No Ceiling, by SBJ Podcasts

Christina Ford is the founder of The Rebound Foundation, which provides housing and support to survivors of domestic violence, and the owner of Kids Inn Child Care Center, which provides drop-in care. Christina and her family moved to Springfield in 2018 when her husband, Dana, was hired to coach the Missouri State University men's basketball team. She quickly planted roots in the community, opening transitional housing for women and children fleeing abuse. Her nonprofit is inspired by her own story and her family's story of domestic violence. In this conversation, Christina talks about the uncertainty that comes with being a coach's family, not knowing when or where their next move will come. She also shares about the death of her daughter, Promise, and what she has learned about herself in grief and motherhood.

Paula Dougherty is a certified financial planner and private wealth adviser leading the Achieve Private Wealth office of Ameriprise Financial Services. Starting out in the field in the mid-1990s, Paula says she had to learn how to trust herself and step outside her comfort zone to build a book of business. Today, her office is one of Forbes' Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams and she was named to Forbes' 2024 Top Women Wealth Advisors list. She says her work is about relationship building and being steadfast in financial advice to clients, even in a crisis. In this conversation, Paula talks about building an office culture that matched her values and her journey to develop her own style of leadership over her nearly 30-year career.

Alex Erwin is the manager of scientific programs at Susan G. Komen. Her work involves bringing together industry leaders and patient voices to identify gaps in breast cancer research and needs in patient care. She moved back to the Springfield area after the birth of her daughter to be closer to family, and says she benefited from a post-pandemic shift to remote work that made the job at national nonprofit Komen possible. In this conversation, Alex talks about the impact of her mother's breast cancer diagnosis on her work, and how emigrating to the U.S. from Russia as a child with her single mother has shaped her perspective and identity. She also discusses the ongoing focus of Komen on data collection, aiming to collect information from diverse patient populations to improve health outcomes.

Heather Lyons-Burney is one of the founders of Faith Community Heath and My Neighbor's Charitable Pharmacy. She's also a clinical associate professor at the UMKC School of Pharmacy. Heather was the first pharmacy resident at CoxHealth – and she's continued blazing trails throughout her career. In 2021, she led the efforts to develop the first charitable pharmacy in the state. She says there are many challenges in the pharmacy industry, but she's optimistic that a charitable model could be a part of the solution. In this conversation, Heather talks about her passion for helping patients and how she's driven by curiosity.

Jamie Dopp is the manager of marketing and communications for White River Valley Electric Cooperative Inc. This conversation takes us out of the office and on the journey to receiving a rare diagnosis for her daughter, Lillie. Five years ago, the daughter she described as vibrant and outgoing became unable to keep food down. Diagnoses of eating disorders and failure to thrive were tossed around, but Jamie says she knew something was being missed. She became determined to find answers, fueled by sheer will and the strength of her own mom's example. Jamie says she found her voice and learned to trust her intuition as she researched how to help her daughter. The yearslong journey resulted in a diagnosis just .013% of people will ever hear. In this conversation, Jamie talks about the volunteer experiences that taught her to hold on to hope and how she's committed to self-care in the next season of life.

Mary Kromrey is the executive director of Ozark Greenways Inc., leading the efforts to maintain and grow the region's trail systems. Her love of nature began in childhood. She got back to those roots in 2016 when she joined the nonprofit after two decades working with the YMCA. She says opening herself to the possibility that life could take an unexpected turn landed her the gig. Now, she is advocating for her vision of walkable and connected communities. In this conversation, Mary talks about growing a thicker skin in her leadership role, finding joy in work and nature, and ongoing projects to ungap the trail map.

Stephanie Stenger is the president of Ron Stenger Cos., overseeing the legal and financial side of the family residential development business. She was also part of the group that in 2010 purchased the Moxie Cinema and turned it into a sustainable nonprofit enterprise. In recent years, she's tackled a new industry with investments to open a marijuana dispensary. Her passion for seeing a thriving community is the thread that weaves through all her work. She followed in her mom's footsteps on that path – they were the first mother-daughter duo to serve as presidents of the Junior League of Springfield. In this conversation, Stephanie talks about the importance of building friendships and connections, shaking off traditional dating definitions, and lessons learned through the seasons of life.

