The Top 50 Kansas City Women Leaders of 2026
Kansas City has always been a “builders” town-but the definition of building has expanded. Today it’s not just steel, concrete, and logistics. It’s also building healthier systems, more inclusive workplaces, new pipelines for talent, venture ecosystems, and even a globally watched women’s sports business model.
The women on this list are doing the work that makes a metro area feel like it has momentum: leading large organizations, running complex operations, shaping capital and policy, and turning community investment into outcomes. Titles matter-but influence is also about who can convene, who can execute, and who can move a region from idea to reality.
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#1 Leslie Duke
Kansas City’s growth story runs through infrastructure, energy, industrial development, and “can we actually build it?” execution-and that’s exactly where Leslie Duke’s influence lands. Leading Burns & McDonnell places her at the center of major projects and regional capacity: the work that quietly determines whether employers expand, whether utilities modernize, and whether the built environment keeps up with population and investment. Her leadership also shifts what the top seat looks like in one of the metro’s most consequential sectors.
#2 DeAngela Burns-Wallace
If you want to understand Kansas City’s entrepreneurship identity-who gets funded, which community initiatives scale, and where civic partnerships get real backing-watch the Kauffman Foundation. DeAngela Burns-Wallace leads one of the region’s most influential philanthropic institutions, with the power to convene, fund, and shape the long-term “economic mobility \+ entrepreneurship” agenda. Her imprint shows up in how KC thinks about opportunity, small business growth, and the talent pipeline that sustains it.
#3 Tamria Zertuche
Energy reliability and cost stability affect every household and every employer, and Ferrellgas is a major player in that system. Tamria Zertuche’s role as CEO puts her at the intersection of large-scale operations, safety, customer infrastructure, and the day-to-day realities of serving communities and businesses across the region and beyond. She represents a form of influence Kansas City understands well: operational leadership that keeps essential services running while navigating industry change.
#4 Raven Jemison
Kansas City has become a case study in how to build a serious women’s sports franchise and business ecosystem-and Raven Jemison is a key executive force behind that story. As president of the Kansas City Current, she influences not only the club’s performance as an organization, but also how women’s sports drives local employment, partnerships, tourism, brand visibility, and the region’s “big-league city” narrative. This is leadership with ripple effects across civic pride and commercial growth.
#5 Angie Long
Angie Long’s influence is uniquely “two-lane”: capital and culture. On one side, she operates in high-stakes investment leadership as CIO. On the other, she is foundational to the Kansas City Current ownership group and the larger vision of what women’s sports can be in KC. That combination-financial sophistication paired with civic-scale ambition-has helped Kansas City punch above its weight in national conversations about ownership, investment, and women’s professional sports.
#6 Lisa Murray
Regional influence isn’t only about what you say you prioritize-it’s about what you resource. As CIO, Lisa Murray helps steer the financial engine that enables the Kauffman Foundation’s long-term commitments. That role shapes how consistently the region can invest in entrepreneurship, education, and opportunity-building initiatives-especially during volatile markets. In practice, she is part of the infrastructure behind many “KC wins” that require sustained funding and patient strategy.
#7 Penny Spence
Kansas City’s economy leans heavily on engineering, construction, and execution-industries where financial discipline and strategic investment matter as much as technical talent. As CFO of Henderson Companies, Penny Spence holds a leadership lever over how one of the region’s notable firms allocates resources, grows, and modernizes operations. Financial leadership at this level influences jobs, vendor ecosystems, and the region’s ability to deliver complex projects at scale.
#8 Katie Briscoe
Influence isn’t always local-facing; sometimes it’s about being headquartered here while shaping markets everywhere. As CEO of MMGY Global, Katie Briscoe leads a firm with reach in travel and marketing-sectors that are both brand-driven and data-driven. Her leadership strengthens Kansas City’s position as a place where major strategy and creative work happens, attracting talent and proving that global-facing leadership doesn’t need a coastal zip code.
#9 Marvia Jones
Public health leadership is economic leadership-because workforce stability, employer burden, and community resilience all track back to health systems that work. As director of the Kansas City Health Department, Marvia Jones influences how the metro responds to public health challenges, coordinates with partners, and builds prevention infrastructure. The impact is felt in schools, businesses, and neighborhoods where the real metric is whether systems keep people healthier and able to work and thrive.
