Events

This meeting of the Kansas City-Plaza Rotary Club will host the winners of the 2023 RISE Business Awards.

RISE Awards Program

Vine Street Brewery

2000 Vine Street

Kansas City, MO 64108

7-9 AM

Melesa Johnson

Title: Pursuing a Safer Jackson County through Collaboration, Accountability, and Innovation. 

Description: Mayor Lucas' Director of Public Safety will elaborate on the current slate of violence prevention and intervention initiatives and programs being implemented in Kansas City.

Ron Wilson

         Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University in Manhattan. The Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is a public/private partnership between Kansas State University and the Huck Boyd Foundation. The mission of the institute is to help rural people help themselves.   Functions of the Huck Boyd Institute:

• Leadership Development - through the K-State Leadership Seminar, community development academies, partnering with the Kansas Leadership Center, support for local leadership programs, and more
• Rural Outreach - through presentations and facilitating community processes at the grass-roots community level, plus state and national organizations
• Kansas Profile - a weekly radio program and newspaper feature distributed statewide which features entrepreneurs and community leaders in rural Kansas so as to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation while building pride in our State

         He has a B.S. in Agricultural Education and a Masters in Mass Communications from K-State.  He became a legislative assistant to Senator Nancy Kassebaum in Washington D.C. and a staff member for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee before returning to Kansas to become director of the Huck Boyd Institute.

         Ron has written and produced more than 1,500 features about small town Kansas entrepreneurs and community leaders through his ongoing weekly radio program and news column called "Kansas Profile – Now, That’s Rural."  Ron is active in his church and community, and is a past president of the Manhattan, Kansas Rotary Club.  A graduate of Leadership Kansas, he was named by Ingram’s Magazine as one of 50 Kansans You Should Know and received the We Kan award from the Kansas Sampler Foundation for supporting rural culture.

“Underground Kansas”

I’ll talk about the Kansas subsurface and why it’s important, from the production of energy (especially oil and natural gas), minerals (such as salt), and especially groundwater from sources like the Ogallala Aquifer.  And we’ll talk about the role geology has played in Kansas history, including their connection to Native American rock art, trails across the state, and fossil collecting.

Rex Buchanan is the Director Emeritus of the Kansas Geological Survey based at the University of Kansas, where he was a staff member from 1978 to 2016.  He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of five books, including Roadside Kansas and Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills, both published by the University Press of Kansas, and Recent Seismicity in the Southern MIdcontinent, USA, published by the Geological Society of America.  A native of Rice County, Kansas, he has an undergraduate degree from Kansas Wesleyan University and graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He does occasional commentaries on Kansas Public Radio.

Table conversations on sharing ideas to improve the club. Come to. learn and share!

The Black-white wealth gap impacts everything 

Author, Ex-Wall Street Journal. Black History Month

Media executive and journalist Ebony Reed presents data and context on the Black-white wealth gap to help us understand why today so many Black families only have 15 cents for every dollar in wealth white families hold and its impact. 

She is the Chief Strategy Officer at The Marshall Project, a national nonprofit focused on reporting about the criminal justice system. At the Yale School of Management, Ebony codesigned and co-teaches an MBA class with fellow journalist and professor, Louise Story about wealth and income gaps across race and gender. They are also coauthors of a book (HarperCollins, 2024) about the Black-white wealth gap, which is based on more than 300 interviews, their own commissioned Harris Poll and a deep dive on seven Black families – three prominent and four most people may not know. 

Ebony began her career as a reporter at The Plain Dealer, covering Cleveland public schools, documenting public education’s inequities. At The Detroit News, she managed the local coverage of the 2008 financial crisis that crushed many families and had a lasting impact on Black families. At the Associated Press, Ebony was the deputy chief over the 55-person New England bureau and she was based in Boston before moving into a national revenue-focused role. At The Wall Street Journal, Ebony focused on audience and community building. 