Sherry Coker is the owner of Coker Consulting LLC, assisting businesses with education and training solutions. She spent 17 years in workforce development at Ozarks Technical Community College, leaving in 2023 to pursue a long-held dream to run her own business. The path to finding the courage to bet on herself was long and bumpy. Sherry says she's struggled with an eating disorder and self-worth. But she's learned to turn down the track inside her head that says she isn't good enough, and that's led to new opportunities and ways to impact others. In this conversation, Sherry talks about her new consulting venture, as well as the death of her first husband and finding love again. 

Yolanda Lorge is the founder and president of Grupo Latinoamericano. She also provides translation services for many organizations, like the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the state court system, and teaches English and Spanish language courses. Yolanda emigrated from Mexico as a young married woman, moving from metropolitan Mexico City to a small Kansas town. Since founding Groupo Latinoamericano 35 years ago, she's worked to keep Latin culture alive in the Ozarks, encouraging people to discover and celebrate their heritage. In this conversation, Yolanda talks about her life in Mexico and the power she finds in learning, and saying yes.

Brandi VanAntwerp is the executive director of Foster Adopt Connect Inc. While her journey to that role is a full circle story, the path had many turns, including a childhood dream to practice law and become a country music singer. But her love for giving back to others has been a constant theme – she held her first fundraiser when she was just 12 years old. Brandi was born into a home with abuse at the hands of her biological father, but her story changed when her mom left and later remarried. Her stepfather, who she calls dad, adopted her as a young girl, and Brandi says that repair to her family system was critical to her development. Now in her work, she's helping kids who face similar family trauma. In this conversation, Brandi talks about her journey to nonprofit work, becoming a foster parent herself and leading with empathy.

Stephanie O'Connor is the vice president and chief information and people officer for City Utilities of Springfield, where she's worked her entire career. She spent most of those years in IT, but in 2017, she joined the executive leadership team and also took on human resources for the utility. Stephanie says her work and life are guided by this mantra: Be true, be you, be kind. That's helped her navigate working to support her family as a teenager after her parents' divorce. It has also helped her take on a demanding leadership role when some doubted her. She says her most rewarding accomplishment has been connecting women at the utility, which has led to an increase of female employees. In this episode, we talk about growing up in poverty, how she reconciled with her father, working in a male-dominated field and how her outlook on life has shaped her journey.

Norma Champion's career started in the 1950s, hosting a children's television show on KY3. After returning to school to finish her degree, she worked as a professor teaching broadcasting at Evangel University. In a twist to her career, she was elected to Springfield City Council in 1987, which launched a decadeslong run in politics, including as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate. There, she addressed issues relating to health care, family and children, and education. She's accumulated a long list of honors, but she says reflecting on her career now at 90 years old, it's the memories around the personal connections she's built that are the most significant. In this episode, Norma and I talk about how her faith influences her life, the impact of the death of her first husband and losing her vision, and what she still hopes to accomplish.

Melinda Burrows has had a love of food her whole life. That passion has sent her around the world, cooking for Paul McCartney, Phil Collins and INXS while on tour, to name a few, and preparing private dinners for Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney. In recent years, Melinda has worked as an executive chef and earned the elite title of certified executive chef from the American Culinary Federation. She says it's her love of ingredients and the connection of food that keeps her excited about the profession. In this episode, Melinda talks about her storied life in the culinary arts, her recent departure from the kitchen at Hickory Hills Country Club and her next career move.

Cicely Woodard is a math teacher at Kickapoo High School, and her approach to education has earned her national recognition, including the Tennessee Teacher of the Year and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Cicely is on a mission to make math accessible and applicable to students and to teach them that when they learn the equation they never thought would stick, that's a lesson they can carry to every part of life. Math didn't come easily to Cicely growing up, but it was because it was a challenge that she was drawn to it. In this episode, we talk about how she's been a trailblazer in her profession, the journey she took to develop her teaching style and what it's like to be an educator in today's climate. 

