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KC group wants to give Black children the skills to succeed in tech
In more than two decades of working in the tech industry, Tammy Buckner rarely saw co-workers who look like her. “I didn’t see women represented in technology and specifically Black women represented in technology,” said Buckner, who has held jobs such as software developer, project manager and business analyst. In 2018, she asked a friend…
This Kansas City organization has a prescription for more Black doctors
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Jamila Weaver’s work status. She is a former facilitator for DEI training at St. Luke’s Health system. Dr. Michael Weaver in 1977 was the first Black student to fully complete the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Medicine program that enables students to earn bachelor’s and medical…
New KCI terminal launches careers in construction for women, minorities
Since 2021, Rita Johnson has been working to build the new KCI terminal as a laborer on the airport construction site, doing demolition work and picking up after other trades. Before her time at the terminal, Johnson had never worked construction a day in her life. In fact, she was in health care administration for…
These potential future teachers are already in KC schools
Amid concerns about a teacher shortage, some programs — like Pathways for Paras — have found innovative ways to make teacher certification more accessible.
Jobs are coming to KC, but child care, housing and transportation needs may stand in workers’ way
For the past couple of years, industrial growth in the form of new distribution and fulfillment centers has brought billions in investments and the promise of hundreds of jobs and workforce development to the Kansas City region. If Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has his way, 2023 will be another year that Missouri prioritizes new industry…
Shelter resources are limited for unhoused who work nights
If you see a homeless person sleeping in public during the day, assume nothing. Though Kansas City doesn’t keep an exact count, nationally nearly 40% of unhoused individuals living on the street work full- or part-time jobs, and a significant number of those choose to work night jobs. There are many reasons why the unhoused…
New KCI terminal promises shops, food, excitement and jobs
Sandy Cisneros has a retail job in Liberty, Missouri, where she makes $15 an hour. But the mother of two children was looking for something that would offer more hours, better pay and a more flexible schedule. After showing up at a Jan. 23 hiring fair sponsored by the Vantage Airport Group at Kansas City…
Startups are growing in Kansas City, but is funding equitable?
In 2018, Dr. Shelley Cooper observed that a clinic she was working with was experiencing a high rate of no-shows for appointments. That same year, her father died in his sleep. He had medical issues but wasn’t able to book appointments with doctors as quickly as he needed them. A year later, Cooper channeled grief…
The growing green jobs industry could mean more jobs for Kansas Citians
Before securing a position as a manager at KC Can Compost, a nonprofit dedicated to reshaping Kansas City’s approach to environmental and social causes, Chris Shelar was unhoused off and on for eight years. Now 60, Shelar lived in outdoor spaces and panhandled for change to get by. Eventually, he found steady work as a…
Pawsitive impacts: Program aims to break generational cycles of poverty through pet grooming
In 2018, Ashley Stillings was living in Hope House, a homeless shelter in Lee’s Summit, with her three children. Her husband had received a 12-year prison sentence and she found herself her household’s sole provider. Stillings was working as a waitress when she came across a flier stating that pet groomers can earn $20 an…
How investments in Black businesses can help close KC’s racial wealth gap
When Denisha Jones launched her business, Sweet Peaches Cobblers, in August 2020, it was just her, her husband, her mom and her sister in a community kitchen — taking orders, making the cobblers and doing deliveries. Now she has a team of individuals helping her sell cobblers in stores and at events and festivals across…
KCATA tackled its driver shortage. Now, bus drivers want to see more change
Will Howard knows exactly why bus drivers in Kansas City are stepping away from the steering wheel. “We just had an 18-year veteran say they can’t do it anymore,” said Howard, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1287, the operator union representing bus drivers in Kansas City. “She’s working at the water department now.” Since…
Missouri Allows Some Disabled Workers to Earn Less Than $1 an Hour. The State Says It’s Fine If That Never Changes.
This article was produced with ProPublica as part of its Local Reporting Network initiative. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. This story is available in plain language. One weekday morning in July, Kerstie Bramlet was at her workstation inside the Warren County Sheltered Workshop near…
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