Kansas City Hosts First Annual Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum

Four Scholarships Awarded at STEM-Focused Program for nearly 100 High School Girls from DeLaSalle, Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, Ewing Marion Kauffman School, and Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. 

​Kansas City, Mo. (November 9, 2023)—  The Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum was held this week., providing an exclusive opportunity for high school girls grades 9-12 with a passion for STEM and a desire to learn from successful women in the community. This event is intended to inspire students on the topics of career choices, entrepreneurship, leadership, and financial literacy. 

​The forum began with a welcome keynote from Faye Coleman, national co-chair of Enterprising Women Foundation. The students then participated in a real-world financial literacy program presented and developed by Dr. Becky Reeves from Duke University and NOVA Labs led by the Institute for Consumer Money Management (ICMM). This was followed by a panel discussion and mentoring sessions from women entrepreneurs and leaders from the Greater Kansas City area.

​Dana Hetrick, President of Lucas Commercial Flooring and chair of the Kansas City Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum stated, “It’s exciting to bring this to Kansas City’s next generation of women leaders. The programming was incredible, and our committee’s hearts are full after hearing the wonderful conversations that were held between the students and mentors and witnessing how committed these young women are to setting and achieving career goals”.

​The following Kansas City non-profit and for-profit women business leaders served as panelists, mentors and/or committee members:

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• Christian Barnes, Better Homes & Gardens
• Audrey Navarro, Clemons Real Estate
• Rebecca Stowe, Design Supply Doors
• Michele Markham, EAG Advertising & Marketing
• Jeanette Prenger, ECCO Select
• Erin Merrill, Eskie & Associates
• Julie Pierce, Henderson Engineers
• Ava Amirahmadi, International Architects
• Nina Kimbrough Johnson, Johnson County Christmas Bureau
• Dana Hetrick, Lucas Commercial Flooring Group
• Elizabeth McFadden, Novella Brandhouse
• Asia Jones, ReStart, Inc.
• Leslie Kohlmeyer, Show Me KC Schools
• Maria Landoni, Sur Landscape Architecture
• Michelle Suter, Suter Commercial Law

​At the conclusion of the event, four students were awarded scholarships to attend the Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference in Orlando, Florida in April, 2024, for networking, workshops, and leadership training with women entrepreneurs. These students were selected by school leaders out of the nearly 100 girls that attended from DeLaSalle, Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, Ewing Marion Kauffman School, and Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. 

Kansas City’s first annual Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum was sponsored by EAG Advertising & Marketing and WWMB 2018, NAWBO Kansas City, ECCO Select, Lucas Commercial Flooring, and Show Me KC Schools, in coordination with the Young Enterprising Women Foundation and Institute of Consumer Money Management.  

About Enterprising Women Foundation
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The Enterprising Women Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization and sister organization of Enterprising Women magazine, is hosting a series of mentoring events around the U.S. to connect outstanding high school girls with an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) with outstanding women entrepreneurs in their local community. Learn more at https://www.enterprisingwomenfoundation.org/.