#10 Jani Johnson
Few roles touch more Kansas Citians more directly than health system leadership. Jani Johnson’s responsibilities at Saint Luke’s put her at the center of patient access, staffing realities, care quality, and operational decisions that affect families and employers across the metro. In a time when healthcare is both a major employer and a major stressor for households, leadership that stabilizes care delivery is a form of influence that reaches far beyond the walls of a hospital.
#11 Marshaun Butler
Operational leadership in healthcare is where “strategy” becomes real life: staffing, throughput, safety, and patient experience. As COO, Marshaun Butler plays a direct role in how effectively one of the region’s major care institutions runs day to day. That matters to the broader economy because healthcare access and workforce health are foundational to productivity, family stability, and employer competitiveness across the metro.
#12 Joy Johnson
Kansas City is home to some of the country’s most influential engineering and consulting capabilities, and Black & Veatch is a flagship in that category. Joy Johnson’s leadership sits in the intersection of operations and people-meaning workforce strategy, organizational performance, and the ability to execute in a competitive talent market. In regions like KC, where engineering and infrastructure remain economic anchors, HR/operations leadership at this level has a meaningful ripple effect.
#13 Peggy Rowe
High-impact leadership is often quiet-and legal governance is one of the quietest power centers in a major institution. As general counsel at Commerce Bancshares, Peggy Rowe influences risk strategy, corporate governance, and decision frameworks that touch everything from growth initiatives to reputational protection. Recognition as a Kansas City Business Journal Women of Influence honoree signals the broader community impact of her leadership beyond the legal department.
#14 Liz Lewis
Banking leadership shapes what products exist, how customers access money, and how institutions earn trust-especially in a region where small businesses and households rely on stable, relationship-driven financial services. Liz Lewis operates at the intersection of consumer strategy and brand leadership at UMB, influencing how the bank competes, communicates, and grows. Her role matters to Kansas City because banks aren’t just financial utilities here-they’re civic institutions with deep employer and community ties.
#15 Uma Wilson
In modern banking, technology is not a back-office function-it’s the product. Uma Wilson’s role puts her at the center of digital capability, platform decisions, and customer experience strategy. In practical terms, that means shaping how securely and seamlessly consumers and businesses manage money, access services, and adopt new tools. Her leadership is a strong example of Kansas City’s growing influence in fintech-adjacent leadership and enterprise tech execution.
#16 Margaret Bowker
Construction leadership is a direct input to metro growth: housing, commercial development, and the physical expansion that follows new investment. As a senior leader at JE Dunn, Margaret Bowker sits in a role that touches large projects, major client relationships, and the performance standards that keep a complex construction ecosystem moving. In a “build-or-stall” environment, leadership that strengthens delivery capacity becomes civic-scale influence.
#17 Christa Dubill
Healthcare and insurance are deeply personal, but they’re also big systems-and the leaders who translate those systems for the public and employers have outsized influence. As chief communications officer at Blue KC (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City), Christa Dubill shapes how one of the region’s major insurers builds trust, communicates value, and shows up in community partnerships. Communication leadership here isn’t “PR”-it’s credibility, clarity, and community alignment.
#18 Leah FitzGerald
Real estate is the scoreboard of regional confidence: it reflects where companies invest, where talent wants to live, and how cities evolve. Leah FitzGerald’s leadership at CBRE places her close to the deals, strategies, and advisory work that influence office footprints, industrial growth, redevelopment, and site decisions. When Kansas City’s next growth chapter is written-district by district-commercial real estate leadership is one of the pens holding the ink.
#19 McClain Bryant Macklin
Policy can be abstract-until you lead impact strategy at a health-focused foundation with real resources and convening power. McClain Bryant Macklin’s role connects funding, policy priorities, and community outcomes in ways that influence how the metro tackles health equity and system gaps. This type of leadership matters because it turns “we should” into “we will,” aligning partners across sectors that typically operate in silos.
#20 Regan Lemke
Professional services shape regional business velocity-especially when the firm is as significant as Polsinelli. As chief of staff, Regan Lemke influences internal execution, strategic alignment, and leadership operations at a major Kansas City-rooted law firm. That matters because law firms are connective tissue: transactions, disputes, growth strategy, employer risk-when business moves, legal infrastructure enables (or slows) it. Operational leadership in that environment is real influence.