You might know Sarah Jenkins best as a writer and performer on “The Mystery Hour,” a once-syndicated late night talk show based out of Springfield. But her work has reached far past her roots. A “Mystery Hour” skit she stars in, “Instagram Husband,” has more than 7 million views on YouTube. Her love of comedy traces back to childhood. She says she's drawn to the connection a shared laugh brings. Her art, and improv especially, has helped her personally, too, by helping her face a lifelong struggle with perfectionism. By day, she's also an advertising writer, and in 2022 took a chance on herself and began freelancing full time. In this episode, Sarah talks about how the past few years have been full of change and how she's learning to embrace what's next.

Christie Love leads The Connecting Grounds, a church with a mission to clothe, feed and care for those in need with compassion. Christie admits she was an unlikely candidate for full-time ministry. She grew up in church, but struggles in adulthood caused her to wrestle with her faith. She says it was in studying theology that she saw the potential the church had to reach out to the least of these and build meaningful relationships. Her church, TCG, is known for advocating for the city's unhoused population. In this episode, we discuss Christie's faith journey and her vision for the modern church.

Teresa McGeehan is the owner/operator of 19 McDonald's restaurants in the Ozarks. She started at the restaurant as a teenager in an entry-level job and worked in nearly every leadership position before becoming an owner. At that time, she was one of only two female McDonald's owners in the region. That wasn't the only barrier she's overcome. In her teens and into adulthood, Teresa experienced domestic violence. It was her then boss and now husband and business partner, Chip, who helped her discover her worth and find her confidence. In this episode, we talk about how Teresa's leadership style has changed over the years, how she learned to trust and believe in herself and why she's paying it forward with her employees today.

Dami Odunewu is the founder of Purpose Connect, a software that takes a new approach to hiring by eliminating the resume. A company motto reads: We're on a mission to make hiring more human. Dami says the idea comes from her own story. When she found her calling, she wanted others to find theirs, too. Her life's passion is in providing equitable access to health care. Growing up in Nigeria, she was a witness to the consequences of a system that required payment before treatment. Her medical missions nonprofit, Divine Missions HC, pays for life-saving treatments in developing nations. In this episode, we talk about finding meaningful work, celebrating diversity and living in Nigeria.

Kaitlyn McConnell is the founder of Ozarks Alive, where she shares stories of the rural Ozarks with the goal of preserving culture and documenting the region's people and places. She also has shared her stories through two Ozarks guide books. Her love of history started early, and her local roots run deep. In early 2022, she left her job as spokesperson for CoxHealth to pursue her yearslong side hustle, which she says is a calling. In this episode, we talk about the changing face of the Ozarks and what's behind that drive to tell the often untold, everyday stories of life in our region.

Michelle is the owner of downtown shop The Coffee Ethic. It's a role she took on suddenly six years ago after the death of her husband, Tom. She says she's been on a journey since then, to navigate trauma, raise her children and assume the responsibilities of the coffee shop. Michelle says she rediscovered herself in the process and found her own voice and strength in business. In this episode, we talk about grief and finding joy again, and how she's grown her business by listening to her gut.

Dee says life is unpredictable, and that was no more true than in February 2020 when her husband, Todd, was diagnosed with cancer. He died six months later. Countless doctors' appointments and long hospital stays marked those months, with Dee becoming a full-time caretaker. She says it was an honor to have the role for her husband – and to have the business community rally alongside her in that fight. Dee recently left her role at Guaranty Bank and took a leap into the nonprofit world, a dream she's long held. This month she was named chief of staff at Burrell Behavioral Health. It's a cause close to her heart, as therapy has been a lifeline on her own grieving journey.

Francine wears many hats. She's the outgoing director of Prosper Springfield, the executive director of the Missouri College Access Network and the co-owner of Queen City Soul Kitchen. Francine says her love of cooking sparked the concept, along with the opportunity to bring the community together through soul food. Francine says in recent years she's gone through an identity crisis of sorts, analyzing her childhood and how the themes of race and class impacted her. She says that it wasn't until she moved to Springfield that she discovered biases within herself, and how coming to terms with those and understanding her identity has shifted her perspective.