She’s a proud Missouri School of Journalism graduate and former faculty member. She’s also a board member of United WE and resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Dr. Dina M. Bennett is the Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, a member of the Smithsonian Institution Affiliation Program. The mission of the American Jazz Museum is to celebrate and exhibit the experience of jazz as an original American art form through performance, exhibition, education, and research at one of the country's jazz crossroads – 18th & Vine. Bennett is responsible for overseeing the permanent collection and institutional archives of the museum, including all loans and temporary exhibits.

Prior to this position, Bennett spent three years as the Founding Curatorial Director of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee.

As an ethnomusicologist, Bennett specializes in African American music-culture and has honed her expertise in telling the story of African American music and its various genres through her curatorial work in music museums. With years of experience in exhibition design, she brings a strong understanding of storytelling and the importance of establishing the historical and cultural context for interpretation.

Bennett is a native of Topeka, Kansas. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Washburn University, a master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Kansas State University, and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology with a minor in African American & African Diaspora Studies from Indiana University. WhiBennett has over 30 years’ experience in the music field and is an accomplished pianist.

DeAngela Burns-Wallace Bio

Bio: DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Ed.D., is president and chief executive officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. With more than $2.5B in assets, the Kauffman Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States, and approaches its work from the middle of the country with a solid Midwest mindset – working to build practical and workable solutions to today’s challenges.  DeAngela will be speaking on her vision for the Foundation and how that focus is on KC while also having a national impact in the field of entrepreneurship.

Dr. Burns-Wallace is an award-winning public sector leader and educator who has championed policies and leveraged resources to improve lives and communities around the world. For more than 25 years, her leadership has created equitable and broader access to opportunities, shaped policies that expand resources, and better positioned communities to thrive intellectually, economically, and civically.

Through her work with educational institutions, government, business leaders, and community organizations, Dr. Burns-Wallace is recognized for her ability to envision and implement innovative, data-informed solutions in dynamic and complex organizations that yield sustainable impact.

Service is also a cornerstone of her journey. Dr. Burns-Wallace was elected to the Stanford University Board of Trustees in 2020, and she previously has held board roles in numerous local, regional, and national organizations.

Dr. Burns-Wallace’s depth of experience has made her a sought-after expert, keynote speaker, and national trainer on topics including diversity, equity, and inclusion; talent development; organizational behavior; operational effectiveness; strategic management; and authentic leadership.

Dr. Burns-Wallace holds a dual bachelor’s degree in international relations and African American studies from Stanford University, a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently holds a faculty appointment at the University of Southern California. 

The most important title to this Kansas City native is mom to her son, Xavier.

Business

Becky built and sold the award-winning communications firm, Blades and Associates, which served diverse organizations in industries from health care to aviation, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Before that, Becky launched creative marketing departments in other growing companies.

She has chaired boards of directors, both corporate and not-for-profit, and continues to serve on boards and their committees.

Becky is a Fellow of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program and serves as a mentor, advisor, and investor to startups and early-stage businesses.

Creativity

Becky enjoys a portfolio creative career of writing and making art.

She writes on topics from innovation and creativity to personal growth, and creates visual art by herself and in collaboration with others. See her art here, and see her writing here.

Becky has worked in live theater, and has created special events and creative gatherings, including a sold-out comedy show.

Community

Becky brings creativity to the communities she loves.

An active civic servant, Becky focuses her work as an advocate for the arts, youth and entrepreneurship.

She served for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, including serving on the Executive Committee and as chair of the Metropolitan Entrepreneurs Council.

Becky is past chair of ArtsKC, the Regional Arts Counsel, where she helped lead a region-wide community process to create the first-ever Regional Cultural Plan. She currently serves on the board of Starlight Theatre.

She’s served dozens more community boards including the Greater Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girl Scouts Mid-Continent Council, and others.

Education

Becky earned her Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where she was the Associated Press Hal Boyle Scholar and a graduate of the Honors College.