#21 Wendy Doyle
Doyle has built United WE into a research-to-action powerhouse, translating data on women’s economic outcomes into policy solutions and employer practices that drive real change. By convening cross-sector leaders and insisting on measurable progress, she has expanded the organization’s influence beyond Kansas City while strengthening the region’s long-term competitiveness.
#22 Amy Castillo
Castillo leads Ability KC with a healthcare-and-human-services mindset, expanding integrated rehabilitation and adaptive supports that help children and adults with disabilities thrive. Her work turns mission into measurable outcomes, improving quality of life while strengthening a more inclusive workforce for the Kansas City region.
#23 Rachel Arnett
Arnett drives Blue KC’s sales strategy with a clear focus on employers and members, helping organizations secure coverage that supports recruiting, retention, and healthier teams. Her leadership connects complex benefits to practical business results, strengthening one of the region’s most important anchors in the health economy.
#24 Andrea Kimball
Kimball pairs sharp legal leadership with strategic business judgment, protecting Sporting KC as it grows as both a sports brand and a civic asset. Through her counsel and community-minded approach, she helps align governance, partnerships, and philanthropy in ways that broaden the organization’s impact across the region.
#25 Bridget Romero
Romero is a trusted adviser for employers navigating today’s most complex workforce issues, helping organizations build policies that are fair, compliant, and resilient. Her solutions-first leadership reduces risk and keeps teams focused on growth, strengthening business stability across the Kansas City market.
#26 Kersten Holzhueter
Holzhueter is a trusted litigator for financial services institutions, protecting clients through high-stakes disputes where reputation and operational continuity matter. Her ability to anticipate risk and deliver practical strategies helps preserve confidence and stability across the businesses and communities those institutions serve.
#27 Leslie Greathouse
Greathouse leads critical governance, ethics, and risk functions that keep a large law firm operating with integrity and confidence at scale. By strengthening internal systems and professional responsibility, she multiplies her impact through the many attorneys and clients who rely on that platform every day.
#28 Maggie Kenefake
Kenefake is building Iron Prairie into a distinctive venture platform, backing innovators modernizing industrial and infrastructure sectors that underpin economic security and everyday life. By activating capital and ecosystems in and beyond the Heartland, she helps founders scale technologies that make companies more productive, competitive, and future-ready.
#29 Stephanie Schneider
Schneider helps steer Five Elms Capital’s growth investing with rigorous deal judgment and a deep understanding of how software businesses scale. Her work brings capital and strategic support to ambitious teams, accelerating company performance while reinforcing Kansas City’s role as a serious hub for technology investment.
#30 Teresa Ascencio
Ascencio leads people strategy for Dickinson Financial and Academy Bank, shaping culture, development, and workforce systems that strengthen performance across a customer-facing organization. By investing in mentorship and pathways into banking, she builds talent that benefits both the company and the region’s future financial leadership.
#31 Toni Walsh
Walsh brings executive discipline to talent strategy, helping Country Club Bank attract, develop, and retain the people who power a relationship-driven financial institution. Her leadership aligns culture, performance, and succession planning, ensuring the organization’s human capital supports sustainable growth.
#32 Michele Markham
Markham has grown EAG Advertising by pairing big-agency expertise with a practical model that helps entrepreneurial organizations compete and scale. Her track record of leading through economic uncertainty and building a thriving, women-owned firm has made her a standout in Kansas City’s marketing and small-business ecosystem.
#33 Melea McRae
McRae built Crux KC into a modern marketing partner for growing organizations, delivering strategic leadership and execution that feels like an in-house team. By helping clients clarify their message, generate demand, and strengthen business development, she drives outsized impact across Kansas City’s entrepreneurial and nonprofit communities.
#34 Michelle Chavey
Chavey made history as the first female president of Hollis+Miller and has advanced the firm’s education-focused legacy with thoughtful, innovative design leadership. Her ability to build enduring partnerships and deliver high-impact learning environments strengthens schools, communities, and the specialized business behind them.
#35 Jackie Foy
Foy has earned a national reputation in healthcare architecture, bringing deep expertise and a patient-centered approach to complex, high-stakes facility projects. By leading teams and elevating design standards, she helps health systems build environments that improve care delivery and strengthen the region’s health infrastructure.