Christie Snelson is an artist and the gallery director at Obelisk Home. She says her work evolves as she does. At one point, it was as a self-employed artist taking commissions for people and pet portraits. She's since taken on landscapes and paintings depicting scenes of life on social media, but her most recent work is abstract art. She completed a show in May with over 70 pieces. We'll talk about how painting is her therapy and what it feels like to put herself on display through her work.

Debbie Shantz Hart has had a trailblazing career. The first female lawyer at Husch Blackwell, and attorney to iconic developer John Q. Hammons. She was the fourth woman to chair the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce board, and the first woman outside of the Turner family to serve on the Great Southern Bank Board of Directors. Her career took an unexpected shift after her work with John Q. ended. She got into affordable housing development. But with a long history of nonprofit volunteer leadership building up communities, it's no wonder the job stuck.

Angie Mullings is the broker/owner of Century 21 Integrity Group. Real estate wasn’t Angie’s first choice for a profession, but it’s one she made a career out of. She bought the business just before the Great Recession hit and took the legs out from the industry. The years that followed tested her professionally and personally, but the lessons learned stuck and sharpened her skills. Today, Angie is focused on giving back to her profession, and creating paths of success for new realtors. 

Krista Peryer is the president and co-founder of The Geek Foundation, a revamped idea on school that’s accelerating graduates into the technology workforce in just 6 months. Krista was inspired to start the nonprofit, which provides its education at no cost, after running into barriers to get into the industry herself. She was a single mom who’d struggled with poverty and the thought of years in college seemed out of reach. Today she’s partnered with companies like O’Reilly Automotive, Jack Henry and Pitt Technology Group, and she has a vision for taking The Geek Foundation nationwide.

Joselyn Baldner is the new president and CEO of Central Bank of the Ozarks. Joselyn started her career in banking as a teller, but earned her first manager role at just 22 years old. Joselyn says leadership is a trait she and others identified in herself early on. When she was tapped as a possibility to take on leading local bank operations, she said she took time to discover if it was what she really wanted and leaned into what it would look like for her to lead as her authentic self. 

Heather Hardinger is one of the newest members of Springfield City Council after winning 41% of votes for General Seat A during the April 2021 election. Heather has devoted her career to workforce and economic development, while also pursuing passion projects by volunteering with equity commissions and national hunger relief initiatives. As a child growing up in Alaska, there were times when her family didn’t have stable housing and her mom applied for public assistance. Heather says those experiences give her the understanding and empathy to be a leader for all people in the community.

Saehee Duran is the lead pastor of Life360 Intercultural, a church on a mission to celebrate cultural diversity of its members by making everyone feel at home. Saehee didn’t grow up religious, but she says an introduction to Christianity by an former stepfather led to her life’s calling. As a young female minister, she’s says she’s intentional about creating space and opportunity for others who feel a similar pull to ministry. We’ll also talk about her work to reach the community outside of the walls of the church as a police chaplain.

Katie Towns is acting director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. As part of the leadership team, she’s spent the past year educating the community on staying healthy and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The path to this role is one she didn’t expect, but now she says it’s her calling. As she vies for the director position, Katie says she’s learning to embrace her own style of leadership while also raising two young kids as a single parent. She says taking care of herself is one way she’s made it through the past year.

You won't want to miss the 10 episodes of No Ceiling Season 2! Local women share their journey to the top of their professions and the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way. They’re rewriting the script on success and there’s no ceiling.  Season 2 is coming April 28, with episodes released weekly. 

Stephanie Ireland is the owner of 20-year-old Springfield architecture firm Ireland Architects. Stephanie says its no wonder she ended up in this field – her dad was a woodshop teacher and her mom an interior design and architectural history professor. But the road to gaining her license was not easy. She took a non-traditional education path and she experienced a set back early in her career when she was laid off. But Stephanie says she’s drawn to a challenge. We’ll talk about how that desire has led her to spend much of her career designing health care clinics and psychiatric hospitals.

Restaurateur Anne Baker is the co-owner of downtown’s Finnegan’s Wake, Civil Kitchen and Tinga Tacos. Her work in the hospitality industry started just as she became a teenager, bussing tables at a family friend’s restaurant. She grew up poor, the daughter of immigrants from Korea. Her parents taught her the value of the dollar and hard work. Anne says those values are peppered throughout her life, and were crucial as she had the unexpected opportunity to became a bar owner in her early 20s. We talk about what it was like growing up a first generation American and how she sees her parents and her childhood in a new light after becoming a mother herself.

