their full economic potential. We look forward to hearing stories from real women across Missouri, because we believe that our work is only as strong as the people behind it, and that women’s voices need to be heard to create effective change. 

We are fortunate to have generous partner organizations helping us bring these meetings to life over the next several months. This initiative has been made possible with funding from Missouri Foundation for Health and Centene Charitable Foundation. Our strategic partner, the Hawthorn Foundation, has been instrumental in making the town halls a reality, helping to secure host sites and encourage participation. 

On July 20 we held our first Town Hall meeting, which was a virtual conversation with members of our Task Force, leaders from Missouri Southern State University, and residents from the Joplin, MO, area. Thank you to the participants for your honesty and openness, and for sharing your voice. 

In just one meeting, we heard themes on the barriers facing women throughout Missouri whether they live in rural, suburban or urban areas. In particular, access to childcare continues to be a challenge for families, as does healthcare. We also heard that internet access can be a barrier, with skyrocketing costs to create the physical infrastructure to have more reliable internet during pandemic work-from-home conditions. We are continuing to see the impacts of COVID-19 on our communities, and know that women bore the brunt of the impact in the workforce and at home.

Missouri women: I encourage you to attend an upcoming town hall meeting to make your voice heard. In addition to game-changing policy impacts in Missouri, we will strive to develop strategies to engage more states across the country in the future. To do this, we need to hear from women like you. Your stories will inform -- and more importantly, inspire -- the policy changes we need to affect everyday life for women across the nation. It is my hope that this work impacts not only today’s generation of working women, but that it supports future generations of women. Consider as we approach the end of summer and back to school season, what type of future do you want to help us create for today’s young women and girls?

If you aren’t located in Missouri, please know that United WE will replicate this model in Kansas in 2022 and look to communities across the nation as part of our long-term strategic plan. Our work today creates a template for executing a data-driven program approach that drives awareness, policy changes, and ultimately stronger communities. 

Our next town hall is in person in Sedalia, Missouri on August 9, where we will have a breakout session for Spanish-speaking attendees. Additional in-person and virtual town halls will be held in the coming months. View the full schedule and RSVP here: Town Halls - United WE (united-we.org). 

Join our efforts to impact the lives of women across Missouri now and into the future. Thank you for your continued support of our mission to elevate women. 

Kindly,

Wendy D. Doyle, President & CEO

Appointee Profile: Tracee Adams

Tracee Adams was appointed by Governor Laura Kelly to the Wichita State University Board of Trustees.  Tracee serves as president, founder and chief strategist at Hawthorn Capital LLC, an investment and wealth management firm located in Wichita. Ms. Adams has several years of experience in the financial services industry, including as a financial advisor for four years at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She also worked at New York Life Insurance Co. for two years as a producer, while simultaneously working as a financial advisor for NYLIFE Securities – a subsidiary of this organization – for a year. Ms. Adams is actively involved in her community. She currently serves on several nonprofit trustee and governance boards, and public boards of trustees, including for the Urban League of Kansas, Junior League of Wichita and pubic fiduciary of the Wichita Police & Fire Pension Fund and Joint Investment Committee, and A Director of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in pre-law/sociology from the University of Maryland.

Appointee Profile: Jillian RainingBird

Jillian RainingBird was recently appointed to the Kansas City Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities.  She also sits on the Board for Eitas and the DESE’s Special Education Advisory Panel.

Jillian is a resident of Kansas City, MO. She is a Cash Operations Manager at a local casino, where she has been employed for 13 years. She is a wife and mother of three girls (17, 8, and 3). 

Jillian’s middle child (Jaelah) was wheelchair bound. This thrust Jillian into advocating and lending her voice to help the disabled community. She has championed for children with special needs on the local, state, and national level. Jillian was the 2021 recipient of the Special Needs Advocate of the year by the National Parents Union. 

Jillian believes that advocacy & support is a vital function for the disabled community. She hopes that her unique perspective of raising a child with physical disabilities positively impacts as many people as possible.

“And however difficult life may seem. There is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t give up.” – Stephen Hawking

Appointee Profile: Christine Comer Stannard

Christine Comer Stannard has been appointed to the Emerging Technology Commission and the Downtown Economic Stimulus Authority Commission in Kansas City, Missouri by Mayor Quinton Lucas.  

Christine is Vice President of Marketing at Labconco, a leading laboratory equipment manufacturer located in Kansas City, Missouri, leading a team that comprises product management, application support, marketing communications and vertical marketing.  Christine is relatively new to the Kansas City area – she is a native of the Chicago area where she managed sales and marketing teams for companies such as Panasonic and NEC.  Her prior board experience has been serving as Chairman of the Laboratory Product Association, Dominican University, Brennan School of Business Advisory Council Member, and currently serves on the LPGA Amateurs KC Metro Board of Directors. 

Christine earned her undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University and her MBA from Dominican University.  Outside of work she is an avid golfer and tennis player. 

Appointee Profile: Dr. Sybil B. Wyatt

Dr. Sybil B. Wyatt was recently appointed to the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, tasked with assisting the city in identifying and responding to the needs of citizens with disabilities through advocacy, technical assistance, and coordination of community and governmental services. Additionally, Dr. Wyatt is a member of the Board of Directors for the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project, an organization committed to providing a multitude of specialized support services for LGBTQIA+ victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes.

As of June 2021, Dr. Wyatt also holds the position of Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the Kansas City VA Medical Center, a position that is first of its kind within the VA system. In this role, she leads the overall development, management, and implementation of strategies meant to advance and sustain a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for veterans and their families, visitors, and employees. Prior to joining the KCVAMC, Dr. Wyatt worked to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Kansas, and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. Dr. Wyatt, a Missouri native, earned her law degree, doctorate in educational leadership, and MBA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has a master’s in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri, as well as a bachelor’s in broadcasting from Northwest Missouri State University.