#36 Mariah Meyer
Meyer leads BRR Architecture’s strategic direction, guiding a fast-growing firm known for delivering complex client programs with consistency and speed. Her focus on teammate development and firmwide growth has helped expand BRR’s national footprint while keeping its leadership and influence rooted in the Kansas City area.
#37 Megan Whitman
Whitman drives growth and execution at BRR Architecture, leading teams that deliver high-volume retail and grocery programs with precision. Her blend of client stewardship and internal leadership helps translate ambitious business goals into repeatable results, strengthening both the firm and the brands that rely on it.
#38 Lisa Kallmeyer
Kallmeyer leads LANE4’s property management operations across a major Kansas City portfolio, ensuring assets perform while tenants receive consistent, high-quality service. Her disciplined focus on operations and profitability turns real estate into a dependable platform for business vitality and neighborhood momentum.
#39 Angie McElhaney
McElhaney provides the financial leadership behind Mark One Electric’s growth, ensuring complex projects are supported by strong controls, smart investment, and long-term planning. Her industry leadership and service to the construction community amplify that impact, helping raise standards and expand opportunity across the region’s building economy.
#40 Sheri Johnson
Johnson has helped shape McCownGordon’s market presence, strengthening the brand and supporting the company’s ability to win community-defining projects. Her strategic leadership connects storytelling to business development, reinforcing a culture built on relationships, trust, and long-term client partnership.
#41 Connie Kamps
Kamps is a cornerstone of Hunt Midwest’s real estate operations, managing tenant relationships and performance for complex, high-demand assets that house and support major employers. Her steady stewardship keeps these properties running smoothly, strengthening the region’s industrial and logistics ecosystem through reliable space and long-term partnerships.
#42 Kristie Keast
Keast leads BlueScope’s North American operations, overseeing major steel and building products businesses that support manufacturing, construction, and supply chains across the continent. Her emphasis on safety, performance, and strategic investment strengthens a critical industrial platform with meaningful economic impact in the Kansas City region.
#43 Amanda Davis
Davis leads the UMKC Foundation with a builder’s mindset, strengthening advancement strategy and mobilizing support for the university’s highest-impact priorities. Her work expands scholarships, programs, and innovation capacity, directly strengthening the talent pipeline Kansas City employers and civic institutions depend on.
#44 Kim Dixon
Dixon leads ambulatory nursing operations at The University of Kansas Health System, ensuring outpatient care is delivered with consistency, compassion, and high clinical standards. By improving workflows and supporting frontline teams, she expands access and elevates the patient experience across a system that anchors the region’s healthcare economy.
#45 Audrey Masoner
Masoner brings a strong finance-and-operations background to leading a complex community health plan, ensuring members receive dependable coverage and providers are supported effectively. Her ability to pair operational rigor with a mission-driven focus strengthens the healthcare safety net while delivering accountable performance at scale.
#46 Samantha Werner
Werner helps organizations optimize working capital and modernize cash-flow operations, guiding treasury strategies that free up time and liquidity for growth. Her leadership at Commerce Bank supports clients across multiple markets, making her an important catalyst for business efficiency and financial resilience.
#47 Tonya Mater
Mater provides strategic financial leadership at EPR Properties, overseeing accounting, reporting, and compliance disciplines that underpin trust with investors and regulators. She also champions internal leadership development, strengthening the organization’s culture while keeping the financial foundation strong and transparent.
#48 Nancy McCullough
McCullough founded e2E to help organizations move from startup energy to operational maturity, providing finance and people support that makes growth sustainable. Her hands-on approach gives leaders the structure, insight, and confidence to scale responsibly and create lasting impact in the Kansas City business community.
#49 Krissy Young
Young leads C2FO’s people strategy with deep experience in talent, culture, and organizational change, helping a high-growth fintech compete on leadership and execution. Her track record building and supporting teams at scale strengthens the company’s ability to innovate while investing in a healthy, high-performing workplace.
#50 Stef Seger
Seger helps connect Meta’s regional presence to community priorities, building partnerships and investments that support local opportunity and technology-focused education. Her background in government and community relations makes her an effective bridge between corporate resources and real-world needs, driving tangible benefits for Kansas City neighborhoods.
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