Advance Kansas Announces 2015 Class

The group comprises the seventh class of the prestigious and innovative diversity leadership program hosted by Butler Community College. Participants will examine and pursue solutions to various challenges and opportunities they identify to be the most pressing in their communities.

With support from Spirit AeroSystems, Advance Kansas is designed to bring together leaders from all demographic groups and across all sectors of society – business, nonprofit, education, religion, government – and to educate them in effective ways to engage pressing diversity issues in their communities.

The Advance Kansas program is facilitated by Juan Johnson, president of Juan Johnson Consulting and Facilitation, LLC. Johnson has served in this role since 2006, after concluding a 21-year career with The Coca-Cola Company.

Advance Kansas is known for its uniqueness. The diversity program curriculum looks at race and gender, but also goes beyond that to include building skills applicable to all types of diversity issues such as socio-economic and geographic. Advance Kansas also turns curriculum and dialogue into action as class participants are responsible for implementing a community project by the end of their Advance Kansas experience.

“Past participants always speak highly of the program,” said Mary Moon, Butler Community College Executive Director of Community Advancement. “The lenses the participants develop throughout the class with which to view diversity, and the tools they are given to examine and identify underlying tension among diverse groups have proven to be invaluable to many of them. The trained network Advance Kansas is building will only strengthen our communities over time.”

For more information visit Advance Kansas or email [email protected].

The 2015 Advance Kansas Class VII members are:
•    Amanda Arroyo, Bombardier Learjet
•    Chris Boshers, Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
•    John C. Buckley II, Koch Industries, Inc.
•    Pamala Butler, T-Mobile
•    Michael Carver, Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
•    Dennis Clary, Cox Communications
•    Misa Daily, Nonprofit Solutions, Inc.
•    Roosevelt DeShazer Sr., Progressive Missionary Baptist Church
•    Sarah Emmons, Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
•    Kara Finn, Bombardier Learjet
•    Suzy Finn, Young Professionals of Wichita
•    Kate Flavin, Sedgwick County
•    Nikki Freeman, Wesley Medical Center
•    Jose Gutierrez, Farmers Insurance
•    Sheila Hanus, Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
•    Phil Hayes, The Arnold Group
•    Dana Hensley, Business Education Alliance
•    Loni Jensen, Hutchinson Community College
•    Julie Johnson-Dubuc, T-Mobile
•    Kimberly Krull, Butler Community College
•    Robert Lacy Jr., City of Wichita
•    Martha Linsner, TCK Trust & Financial Advisors
•    Jonathan Long, Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas
•    Robert Moody, Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, LLP
•    Keri Myers, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital
•    Anne Nelson, Central Plains Health Care Partnership
•    Heather Rinkenbaugh, Butler Community College
•    Perla Rodriguez, Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center
•    Karen Schmidt, Women's Initiative Network (WIN)
•    Kelly Snedden, Butler Community College
•    Steve Spade, City of Wichita
•    Michele Spainhower, Sedgwick County Health Dept.
•    Lester Terry, T-Mobile
•    Djuan Wash, Sunflower Community Action
•    Juston White, Boys & Girls Club
•    Carrie Wiegand, Allen, Gibbs & Houlik
•    Greg Williams, Entercom Wichita
•    Amy Woerz, Delta Dental of Kansas
•    Michele Zahner, USD 259 Wichita