Appointee Profile: Robin Ganahl

Robin Ganahl was appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas to the Kansas City Climate Protection Steering Committee.  Robin is a mom of two and co-founder of the KC chapter of Mothers Out Front - Mobilizing for a Livable Climate. She graduated from KU School of Engineering in '96 and earned her Masters in IT Systems from Johns Hopkins University in 2009. She worked as an environmental and historic preservation engineer, a clean energy advocate and organizer with San Diego-based Climate Action Campaign, and a public sector project manager and business analyst. After becoming increasingly concerned about how the climate crisis would impact her children, Robin organized the grassroots movement to establish a community choice energy program in Orange County, California, which launches in 2022. Her current volunteer work with Mothers Out Front is focused on organizing community support for local policy changes needed for a swift, just transition to clean energy. She enjoys camping with her family, exploring Missouri parks, and native plant gardening.

Appointee Profile: Angela Crawford

Angela Crawford was appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas to the Kansas City Climate Protection Steering Committee.  Angela is in the business of content: What works, where it works and why, who is consuming the content, and what makes it shareable. The Kansas City-area native, with more than a decade of experience in strategic communications, currently serves as Marketing Director for The Builders’ Association.

Her broad range of experience has aided political campaigns, nonprofits, marketing agencies and private corporations in developing content to tell their stories in innovative and compelling ways.

Crawford holds a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Public Administration from Truman State University. She previously served as a Communications Consultant for Lockton Companies, developing marketing solutions for internal stakeholders and shaping digital communication initiatives.

Crawford lives in the heart of Kansas City with her beloved dogs Tommy and Mikey. A dedicated volunteer, she has served as President of the Truman State University Kansas City Alumni Chapter since 2014. She provided strategic planning and public relations support for Community LINC, a nonprofit group providing transitional housing for homeless Kansas City families; mentored elementary students for the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy’s Raising Royals After School program; and for nearly a decade she served as a Big Sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas.

Crawford is a member of the Kansas City Lyric Opera Guild, the Society for Marketing Professional Services and Friends of the Kansas City Public Library, and she serves as a United WE Ambassador.

Press Release: Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Expands Parental Leave Policy for State Employees

United WE commends Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on the issuance of Executive Order 21-24, which expands parental leave benefits to primary caregivers, secondary caregivers, and foster parents.

Paid family leave allows new parents to spend more time bonding with their children, improving overall health and education outcomes. Paid family leave policies are also good for business; research shows that employees are more productive and motivated, and retention is higher.

The new policy, detailed in a press release linked here, is as follows:

• Primary caregivers receive eight weeks of leave (an increase of two weeks from the original policy);

• Secondary caregivers receive four weeks of leave (an increase of one week from the original policy);

• Foster parents are now eligible for parental leave, with primary caregivers receiving eight weeks of leave and secondary caregivers receiving four weeks of leave;

• Parental leave can now be used thirty days in advance of the birth date, adoption, or fostering of a child or children per calendar year;

• New State employees become eligible after 180 days of employment. Current employees will not be subjected to this requirement.

“Paid family leave is a win-win for both families and employers. Policies like this that expand these benefits to women and their families bolster economies, improve health and education outcomes and strengthens business through a stronger employee workforce. We applaud Governor Kelly’s action today and urge other states without paid family leave policies to consider the research-backed benefits of strong economic policies that support employees and their families.” - United WE President & CEO Wendy Doyle

Thank you, Governor Kelly, for your support of families across Kansas. Read the full press release here.

Appointee Profile: Anne Spenner

Anne Hartung Spenner has been appointed to the Community Engagement Taskforce in Shawnee, Kansas. The role of this taskforce is to provide strategic direction, advice, and recommendations to the City of Shawnee’s governing body on all aspects related to community engagement, including marketing and public communications, engagement opportunities, inclusivity and diversity, and employee recruitment/retention.

Anne is Vice Chancellor for Strategic Marketing and Communications at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, leading a team of marketing, media relations, creative, web and digital communicators to tell the story of Kansas City’s public research university. She also oversees KCUR 89.3, Kansas City’s National Public Radio station. In her prior life as a journalist, she worked as a reporter, editor and senior newsroom leader at newspapers in Upstate South Carolina, Charlotte, N.C., and the Kansas City metro. The common denominator across her professional life has been the opportunity to tell stories that change lives and make a difference in the communities she has lived in. That work continues in her new board appointment.

Anne earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Mo., and an Executive MBA from the Bloch School of Management at UMKC. She is a past Salzburg Global Seminar Knight Fellow and a Harvard University Nieman Narrative Fellow.

Outside work, Anne dedicates time to a number of passions including church choir, United WE Groundbreakers, Harvesters, United Way and the UMKC Women’s Council Graduate Assistance Fund. She also is a past board member of the Urban Neighborhood Initiative.

Appointee Profile: Susan Tolleson

Susan Tolleson was appointed to the Shawnee (KS) Community Engagement Task Force, Ward 1.  Susan has lived in Shawnee 14 years and in the metro area for 31.  She has more than 30 years of experience in marketing communications and public involvement. She currently is a senior marketing writer at Johnson County Community College and has held communications roles with HNTB, Burns & McDonnell, Greater KC Community Foundation and the Kansas City Zoo. She has run a freelance consulting business for 17 years and has managed volunteers at Shawnee Town 1929 Museum and Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. She has a master’s degree in strategic marketing communications from KU. She is married and has a daughter who will attend KU in the fall.