Carol Taylor has served as the president of Evangel University since 2013. She announced her plans, officially this time, to retire in November 2020 after 45 years in education. That date was postponed so she could stay on to lead the school through the COVID-19 pandemic. That move was in Carol’s nature, she’s not one to back down from a challenge. We’ll talk about her abrupt appointment to lead Vanguard in California, as the university was threatened with losing its accreditation. And stepping into her role at Evangel and succeeding Robert Spence, the second longest serving college president, ever. She says she found purpose and power in being her own kind of leader. And those challenges? She says her life has been marked by giving an unqualified yes to anything God has in store.

Shurita Thomas-Tate is a speech pathologist who teaches about language and literacy development and disorders at Missouri State University. It’s her deep passion for equity and understanding that drives her work, and it’s also what led her to run for the Springfield Public Schools’ board. Compared to the rest of Springfield, the school district is very diverse. She says those kids needed a voice, and that decision makers should be as diverse as the population they serve. We’ll also talk about her nonprofit to boost literacy among underserved kids.

On April 30, 2019, a devastating series of tornadoes ripped through the Ozarks. About 100 homes were damaged, and several were destroyed. One home that was leveled was owned by Susan Haralson. She’s the co-owner of Premier Home Heath Care and a local leader of networking and service organization, Rotary. Her and her husband survived the EF2 tornado, and in the days and weeks that followed, Susan says the friends from Rotary, the community and her neighbors helped her put her life back together. In 2020, Susan faced another storm when COVID-19 hit, but this time the impact was to her business Her home health care agency’s revenue was cut in half. We also talk about her decade-long career in broadcast journalism, and how that laid the foundation for her work as a spokesperson for Rotary.

Jordan McAdoo is a software engineer who works at StitchFix, a national company that uses technology to help match customers with clothing that fits their style. She focuses on the company’s app and the user experience. She’s taken her skill set into the community, helping connect other women with her industry. She says a diverse workforce makes a better product.

In 2019, Brandy Harris was hired as the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield after working for the children’s nonprofit for nearly a decade. Her love of kids and passion for helping them succeed in school and at home stems from a dark childhood. Brandy shared with us stories of abuse she faced at the hands of stepdads, crippling poverty and constant moving. She said she finally felt at home when she came to Springfield in 8th grade. That’s when she learned, through her relationship with her teachers and principal, that it really just takes one caring adult to change a child’s life. Brandy also opens up about becoming a CEO in her 30s and the imposter syndrome she still fights against, and how she shifted operations in 2020 to keep meeting the ever-present needs of kids, even as the clubs were closed.

Jennifer Charleston has worked at the Springfield Police Department for two decades and is one of the department’s leaders, holding the title of lieutenant. Policing is not a profession full of women, and that’s a part of Jennifer’s career she’s proud of, helping make opportunities for female officers that will come after her. We’ll talk about the new role she took on this year, serving as a liaison between the department and the LGBTQ+ community. She says she’s committed to building trust between the communities. That’s what she’s built her entire career on.

As a young girl living in Haiti, Darline Mabins’ mother and brother died in a tragic car accident. She says repercussions from that loss were felt throughout her life. The accident was shortly followed by another pivotal moment—a move to the United States. We’ll talk about growing up in a country where she didn’t speak the language and finding success and joy in a career path she never expected. She’s a regional branch sales manager at Arvest Bank.

Jennifer Jackson is the publisher of Springfield Business Journal. Her mother founded the company in 1980, and Jennifer’s first job at the journal was in high school, helping typeset copy. But assuming ownership of the paper was not in her long-range plan. She was working toward a career in higher education administration when her mother asked if she’d like to learn the business. It was a move that challenged Jennifer, leaving the structure of higher education for the uncertainly of running a small business, but she hit her stride and today calls her employees her family, a feeling she fully understood after the death of her husband in 2019.

Local women share their journey to the top of their professions and the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way. They’re rewriting the script on success and there’s no ceiling.