VOICES, VIGNETTES & SNAPSHOTS
Dr. Kim Krull, Butler Community College president Since its inception in 2008, Advance Kansas has been instrumental in helping Butler’s leaders create a culture of understanding, awareness and inclusion. It has helped me personally examine my own perceptions about diversity and to think about the skills I have as a leader; what I need to do to be a better leader in our diverse institution; and how I can help those around me do the same. We are surrounded each day with people who have amazing experiences and perspectives, and as we touch lives every day, those unique and valued voices can enrich and broaden our understanding. Fostering inclusivity and promoting a diverse educational experience are essential to helping our students succeed. We constantly think about how we can build a more inclusive learning environment for our students; how we help them learn and grow; how we prepare them to live and work and lead; how we send them into the world to be change agents, not only to change their lives, but also to change others’ lives for the better. The knowledge and insight we gain through Advance Kansas is vital in our continuous drive to embed diversity understanding within our college and educational culture. Butler Community College considers it a privilege to share our resources to host Advance Kansas, and in the course of doing so, to make a meaningful difference within the college and the community.
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Voices, Vignettes, and Snapshots Advance Kansas prepares leaders to lead more effectively in our increasingly diverse society. Based on the tenet that a diverse, well-prepared body of leaders can make a difference, the ultimate goal is to create communities that work well for everyone. Known as Advancers, alumni are an influential network of decision makers who have capacity to influence their organizations and the community. In focus groups conducted recently, Advancers recounted how their attitudes and perceptions have changed, and shared stories of achievement attributable to knowledge and relationships developed as class members and alumni. Voices, vignettes, and snapshots in this publication capture some of their statements. Voices are excerpts telling how some people are using what they learned. Vignettes are accounts of Advancers making a difference. Snapshots illustrate a significant communityaction project. Advancers are invited to email advanceks@ butlercc.edu to share more stories for publication in the Advancer newsletter and social media.
VOICES “Being in Advance Kansas helped me understand I wasn’t as aware of diversity as I should be and further encouraged me to make sure the company looked how it should.”
“Someone had shared with me that they thought racism no longer existed. But we had an amicable and thoughtful conversation that I think helped influence a mindset and give perspective and reason.”
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“I learned that it is okay in a professional environment to call things out when I see them. Advance Kansas really helped me to do that, in a way that was educated and non-offensive.” To see people from a diverse background and be able to build relationships was a good opportunity.”
“That has really informed my full view on diversity and inclusion and how I can be more inclusive of everybody in their thoughts and their ideas and experiences they bring to the table.”
Advance Kansas Advance Kansas brings together leaders from all sectors of society to create and strengthen relationships and acquire skills for addressing diversity challenges and opportunities in businesses, organizations, and in the community. Designed and skillfully facilitated by Juan Johnson of Diversity Leadership in Action, the focus of this gamechanging community leadership initiative is helping people recognize, appreciate and leverage the incredible upside potential of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Participants learn to understand their diversity “blind spots.” They come away with focused decision-making skills and a deep knowledge of how to effectively manage and lead increasingly diverse employees, clients, suppliers, and constituents. A key aspect of Advance Kansas’ approach is that it demonstrates how DEI contributes to achieving group and organizational objectives.
Juan Johnson, Advance Kansas facilitator Society at large and organizations across all sectors, are coming to grips with the critical need to eliminate racism, sexism, and all forms of systemic discrimination and to build diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations and communities. To achieve this aspiration leaders must have the knowledge, skills, and commitment to fully incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into their organization’s core mission. Building these leadership capabilities is the focus of Advance Kansas.
Advance Kansas is facilitated by Juan Johnson, President of Diversity Leadership in Action and former VP and Director of Diversity Strategies for The Coca-Cola Company. He has more than 20 years experience in diversity consulting and leadership development. For more information about Juan, please visit his website at diversityleadershipinaction.com.
VOICES “Difficult conversations need to happen. There are areas where people feel uncomfortable, but we have to go there to have a greater appreciation of everyone’s value. Advance Kansas has helped me minimize biases and take a more informed approach.” vvv
“Once you do Advance Kansas, you return to work and look at things from a new perspective.”