Becky has been a guest lecturer at academic institutions including the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management, The University of Missouri School of Journalism, The University of Kansas School of Journalism and The Kansas City Art Institute.

Etc.

Becky is a bad cook, a hopeful gardener, a passionate tree hugger and a licensed private pilot.

She lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband of 37 years, Cary Phillips. They have two daughters, Tess Phillips, living in Los Angeles, and Taylor Kay Phillips, living in New York City.

 A Visual Journey

I will describe the arc of my career from staff photographer to director of photography, freelance photographer/writer and current status as a hobbyist still engaged in making pictures of landscape, wildlife, automobiles and people.

Retired from the Kansas City Star in 2015.

Staff photographer, 1979

Director of Photography 1982-1991

Automotive Editor 1991-2002

Freelance automotive editor 2002-2015

I graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 1966. Worked for newspapers in Missouri and Colorado before joining the Kansas City Star in 1979.  I held various positions at the Star, including Director of Photography, until 1991 when I became the automotive editor. I left the paper in 2002 to be self-employed but continued to supply stories and photographs to the paper until 2015. In 2016 I was inducted into the Missouri Press Assn. Photojournalism Hall of Fame. I am a past president of the National Press Photographers Association.

Married to Susan, with two children and five grandchildren (children still live locally). We live in Leawood.

Audrey Coleman is the Director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, where she has held leadership roles since 2012. Formerly the Archivist to Senator Bob Dole, in Summer 2023 Audrey lead months-long commemorative efforts in honor of Senator Bob Dole’s 100^th birthday and the 20^th anniversary of the Dole Institute, including a celebratory slate of guests including Senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle, and Wall Street Journal Executive Washington Editor Jerry Seib.

Audrey cultivates transformative program partnerships that impact audiences and engage institutions across the region and the nation. Her experience with public engagement crosses disciplines, generations, and political philosophies. Audrey’s resourceful leadership strategy centers on attributes exclusive to the Dole Institute including the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole, their papers, and the vast network associated with the Senators, the Dole Institute, and the University of Kansas.

Audrey holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Kansas, where she was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society.

Michelle Neuschafer has taught first, second, third and fifth grade for 22 years.  She has a bachelors degree in educaiton from Kansas State, a masters degree in curriculum and instruction from Wichita State and a masters degree in Science of Leadership from Baker University.  She has taught at a charter school, title one school and is currently teaching at Cedar Creek Elementary, which is part of the Olathe School District.  She asked her first graders questions about Easter and will join Plaza Rotarians to report on what First Graders Say About Easter.

An Agent of Change speaks on The Other Kansas City, and Finding Solutions

Johnny Waller Jr. is the C.E.O of The JLW Group L.L.C & Clear My Record Expungement Program Manager at the UMKC School of Law . When Mr. Waller is not working on his organizations, he works in the community on various social justice issues ranging from the reduction of violence to the civil restoration of second chance citizens rights. He has also worked to pass local and state legislation along with members of the community in an effort to build a united, more equitable Kansas City. Mr. Waller graduated with honors from Johnson County Community College with an associate degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Bachelor degree in Business Management and Master degree in Organizational Leadership and Development from Rockhurst University. In 2018, He was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma for academic excellence in business studies.

Mr. Waller is currently a board member with Synergy Services and brand ambassador at G.I.F.T (Generating Income for Tomorrow) and serves on various committees throughout Kansas City including the GreenLight Fund, Minority Business Coalition and founder of the Rockhurst University Alumni Group Of Color.

Today he dedicates his free time working in the community as a change agent. Having lived a life of crime and success, he has a unique understanding of what it takes to overcome the many barriers people face and how to change their life for the better. He collaborates with non-profits, colleges and other organizations sharing his story and experiences in an effort to help find solutions to issues that continue to plague our community. He believes that through mutual understanding and hope that we all can make a profound positive impact in our community.