“Advance Kansas helped me find ways to improve and gave me confidence to be a disruptive force and challenge the status quo.” vvv
“Advance Kansas really opened up a lot of doors in regard to networking. The networking piece was strong and helpful.”
VIGNETTES “Advance Kansas really opened my eyes to the opportunities that are available in our area and also helped me realize how much diversity is lacking in certain professions, such as minorities in legal fields and women in engineering. My Advance Kansas experience has made me a good resource for my employer, friends, and family when they have questions or need ideas for bringing people together
and starting new projects. The presentation on Culmination Day gave me the confidence I needed to pursue more public speaking opportunities. I have been on KWCH Newstalk a couple of times since then and don’t shy away from using my gift like I used to.”
– Ayerianne Hibler, Real Estate Loan Assistant, Meritrust Credit Union, Advance Kansas Class X, 2018
VOICES Issues such as race and gender come up all the time and I’m less timid about going all in on these issues.”
“I have experienced my workplace differently. I have more patience and creativity.” vvv
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“Advance Kansas taught us to don’t just ‘see the shell’ and immediately start considering who people are but to think more about what’s behind the shell. Don’t be so quick to assume. Be totally open.”
“Advance Kansas helped me to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion, and to use that approach when I want to effect change. To look at data and look at statistics, not just my formal stance of what I see, but to actually dive a little bit deeper for greater impact and to increase buy-in.”
SNAPSHOT “It was an honor to be a part of Advance Kansas and work with a team of passionate leaders in the community that held a common understanding of the importance of exposing children to diverse experiences at a young age. We felt that encouraging children to tap into their strengths and interests early in their academic development was key in guiding them on what they want to DO instead of what they want to be “when they grow up”. Early exposure for students and parents to industries that create many career opportunities was a major component of the Dream Keepers program. Such a privilege to learn how to leverage our team’s diversity of experiences, diversity of thought and recognition of our “blindspots” that helped in the development of this very rewarding initiative.”
– Sangita Richardson, Director IT Business Engagement and Project Delivery, Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., Advance Kansas Class X, 2018
Working in HR, we talk a lot about trying to meet the demands of recruiting by reaching out to people in high schools to fill the talent pipeline and keeping students in the Wichita and surrounding area for their employer of choice. Our Advance Kansas team felt we were starting too late and middle school is a better time to help students explore careers and educate parents about their child’s options for the future. We created Dream Keepers to introduce careers in the aerospace, automotive, construction, and public utility industries to middle school students. The kids enjoyed the hands-on learning activities designed for them by industry representatives. Seeing their excitement and level of thinking ahead about their future options was rewarding!
– Sean Hudspeth, Chief Human Resources Officer, USD 259 Wichita, Advance Kansas Class X, 2018
SNAPSHOT
“Advance Kansas challenged us to think through a different lens about how we prepare our students for college and career success. Our AK teams came up with this amazing initiative that challenged us to think about diversity of career awareness experiences and exposures, especially for girls and students from economically disadvantaged homes. DreamKeepers started at two middle schools, and has expanded to five schools because of the positive feedback from school leaders and students alike. We’ve helped more than 1,100 seventh graders from five middle schools learn about STEM careers, and the program continues to this day. Thanks to Advance Kansas and the dynamic business and community leaders who came together in this program to achieve success!”
– Wendy Johnson, Division Director for Strategic Communications, USD 259 Wichita, Advance Kansas Class X, 2018
VIGNETTES “Taking part personally in Advance Kansas opened up my eyes to many more dimensions surrounding diversity and inclusion. In particular, the opportunity to meet and develop a friendship with Juan Johnson helped my organization level up our approach to inclusion.
We partnered with Butler Community College to bring Juan in to facilitate a two-hour dialogue with local CEO’s and focused on how they could leverage their leadership positions to make an impact in our community. We’re now going into the fourth year of the CEO Roundtable and we’re engaging business leaders more than ever.”
“In almost everything I do, I now add intentionality”. This is because of the experience and enhanced understanding I received at Advance Kansas, particularly about intentional inclusion. Advance Kansas challenged me and played a huge factor in changing the way I think on different matters. One example is the way I think about politics. Some believe Chambers to be political organizations. For the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, it’s about how decisions impact Business versus the R or the D and it has to have diverse opinions and mindsets. Benefiting from Advance Kansas, I
am able to help lead the Chamber in providing education to leaders/ businesses on how to identify (implicit) biases, seek diverse perspectives, be intentionally inclusive and share best practices of how to measure that success.”
“Advance Kansas prompted me to become intentional about diversity first at the Chamber and now in my role with Wichita Public Schools. At the Chamber, we changed the way in which we formed our boards and intentionally reached out to different audiences, making sure there was representation from a variety of ethnicities, genders
and work settings and that it was not always someone corporate in leadership roles. We created a diversity and inclusion task force, and established diversity-related priorities for the Chamber. Dream Keepers, which was created in Advance Kansas to build a pipeline of students interested in STEM careers, originated as an outcome of the Chamber CEO Roundtable, and now I lead this initiative for the schools.”
– Gary Plummer, President & CEO, Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, Advance Kansas Class VI, 2014
– Junetta Everett, Vice President of Professional Relations, Delta Dental, Advance Kansas Class XI, 2019
– Suzy Finn, Marketing & Strategic Partnerships Manager, USD 259 Wichita, Advance Kansas Class VII, 2015
VIGNETTES “Being a part of Advance Kansas taught me that there is more to diversity than optics. I’ve utilized the information through three job advancements over the last five years. I have changed the way I work with my groups. I value their differences to help build my team and make it better. I am in
charge of a fairly large department and I utilized what I learned to recruit diversity into our group. Our group is a reflection of the Wichita Community.”
“When I attended Advance Kansas, I was intent on creating a project to address some component of the growing veteran homeless problem in the community. Unfortunately, my team was unable to settle on a veteranrelated project and worked on something different. The following year, I was introduced to a current Advance Kansas participant who was working on a homeless veteran project. We met and shared ideas, and he introduced me to Passageways Ltd, a nonprofit working to eliminate veteran homelessness in the region, and now I am serving on their Board.
Through this relationship, I have connected with and joined several boards to address other diversity initiatives in the community — Hispanic education and development, veteran employment, and now second chance hiring initiatives. As I immerse myself into the networks of those involved in each of these programs, I discover additional Advance Kansas alumni. Regardless of the event or the purpose of a gathering, it is common to find Advance Kansas graduates leading initiatives across Wichita. Identifying former alumni has helped form strong bonds across the community as we share a common background and similar interests.”
“When tasked with doing something for women offenders and helping them reintegrate into society, Advance Kansas helped me think about who I needed at the table to be in the discussion. From that group, we established the Fair Chance Initiative. Fair Chance was a good opportunity for me to continue the diversity conversation with other stakeholders as we addressed the
need for support to be in place for these women. This initiative brought legislators and employers together and helped us have difficult conversations that we might not otherwise have had.”
– Rachel White, Senior Manager Distribution Systems, Evergy, Advance Kansas Class IX, 2017
– John Buckley, Military Relations Manager, Koch Industries, Advance Kansas Class VII, 2015
– Aletra Chaney-Profit, Director of Career Services, Butler Community College, Advance Kansas Class III, 2011
VIGNETTES “During my tenure on the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, we took the lead to host sessions at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, to discuss “Racial Profiling” and its effect on blacks and other minorities in Kansas. Head law enforcement officials throughout the state participated and engaged in healthy dialog. Advance Kansas proved beneficial and added a valuable advantage for me in these discussions as we brought awareness to the biases we all have and how with education and
open dialog we could do a better job of patrolling. After hearing from a broad range of our Kansas citizens, our end goal was to minimize or eliminate racial profiling reports from people of color.” - Sherdeill Breathett, Sr., Chief Operating Officer, It Takes a Village, Advance Kansas Class III, 2011
“With COVID-19 hitting, my attitude toward students that were forced into learning from a distance has caused me to take a deeper look at what we expect our students to accomplish when their entire structure has been torn apart. At the time when all learning was taking place remotely, I attended a webinar where a statement was made that “If you are giving grades during this time, you are only grading privilege!” While not all agree with this statement, I believe it to be true. We have students who do not have internet access, no computer or limited computer capabilities, and they are trying to answer
questions using their smartphones. That’s if they own a smartphone. Yet, I looked at my son who was finishing up the semester in our basement with two monitors, a full computer, high speed internet access, and support from both parents, and couldn’t help but think he is privileged. Advance Kansas was an eye opener to me in a number of ways that continue to contribute to my mindset as I continue to work in higher education.” – Bill Rinkenbaugh, Vice President Student Services, Butler Community College, Advance Kansas Class II, 2010
“T-Mobile had minimal diversity and inclusion groups when I started working there in 2015. I looked to Advance Kansas to help me figure out where to go with it. Advance Kansas was a pivotal moment to help me launch diversity and inclusion at our site. It helped me
influence 800 people within our site and grow our diversity and inclusion networks. It was the kick start that really helped me get things moving when I didn’t know where to go. After launching our diversity and inclusion initiatives, we were able to roll them out quickly. We started small and engagement grows year after year. Every year I identify leaders to participate in Advance Kansas.” – Jeff Elliott, Site Director & General Manager, T-Mobile, Advance Kansas Class XIII, 2016
A Powerful Network Committed to Progress As of 2020, 473 leaders from 147 organizations have participated in Advance Kansas, including: AGCO Airbus Americas Engineering Allen, Gibbs & Houlik American Red Cross Andover Public Library Ascension Via Christi BKD CPAs & Advisors Bombardier Aerospace Boys & Girls Club Butler Community College Butler County Capitol Federal Savings Cargill Catholic Charities, Inc. Children’s Miracle Network City of Andover City of El Dorado City of Newton City of Rose Hill City of Wichita Cornejo & Sons, Inc. Cox Communications Cox Machine Credit Union of America Davis-Moore Auto Group Delta Dental of Kansas Dress for Success EmberHope Emprise Bank Envision, Inc. Evergy Exploration Place Farmers Insurance Fidelity Bank Foulston Attorneys at Law Friends University Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland GLMV Architecture Greater Wichita YMCA High Touch Technologies Hunter Health Clinic Hutton IMA Financial Group, Inc. Inter-Faith Ministries
Intrust Bank JR Custom Metal Products Junior League of Wichita Kansas Air National Guard Kansas Department for Children & Families Kansas Gas Service Kansas Health Foundation Kansas Hispanic Education & Development Foundation Kansas Leadership Center Koch Industries KWCH Martin Pringle Law Firm Meritrust Credit Union Newman University Nonprofit Solutions, Inc. Numana, Inc. Sedgwick County Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. Starkey, Inc. Sunlight Children’s Advocacy and Rights Foundation (SCARF) Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital TECT Aerospace Textron Aviation The Arnold Group The Kansas African American Museum T-Mobile United Methodist Open Door US Air Force US Small Business Administration USD 259 Wichita Wesley Medical Center Wichita Community Foundation Wichita Independent Business Association Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce Wichita SHRM Wichita State University Wildcat Construction Workforce Alliance WSU Tech
Join This Innovative Diversity Initiative The class consists of five full-day workshops over a five-month period. Workshop days include candid conversations and engaging activities designed to stimulate productive dialogue while building skills to be better leaders in our increasingly diverse society. As an important part of the Advance Kansas experience, teams of participants meet between workshop days to accomplish projects in the community. In the course of doing so, relationships strengthen and participants gain a broader understanding of issues, challenges, and opportunities facing our community and citizens. The program culminates with each team’s presentation about their community-action project.
 For class dates or more information, visit www.butlercc.edu/advance-kansas, call 316-218-6355, or email advanceks@butlercc.edu.
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